Teach Abroad Blog

Do you enjoy acting? Why not take that skill overseas and be an actor or a film extra overseas. Many of these small budget films (some larger) advertise in the local classifieds so you won’t see them on Craigslist. So the best thing may be to just show up and travel the country for a while and see if something comes up.

But where do you go to teach acting or be an actor overseas. Indian films are always looking for Americans to cast, and many countries in Asia do also. Travel Happy did an article about films being shot in exotic places such as Chiang Mai.

Mumbai, India, also called Bollyworld, is the heart of the Indian movie making. Read about one traveler’s acting in an Indian movie

Or maybe one of the best ways to get in the door overseas is go to a film festival in that country. Check out this article in Student Traveler magazine on one African film festival in Burkina Faso.

Next week’s skilled job overseas: Engineers

Teaching English overseas can be a fun and rewarding way to start your career as a teacher. You’ll be able to experience another culture for an extended period of time, immersing yourself in their language and customs, all while honing your craft as a teacher and making a couple extra travel bucks on the side.

Diving into the world of teach abroad can be a bit daunting. First, there are all these acronyms to deal with – EFL is English as a Foreign Language, or simply English as taught in a region where the native language is not English. ESL is English as a Second Language, or English taught in an area where the native language is English, to someone whose first language is something else.

These are types of English teaching positions available, but the most important acronym is for the certification you will need to begin your teaching. TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language. You can get a TEFL (also called TESL or TESOL) certificate through one of many available certification programs. Also available are CELTA certificates, or Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults. We will go over all the certification options in a later blog.

Once you wade through the paperwork and confusing terminology, if you still want to try your hand at teaching English abroad, jobs can be found just about anywhere in the world. Anywhere there is a need to learn English, there is a need for English Teachers. Your students may be young children, college students, business men, or housewives. Most programs will enroll all ages and backgrounds, so be ready for anything- and don’t forget to have fun!

Most people know that Asia is a great place to teach overseas. But what if it could make you more money, and the cost of living was less? It’s possible, and it’s in South Korea.

Now here is where you can really make some coin. Some South Korean companies pay up to $40,000 a year to teach full time in their schools. But because the cost of living in South Korea is so much lower than, say, Japan you can save (or spend) some serious cash. There are so many teaching jobs in South Korea, you can sometimes show up at the door for a job and get it. But do your research beforehand at www.daveseslfcafe.com to avoid the few shady operators that don’t pony up when your teaching gig is done.
Classroom and Online TEFL certificates are available for those that want a leg up when they arrive to another country to find a job teaching. Bridge Abroad (www.TEFLonline.com) and I to I (www.i-to-i.com) both offer class and online courses for TEFL.

From an archived article in Student Traveler Magazine. See the entire article on How to make money teaching overseas

Teaching English in China is a great way to make money. There are also more opportunities opening up each day.

According to American TESOL, China needs one million English speakers for the 2008 Olympics and has mandated that an additional 300 million Chinese be fluent in English by the year 2020.

So as you can imagine, there will be a lot more jobs there for English teachers in the next few years. Make a career of it and teach there the next 12 years!

CIEE offers a great opportunity for teach opportunities in China. For details on their programs, go to http://www.ciee.org/teach.aspx

There are many other placement programs in China. Check out Dave’s ESL Cafe

Also check out Student Traveler Magazine’s Teach Abroad page

Are you heading to Spain this summer and want to figure out a way to work for two weeks? Then check out Pueblo Ingles which offers teaching English in Spain for travelers and Spanish folk an intensive period of English study. Most of the people you will teach are sent by their employers, often multinational corporations that need bilingual staff. And more than 2,000 Spaniards and Anglophones took part last year. Pueblo Ingles is run by U.S. expat Richard Vaughan, and the goal of the locations is for the Spaniards to live with as many “anglos for a week and only speak English.

Any native English speaker can work at one of three locations in rural Spain, live there for a week, eat three meals a day, and not pay a dime all in exchange for teaching English to the Spaniards. What is better than free room and board. Of course, it is still a job, and there is not a lot of free time because you are teaching the locals. But it is a great resume builder, and a way to live with local Spaniards.

Here is what a writer at Student Traveler said about working for universities overseas.

I set up my teaching gig through the Princeton-in-Asia program. Although the program is associated with Princeton University, you do not have to be a Princeton student to apply. PIA sends students to China, Japan , Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, South Korea , Malaysia , Singapore, Taiwan , Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. They set up teaching positions and journalism, NGO, and business internships. There is a $30 application fee ($20 if you’re a Princeton student) and, if you’re accepted to the program, a $300 fee. Teachers and interns should be prepared to pay for transportation to and from the country they’re assigned to and for all visa fees.

UC Irvine offers a teaching placement program in Chile. Go to UC Irvine’s web site for more information.

For more information on application procedures and deadlines, go to www.princeton.edu/~pia.

See the entire article on teaching English overseas through a U.S. university.

 Sure, it would be great to teach English overseas. But many of us need to cover student loans and other bills that just don’t go away when we hit the road. One such way to make more money is to have more experience at teaching. Another way is to get a more sophisticated TEFL certificate. The CELTA certificate is a four week program that is given by the University of Cambridge, and puts you in a higher level of teaching credential since it is widely accepted worldwide. A quick Google search will show many programs that offer the training. Another important factor is where you teach.

Student Traveler Magazine had this to say about where you can make more money teaching English oversea.

Your income is relative to your position, qualifications and destination. You should consider the cost of living of the country you are heading to. In China, for instance, you may enjoy a high standard of living but probably won’t be able to pay a large mortgage payment back home. Many teachers make extra money teaching additional classes or taking on individual students for tutoring. In Korea and Taiwan many teachers make lots of extra money tutoring, but many of their employers forbid this. You should do your research in advance.

If you teach overseas, also consider working with the government of that country for teaching positions they have. The JET Programme in Japan is run through the government. It pays over $30,000 a year to work as a teacher’s assistant.

Questions to ask when looking for a job overseasSo you have your teaching degree in your back pocket. You’ve laid out all your classroom assignments. Now all you need is to find to teach English overseas. Don’t apply to just any school — try to choose a TEFL school that will also want to treat you well.

Jeff Booth, in his article in Student Traveler Magazine, offers these questions that may help your interview.

1. What are the typical number of classes taught, or how many hours per week?
2. What background do the students have?
3. Who else is on teaching staff and their credentials.
4. Ask the school for current or past teachers whom you can speak with.
5. How long has the school been around?
6. Is any housing provided?

It’s becoming more important to ask these questions now than ever. Nova Group, a prominent teaching school in Japan, recently declared bankruptcy and left many of their teachers in the dust. In other cases, schools hire you but don’t live up to their end of the bargain when paying you on time. So by asking these questions and talking to other teachers, you are much more likely to find a good fit.

Placement organizations for teaching English overseas help you find a job, plus help in the search for housing, a work permit, and sometimes teacher training.

Some of these teacher placement organizations charge a fee, while others are free since they are paid by the government.

One such free placement service is Japan’s JET program , which is government sponsored for teaching English in public schools throughout the country. In South Korea, the two popular TEFL placement programs are HanWooRee Language and Education Centerand TEFKO

There are opportunities to teach English in Latin America, although the pay is not as great at Asia. Mexico has Teach English in Mexico, Chile and Argentina are always looking for English Speakers. Check out Colegio Ingle British Royal for opportunities in those countries.

Teach English in Mexico (www.employnow.com/mexico.htm) might be your ticket to Mexico. In Chile and Argentina native English speakers are always in demand. The Colegio Ingles British Royal is a good starting pointing there.

Western Europe has always been difficult for finding teaching jobs. However, for those that are interested in French, the government sponsors the French Teaching Assistant Program (www.frenchculture.org), a paid opportunity to teach in France. Also, the American Scandinavian Foundation www.amscan.org offers teaching positions in Finland. And you can also find ways teaching English Spain. Student Traveler Magazine is a good source of information for topics for TEFL Placement organizations.

While grammar, punctuation and practice are fundamentals to teaching any language, the most important element is humor. That’s correct. Ads that promote teaching English overseas should include this. Most of the time your class (whether children or adults) want to try to get the class over with. So it’s no surprise when teachers overseas show up to a writing class and nobody brought a pen or paper. Or the entire back row may be asleep. So how do you battle these inevitable teaching realities: you will need a good sense of humor.

So how do you bring humor. The school and your textbook won’t have it. So you need to bring it yourself. And it’s sometimes easier, like in a private school where you have every teaching resource imaginable (computers, multimedia rooms, and a choice of textbooks). Others schools offer you nothing. So the less resources you have, the more creative you need to become.

Check out this article by Barbara Johnson in Student Traveler Magazine and how she figured out where to teach English Overseas.

“Check out your school beforehand. E-mail other foreign teachers at the school to ask about working and living conditions and students’ levels and backgrounds. Before you sign a contract, ask the person hiring you to give you contact information for current teachers. Check out the discussion boards on www.ESLcafe.com for information or advice on specific schools around the globe. When you get to your new home, seek advice from the local teachers to find out what they do in their classes.”

So here are some tips when you have chosen your teaching job, and now have to enter the room for the first time to teach English. First, have rules from the get go. Most schools will already have this laid out for you. It will include rules on cell phones in class, lateness, being absent, and talking while in class. Second, get used to following the routine. You will have a strange, foreign style to your students. But if you have routine that will help them know what to expect.

Barbara Johnson, in that same article in Student Traveler Magazine, continues on how she started class:

I always start my conversation classes with the question “What’s new?” I usually pick two or three students to tell me about anything going on in their lives, on campus, in the city, or in the world. Students in my class have brought up everything from President Bush’s decision to invade Iraq to the gap between rich and poor in China to the most popular video game. On a few occasions, “What’s new?” has turned into a full-blown class discussion.

If you’re teaching at a college, you will need to establish yourself as the authority, even though the students are your same age. But if you look confident and feel prepared about your methods and class activities, you should have no problem. But it is also good to take constructive criticism from the class, especially in cases where you may be teaching businessmen and professors.