Author Topic: Anyone else taught English abroad?  (Read 9778 times)

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sexualhelon

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Anyone else taught English abroad?
« on: March 13, 2014, 07:39:04 AM »
If so, where and what was your experience like? I've taught English in Poland and also Serbia but lately I'm thinking about trying out somewhere in Asia - particularly China - or South America.

101slasher101

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #1 on: March 13, 2014, 07:43:24 AM »
I teach English in Shanghai. I work for the Walt Disney Company. it pays super well and I have lots of time to skate in a city where they don't think that skateboarding is a juvenile activity. I've had a great time here for the last year and 2 months and plan on staying for a while.

-Nick
Free Gator. Everyone deserves a second chance.

chockfullofthat

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #2 on: March 13, 2014, 07:49:20 AM »
I was about to do it then I read this book.
http://www.amazon.com/English-Teacher-Teaching-Abroad-Edition-ebook/dp/B004SOYD70

It's short as fuck and hilarious. I definitely recommend it if you are thinking about it or if you are already out there.

sexualhelon

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #3 on: March 13, 2014, 07:55:03 AM »
Oh, rad. Where are you from originally and how's life comparatively in Shanghai? I've got a few offers so far in China but they're all in smaller cities like Shanxi. Just started browsing job boards a few days ago.

Haha I'll have to check that book out. Seems interesting and the guy probably has a similar outlook to me on TEFL.

101slasher101

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #4 on: March 15, 2014, 05:51:12 AM »
I'm from Fresno, California. Living here is like living in any big city, the only difference to me is that I have to point at pictures when I go to McDonalds. Its super rad to skate here, they don't care at all about you skating on anything. Most of the time, the locals stand and stare trying to figure out what i'm doing. Shoot a PM my way and I can get you a job with Disney English. It pays better than all the other EFL jobs and its easy to talk them into placing you in Shanghai.
Free Gator. Everyone deserves a second chance.

sexualhelon

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #5 on: March 18, 2014, 04:28:26 PM »
I was about to do it then I read this book.
http://www.amazon.com/English-Teacher-Teaching-Abroad-Edition-ebook/dp/B004SOYD70

It's short as fuck and hilarious. I definitely recommend it if you are thinking about it or if you are already out there.

Just read that book, scoped out English Teacher X's blog, and sent him an e-mail. Grand stuff.

chockfullofthat

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #6 on: March 19, 2014, 12:40:12 PM »
Expand Quote
I was about to do it then I read this book.
http://www.amazon.com/English-Teacher-Teaching-Abroad-Edition-ebook/dp/B004SOYD70

It's short as fuck and hilarious. I definitely recommend it if you are thinking about it or if you are already out there.
[close]

Just read that book, scoped out English Teacher X's blog, and sent him an e-mail. Grand stuff.

Glad to hear it!  So tell me...how many foreign sweethearts have used and abused you?  ;) 

tidwid

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #7 on: March 19, 2014, 02:09:38 PM »
My experience teaching in Moscow was pretty great, possibly too great, because I can hardly stand Vancouver now. Made good money, there were endless opportunities for entertainment - every weekend I went to a new art gallery, museum, ballet, etc. Skate scene was super friendly and the spots were great. The work wasn't bad considering I hate working, and it provided the opportunities mentioned. I could see getting jaded in the long term though, I only did 6 months because I returned here to do my MSc.

fulfillthedream

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #8 on: March 22, 2014, 10:18:31 PM »
I just began my second year here in Guangzhou China. I love it. I like the country, the language, people food etc. Being a skater I am super lucky that I am able to have a wide circle of friends. Most foreigners here end up clicking up with just other foreigners. Thanks to skateboarding I am able to branch outside the ex-pat circles. I've met some people who love it, hate it and just learn to live with it. check out eslcafe.com for job leads - the companies put job listings. I have a college degree and a TEFL- i just went online and applied for jobs and got a few offers. There some other threads I've started as well as other posters on here. HOpe this info helps.
Skateboarding is like jacking-off, it's that good- Jeremy Klein

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GadNZ

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #9 on: March 24, 2014, 06:42:56 PM »
If so, where and what was your experience like? I've taught English in Poland and also Serbia but lately I'm thinking about trying out somewhere in Asia - particularly China - or South America.

I taught English in Poland too. Where were you? I was in Poznan and it was such an amazing experience.

Wanted to keep doing the teaching thing but make a bit more money so ended up in Korea as I already had a friend here .  Been here the last 2 years and its been awesome. Some things at my job were not ideal like the clueless and incompetent managers. You seriously would not believe some of the decisions they make....
apart from that things are great.


fulfillthedream

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #10 on: March 25, 2014, 07:33:55 AM »
Expand Quote
If so, where and what was your experience like? I've taught English in Poland and also Serbia but lately I'm thinking about trying out somewhere in Asia - particularly China - or South America.
[close]

I taught English in Poland too. Where were you? I was in Poznan and it was such an amazing experience.

Wanted to keep doing the teaching thing but make a bit more money so ended up in Korea as I already had a friend here .  Been here the last 2 years and its been awesome. Some things at my job were not ideal like the clueless and incompetent managers. You seriously would not believe some of the decisions they make....
apart from that things are great.



ha i'd love to hear more about this..i've had some interesting experiences with this too.
Skateboarding is like jacking-off, it's that good- Jeremy Klein

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Gray Imp Sausage Metal

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #11 on: March 26, 2014, 07:20:59 AM »
i have: great when you're 21, not so much when you're 35 :'(

Impish sausage is definitely gonna blow up as a euphemism this year

sexualhelon

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #12 on: March 26, 2014, 04:32:21 PM »
How is it not great when you're 35? I can see how in the long run it might drag you down having done it for so many years - just banging broads, partying, and roaming about the globe. The trajectory definitely makes it hard for you to ever settle down. Chasing poon in foreign lands is something most men aren't cut out for past a certain point but then a select few do it for life. Have you ever heard of RooshV or Naughty Nomad? I know Roosh used to be decent friends with English Teacher X but said the guy had a coming of age existential crisis which caused them to lose touch with each other.

I've been all over Poland, visited every country in Europe actually, but was teaching in Krakow. At least in Poland and parts of Eastern Europe you only really get paid enough to live. It's a good life - I personally love the culture, the women....everything really, but most people teaching there aren't saving any money. This is why I was considering China, South Korea, or somewhere in Russia myself. I'm not too terribly into Asian girls but living in China seems like the most unique experience as far as things being completely foreign. Speaking of Guangzhou, I was actually debating between whether I'd want to go there, Nanjing, or stick to my big city ways in Shanghai or Beijing. It's either that or Moscow for me.

I'm in NYC right now though and am working a pretty casual job at the moment while I look around for something worth sticking around for. My girlfriend's Austrian and she's going to do an internship in either Barcelona, Hamburg, or London for 3 months come may. Waiting to see how that pans out as I could see myself living in Europe for a bit and she was wanting to travel around for a bit afterwards. Time will tell...

Oh and with management in those English schools, some recruiters will be straight up honest with you and say, "this school is looking for an "IWB". Aka - interactive white boy. There may be some shitty error in some shitty english book and staff member may argue with you that importanter is a word. 

Tracer

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #13 on: March 26, 2014, 05:50:24 PM »
Old skate buddy of mine went to Vietnam to teach english, haven't heard from him since.. This was 4-5 years ago

Do you need to know Polish to teach in Poland? I don't even know where to start, but it seems like anyone can do it.. Can any standard 6 foot white dude teach English overseas? What are the best countries?

I would go for Uruguay or Argentina before Europe, anyone have experience there?

FakieBacksideHalf-Cab

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #14 on: March 26, 2014, 05:50:37 PM »
Hey guys, I'm just wondering what your qualifications were to be hired for these jobs. Do employers look for college graduates with full fancy english degrees or relatively inexperienced newbies? I'm just wondering cause i'm looking into the job myself and want to know.
Focus your board and then your account.

sexualhelon

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #15 on: March 27, 2014, 11:11:07 PM »
Your friend in Vietnam probably had this yearning lust, this undying compassion, to secretly live life as a Kathoey. He didn't feel that his friends and family back home would ever accept it so he told them he was going to teach English in Vietnam then cut off contact.

Of course you need to know Polish to teach English as a foreign language in Poland. As a matter of fact, to teach English as a foreign language in any country you have to speak the native language.

The "best" countries is literally as vague as your personal preference of the entire globe. Do you like borsch, varenyky, vodka, and Russian women? Well my good sir, Russia just may be the place for you. Do you like Peking duck, Baijiu, and Asian women? Maybe give China a shot.

As far as the easiest, you don't "have" to have a degree or even tefl/celta to teach English in China, Russia, some countries in South America, and few other various countries I'm sure I'm forgetting. If you do have a degree then the world is pretty well your oyster but parts of China, South Korea, Japan, and the Middle East tend to pay the best along with other benefits. Obviously any experience, relative degrees, and teaching certificates will give you the upper hand.

fulfillthedream

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #16 on: March 28, 2014, 02:00:28 AM »
Your friend in Vietnam probably had this yearning lust, this undying compassion, to secretly live life as a Kathoey. He didn't feel that his friends and family back home would ever accept it so he told them he was going to teach English in Vietnam then cut off contact.

Of course you need to know Polish to teach English as a foreign language in Poland. As a matter of fact, to teach English as a foreign language in any country you have to speak the native language.

The "best" countries is literally as vague as your personal preference of the entire globe. Do you like borsch, varenyky, vodka, and Russian women? Well my good sir, Russia just may be the place for you. Do you like Peking duck, Baijiu, and Asian women? Maybe give China a shot.

As far as the easiest, you don't "have" to have a degree or even tefl/celta to teach English in China, Russia, some countries in South America, and few other various countries I'm sure I'm forgetting. If you do have a degree then the world is pretty well your oyster but parts of China, South Korea, Japan, and the Middle East tend to pay the best along with other benefits. Obviously any experience, relative degrees, and teaching certificates will give you the upper hand.

In my experience here in CHina I've ran into some folks who have little or no qualifications versus some people who have a degree and a TEFL. Like sexalhelon said it for sure helps a lot more to get a variety of offers and better pay with more qualifications and experience you have.

If you get the chance do it! It's probably the most amazing thing in my life. I was here for one term (11 months) and I just began my second one!
Skateboarding is like jacking-off, it's that good- Jeremy Klein

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sexualhelon

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #17 on: March 28, 2014, 03:10:35 AM »
Where are you originally from, fulfillthedream?

Gray Imp Sausage Metal

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #18 on: March 28, 2014, 05:05:10 AM »
How is it not great when you're 35?

different strokes for different folks i guess?
(hence why i don't do it at 35)
i just don't see it as much of a career unless you end up working in a university.

Impish sausage is definitely gonna blow up as a euphemism this year

Candygirl

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #19 on: March 28, 2014, 05:36:59 AM »
Old skate buddy of mine went to Vietnam to teach english, haven't heard from him since.. This was 4-5 years ago

Do you need to know Polish to teach in Poland? I don't even know where to start, but it seems like anyone can do it.. Can any standard 6 foot white dude teach English overseas? What are the best countries?

I would go for Uruguay or Argentina before Europe, anyone have experience there?

I don't think that you necessarily need to be able to speak Polish. From experience I can say that it is easier to speak the students' language. You might be able to understand the special problems people might have larning English.
I taught English to German and Danish students and am able to speak both languages since forever. I could spot different problems in both countries, which made it easier to arrange the lessons.  

The language isn't the only thing you teach. You do also teach in cultural perspective, Intercultural Competence etc. So it might be a good idea to know something about the country you are teaching in.
« Last Edit: March 28, 2014, 03:48:53 PM by Candygirl »

Alan

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #20 on: March 28, 2014, 06:07:55 AM »
Quote
I thaught English
Hosin' out the cab of his pickup truck
He's got his 8-track playin' really fuckin' loud

Nosferatu

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #21 on: March 28, 2014, 08:22:57 PM »
I did it in France for 9 months as an english teaching assistant in a french highschool. You had to have 3 semesters of college level french to qualify. It was amazing. Most of my classes had no oversight. Just do whatever I want. Which can be hard coming up with stuff on your own but is also way easier. I gave no homework and no tests.

I was living a pretty poor existence for the first half but then once I started getting my government checks (all young poor students and workers get them? thank you france.) I ended up saving enough for my return flight and a couple thousand extra.
I thought it wasnt just him solo, shouldve stuck with my og thought.
R.I.P Rusty. One of us.

sexualhelon

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #22 on: March 28, 2014, 09:56:55 PM »
I was being sarcastic with Tracer...

Really, hardly any countries require you to be at any certain level of fluency in the native language. You're there to teach English and English is the language most every other country learns for the sake of communication when traveling abroad so you "should" be able to get by on it. If a Turkish person and a Japanese person meet in India what language do you think they'd most likely use to communicate? English. The most daunting place I've been in that regard has probably been Russia/Ukraine. There's definitely people who don't speak English or understand a damn thing you're saying and on top of that everything is in Cyrillic. That's where it gets tricky - different language, different alphabet.

But obviously if you are a native English speaker wanting to teach English in Poland who also speaks Polish you'll be one damn hot commodity. 

joeyjojo jr. shabadoo

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #23 on: March 29, 2014, 09:01:28 AM »
I just signed a contract to teach for a year 1 hour outside of Seoul. Will be arriving mid-late April.  Anybody in Korea?  Would be nice to meet some slap approved woodpushers in advance.  Was gona post on Daves esl asking, but I figured I would get some longboarder replying or just some random dude that doesn't skate skate.

aleksander

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #24 on: March 29, 2014, 05:18:06 PM »
In Colombia now, been all over South America teaching at bilingual schools. Teach first grade now which I thought I'd hate but in fact love. Hanging out with six-year-olds is just  non-stop silly time. We make up games and go insane and just rage all day.


I'd agree that it changes as you get older, get married, etc., but it can be a good change. I've got lots of time now to write books, skate and translate for extra $, whereas when I was in my 20's I spent every extra second I had trying to sample exotic pussies.
"Let's just do something stupid and ridiculous and just be as fucking regular as we possibly can."

Jive Turkey

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #25 on: March 30, 2014, 03:09:08 AM »
I just signed a contract to teach for a year 1 hour outside of Seoul. Will be arriving mid-late April.  Anybody in Korea?  Would be nice to meet some slap approved woodpushers in advance.  Was gona post on Daves esl asking, but I figured I would get some longboarder replying or just some random dude that doesn't skate skate.
GadNZ, who posted above, is in Seoul. Hit him up.

fulfillthedream

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #26 on: March 31, 2014, 03:21:48 AM »
In Colombia now, been all over South America teaching at bilingual schools. Teach first grade now which I thought I'd hate but in fact love. Hanging out with six-year-olds is just  non-stop silly time. We make up games and go insane and just rage all day.


I'd agree that it changes as you get older, get married, etc., but it can be a good change. I've got lots of time now to write books, skate and translate for extra $, whereas when I was in my 20's I spent every extra second I had trying to sample exotic pussies.

indeed it does. i am 27 and single. missed studying abroad in uni due to a girlfriend i had.. all my cousins/bro-in law told me that this is the best time to do shit like this..

the only money you really need is enough to survive 2 months in which ever country you're teaching in. you usually get paid AFTER your first month of working.
Skateboarding is like jacking-off, it's that good- Jeremy Klein

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sexualhelon

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #27 on: March 31, 2014, 06:26:50 AM »
Ay fulfill the dream, or anyone else who's been to China, how's Guangzhou in comparison to Beijing? I've narrowed it down to one of these two cities. Guangzhou seems cool in terms of better weather, proximity to HK/SE Asia, and cost of living but I'm curious how it is in terms of culture, things to do, and the expat community compared to Beijing? 

Jim and Dan

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #28 on: March 31, 2014, 08:07:48 AM »
Who did those of you teaching abroad contract out through?

Private entities? Educational facilities? Others?

I've been looking more into this as a possibility & want to get the ball rolling soon.
Roll for Rusty, Frip, Dapple and Tate



Ross Norman - Last of the Mohicans

sexualhelon

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Re: Anyone else taught English abroad?
« Reply #29 on: April 01, 2014, 04:52:12 AM »
Your best bet for the most part is going through job boards like eslcafe.com. Decide on a region and cruise through esl job boards looking for opportunities there. You can also post your resume on those sites but you might get contacted by some seedy recruiters. There's not really huge worldwide contractors but someone might be able to tell you their recruiter through, say, South Korea.