Students in China, Photo: Steph & Adam

We had set our sights on Japan. Yes, a year of hiking, karaoke, bento boxes and hyperdisciplined students. We researched cities and companies. We polished our resumes. We cast our nets into the online world of TESL job postings.

I thought it wouldn’t be hard. With a few years’ experience under our belts, I thought we would be able to cherry-pick TESL jobs. The offers didn’t exactly come rolling in; it was more like a desperate trickle. Part-time jobs, jobs that started that very week, jobs that didn’t sponsor a work visa. We read about the bankruptcy of a major language school; how hundreds of teachers were suddenly jobless in Japan. We attended a group interview where young applicants had flown in from hundreds of miles away for the chance to secure a job. We got some offers, less than I hoped, but they weren’t great. After months of looking, we set our sights on a different country.

I had heard countless job sites and recruiters refer to teaching ESL as “recession-proof,” and I had figured it to be true. Education is always in demand, right?

Well, not so fast. TESL has been impacted by the recession too. There are no daily layoffs, no ghost towns where language schools once stood, but as I learned during my Japanese job hunt, the industry has changed. Here is a guide to understanding these changes, and knowing how to prepare yourself if you want to teach English overseas in the current job climate.

More Competition

It used to be said that if you spoke English, you could find a job teaching it somewhere.

This may still be true in some countries, but by and large, the industry is getting more competitive. Sure, most language school applications list bare-minimum requirements; a passport, an undergraduate degree, a native speaker’s proficiency in English. There was a time when the bulk of ESL teachers were fresh university graduates, and these requirements were all they had.

Nowadays, more and more people are switching (or being forced out) of careers, and “recession-proof” TESL is growing in popularity. You may meet the requirements for a great-looking job, but other applicants may pack additional ammo on their resumes: TESL certificates, Masters degrees, teaching experience, or foreign language fluency.

It’s good news for language schools, who can be choosier about who they hire. It’s good news for students, who are getting well-qualified teachers. But if you don’t have extra flair on your resume, it’s bad news for you, the applicant.

Prepare Yourself: At the very least, get a TESL certificate. You can take an affordable 100-hour course online or at a community center. For some teaching practice, you can volunteer at a language school or offer free language lessons or English conversation practice in your area.

Photo: prufrock27

Low Teacher Turnover

In a precarious job climate, people know to hold onto a good thing. In the past, travelers have been inclined to take a TESL job for a year, experience a new culture, then go home again. Now, ESL teachers know that going home might involve months of thankless job-hunting and living with their parents. More and more teachers are staying overseas for years at a time, hoping to build up savings and ride out the recession in their home country.

In South Korea, the Ministry of Education’s EPIK program offers 1100 public school positions for ESL teachers. According to one recruiter, less than 500 positions were open for this academic year. Over half of EPIK’s teachers re-signed their contracts, meaning fewer spots and more competition for prospective teachers. In some regions of the country, a year or two can pass before these teaching jobs become available.

Even teachers who don’t want to stay at their current schools are at a vantage point by being in the country and building a year’s worth of contacts. On-site teachers can apply for jobs in person, and scoop them up before the position ever gets posted online.

Prepare Yourself: Allow yourself plenty of time to apply for jobs. Most countries have specific hiring periods; typically in late winter (for September contracts) and late summer (for January contracts).

Fluctuating Currencies

Many currencies worldwide have fluctuated heavily in this recession. Even now, we can’t be sure that they have stabilized. For ESL teachers, though salaries may remain constant on paper, your savings may be worth less than you thought once you take that money out of the country.

In Brazil and South Korea, teachers’ salaries are worth less because of falling currency rates. In China and Vietnam, however, the currencies have fared well in this economy and your salary will be worth more when you change your money.

Countries that were once known as ESL moneymakers might not be as lucrative nowadays. The opposite is also true; you may be surprised with how much you can save in a less affluent but economically strong nation. If money is a big factor in how you choose a TESL destination, then research the currencies of countries that appeal to you.

Prepare Yourself: Sort out your finances before going overseas. If you owe monthy payments on credit cards or student loans, look at the current exchange rate and budget how much you’ll have to wire back each month. Also, remember to budget an emergency airfare fund, in case you need to fly home for any reason, or in case your school closes down unexpectedly — it happens more than you think.

Trouble for Schools?

So how does enrollment fare in a recession? Tough to say. It would vary from country to country, city to city, even neighborhood to neighborhood. On one hand, if companies or individuals are reducing their budgets, language lessons may be a trimmable expense. On the other hand, if people are out of work and looking to add pep to their resumes, they might dive into language studies as way of gaining edge in the competitive job market.

Language schools may boom, bust, or remain steady. If you’re being paid an hourly wage and not a set monthly salary, this means boom or bust for your income as well.

What does this mean for teachers? Bree, an American teacher in Italy, observed the stability of government work in 2009, the depth of the recession. “The majority of our work came in the form of contracting teachers out to local high schools,” she says, “paid by the government. So while businesses and corporations seemed to be cutting back on providing English classes, the government seemed to be requiring more native teachers in the public school system.”

The most secure jobs are said to be through public schools and government programs. Funding is backed by the state, and even in a recession, the demand is constant.

Prepare Yourself: Unless you have contacts at a private school, working for public schools is the safest bet. Japan’s JET program, for example, is a renowned ministry-run initiative. Some private companies will also sub-contract their teachers to local schools. Remember that these are plum jobs, and you may need to start the application process up to 8 months in advance.

Community Connection

Do you have a story of how your teaching career has been affected by the recession? Share in the comments below.

If you want to learn more about teaching English overseas, check out Matador’s Teaching ESL Focus Page.

Photo: alexbrn

Whether you are interested in a part time job, a career in ESL (English as a Second Language) education, or need some experience before teaching English in a foreign country for a year, becoming a private English teacher can be financially rewarding and a great way to meet new friends and learn new cultures. Starting from scratch with few or no contacts can be daunting, but it is definitely possible. Here are six tips and strategies that I’ve learned to get you started.

1. Understand what you can offer your students.

You need to have a good grasp of English grammar to teach English, but you do not need to be a grammar expert. Students are usually looking for help with conversation, technical skills, or even a crash-course in slang and colloquial expressions, skill sets that are less commonly taught in a traditional classroom setting. They want to speak like a local, and you may be the local that can teach them.

If you learned English as a second language, or if you’ve ever studied a foreign language, you will be able to relate to your students and better understand what methods work and what methods don’t.

2. Publicize yourself.

Put up flyers in language schools, ethnic grocery stores, common areas of local universities and colleges, and any organizations that work with foreign or immigrant populations in your area. Some organizations to try are the Latina Women’s League, Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, and Rotary Club.

If you know a foreign language, consider joining a conversation exchange to increase your contact list. You will meet with someone who knows the language you are learning, and the two of you will divide the time conversing in English and the foreign language. You can also volunteer to just meet with someone and talk in English with them. Usually these exchanges are free, but they can be a good way to acquire contacts.

One summer, I spent an hour on Monday mornings conversing with a Korean exchange professor to improve his English, and two months later, one of his Korean colleagues called me to request lessons for his whole family!

Photo: mrsraggle

3. Customize lesson plans for your student.

The advantage of a private lesson is that all your attention is focused on a single student. I recommend meeting with the student before officially starting lessons in order to learn his level and interests. Ask what specific goals he wants to achieve. Each student is unique, and it is your job to tailor the lessons to help the student achieve his goals.

When I was teaching the Korean family, the wife loved to cook while the husband was interested in American politics and social issues. For the wife, I brought in American recipes and taught her the vocabulary needed to read a recipe. With the husband, I based our lessons on current events and social debates.

The first meeting is also the time to set tuition rates, meeting times and the meeting place.

4. Create the lessons and don’t be afraid to get some help.

For a first timer, creating a lesson plan can be daunting.

For a lesson longer than a half hour, plan a set of mini lessons. For example, spend 10 minutes on new vocabulary, then move on the main lesson point, and spend the last 15 minutes on freestyle conversation.

You can base each lesson by skill or by theme. For example, you can have lessons that focuses on a specific verb tense, or you can create a lessons on topics such as health care, sports, cooking and so on.

If you feel lost and don’t know where to start, search online for ESL lesson plans and you will find plenty of ideas, exercises, and games for each level type. Do not be afraid to use the entire lesson plan, tailor it to suit your student’s interest, or take bits and pieces to form your own lesson. Eventually you will grow more confident and obtain an archive of lesson plans that can be revised and reused with other students. Some websites I find useful are Using English, English as Second Language, and Dave’s ESL Cafe .

I have used the internet, old foreign language books that I convert into lessons for ESL, old ESL workbooks, and I’ve even asked people who learned English as a second language for advice. All you need is some time and creativity, and voilá, you’ll have a lesson plan.

5. Pay attention to the student.

It is all about the student. Speak slowly. Slow down if he seems confused and speed up if he seems bored. Even if you are naturally shy, you are the teacher and you must be confident and extroverted. You should take the lead and engage the student. Make your students feel comfortable and let them know they are free to ask questions at any time.

As time goes on, ask the student’s opinion about the lessons. Since you are not part of a language school and do not have anyone to answer to, you have the freedom to continuously alter the lessons to meet your student’s ever-changing needs and concerns.

6. Have fun.

Teaching English is a great way to learn about other cultures and meet new people. The experience is as much as you make of it: you can be strictly professional with your students, or you can initiate excursions and field trips for them to experience your culture.

Eventually, word will travel and you’ll find yourself with plenty of students and hopefully some new international friends.

Community Connection

For more about teaching English abroad, check out Matador’s Teaching ESL Focus Page.

Feature photo: mattw1s0n Photo: Daquella manera

Inside our program house, nestled in the foothills of Nepal’s Himalayas, I announce to my American study abroad students that they have the afternoon off. They grab their laptops and, like a herd of goats from the Kathmandu streets, trot to the local tourist ghetto, where wireless Internet cafés abound. They write blogs, post photos, and watch videos. They get on Facebook and read about all the gossip back home.

When they return from their lengthy excursion, they relay funny stories about their campus dorms. They tell me they tagged me in some embarrassing photos and describe the latest YouTube phenomena. We are in stitches, tears streaming from the laughter, and I almost feel like I am 20 again.

But part of me wonders if I am failing them as a teacher.

There was a time when studying in the developing world meant making an agreement with your friends and loved ones to be out of touch for several months. For this brief period in your life, you would abandon everything you knew about the world and everyone you knew in it. Somewhere in that departure, you would live outside of yourself in a way that might terrify and enliven you at the same wild time. When I first lived in Kathmandu, the city had only a handful of hole-in-the-wall Internet stations and the dial-up connection was usually broken, so I battled homesickness with adventure: winding through villages on the backs of motorcycles, warming myself with local brews, snacking on yak meat at 18,000 feet.

Today, there are “cybers” on every street corner of Kathmandu, and my students deal with homesickness by reading emails and Facebook updates.

As the semester wears on, our students begin spending so much time online that our staff discusses instituting a policy. We suggest disconnecting the router at our program house and limiting the number of trips they can make to the Internet cafés. Perhaps we could have “web-free” days where we cram the schedules so full of activities that the students won’t have time for anything else. Or maybe we could outright ban the Internet for the entire semester. Part of me thinks we should. But another part of me feels like a member of an overly oppressive government, trying to outlaw activities that simply can’t be stopped.

Photo: Benjamin Chun

Do teachers and program administrators have the right to limit the amount of time students spend on the Internet? Knowing what their students are missing by spending so much time online, do they have an obligation to do so?

A few weeks into the semester, one of my students stops coming to class. Phoebe*, a budding scholar, locks herself in her room, emerging only for meals. When I ask what is going on, she offers vague excuses about diarrhea. I notice that she eats heartily and that she magically improves when the weekend arrives. I call her into my office, annoyed. Through tears, she reveals that she has been battling depression for the last five years, that the daily hardship of Nepal is breaking her, and that she is barely holding on. I think about how scared her parents must feel, letting their troubled daughter go abroad.

“What are you doing to stay connected to others, to be integrated into a human network?” I ask.

“I talk to my parents and my friends every day on Skype. It’s my lifeline.”

“Good,” I say. I wonder if it would be better to urge her to turn off the computer, but I’m too afraid of what might happen if she does.

A few days later, another student, John*, stumbles into the dining hall a few minutes late. Beaming, he explains that he spent the afternoon figuring out the local microbus system. At one bus stop, he learned that the man next to him ran a medical organization desperately in need of interns. By the end of the afternoon, John had an internship, a visit to an office, and a Nepali friend.

John is my only student who has made a conscious effort to avoid the Internet. He doesn’t make a big show of it; he simply spends his time in other ways. By the end of the year, his Nepali language skills are outstanding and he is conducting research in one of the most remote districts of the country, a region still untouched by computers. He is clearly thrilled by the adventure of it all.

And so I find myself caught between two extremes: the urge to make everyone write an email home every single day, and the urge to tear every last router out of Kathmandu.

What I have concluded is this: The goal of a teacher should not be to tell students how to spend their time, but to encourage them to find that sliver of the spectrum where they belong, a place that accentuates who they are and brings them closer to who they can be.

But we should also remind them of the reasons they chose to study abroad in a country like Nepal. They wanted to experience the unknown; to lose and find themselves; to discover new, life-changing adventures. Adventure won’t hit when you least expect it; rather, it’s an orientation, a decision, a way of life.

So let your inboxes fill to the brim and go have the adventures you seek. The messages will still be there when you get back, but your time abroad will not.

*Names have been changed.

Community Connection

This article was originally published on Glimpse.org. If you’re interested in being a Glimpse correspondent, check out the application details. Correspondents get a $600 stipend, professional editing support, career training in writing and photography, and guaranteed publication on Glimpse.org and the Matador Network.

Feature Photo: John Pavelka Photo: author

Recently I attended a group interview for ESL teaching positions. There, I met a handful of applicants who were young, cheery, and new to the field. The ink was still drying on their undergrad degrees, their passport pages were still unstamped. There was a giddy, nervous energy in the room. It was all familiar.

Back in 2005, before the iphone and the recession, before Lady Gaga and urban Ontario’s pho craze, I too was a newbie to the world of TESL and travel. I had been in their shoes before.

It made me feel wise. Soon after, it made it feel old.

These interviewees got me thinking about the past five years, how I entered the teaching world without much thought to it. To me, it seemed like a great way to spend a year after university, a way to travel without going broke.

A year turned into many years, and somewhere along the road there was a turning point. I realized that I actually loved teaching. It wasn’t just as a means to live overseas in cool places anymore. Somewhere in the course of time, it had become a proper career. I started flicking through old travel diaries, looking back on the first days in the classroom.

Apparently, I took to teaching as most take to long-term travel; not in one gushing high, but as a process of adaptation.

Photo: John Pavelka

First, there was the honeymoon stage, teaching in a small town in Thailand. I had never before been to Asia, or any tropical country, and every little thing in my daily life was fascinating. In the diary, I gushed and gushed. I loved the other expats, the tropical fruits, the motorcycle taxis, the teakwood houses by the river. I mention monkeys or elephants on every single page. At first I didn’t ponder the teaching job much. After all, there was so much else to take in. But I never grew bored of the job either. I liked the hokey pokey and barnyard animal flashcards. I grew hooked on making Thai children smile.

November 2005:

Today I taught my first class at a government school and absolutely loved it. The schools are huge and the kids are so sweet – they literally run after you and watch your every move like schoolgirls to the Beatles in A Hard Day’s Night – a crew of them followed me into the bathroom and giggled while I washed chalk off my hands. The classes have like 45 students in them, but they’re pretty cute. I always knew I wouldn’t mind this job, I never thought I’d truly like it. Who would have thought….

Next, came was the rut. Five months later, and the freshness of the unknown was fading. It had been my intention to write. Teaching was a means to a paycheck so that I could write. But after long days of work, biking from school to school and shouting over classrooms of 50+ kids, I was too tired to pick up a pen.

I would meet backpackers en route to Laos, just back from Cambodia, and their stories filled me with travel envy. The cheery students were not longer a novelty. Now, when they ambushed me in the hall and tugged at my clothes, it felt invasive. I was less of a novelty to them, too, and they weren’t afraid to tune me out mid-lesson. A foreigner, they had learned, couldn’t punish them. Not really. Yep, this was the grouchy phase of culture shock. I had it bad.

April 2006:

Teaching requires just enough imagination to drain the creativity from me. I think ESL hurts my vocabulary. And I feel like a babysitter. Maybe I want to go home?

So what happened next? Eventually, I did go home. I finished my contract, traveled around Asia, then returned to Canada again. I worked a crummy barista job, didn’t get into grad school, and took off for more teaching instead. Teaching ESL was my Plan B; I was making some money, traveling again. The plan was to go abroad and bide more time trying to figure out how to get back on track in academia. But oh, life’s surprising.

I took a teaching job in England at a summer ESL camp. The campus was stunning, a place I came to refer to as Hogwarts. The students, like all teenagers, did not want to spend their summer in a classroom. At times it seemed impossible, trying to engage them in English lessons. But I spent hours planning, hours picking the brains of other teachers, and at some point things fell into place. The classes became a lot easier, a lot more fun. We had debates! We performed plays! We learned grammar points and we didn’t even mind! The once sullen students had become some of the funniest people I knew.

Halfway through the summer, I put the A-Ha! moment on paper.

August 2008:

Today Elisaveta told me I’m her favorite teacher. Celine came knocking on my door because she was homesick, just wanting to be in someone’s company, not alone in her room. Tomas hung around shyly after class, asking for advice with a girl problem. Today I sat in teacher’s room for two hours planning lessons and getting so excited thinking about how these sweet and intelligent kids will take on the materials I’m preparing. Maybe I really love this job.

Two years and two countries later, I still do.

What teachers normally wear to a job fair, Feature Photo: Alex France

I was in graduate school, and I was broke. The easy way out hovered over me in a dreamy haze of financial stability and 403b plans: take the job offer at the school where I had just completed my student teaching. But after the three major firsts of post-undergrad life (first “real” job teaching English in South Korea, first trip out of the country, and first plane ticket) I couldn’t imagine doing anything else but going back to teach overseas.

My dreams of a glamorous life in Cairo, Bangkok, or Nairobi needed to take a slight detour, though – to Waterloo, Iowa, and the UNI Overseas Recruiting Fair. So begins the saga of my international school teaching career…and the longest ride on Greyhound in my life.

Job Fair #1, February 2000:

Early morning, Chicago bus station, many many hours after leaving Albany

I wandered around, trying to look inconspicuous among the shuffling, muttering masses of transients and transfers. Turning the other way as a man got into a shouting match with a police officer, I finally pushed aside some fast food trash in order to hunch down and hide in a seat for a few hours.

Photo: loop_oh

A rest stop somewhere in the Midwest

As it turned out, while I finally made it onto the next bus in Chicago, my bag did not. I had no clothes other than what what I had been wearing for the past 24 hours. I bought a three-pack of Hanes men’s white t-shirts, reasoning that out of all the options available, these might be something I’d actually wear again in the future. Remember, I was broke.

Interview sign-ups, Hotel, Waterloo, Iowa

One of the hallmarks of the international teaching job fair experience is the sign-up period. This is somewhat akin to a cattle stampede. Tables are set up in a huge room arena-style, and candidates head to their top schools, turning in their invitation if they have one and signing up for a time slot, or turning on the sales pitch and angling to get into any remaining interview times. Beforehand you’ve done your country research, noted all available jobs in your subject area, and prioritized according to countries, schools, and assignments. Now it’s down to following your carefully mapped-out plan of which table to go to first.

Only as straightforward as that all may seem on the surface, it actually isn’t. Changes happen from hour to hour, minute to minute as positions get filled, new ones open up, and countries you never even considered, let alone thought were legal for Americans to go to, suddenly become possibilities. Weren’t they just in a war? Is that going to matter? Could I really teach middle and high school English and social studies? And maybe math?

Everyone else was in suits and other suitable professional attire. I was wearing one of my three precious white t-shirts, and apologizing to the administrators at the table for looking so casual. “You took a bus to here from Albany? Okay, you need to come to Turkey. Let’s get you signed up for an interview.”

Photo: SteelCityHobbies

School presentations

Throughout the fairs, administrators give sales pitches about why you should come work at their school. I was seduced by all of them, the possibilities of living and teaching in all these vibrant, exciting communities, working with bright and motivated students, travel opportunities such as hopping on a bus to the Caribbean and learning how to SCUBA…

Decision time

I interviewed with schools from all over, including Turkey, Mexico, Haiti, and Honduras. I was waiting to hear back from a few, and turning over in my head the offer from Honduras: “The job is yours if you want it. You make the decision. You call us if you’re interested.” A solid job offer, a chance to use my Spanish, SCUBA diving…I took it.

Job Fair #2, February 2005:

Ostensibly older and wiser, I was back in the US, living and teaching in Colorado, and ready for a new adventure. Now I owned a car, and I decided to drive to Iowa. This was an infinitely better experience than the bus, although the title of a folk song from my DJ days in college kept coming back to me: “I Hate to Wake up Sober in Nebraska.”

Sign-ups

In my message folder an unexpected yellow invitation awaited – one of the top Eastern European schools, one I hadn’t even really considered. I bolted toward their table and settled into an already impossibly long line, the longest in the room. After what felt like forever I made it to the front of the line, eagerly turned in my card, and heard, “Amy! It’s so great to meet you. I wanted a chance to say hello, since I noticed where you went to college. I taught in that town for many years and have many fond memories of it. Well, I’m actually only interviewing for my hard-to-fill positions right now; you’re the only English teacher I gave an invitation to. If any slots open up while I’m here I’ll be sure to get in touch with you. Best of luck at the rest of the fair!”

Much later, and much wiser

Cameroon, Photo: manbeastextraordinaire

I interviewed with schools from Germany, Kuwait, Syria, and Thailand. Finally, I was down to my interview with the school in Cameroon. Here I got the hard sell – “I’m offering you the position, you’ve got about five minutes to decide, you’re my number one candidate, I’ve got other English teacher interviews after yours and I can’t guarantee this later on…”

I took it. Later I drove back to Colorado, racking up ridiculous cell phone charges calling friends and family and announcing in gleeful shock: “I’m going to Africa!”

Job Fair #3, January 2007:

This time it was different – I was signed up with ISS, International School Services, and had purchased a bank-breaking ticket from Cameroon to Bangkok, plus reserved rooms at the Shangri-La. Administrators had access to my file beforehand, and started contacting me for interviews right away. With the advent of Skype and the often exorbitant expenses (did I mention I had already bought a ticket from Cameroon to Thailand?), fairs are quickly on their way to becoming obsolete.

An administrator from a little school in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, a city I’d never heard of before, and I started talking. Several skype interviews later, he offered me the position, and I took it.

May 2010

Three years and a horribly expensive vacation in Thailand later, I am still in Taiwan at a small but growing international school, preparing to come back for a fourth year of teaching high school English. I don’t know what types of hiring experiences await me in my future, but I’m sure my time in the job fair milieu so far has prepared me well for whatever happens next. If you are considering this crazy but exciting path for your future, here’s what I would keep in mind: be flexible, be ready for the unexpected, and never underestimate the power of a men’s white t-shirt.

Community Connection

Have you ever attended a teaching recruitment fair? Let us know about your experience in the comment section.

If you are considering a career in international teaching, check out Matador intern Heather Carreiro’s guide on How to Become an International Teacher.

Feature Photo: Ray Devlin Photo: Mike Heth

After eight months in a small city in central Hunan Province, my daily routine falls in step with my students’ tightly regimented schedule.

Morning

A blast of trumpets pulls me out of sleep. The military music blares from the loudspeakers throughout the school campus where I work and live. The sound tells me it’s 6:45 a.m. and my students are doing morning exercises out on the dirt track.

By 7:30 a.m. the music switches over to something more to the students’ taste – Chinese, Korean and American pop. I am among the procession of clinking metal spoons and bowls headed for the dining hall.

Breakfast is noodle soup with a fried egg. In the United States I was careful not to make a lot of noise when eating. But this is China. People unabashedly slurp, suck, burp and make other bodily sounds. I slurp away too.

Class starts at 8:15 a.m. I teach between two to five classes a day, splitting my time between seventh and tenth grade. My smallest class has 55 students, the largest almost 90.

Photo: Kent Wang

As the oral English teacher, I don’t have a textbook to follow. I teach what I enjoy and what I think my students will like. On this day I have a lesson about music. “You are a deejay for the day,” I say. I play songs from my laptop. My students know Britney and Avril and Lady Gaga, but who are the Beatles?

Noon

By lunch, I am famished and return to the dining hall. I surprise myself with what I like to eat. Pig tail is really good, river snail quite tasty and cow stomach not bad. Whatever the dish, my tongue is always on fire after a few bites. This is Hunan Province, after all. Chili peppers are as common as salt.

While eating, I listen to the other teachers’ conversations. Even though I speak standard Mandarin, or Putonghua, I can understand very little of the local dialect. It might as well be German or Swahili. Even the Putonghua is accented by the local inflections. Sometimes a teacher will say something to me and I won’t understand. Everyone will have a big laugh. I just smile my goofy, clueless foreigner smile.

Afternoon

Lengshuijiang literally means, “Cold Water River.” The name conjures an idyllic country scene. But the city is actually smoggy, industrial. Downtown, with its three supermarkets and various clothing shops, is only a ten-minute, one-yuan bus ride away. Still, I can’t stand the traffic and pollution, so I rarely leave the quiet, tree-lined campus.

If I do venture out, it is to one of the small shops lining the road outside of the school. I usually have to sidestep the chickens pecking at heaps of garbage. After lunch, I treat myself to a cup of milk tea with tapioca balls for 1.5 yuan. I don’t go to the first milk tea shop I pass but to the second, called Big Taipei. It’s much better, all the students tell me, and I have to agree.

I spend the afternoon checking e-mails and reading the news. I still keep up with the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times. The stories don’t affect me now, but I do it as a way to connect with home.

There are four periods between lunch and dinner. By the time I hear the third set of bells, it’s late afternoon and I am restless. I need to run. I change into sweatpants and head out.

Photo: Qilin

On the way to the track, I pass grandpas and grandmas walking with bundled babies against their chests. While mom and dad teach, the grandparents are the main caretakers. I take these opportunities to lightly pinch a rosy cheek. “Say aiyi,” – or auntie — the grandparent coaxes.

When I reach the track, some students are having P.E. class on the adjacent basketball courts. The more outgoing students abandon their games of volleyball and badminton and jog alongside me to practice their English. The less fit ones wait until I’m doing a walking lap to join in.

I started running years ago because it was a solitary sport; I could get lost in my thoughts. Running has the opposite effect in China; here, I’ve met the most people while breaking a sweat. After being alone most of the afternoon, I always look forward to these group runs.

Evening

As I sit in my apartment office reading or preparing the next day’s lesson, my students sit at their desks studying. They have another three hours of evening self-study, broken only by a 15-minute eye exercise.

At 8:15 p.m., a high-pitched female voice takes over the loudspeakers and counts off in Chinese, “yi…er…san…si…” as the students massage their eyelids and temples. Sometimes, I make the circular motions around my eyes too.

Night

The bell rings at 9:30 p.m., signaling the students are finally free to leave the classroom. But freedom is relative. They have nowhere to go but to their dormitory, twelve students to a room. I picture them lining up at the two sinks in their room to wash their faces and then collapsing onto the narrow bunks. A final bell rings at 10 p.m. Lights out.

Not long after the final bell, I set aside the book I am reading and it is lights out for me too. Outside I hear a dog barking and the train passing. Soon these sounds fade too, and I won’t hear anything until the trumpets announce morning.

Photo: purplepick

I had made it clear that glitter and ribbons should not accompany college level assignments , and that any offending projects would promptly make their way to the bin rather than into my briefcase. A significant amount of class time had also been spent explaining what plagiarism is, how to avoid it and what the consequences would be for anyone who attempted it, so when one student handed me a glitter-contaminated poetry portfolio, I was immediately suspect.

During my three years in Pakistan, I worked with local universities and teacher training institutes. In this particular situation, I was conducting a course on Teaching Creative Writing for undergraduate education majors.

None of the students had ever been taught creative writing, and many lacked basic writing skills, so I focused on modeling creative writing units rather than asking them to strategize about how to teach something they had no experience doing themselves.

My students had a good amount of time to write in class, as in previous semesters I’d learned that plagiarism is common for both academic and creative work, and I liked to actually see them produce something.

Once a local student in my eighth grade class handed in a poem by Longfellow with his own name on it. When I asked him about it, he straight up admitted he didn’t write it. He then added, “Actually my cousin wrote it.” He seemed confused when I asked him if he had conducted a séance to get the poem, considering this alleged ‘cousin’ died in 1882.

Photo: Carmela Nava

The college students were passing in a collection of work they had written and revised over the previous month. Glitter girl frequently missed class and didn’t manage to write more than a few words during in-class writing sessions. I had told them that any over-decorated projects would be left ungraded, but I was curious to see what she’d come up with.

The first page was a famous limerick that she had obviously cut and pasted, and the second page, decorated with numerous hearts and flowers, was this:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Corinthians 14:4-7)

Yeah…she did it. She somehow managed to plagiarize the Bible as well.

My past confrontations with Pakistani plagiarizers had generally gone well. Longfellow’s ‘cousin’ gave up on copy-pasting and became one of the best writers in his school. Another girl who started off her year giving me copied work ended up writing extra narrative essays in her free time, and we published one of her restaurant reviews on the class blog.

The key with these successful students is that they were able to admit they cheated and move on. In a culture that often places saving face at a higher value than fessing up, this was a significant move for them. Glitter girl wasn’t able to cross that threshold.

She knew that I knew she was lying, but she wouldn’t confess.

I tried to lay it out for her: "Look, you didn't write these poems. This one is a famous limerick. It was written well before you were born. Did you write it in a past life? And this one, this one is from the Bible! It's almost two thousand years old. Don't even try to tell me you wrote this."

"Miss, miss, but I did write those poems! Can I resubmit? I will email it to you."

During more than 20 minutes of begging, not once did she admit that she copied. She knew that I knew she was lying, but she wouldn’t confess. At the same time she was defending herself and saying she didn’t plagiarize, she was asking for a chance to re-do the portfolio. My logic could not wrap around this discrepancy.

Photo: dcjohn

I wondered if local teachers simply let their students know that they were on to them and offered a chance to re-do assignments, rather than calling them out and giving them zeros. At what point do I stick to my own ethics, and at what point do I give students more leeway?

A Pakistani friend of mine spent her secondary school years in Lahore before moving to the US for college. During her freshman year, she got caught plagiarizing. The professor was furious, but my friend actually didn’t understand what she had done wrong. She had cut and pasted different passages from different websites, compiled them into one document and included the links. That was how she had always ‘written’ papers, and her teachers had accepted them.

I didn’t allow Glitter girl to resubmit the assignment. Sitting there in the class, listening to her grovel, and having the same conversation over and over for 20 minutes was one of the most uncomfortable moments in my teaching career.

I handed in her sparkly portfolio to the department head as evidence and dropped off my grade sheet with the registrar. Due to her low average, I was sure that she would fail the course.

A few weeks later, I found out that everyone in the class, including her, had officially passed.

I had pressed for the truth and stuck to the rules, but it was me who ultimately ended up losing face.

Have you ever been faced with a situation like this in the classroom? How did you deal with it?

Community Connection

Think you can deal with plagiarism in the cross-cultural classroom? Learn How to Become an International Teacher or check out Matador’s Teaching ESL Focus Page.

]]> http://matadorabroad.com/classroom-experiences-dealing-with-plagiarism/feed/ 10 http://matadorabroad.com/how-to-become-an-international-teacher/ http://matadorabroad.com/how-to-become-an-international-teacher/#comments Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:21:53 +0000 Heather Carreiro http://matadorabroad.com/?p=3998

Photo: Fantaz

While I worked with local NGOs and universities in Pakistan, my husband Duarte took a two-year contract as a Physics teacher in an international high school. By connecting with other foreign teachers in the school, we quickly learned that making a career out of international teaching would be an ideal way for us to sustain long-term travel and life abroad.

International vs. National Schools

There are scores of schools that claim to be “international” in name, but what teachers often call a “true international school” is a school that enrolls students from a variety of countries. These schools tend to be located in major cities, diplomatic capitals and international financial centers. Students include ambassadors’ kids, expat kids, teachers’ kids and local children whose parents can foot the bill.

Other schools may be internationally accredited but enroll primarily local students. Teachers refer to this type of school as a “national” school, although both types hire foreign teachers. Some national schools hire only foreign-qualified staff; others hire most teachers locally but employ foreigners for certain subjects like English. The ratio of foreign to local faculty at schools can vary widely even within the same country or city.

School Curriculum

When Duarte and I first moved abroad, we had no idea what O-Levels and A-Levels were. Since he was teaching in a school that offered both the British system and the American system, he had to learn how to teach two different curriculums.

Photo: Steve & Jemma Copley

International schools usually belong to one of the following systems: British (IGCSE/GCSE), American (often offering AP classes), or International Baccalaureate (IB).

Teacher Qualifications

There are schools that will hire teachers without formal qualifications, but to be a competitive candidate you need at least two of the following: a Bachelor’s degree, a valid teaching license in the subject you plan to teach, and two years experience.

In the U.S., each state has its own process for teacher licensure. Many undergraduate education programs provide routes to state certification, but you can also find post-baccalaureate programs aimed at career changers.

The majority of these programs require a one-semester student teaching practicum, a series of education courses based on classroom observation, and a set of exams.

Massachusetts is one state that offers a five-year preliminary license without requiring student teaching or the completion of special course work. You can apply for this license by passing two exams: MTEL communication & literacy and MTEL content area. For either elementary or secondary teachers it costs about $230 for the exams and $100 for a one-subject license. Your license is valid for five years of employment in Massachusetts, so if you never teach in Massachusetts it can remain valid for your entire international teaching career.

Job Searching

Most schools offer two-year renewable contracts, although some offer one-year contracts or require a three-year commitment from new hires. Prime hiring season is from January through April, although hiring is done all the way through August for the upcoming school year.

A lot of hiring is done at international job fairs organized by school placement organizations. At job fairs, dozens of school administrators and hundreds of teacher candidates converge in a major city for the purpose of lining up jobs.

The biggest job fairs are run by Search Associates, International Schools Services (ISS) and University of Northern Iowa (UNI). To attend a Search or ISS fair you need to apply and become a member.

Before the fair, candidates are given a list of schools that will be represented and current job openings. Larger companies like Search and ISS have online databases with detailed information about each school and salary package. The best way to prepare is to research every school, city and country that you might be interested in.

Once at the fair you will sign up for interviews with different school administrators. Between interviews you can go to school information sessions or network with other teachers.

Photo: Bridget Christian

Factors to Consider

Attending a job fair can be expensive, especially if you need to factor in travel and hotel costs. It is worth contacting schools ahead of fair season, in November and December, to see if you can interview via Skype.

Not all schools, even those listed by placement companies, are legit. Before applying for a teaching position, read what other teachers have said about it on International Schools Review (ISR). It costs $29 per year to be a member of ISR, but this will put you in direct contact with other international teachers and expat parents. Reviews posted on schools and directors are anonymous, so be aware that some feedback may simply be venting by teachers or propaganda by school administrators.

When you compare salary packages, compare the cost of living and the local tax rate as well. Annual salaries range from about $15,000 through $70,000, but you can live much better on $20,000 in India than you can on $40,000 in Switzerland.

European schools tend not to offer housing or utilities as part of the salary package, although many other schools around the world do. Benefits to look for include round-trip airfare, medical insurance, life insurance, free tuition for school-age children, daycare for younger children, moving allowance, professional development training, transportation allowance and retirement funds.

Final Tips

Look at the number of contract days and the number of teacher-pupil contact days required per year before applying. An average number of contract days is 180-190; this is the number of days per year teachers are expected to work. An average number of contact days is 170-180; this is the number of days you will be expected to teach. A few days more or less aren’t anything to raise concern, but I was once looking at a job in a new international school that required 250 contact days. Yeah, no thanks. I’d like to keep my summer vacations and my sanity. A side note said that teachers would be required to arrive early in order to create the school curriculum from scratch.

The teaching culture of a given school can vary markedly. Some schools are isolated; some are set in urban centers. Some cater to a young-single crowd of teachers while others prefer hiring couples or pensioners.

For Duarte and I, international teaching is a combination of career flexibility and stability. Once a contract is completed, we can choose to stay or move on to another destination. Currently we’re back in the U.S. pursuing further education, but we’re psyched to find out what opportunities the next international job fair will bring about!

Community Connection

Interested in some other travel job ideas? Check out 20 Ideal Day or Seasonal Jobs for Travel Writers .

Feature Photo: Jrwooley6Photo: the_mishka

There was a moment when I thought I might get some honest answers.

“I spend too much time at school,” the discussion book read. “I want to spend more time playing with my friends, but my mom makes me spend all my free time studying.”

I’ve been teaching English to this class of Korean 5th graders for months, and we’ve all gotten comfortable. I was thinking, wow, maybe we can really talk about the intense studying kids do in Korea. Alas, as in many other situations I’ve encountered living here, I was way off.

“No,” they chorused. “We don’t think so.”

“You don’t think you spend too much time studying?” I asked.

“Not too much, Teacher, just normal.” Another added, “A lot of time studying is good.”

I probed further, “So you don’t want to spend more time playing with your friends, instead of studying?”

The oldest girl in my class thought for a few seconds, searching for the words. “No, Teacher. Not more time with my friends; playing with my computer is more fun. Studying a lot is good.”

Sigh. We just see things so differently.

The way I see it, studying in South Korea is out of control. Kindergartners are immersed in English five hours a day, moving through phonics, spelling, and grammar books higher than their level. At the private academy I work in, kids can start full-time, formal education as young as 3 years old. Forget naps, playing and snack time, we’re getting you ready for Harvard. All of you.

Photo: chasing butterflies

But it’s not enough that students just be good at English. Most kids attend Korean public school and then spend hours at private academies on nights and weekends. They study science, math, Chinese characters, Japanese, or literature. Most add piano, swimming, tae kwon do or art classes to fill any potential free time they might have.

I once mapped out the weekly schedules with a 1st grade class, and most of them easily had 7 different extra classes to attend each week. It’s hard for me to comprehend being in class so much at that age, but it’s extremely common. Kids attend schools so late that a law was recently passed prohibiting schools from having class past 10 pm, although it’s routinely broken.

When I was young, 5 or 6 pm would have been a late day at school. To comply with the new Korean law, a number of schools now start classes earlier in the morning. It of course sidesteps the issue that students are spending really long days in class. How do they keep up with it all?

Perhaps they are not handling it well, but there is a lot of pressure to be successful and kids are forced to respond to it. In the pas sixty years, South Korea has grown from a war-torn country to the world’s 15th largest economy. It’s no small feat, and Koreans are very proud of this progress.

I don’t think my students’ parents that went to school with limited heat and food would agree with me that their children should work less. After all, they’re the ones signing them up for all the classes. But at what point is the desire for the next generation’s success getting out of hand? Can I be the only one noticing the kids’ struggle?

I think many of the students are feeling stuck, but only some are comfortable admitting that they don’t like it. I see it in the diaries they write me each week. They write about staying up until the middle of the night to study and getting hit when they don’t do well enough on tests. A girl complained about her mom making extra homework and tests for her after she finished her schoolwork.

Quite boldly one day, a friendly 5th grade girl wrote in her diary: “Why Korean students study too hard? In Korean parents’ story, some of the parents just play after the school. Before they play all day but now, it’s not. It is opposite. Now, students go academy after school. In vacation, too. Please… can you just see what we do? We want to play! We don’t want to be studying machine!”

It think a lot of students feel like this, but it’s just not popular to say.

Her description of being a studying machine is an apt analogy. About four months into the school year, my kindergarten supervisor told us she needed “output”. The parents wanted to see what their students were accomplishing. My expat co-workers and I cocked our heads in confusion, wondering what 5-year-olds’ “output” would look like. I pictured my mom’s Christmas tree and my “output” hung on it: a red macaroni noodle picture frame with my smiling 5-year old face in the center.

That is not at all what my supervisor had in mind.

Photo: author

We were soon given three hundred page Curious George books to practice so the students could read to their moms from them each weekend. Then, we were given the sentences they’d memorize and recite. Three book reviews were due each Wednesday. Every Thursday there was a twenty word spelling test, and it didn’t stop there.

Most of the kindergardeners produced their “output”. The ones whose moms spoke English or hired private tutors, that is. Others were embarrassed they couldn’t do the work or just skipped school. My job was to push them harder. More output.

One student was falling asleep in class one morning, and I pushed her to keep reading until she admitted she stayed up until 1 am finishing her homework. I tried insisting she go lay down and take a nap, but her pride made her resist. It was just another hard day’s work for her.

I’m lost knowing how to deal with these situations because my own experiences contrast starkly with theirs. Growing up I loved going to school. I remember watching butterfly cocoons hatch, taking art projects home to hang on the fridge, and looking forward to summer vacations with friends. We had real vacations from school – there was no studying. Extra classes were for trouble makers or maybe the nerds. I couldn’t have dreamed of being at school until 10 pm.

So now as a teacher, I want to help my students learn the best way I know how. The idealist in me wants them to love learning too. For me it’s not about perfect scores but the progress you can’t measure, like kids’ increasing confidence and their making new friends.

I try hard to teach so my students to enjoy learning, but the system almost makes this impossible. The Korean system values long hours, a heavy workload, and cramming in as much information as possible. It’s awfully hard to get kids excited when so many of them already feel tired and burnt out.

This is the hardest part of my job: finding a balance when I’m caught between value systems. In many ways I’ve learned to adapt to the system. I can get my kids to fill out twenty pages in a workbook in 45 minutes and keep the 4th grade boys in their seats after a ten-hour school day.

I still can’t rationalize the excessive memorizing, studying, and writing my students have to do for my classes. I can’t ignore the pressure it puts them under. But if my students are right, and a lot of time studying is good, maybe it’s up to me to adapt. Like it or not, I’m part of the Korean school system – I do most of what’s expected of me. At least if I have kids someday, I’ll have plenty of reasons why they should never complain about school work.

Photo: kimdokhacFeature Photo: filtran

For the diehard Francophiles who spent a semester of their junior year in Paris and who dream of returning, the French government’s teaching assistantship program seems like a great way to spend a year or two after college.

The program, which offers native Anglophones between the ages of 20 and 30 the opportunity to teach English by working as an English Assistant in the public school system, gives young adults the chance to gain teaching experience and to live a poor student’s life in France, all for the whopping sum of 793€ per month, or just enough to pay rent and eat baguettes.

I’m in my second year of the teaching program, which has financed two years of study-abroad in Paris, and I’ve certainly gained experience and perspective from teaching in another culture. But many of the assistants I’ve met applied for the program and arrived in France without some important information about the realities of the job. Since you already have your list of reasons for wanting to apply, my point here is not to bash the assistantship program, but to make you aware of some potential disadvantages you might not otherwise anticipate. Here are nine things to consider while applying to the English assistantship program in France.

1. They can and will put you anywhere in France.

Photo: panoramas

The program can place you anywhere within one of the three regions you select on your application. The urban academies in Ile-de-France are among the most requested, and there are many assistants in the Paris area, but in provincial areas, you could be in the middle of nowhere. It is very unlikely that you will be placed in the major city in your academie. Some assistants are left to fend for themselves in small towns without public transportation.

2.Your assistant visa won’t allow you to stay past the end of your contract or to do anything other than teach.

If you obtain the free assistantship visa, you must leave the Schengen territory when your contract expires, or if you leave your job early. If you can, try to enroll in classes and get a student visa, which will be much more flexible.

3. You don’t have to speak French to apply, but it will help you to discipline your students and communicate with your colleagues.

Be aware that if you don’t speak French, or if your French isn’t very good, you’ll have a very difficult time making yourself understood to students, who can take advantage of you, and to your colleagues, who may not make the effort to communicate with you.

4. You don’t have to have teaching experience, but again, it will help.

Experience teaching or working with kids – anything that will help you to take charge, get organized, and maintain some semblance of order – will be very helpful. Since French schools often stress discipline more than American schools, it can be hard to get students to pay attention if you’re not imposing enough. That doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your own style, it just means you have to be creative and in-charge.

5. You can be assigned to any level.

On the application form, you can rank your preferences for primary school or secondary school, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll get your choice.

6. You can have a lot of responsibility, or very little.

Photo: panoramas

If you’re placed in a middle or high school, you’re generally responsible for taking a few students at a time out of their regular English class and working with them on speaking exercises. The teachers you work with may have you create your own lessons, or may give you topics to cover to review for the brevet or the baccalaureate exams.

In primary school, some teachers will teach the class and have you help out or work with a few students at a time, or they may expect you to take charge of the entire class and teach it with your own lesson plans. It all depends on the school and their experience with assistants, so you won’t know what you’ll be expected to do until you arrive.

7. Your contract is for twelve hours, but you may work a lot more or a lot less than that.

Some high school assistants are assigned twelve hours, but sometimes their students don’t show up for class or they have to prepare for exams with their regular teacher. In primary schools, you may be given up to twelve hours of classes and be expected to teach them all yourself. In both cases, you may have to stay at the school between classes, which can be spread out, and you’ll have to prepare lessons on your own time. This year, including transportation, breaks, preparation, and teaching, I teach ten hours but work over thirty hours per week, for a salary based on twelve hours.

8. You might not get paid right away.

The program tells you that if you file all of your paperwork by mid-October, you’ll get an advance on your salary at the end of the month. While this is true in many cases, be prepared not to be paid until the end of November, just in case. In some academies, they can’t finish all the paperwork even if it is in on time.

9. Teaching English in France can be tedious.

Anyone who’s studied any language knows that you have to put in a lot of effort to see serious results. The impression I’ve gotten by teaching English in France is that the French like to have learned English, but don’t want to bother actually learning it. Some of them are still wounded by the fact that their language has been replaced as the language of diplomacy, some don’t feel they need to speak English, and some, for all their efforts, just aren’t good linguists.

Accept that you don’t have a magic wand, and that if your students don’t put in some effort too, they can’t make very much progress. Remember that being a language teacher is a really hard job, that you’ll make mistakes, and that you’ll learn a lot along the way.

–

Photos: author

Everyone who has taught English overseas has heard of the “midnight run.” A teacher who is homesick, fed up with culture shock, or fed up with work leaves their job (and the country) in secret. I know it’s common, but personally, the thought makes me queasy.

If you didn’t like your job in your home country, would you just stop showing up? Likely not, and it should be no different overseas. You may be avoiding a whole heap of awkwardness, but leaving unannounced makes things more difficult for everyone but you.

My boss at a South Korean language school declared that he would never hire an American for their “reputation” of abandoning the contract without notice. A head teacher I met in Thailand never hired teachers fresh out of university for the same reason.

Quitting is never a picnic, but it doesn’t have to involve sneaking around or leaving people with poor impressions of you or your countrymen. Below are some tips on how to leave a job overseas.

Think it through

Obvious advice, but it bears saying. Breaking a contract may seem inconsequential, especially if you never intend to work in that country again. You did make a commitment though, and something did draw you to that job in the first place. Sit down and have a good think about the situation.

What is it about the job that doesn’t float your boat? If the materials are weak, the schedule is grueling, or the discipline problems go ignored, then a calm-but-firm meeting with the boss just might help. If your boss likes you, he will be more than willing to make changes so as not to lose you.

Is the administration a mess? Is the boss tyrannical? If the working conditions are truly unpleasant and change is unforeseeable, you may be working at the expense of your sanity. Quitting really should be a last resort, but if you’re miserable, terminate the contract sensibly.

Ask around the teacher’s room

All sizeable language schools have stories of rogue ex-teachers and their nutty antics. Ask your colleagues and fellow EFL teachers about past quitting stories. Will the school pony up the last paycheque, or will you find yourself evicted from your flat the next morning? Does your work visa allow you to switch employers in case you want to work for a different school? If your flights were paid for, do you need to reimburse the company? Is there a fine for early termination? Is it enforced?

If the school has a good reputation and has always treated you fairly, then be fair in return. Read over your contract’s termination clauses, give notice, and quit by the book. If you have it on good authority that things will turn ugly when you give your notice, be prepared. Arrange to stay with a friend if you’re evicted, book your flights if your visa may be cancelled, save money in case you don’t see that last paycheque.

Be as clear as you can

The company deserves to know if they’re doing everything right and your reasons for leaving are personal, such as homesickness or a strained long distance relationship. If you’re just not into teaching as a career, give the boss an “its not you, its me” talk, cheesy as it sounds.

However, if the job itself is crummy, explain this in the simplest way possible. Don’t rant or make sweeping comments like “it’s impossible to work here!” The management might not be clued into their foreign staff’s standards of work, and may never have realized that last-minute meetings or unpaid overtime are out of the norm for you.

Lastly, please oh please don’t drum up a dying grandmother story just to get out of your contract. Language school owners talk just as much as teachers do, and everyone knows that nine out of ten “family emergencies” aren’t real. You’re just crying wolf and ruining the credibility of teachers who do get struck with tragedy while overseas. Not cool.

Don’t sleep through the final weeks

You may be mentally finished, but that doesn’t mean you can show up late and play movies in each lesson while Facebook-planning your welcome home party. Train your successor, don’t leave rotting food in your desk, treat students well and respect the time and money they put into their lessons.

If the school is a good one, ask around the expat community and see if anyone can take over your job. They’re likely scrambling a bit to fill your position, and a helping hand speaks volumes of your professionalism.

Photo: author

1. Weeks it took to get your TEFL certification: 2
2. Weeks of training to teach English at your English Conversation School: 2
3. Schools taught at per week: 5
4. Hours worked a week: 29.5
5. Hours worked a week at your job back home for roughly the same pay: 40
6. Minutes you’re expected to arrive before a shift: 10-15
7. Punch-in time: 14:25
8. Delicious-smelling meters between school and a Coco Ichiban Curry House location: 50
9. Scheduled meal breaks: 0
10. Maximum number of children taught per day: 40
11. 3 year-old nose pickers: 2
12. 5 year-old toe suckers: 2
13. Exquisitely adorable toddlers who like to climb into your lap: 5
14. Students who steal your shoes: 2
15. Maximum number of reward stickers a student may earn during a lesson: 3
16. Times the Japanese word for “poo” is shouted in a single class: 35
17. Blinks of shock when you’re first told about “kancho” – a Japanese schoolchild “game” involving their pointed index fingers and someone’s backside: 5
18. Times fellow teachers are kancho’d before the blessed event happens to you: 5
19. Tries it takes for the child to hit the bullseye that is your unsuspecting backside: 2
20. Number of reward stickers you deduct for a kancho attack: 1
21. Times you have to tell your friends back home, “Kancho is real and it happened to me” before they believe you: 25
22. Maximum number of adults you teach per day: 16
23. College students who say rap inspired them to learn English: 5
24. Businessmen who think you’re a hostess: 1
25. Cool, collected homemakers whose exhausting schedules humble your 29.5 hour workweek to the point of shame: 5
26. Gorgeous grandmothers who surprise you with a fan with which to accessorize your yukata on Gion Matsuri: 1
27. Times you must remind your adult students: “’Go shopping’, not ‘Go to shopping”: 4
28. Times you must show a student how to make the “L” sound: 15
29. Photos taken with students who’ve passed a Level Up exam: 3 – yatta!
30. Students reached that day: 5, maybe 6
31. Punch-out time: 20:25
32.Yen spent on a plate of CocoIchiban curry rice three minutes after punching out: 700
33. Cans of beer enjoyed on the train home: 1

Photos: author

1.

You get resentful when you actually have to work.

2.

You use your hazard lights more than your indicators.

3.

You don’t consider the table fully set until there’s a box of Kleenex on it.

4.

You think that double and triple parking is ok when you can’t find a spot right next to the door.

5.

You say ‘inshallah’ even when referring to events that are actually happening.

6.

You leave the plastic on your car seats until it falls off.

7.

You think that ‘hellohowareyoufine?’ is an appropriate greeting.

8.

You consider eating with a fork or spoon, ostentatious.

9.

You accept one word answers like ‘haram,’ ‘Muscat’ or ‘change’ as legitimate responses to the question of ‘why?’

10.

You’ve stopped asking why.

11.

You think men in dresses look stylish.

12.

You don’t find any sexual connotation in ‘girl passage.’

13.

You have wasta.

14.

When you see ‘haram’ behavior in a film, you ‘tisk’ the actors.

15.

Doing nothing all day makes you tired.

Feature Photo: joopdorresteijn Photo: zemoko

08:00

A beautiful Saturday morning in Osaka. What to do … a day-trip to historic Kyoto? An abandoned railroad hike in Hyogo? If only. Saturday mornings in Japan often mean work so I stretch once more on my futon before beginning my day.

08:30

Breakfast is shokopan toast and a carton of aloe yogurt. I throw a couple of wrapped negitoro onigiri – tuna and scallion rice balls – into my purse for lunch.

9:00

Photo: antijeverena

I ride my bike to the Abikocho JR Hanwa train station and chain it near a restaurant – never near at the station itself, where it’s prey for the Osaka bike police. At Tennoji Station, I switch to the Loop Line. On board, there are obaa-chans in kimono and salary men in their traditional black suits, white shirts, and black ties.

We pass shopping arcades, convenience stores, and gray Japanese homes roofed with tiles that curve like ruffled bird feathers. It’s autumn, so trees aflame with red maple leaves dot the landscape. Blue mountains and the heron-winged Osaka Castle loom in the distance.

10:00

At work. Like most expats in Japan, I teach English. I work for one of the big conversation school chains; we wear suits and the customer is always right. Today, I’m early – no need to fill out a Lateness Explanation form.

10:15

Photo: akahige

My morning classes start.

I quiz the kids: “How are you?”

“Five,” they answer.

“How old are you?” I ask.

“Fine.”

I try to start a game. Miyabi complains. Chio and Sara gab loudly. Yuki throws a book at me. I lose my temper and scold them in Japanese; a no-no at my company. Did I mention I’m a writer, not a teacher? My subconscious whisks me away to my happy place – Yudanaka onsen overlooking the Nagano Mountains. Rocks. Petals falling on still water. Steam. Bliss!

These Saturday kids are nothing like the ones I teach the rest of the week. Those sweethearts run into school shouting, “Where’s Eba-sensei?” They love learning and I leave class feeling proud.

Teaching in any country is the best of times and the worst of times.

12:30

Lunch. We don’t get meal breaks at my school so food must be eaten in the ten-minute gaps between classes, hunched over a shared desk. At lunch, the other teachers and I catch up:

“How’s the karate?”

“Great – how’s the Japanese study coming?”

“It’s coming. I’ve started ikebana lessons, too.”

“Nice!”

“… I wish I didn’t have to teach. I only do it for the Visa because I’ve never been as creative as I am here in Japan.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

13:00

Afternoon classes. Adults ask me if I can use chopsticks; children hide my flashcards.

16:05

Photo: sakura_chihaya

Quitting time. I punch out and head to a nearby takoyaki stand. Takoyaki – a quintessential Osaka snack – are delicious ball-shaped octopus fritters. I’m too hungry to wait for them to cool and immediately burn my tongue on the creamy but volcanic batter.

16:45

On the train home, I study Japanese passive verbs. As I’m studying, my keitai throbs with texts from my friends. It’s Jeff’s’s birthday and everyone wants to know when we’re meeting. I tell them what Chisato, Jeff’s girlfriend, told me; we’ll meet at 7:30 in Namba. From there, the usual: izakaya and karaoke.

17:15

My bike is still parked where I left it – phew.

17:25.

Home. My boyfriend, Sean, is watching a TV cooking show where women are making nabe, a traditional cold weather stew. They slice daikon and brew dashi while the host watches. He takes a sip and blinks in shock at its deliciousness before shouting: “Umai!!!” Delicious. Commercial break: “comedian” Kojima Yoshio prances out in his Speedo to hawk AU cell phones. We change the channel.

19:45

Namba. Everyone’s here – five Japanese girls and eight expats with accents from all over the English Speaking World map.

“Otanjoubi omedetou!” we shout at the birthday boy. As we head to the neon cacophony of Dotombori street, we pass pulsing pachinko parlors and otaku kids dressed like goth Strawberry Shortcakes. As we reach the famous giant Dotombori crab, I see a Dachsund dressed as a cheerleader. Several meters on, a Chihuahua dressed as a sailor.

20:30

In the smoke-filled izakaya. I order plum wine, sashimi, and several kinds of barbecued yakitori skewers including roast beef and tasty chicken heart. Had you asked me two years ago if I’d ever voluntarily eat organ meat I’d have said, “As if.” Ask me today? “Pass the tongue.”

21:30

Photo: 416style

Karaoke! We rent a private room for an hour. Inside, we order fruity chuhai cocktails, beer, and sing “Happy Birthday” to Jeff. Tomoko sings something by Bump of Chicken, I go for old-school Iruka, and Martin rocks Men at Work.

22:30

Oh, what the heck, make it two hours. More chuhai, beer, and J-pop.

23:30

In a standing-room-only shot bar for the countdown to Last Train. A typical Osaka dilemma: leave at midnight or stay out until 6 a.m. Cabs? Not at 3500 yen to get to Abiko. Sean has his Japanese calligraphy class tomorrow and I’d like to get some writing done so we decide to make the last train. But first, shots. We toast: otsukaresamadesu.

00:15

Made the last train – yosh! It’s filled with red-faced salary men slumping on the seats.

Sarariman why/

do you slump on the train seats?/

are you tired or drunk?/

00:45

Home again. Tipsy internet check. It’s noon back home in New York City and my friends are online.

“Come home,” they type.

“Soon.” I reply. As usual.

Photo by jrkester. Feature photo by kalandrakas.

After teaching English in Japan with the JET Program for two years, I saved enough money to travel in Southeast Asia for over a year and launch my career in travel writing.

I lived rent free, didn’t work very hard and sent home about $1,500 per month. Since I got paid in yen, the dollar to yen exchange rate was important: most of the time it was around 110 yen to the dollar.

This morning, for old times sake, I checked the dollar to yen exchange rate and nearly jumped out of my chair. 90 yen to the dollar!? Damn!

Seems like English teachers in Japan must really be making bank these days….

Or not.

In a discussion forum on the popular Japan ex-pat website Big Daikon, a career English teacher recently posed the question:

Is the EFL Gravy Train Running Out of Steam?

Like most discussion on Big Daikon, the conversation is frank, crude and informative. For example, one poster writes:

It used to be that the unqualified teachers could make a living on a Nova salary, but it’s becoming increasingly harder to do that. Even if the salary isn’t so bad, I don’t think they keep teachers around as long anymore. The genki dipshit teaching circuit is not a stable industry anymore.

Destinations

Community Connection to Japan

The Big Daikon consensus – 127 posts and 1 colossal tangent later – seems to be that Japanese schools are a lot more particular these days about hiring qualified applicants for English teaching positions.

This is probably good news for Japanese students and for good English teachers – but bad news for ‘punks on a lark’ who spend their days in the teacher’s lounge posting on websites like Big Daikon.

Community Connection

The challenging job environment in Japan makes it important to do lots of research before applying for a teaching position. How to Get a Job Teaching in Japan lays out the basics and is chock full of quality links.

For general information, Matador’s focus page on Japan has a wealth of entertaining and informative articles about life in the Land of the Rising Sun.

The following will get you started on the quest for your ideal teaching job abroad.

Sometimes the sheer number of teaching jobs abroad is overwhelming. Korea? Kyrzgystan? Mexico? Lithuania?

A google search for ESL jobs will pull up a cluster of potential resources which takes time, patience and a discerning, critical eye to wade through. Some, of course, are much more trustworthy and useful than others.

In my four years of experience teaching overseas, here are the ones I’ve found most helpful.

1. Dave’s ESL Cafe.

Simply classic. Yes, you’ll find the old salts in the forums whining about anything and everything – the food, the bureaucracy, the students, the pay, the visas – so think twice before you turn down or accept a job based on what you find there. At the same time, those forums can be an excellent way to gauge the legitimacy of certain language schools and to get a sense of the average pay and visa regulations in a region.

Before I took a short-term teaching position in Japan, I consulted the forums at Dave’s and got several private messages from previous instructors telling me what to expect, which was enormously helpful in preparing materials and adjusting my expectations.

Plus, the International Job Board is much more reliable than many other online job feeds and contains a wide range of jobs all over the world. I’ve found two out of four teaching positions via the International Job Board.

2. Tefl.com

Another extremely reliable site for jobs which tend to be more professional, for teachers with a TESOL, Delta or Celta certificate and experience. There are some jobs for novices on here, including plenty in China, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia, but many of the jobs are in Europe and require certain credentials.

Photo: J.C Rojas

The site also tends to favor teachers from the UK – be careful when reading the job ads to check if the little blue “EU National Preferred” box appears at the bottom. If so, Americans, you’re going to be fighting an uphill battle for that position, and you’ll probably be in charge of dealing with visa issues.

One major perk of Tefl.com is that they allow you to apply for jobs directly through their website by uploading your information into a portfolio. They also give you the option of applying for a daily feed of jobs – which I ultimately had to unsubscribe to, because I couldn’t deal with the constant temptation to move to, say, Kazakhstan.

3. Transitions Abroad’s Teaching English Abroad Portal

This is much more than a simple job site. If you’ve ever wondered about TEFL courses in Vietnam, short-term teaching positions in Italy or the ins and outs of getting a university job in Chile, this should be your first stop. The site has an unbelievable amount of useful, detailed information about teaching abroad.

I could spend hours simply wandering dazed through the possibilities, and you probably should if you’re new to teaching and thinking about taking a job in a place you’ve never visited.

4. Esl Job Feed.

Jobs. Lots of ‘em. Straight up.

5. The University of Michigan’s sites for Teaching Abroad Without Certification and Teaching Abroad for Qualified Teachers

These sites offer an extremely well organized compilation of information not only about teaching jobs, but also about programs like Fulbright teaching assistanceships for recent graduates or graduate students. They contain extensive guides to teaching in countries on six continents (Antarctica is woefully underrepresented) as well as articles about cross-cultural exchange in the English language classroom, teaching jobs with government organizations and NGO’s, and teaching at every level from elementary to post-graduate.

There’s no reason not to do research before you take off on a teaching adventure, especially if you’re thinking of accepting a position with a gigantic language school with branches all over Asia or Latin America. If you’ve got a set idea of what you want to do and where you want to go, all it takes is persistence and research to get you there.

Community Connection

Matador offers its own set of ESL resources, including The Insider’s Guide to Teaching English In Asia, The Eight Hidden Benefits of Teaching English Abroad, Top Ten Places for Teaching English Abroad, and the classic Meet Your ESL Coworkers.

]]> http://matadorabroad.com/5-essential-online-resources-for-finding-esl-jobs/feed/ 12 http://matadorabroad.com/meet-your-esl-coworkers/ http://matadorabroad.com/meet-your-esl-coworkers/#comments Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:33:04 +0000 Anne Merritt http://matadorabroad.com/?p=1583

Feature Photo: rapphorstPhoto: kafka4prez

Many ESL teachers are lovely, open-minded, hardworking people…but of course, those aren’t the characters you write home about.

The ones who stick in your mind are the ones who exist far on the outskirts of social and psychological norms. Below are profiles of some typical characters that you’ll meet in the teacher’s room of an overseas language school.

*Note that gender pronouns were assigned randomly; dubious characters of both genders exist.

The Peter Pan

Wow, this guy sure likes to drink. And chain-smoke. And tell proud stories of blacking out and waking up on a park bench wearing someone else’s blazer. He’s been out of university for a long long time, but still has a keen Animal House interest in raucous nights out.

Photo: wolfgangkuhnle

He doesn’t mind being a decade or two older than his drinking buddies, and won’t think twice about telling a non-imbibing twenty-something that they need to “loosen up already.”

He can’t speak much of the local language, but has picked up enough vulgarities to out-curse a sailor. Likewise, his students always seem to pick up English vocabulary much more colorful than the textbook dictates.

The Immersed

This specimen may not talk much at work, but once her cellphone rings, she’s chattering away in the local language to one of her many friends. Sure, she’s only been here for five months, but she can tell you everything about your neighbourhood, the national education system, and linguistic idioms unique to the region.

That is, if she wanted to. Instead, she smiles politely and walks away when you and other newcomers make broad, simple observations about the country (“they really honour the elderly here, huh?”).

Photo: yorj

It’s not clear where she found this pack of local friends, but together they hang out at non-expat bars playing local card games that you couldn’t follow if you tried.

The Luster

Everybody lusts and there’s nothing wrong with it. What makes this guy stand out is his unbridled need to discuss it so candidly with his colleagues.

This person fetishizes the exoticism of the local people, be it burkas on women or Buddhist chest tattoos on men. The object of desire could be a shop worker, pedestrian on the street, or (ick!) a teenage student in his class. They all get a big indiscreet leer.

Photo: <"http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinkmoose/">pink moose

The curious thing about this character is that, while it’s the foreignness of these women that floats his boat, he has little patience when these lady-friends obey parental curfews, refuse to hold hands in public, or behave in other non-Western manners typical of their culture.

The Child of the World

This woman has taught in eight countries on three continents, and her character is a strange cocktail of worldliness and naivete. She owns property in Bucharest and Tangiers, but doesn’t know how to drive and has never heard of Conan O’Brien.

She’s pretty good at chatting with new friends on a superficial level, but because of her transient lifestyle, deeper connections aren’t her thing. Her wardrobe will include Thai fisherman pants, Peruvian amulets, Korean eyeglasses, and Finnish shoes.

Photo: houseofsims

So why is she a vagabond by choice? Sometimes it’s a great, complicated passion for travel. Sometimes she doesn’t seem that wild about travel at all, and will readily criticize any previous destinations.

If that’s the case, you’ll have quite the time trying to figure out what’s keeping her from her home country (jilted lover? arrest warrant? start sleuthing!)

The CV All-Star

This plucky young university grad studied art in Italy, spent a summer volunteering in Honduras, and has taken this overseas teaching job as a way to “get some more life experience” while he applies to grad schools for International Development.

Though new to the field of teaching, his energy and sexy-by-any-cultural-standard physique makes him an instant student favorite. While you play scratchy audio recordings to your class on a Cold War-era tape recorder, your plucky new colleague brings in his guitar and teaches a rousing lesson on Michael Franti’s song lyrics.

Yes, it’s hard not to roll your eyes a little at this newcomer and his apple-pie optimism, but you have to appreciate his enthusiasm.

Community Connection

About to delve into the wild world of ESL? Check out Matador’s list of the the 18 most scenic places to teach overseas. Already in the classroom, and have a student who’s shooting you googly eyes? Find out what to do when your student has a crush on you.. And see if your students show up in this list of usual suspects.

Feature Photo: torres21Photo: chloerae

So you’ve decided to go teach overseas, you’ve read up on different countries, and maybe you’ve even taken a TESL course.

Foreign TESL jobs can open the door to travel and adventure, but no matter how lovely the country may be, it’s the job that will make or break your experience. And arranging a job from halfway around the globe makes it tough to tell whether it’s quality or not.

Some teachers walk unknowingly into poorly-run schools and have to spend months struggling with few resources, crowded classrooms, and dodgy pay schedules. Others make the mistake of assuming workplace practices are similar to those in their home countries, and are then hit with cultural barriers when issues like overtime and sick days come up.

Below are five tips to help you ensure that the job you’re about to take is credible and (hopefully) hassle-free.

1. Go over the details.

Most contracts will cover the policies for vacation time, overtime pay, and grounds for dismissal; all good rules to know, especially in a foreign culture whose work ethic may differ from yours.

If you’re signing up with a larger chain of language schools, your contract might simply say that these important details are administered “as per the policies of [Language School X].” Before you sign, find out what those policies are, and get them in writing. This can mean the difference between two days and two weeks of vacation time in a 12-month contract.

2. Ask about resources.

There are nightmarish ESL stories floating around involving untrained teachers being chucked into a classroom with no book, no materials, and forty pairs of expectant eyes starting at them.

Photo: bionicteaching

Before you sign anything, ask about the materials used in your school. Public schools might have a set-in-stone curriculum, whereas private schools sometimes ask teachers to prepare all of their own lessons. A simple inquiry might save you the trouble of spending each day designing whole lesson plans from scratch.

3. Discuss the visa

Some schools will help you arrange a work visa in advance, while others will ask you to enter the country on a tourist visa and process the paperwork on their side. In the latter case, this can involve long unpaid days in bureaucratic waiting rooms, or “border runs” where you travel to a neighboring country and back in order to legitimize the new visa.

In any case, your employer should tell you what to expect in the visa process, whether the school will pay the fees, and how much work you might have to miss while this processing occurs.

4. Contact your predecessor.

Ask your potential employer if you can have the email address of the teacher whose job you’ll be filling. Write this teacher a simple inquiry about their experience, and why they’re leaving the position.

Photo: rivard

You’ll get a fellow foreigner’s perspective, and he/she can give you more general tips about living overseas, like what to pack or which Western items are rare/expensive in the place you’re interested in. Know that if you’re being hired by a new language school or through a recruitment agency, they might not have contacts to give you. If that’s the case…

5. Google

Try searching the name of the school online, and read the results with a grain of salt. There are discussion boards and forums aplenty in the ESL world, from Dave’s ESL Cafe to employer blacklist sites such as tefl blacklist.

Bear in mind a few things while you’re searching. First, people usually take to the message boards when they’re angry. For every teacher writing slanderous posts, there might be dozens of employees at the same school who are thrilled with their jobs, but keeping those thoughts off the Internet.

Second, try to get a sense of the person behind the complaints.

Photo: desheffer

A lot of people enter the ESL field with more interest in travel than in education. Of course they’ll have trouble with the jobs, as they would with any teaching position, because it’s not the job for them. Private message or email people and ask them what they search for in a position, and why they did or didn’t like their previous job.

An overseas teaching position is one of the best ways to get inside of another culture, but like any experience of cultural exchange, it can be tricky, complicated, and frustrating as well as exhilarating. Do your research beforehand to ensure you’ll be off to a smooth start in the classroom.

Community Connection

Hey, all you teachers out there! Help those who’re thinking of making the plunge into teaching navigate the labyrinth of possibilities! Sound off about your experiences with different schools, contracts, and countries.

Thinking about teaching in Asia? Check out Matador’s guide to teaching in China, Korea or Japan.

If you’re just beginning to explore the thought of heading abroad to teach, look over these 8 hidden benefits of teaching English abroad to motivate yourself.

Photo by foundphotoslj_____Feature photo by AussieGall

Most of us can admit to having had a crush, at least once in our lives, on a teacher or coach.

Maybe it was Miss Evans, the 22-year-old first grade teacher with bubble gum breath, shiny red toenails and an endless stash of Hershey’s kisses. Or Mr. Singleton, the cute writing professor who canceled Wednesday classes for happy hour and laughed at all your jokes.

Teacher crushes are perfectly natural, and usually harmless, but they can be tricky to deal with when you’re the object of affection—especially for English teachers abroad.

ESL teachers are often the target of student crushes. Here’s why:

• Language teachers, in general, tend to inspire a more friendly or intimate learning environment than those covering other academic subjects.

This sense of intimacy can increase exponentially between students and teachers from different countries, and especially in the tutorial setting of one-on-one instruction.

• For students who’ve had little or no contact with teachers from other countries or cultures, English class offers a unique opportunity. A natural dose of curiosity has the tendency to deepen into a crush.

Photo by tonythemisfit

Western teachers, in general, also tend to have a more open and relaxed attitude towards their students than native teachers.

• Physical communication plays a large role in language classes. Both parties rely on communicating physically – through body language, exaggerated gestures and silly mimes, which often result in giggles and relaxed social barriers.

If you begin to notice the telltale signs of amorous intrigue consider trying one of the following tactics.

The following tips offer basic and practical tactics for defusing teacher/student crushes or avoiding them altogether.

1. Try a different position

What are your student’s cultural expectations for how close, or far apart, you sit during lessons?

Sitting side by side might strike you as the most practical arrangement for one-on-one instruction but it’s sometimes best to sit across from each other at the table, where it’s less likely you’ll brush hands or knock knees while reaching for the dictionary.

2. Don’t sink with the Titanic

Discussing movies, TV shows and celebrities are a great way to get your student talking, but romantic themes are best avoided.

This includes thinking carefully before analyzing Rose’s relationship in Titanic or naming your favorite character from Sex and the City.

Looks like Leo? Photo by bdfsb

As much as your student might make you feel like you’re a celebrity yourself, it’s definitely time to sink the Titanic when your student starts insisting you’re more handsome than Leonardo DiCaprio.

3. Avoid the Language of Love

English corners, or “free talk,” can be a great way to ensure student participation, but they can also, if not properly guided, lead to embarrassing comments or awkward confessions.

If the conversation runs astray, bust out a grammar lesson. Grammar is seldom sexy, unless you’re conjugating suggestive verbs, which have no place in the classroom anyway.

4. Location, Location, Location

Where are you meeting for lessons?

The cozy coffee shop you’ve chosen for its good music and comfy couches might seem like a perfect venue for an English lesson, but a student who associates cafes with Hollywood love scenes might view the setting differently.

Chinese McDonalds photo by sly06

Likewise, you might not associate McDonald’s with romance, but your small-town Chinese student might mistake your appointment as a McDate.

5. Watch Your Mouth

Admit it: it’s good fun to say swear words, slang and potty talk in another language.

Students of all ages delight in learning the colloquialisms of “insiders.”

There’s a certain high and sense of empowerment in cursing out a Beijing taxi driver in Mandarin, even if you can’t direct him back to your hostel.

Yet it’s best to filter what types of phrases you choose to share with your students. Teaching a bunch of 5-year-old’s to say “fart” might seem innocuous, yet you’re removing an important layer of student to teacher respect when you enter the realm of the silly or profane.

The same goes for teaching older students words like flirt, date or even French kiss. You never know when your student will decide it’s time to practice.

Of course other common approaches include canceling a few one-on-one lessons, bringing along a friend or making it clear to your student that you’re married, in a relationship or committed to someone back home.

If all else fails, suggest another teacher for your student.

Sometimes that extra cash just isn’t worth it.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION!

If you’re thinking about teaching English abroad, then you’ve come to the right place. Check out these useful articles:

How To Get A Job Teaching In Japan

Is The JET Program Right For You?

Teaching English In China

10 Online Resources For Finding A Job In Asia

Student by foundphotoslj. Feature photo by Okko Pokko

There’s the guy who’s really interested in grammar and can’t stop asking you why the present perfect form of run is irregular.

He pores over his book every night and could present a thesis on the use of adverbs of frequency, but if he actually needs to bust out a comprehensible sentence in casual conversation, he’s floored.

There are the two or three middle-aged workers who’ve randomly decided they should learn English, gotten really pumped about it during the first week, and then promptly grown bored.

Now they recite new vocabulary words as if they were heavy rocks dropping with a thud.

There are the keen university students who want it, need it, soak it up with the desperation of a man trying every trick he knows to get the woman he wants.

They grapple with the language, play with it, try to please it and alter it a bit to suit their needs. They could use more practice, but they’ve got skillz in place for the moment when they actually meet a foreigner.

And then there are the rare students who soak up language like the proverbial sponge, who will always have a four-year old’s capacity for absorbing new vocabulary and grammatical structures.

There are, of course, many more types of language learners.

Which one are you?

Seoul by TylerDurden1. Feature photo by Stinkie Pinkie

Make that liberal arts degree finally work for you! Come join the best and brightest of a generation and teach English in South Korea!

All you need is a college degree, a passport from a first-world English speaking country, the willingness to adapt to a foreign culture.. and a pulse.

Pusan monks by Ryuugakusei

In this time of economic uncertainty, teaching English as a second language abroad has suddenly become an attractive career option, or at least something to do while waiting for a dream job to materialize.

And what better place to teach ESL than South Korea – “The Land of the Morning Calm” – which is one of Asia’s strongest economies?

Koreans are crazy about learning English. They recognize that it’s the only way to economically move their country forward. And they’re willing to pay top dollar – or won – to learn.

The salaries, along with the relatively low cost of living, make Korea one of the most attractive options for teaching in Asia.

But before learning to like kimchi and jumping on that next plane to Seoul, take a look at the three main types of teaching jobs that are available to foreigners over here:

Teaching by Kai Hendry

1. Hakwons

Hakwon is the Korean word for “academy.”

You can’t throw a soju bottle without hitting a language hakwon in this country, and it’s likely the first place you’ll end up teaching.

English Hakwons mainly cater to kindergartners and elementary kids, though there are also some for adults.

The hours can be long and the erratic changes in curriculum maddening, but they’ll pay for your round trip airfare to and from your country, provide you with an apartment, and give you a contract completion bonus equal to one-month’s pay.

It’s not uncommon for someone to sock away between $10,000 and $20,000 (USD) after a one-year stint at a hakwon – perfect for paying off your student loans or financing a backpacking trip around the world.

Just know this: Hakwon’s are businesses first and educational institutes second.

The academy directors will always have their eyes on the bottom line. Start losing too many students or garnering complaints from the notoriously fickle mothers, and it could mean the end of your job.

Also, like Korean barbecue restaurants, the quality of these academies varies immensely.

Some hagwons have modern facilities and provide you with a nice, new apartment, while others are dilapidated, lacking heat and/or air conditioning.

The apartment provided by bad schools is invariably as small and nasty as the school itself.

Beware of sketchy hagwon directors!

The majority of teachers have a decent experience working in hagwons, but there are some greedy, psychotic, and downright evil directors operating on the peninsula.

Horror stories abound of teachers being paid late or not being paid at all, having to live in roach-infested hovels, being cheated out of bonuses or airfare – generally being shat upon and jerked around.

Just know that in this case Korean law IS on your side, but the best thing to do is to check out your school before you sign the contract. Talk to other teachers and read any feedback you can find on the net.

2. Public Schools

In recent years there has been a big push to place native speakers in the Korean public school system, mainly through what’s called EPIK (English Program in Korea).

Public school gigs are definitely a step up from hagwons. The hours are better, the pay’s decent, and you are usually guaranteed at least two weeks paid vacation per year, though this often translates into much more.

EPIK also gives you a housing allowance and end-of-contract bonus. There is the opportunity (or requirement, often) to work “camps” over the schools’ winter and summer vacation periods.

These are intensive English courses, for which you are paid extra, of course. It’s a good way to pad your salary.

Korean market by Giladr

Beware of boredom!

Many public schools require you to come into the office all day during their vacation periods, whether you have classes or not.

Consider this paid time to hone your writing skills or delve deeper into the raging hell mouth that is facebook.

3. Universities and Colleges

These are the holy grails of Korean ESL gigs, and also the most difficult to get.

Generally, universities want at least three solid years of English teaching experience, or both a masters degree and experience.

Jobs are often landed through reference: like the rest of the world, it’s not necessarily what you know, it’s who you know.

Universities generally like new hires to be ushered in by someone they already trust.

Why all the fuss?

University jobs usually require about 12 hours of classes each week, and provide you with at least 2 months of paid vacation a year, the dream job of a habitual traveler.

Some schools give you 3 or 4 months of vacation time. There are also plenty of opportunities to pick up extra classes which, of course, translate into more money.

Beware of complacency!

Aside from the fact that some universities don’t give you an end-of-contract bonus, you’ll find yourself so spoiled by the job conditions that the thought of returning home and actually having to work for a living might make you want to remove your own eyes with a spoon.

4. Privates

Many teachers earn a lot of extra money teaching private lessons to Koreans in their homes or by moonlighting at other schools.

Know that this practice is strictly illegal. In Korea, you are only allowed to work at the school that sponsors your visa.

If caught, you will be fined and possibly deported, though this doesn’t stop many teachers from dipping into this huge well of cash.

The best way to find any of the jobs described above is to contact a recruiter.

Good luck, and as the Koreans say: Fighting!

Teaching ESL Job Resources In South Korea

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ESL Recruiters List

Dave’s ESL Cafe

Pusan Web

COMMUNITY CONNECTION!

If you’re interested in teaching English in Asia, here are some Matador articles to check out:

How To Get A Job Teaching In Japan

Is The JET Program Right For You?

Teaching English In China

10 Online Resources For Finding A Job In Asia

Lajpat Nagar by Wili_hybrid

For ages, India has been viewed as a symbol of the mystical and exotic East.

Dismissing India as a cliche runs the serious risk of placing India in a timeless zone outside of the real world, which is increasingly modern and complex.

India is a vast and rapidly developing country with twenty-eight different states and seven union territories. India hosts a great many languages, religions and cultures, which coexist and intermingle.

Delhi sunset by Wili_hybrid

The real India is hardly the random (yet homogenous) assortment of the Taj Mahal, call centers, poor people and veiled women you might expect.

The India you’ll actually encounter is a lot more diverse and complicated than that. Things are changing in India at a frenetic pace, especially in the big cities.

Hopefully, these tips will give you a better understanding of what to expect when you travel to India.

Sacred cow by Wili_hybrid

Temple Etiquette

Always take your shoes off before you enter a place of worship in India, and do not wear revealing clothes.

Travelers in India are often tempted to wear shorts, but it’s crucial to keep your shoulders and the lower part of your body covered when visiting a site of religious importance.

As the land where four major religions originated, and many others arrived and never left, many Indian people take their religion very, very seriously.

If you are interested in exploring their religious sites – many of which can be of immense historical and archeological importance – please respect religious sentiments even if you are not a believer.

Street scene by Wili_hybrid

Prepare to be OVERWHEMED!!!

India carries the burden of three centuries of British imperialism, along with the weight of its own often reworked and redefined history.

Destinations

Community Connection to India

The two make a very postmodern combination. The complications and contradictions of India’s political realities will stun the first time foreign visitor.

You’ll encounter huge, swanky shopping malls very close to massive slum settlements that reek of utmost poverty.

Many visitors who stay in India leave with a sense of accomplishment, after having survived the initial overpowering shock.

And rest assured: it is a shock to learn what it means to live in India (as over a billion of us do).

Public Displays Of Affection

The beautiful lagoons of Kerala or the beauty of the Taj Mahal might make you want to sidle up to your partner and give them a quick hug and kiss, but think twice before doing that in public.

Even though you might catch young couple canoodling in public parks, it’s best not to perform public displays of affection in India.

Sexuality and Women Travelers

White women traveling in India may feel very vulnerable and exposed to some of the Indian men that they might encounter.

Due to some cultural constructs, and also a great deal of curiosity, Indian men might have formed certain false notions of the sexual availability of the foreign woman.

I am not saying that every other Indian guy you meet will be a pervert, but street sexual harassment is a phenomenon that is unfortunately widespread in the country.

You might fall prey to this due to your increased conspicuousness. It’s best to dress conservatively and keep yourself safe at all times.

Don’t forget the basic safety rules you’ve learned in your own country, and also observe the way the local women dress and behave as an example.

Hands and Feet

Hand by Meanest Indian

There’s a whole hierarchy of the body parts in Hinduism. The head is superior to the rest of the body, and the feet are lowest on the rung.

Feet are considered dirty in India, so take off your shoes before you step into someone’s house. Don’t step on anything important and if you do, immediately express your apologies.

It’s a sign of deference to bend down and touch a respected elder’s feet in India.

The left hand is customarily used for cleaning oneself after defecation, so Indian people never eat with their left hands. Also remember never to pass on anything – money or a gift – to an Indian with your left hand. The most conservative Indians might take offense.

Questions and Eyes

Bow Down by Koshyk

What might be considered intrusive in many Western cultures is only a matter of course in India. Also, people will generally be very curious about foreign visitors, and this can take the form of unabashed staring.

There’s a lack of privacy among the teeming millions of India, and the concept of personal space as you know it might not exist.

Try not to take it too personally if people on the street seem to be staring at you all the time, and if Indian acquaintances and friends ask you questions that you think are none of their business.

Most of the time, it’s just friendly curiosity, and if you smile at a staring stranger, many times you will get an amicable smile back. However, never sacrifice safety for the sake of politeness. This is especially true for women travelers.

You’ll Be Hounded

You might be seen as a rich foreigner thanks to the exchange rate, and many times you’ll be followed around by beggars, beckoned into shops by over-eager store keepers, and hailed by expectant taxi drivers.

Make sure your local friends tell you what the standard rates are, because if you’re looking to do some great shopping or have a comfortable public transport experience, you need to be in the know.

Holi festival by faceme

Indian Festivals

With so many religions and cultures, you will come across fairs, celebrations and merrymaking of all kinds.

Whether it is the shimmering lights of Diwali, the colors of Holi, the extravaganza of Durga Puja, Navaratri, Onam, Dusshera, Id Ul Fitr and Christmas, you’ll encounter indigenous customs, amazing Indian cuisine and total festive abandonment.

We Are Like This Only

English is widely used throughout the Indian subcontinent, and is the “co-official” language of the country. Indian English has a distinct flavor and inflection that differs as you travel around different parts of the country.

Official Indian English often uses many phrases that are passé in the West, so don’t be surprised if you’re doing some paper-work and someone asks you to “do the needful”.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION:

Other excellent articles by Shreya Sanghani include:

Photo by Wili_hybrid

Calcutta Nights: A Guide To Live Music and Discos

India’s Pink Chaddi Campaign

India’s Up And Coming Rock Scene

Also be sure to read Can You Develop Your Spirituality Without Visiting India? by Matador’s resident yogi, Christine.

Namaste!

Corporate rule? Izaak Hane

Maybe to experience another culture. Maybe to do some traveling. Maybe for work.

Maybe to escape the hordes of morons in this country who don’t know anything about the world, and yet insist on characterizing it as bug-infested, crime-ridden and moments away from a coup.

You all can slave away the rest of your lives to afford your poorly made, vinyl-sided house in a featureless subdivision, fighting it out with everyone else to prove how much you have and just how good of a consumer you are.

Buy Humans Buy! sf slim

I’ll be sitting on my porch with my feet up, a drink in hand, listening to the sounds of nature and enjoying the simple life.

I’d love this country if it weren’t populated with total idiots…

COMMUNITY CONNECTION:

This post was a comment in response to the article What Can $150k Buy In Real Estate Around The World.

Do you agree with the author?

Do you think his aggressive, insulting tone is unhelpful regardless of the quality of his arguments?

Please leave a comment below!

JET is a Japanese government program that places English speaking foreigners in public schools throughout Japan, primarily in rural and suburban areas. The purpose of the program encompasses cultural exchange along with language instruction. The department that sponsors JET wants to expose ordinary Japanese citizens to foreigners while also encouraging foreigners to learn first-hand about Japanese culture.

Since actual teaching is only part of the job description, you don’t need teaching experience or certification to qualify for JET. You don’t need to speak any Japanese either. Indeed, for recent college graduates who find themselves with dim job prospects, student loans and a semi-useless liberal arts degree, JET can be an absolute lifesaver.

How To Apply

You must apply for JET in your home country. The first step is a paper application. If you don’t screw that up, you’ll be scheduled for an interview at the nearest Japanese consulate.

Dress as well as you can for the interview. You should look and act like a young Republican. Come prepared to demonstrate three things: emotional stability, an interest in learning about Japan and basic teaching ability. Be sure to have a 5 minute lesson plan ready to deliver.

If all goes well, you’ll get a letter of acceptance followed by a specific assignment to a school system somewhere in Japan.

photo by Abram

Payment and Responsibilities

JET pays well, especially when the yen is strong against the dollar. You’ll make the equivalent of about $35,000 per year. Rent is often free or subsidized, and since most JET placements are in the countryside, your overall cost of living will be quite low.

Job responsibilities vary, but are rarely more demanding than 25 hours of team-taught lessons per week. Your main job is to be a good guest – show up on time, be appreciative and stay out of trouble. For ambitious personalities JET can be boring, but if you just want to enjoy Japan with lots of free time and minimal responsibilities, it’s absolutely perfect. The Japanese are warm, welcoming and generous to foreigners.

JET requires a one-year contractual commitment, with the option to re-contract for one or two additional years. Many JET participants use the money to pay off student loans or travel in other parts of Asia; some fall in love with either Japan or a Japanese person and stay on. Some people can’t take the culture shock, waste the year drinking and then hightail it back home.

JET won’t be the best job you ever have, or a life-long career, but for young people who want to make some money and experience a foreign culture, it’s a great opportunity.

For more information:

Jet Program Official Site

Big Daikon

How To Get A Job Teaching In Japan

But this–my third year of teaching in China spread across three different cities–has taught me how to make some extra yuan and have some unexpected fun while teaching English.

My biggest hurdle to maneuvering while moonlighting was knowing what to avoid. Here’s what I’ve learned:

1. Don’t underestimate relationships.

Guanxi, or relationships–all-important in Chinese culture–held the key to every extra job I got. One Chinese friend laughed, “Westerners end with a contract. We start with a contract, then throw it away.”

A Chinese co-teacher who needed my help editing her Master’s thesis didn’t have time to teach kids in downtown Xian. (My editing was a freebie, but she took me biking around Xian’s ancient wall and her boyfriend accessed some English movies, both priceless gifts.)

She took me to Perfect English School’s owner, and I soon had an interesting weekend job for a semester. They paid me well and lavished me with roses!

In 2006, I biked past an attractive kindergarten gate as the headmistress walked out. We exchanged cards and began e-mailing. As we corresponded, she began adding, “Your friend” and “Miss you.” Two years later, she asked me to tutor her bright daughter.

I agreed out of friendship, not sure she would pay me beyond an occasional, customary Chinese dinner out. To my surprise, she paid monthly and became my highest-paying client.

Photo by peiqianlong

2. Don’t reject surprises.

On the commute to my first day at university, I met a fellow teacher who insisted I teach for her. I told her I should ask my English department; she said, “Shhh” and “It will be OK.” I later learned that she was moonlighting at my school three mornings a week, though she was the head of English in her school.

I visited her university class, was immediately introduced as their laoshi, and was handed a tourism text. I thought, “Oh well…” and launched into a pronunciation lesson.

Over two semesters, the classroom monitor, a stellar student and wonderful helper, facilitated great PowerPoint presentations that prepared me for travel to Guilin, Dali, the Great Wall, Harbin, Hainan and the Terra Cotta Warriors, and the Yangtze River.

3. Don’t ask, don’t tell.

My boss, head of a college foreign language office, charged me with a challenging assignment: a professional woman representing a Third World health organization needed help writing and speaking. I confronted him, “What about my contract that says I will not work outside the college?”

He answered softly, “It is a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy. You may negotiate your own fee with her.”

We not only spruced up her presentations for India and Mexico; she introduced me to dog meat hot pot, an experience I wouldn’t have entrusted to many Chinese friends.

Photo by A. www.viajar24h.com

4. Don’t make quick judgments.

A French neighbor and his Chinese wife invited me for an evening’s chat. I met Tom, who wanted to study English before going to an Australian university. He “knew 3,000 English words, but couldn’t use them” and thought my tutorial price too high.

We talked as he walked me home. I learned that he didn’t own a car (unusual for a governmental official), was quite concerned about the environment, and seemed genuinely sorry he couldn’t afford tutoring.

Six phone calls and three meetings later, he brought several friends who studied two hours daily in my home for three weeks. We met early afternoons, during the time when most of China sleeps.

They paid me “whether they came or not, because a promise is a promise,” something I hadn’t often experienced while tutoring in the United States. I found them as excited as small children about a Christmas gift exchange, our sole half-hour departure from debates and formal writing exercises.

Staying open to surprises, cultivating relationships, and keeping mum when tempted to make quick judgments added a new dimension to my experiences teaching English in China. I learned to state flexible limits clearly up front, value friendship over business negotiations, and expect the unexpected.

Photo by bfick

A Few More Moonlighting Tips for Expat Teachers and Tutors Working in China

• You represent your country as well as all foreigners in the eyes of the Chinese. Plan lessons well. Take cues from what students want to learn, review often, and respond promptly. Tie a practical, doable assignment to each lesson, and check at the next meeting to acknowledge how it was done.
• Decide on a price-per-hour comfortable for you. Also, decide how flexible you will be in negotiations ahead of time. Ask the going rate in your city and be realistic, basing your fee on your educational level and teaching skills. Chinese usually pay only for face-to-face hours, not for travel or preparation time.
• If you must cancel, do so well in advance and get feedback about the new meeting time and place to avoid misunderstandings.
• Avoid over-extending yourself by spacing between tutoring or moonlighting classes and your contract job. If word gets around that you are a great teacher, you may have to turn down some jobs for health and sanity’s sake!
• Above all, have fun and celebrate your students’ successes.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Want to try a little language-learning role reversal? Give How to Learn Chinese: Student Versus Teacher a read, and for more on the TESL experience, check out the 8 Hidden Benefits of Teaching English Abroad.

Photo by prufrock27.

1. It’s cheap

Thailand offers the cheapest reputable TEFL courses in Asia and some of the cheapest in the world. English schools in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea send their teachers here for training in order to save money.

Not only are the courses inexpensive, but the cost of living is also lower than in most countries. You can eat a meal for $1, and a decent studio apartment will run you $50 – $200 per month (depending on your location).

2. The Schools are high-quality.

While Thailand has its fair share of scams, it also has lots of internationally recognized certificate programs. You can take a Cambridge-certified CELTA course at IH Bangkok or href="http://www.eccthai.com/">ECC in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket.

The AUA, in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, offers a TESOL certificate backed by an American university. Chiang Mai University also offers an excellent TEFL program. All of these programs are carefully regulated by the university that gives the certificate, so trainers, course material, and trainees must adhere to high standards.

3. There are various jobs available.

Thailand has a huge demand for native English speakers. The bad news is that many language schools will hire just about anyone, and these schools tend to treat their teachers poorly.

The good news is that now that you’re certified you are a step ahead, and pretty much guaranteed a job at “entry-level” schools. Even better, you are also qualified to apply for more desirable jobs at high-quality language schools and public or private normal curriculum schools.

4. There’s a substantial expat community.

There are thousands of foreigners living in Thailand, so the country is well-prepared to host expats. You will find lots of resources and groups to help you settle in, making it easier to find an apartment, meet fellow expats, and find Western food when you’re craving a taste of home.

5. It’s a Low-Stress Environment

Thailand’s educational culture is based on “sanook,” or fun. In learning and in teaching, fun and games are essential – you won’t find yourself lecturing from Advanced Grammar for the English Learner. The whole country runs on “Thai time,” which means pretty much means “It’ll happen when it happens.” If schedules and timelines are your thing, go to Japan, but if you’re looking to relax, Thailand is the optimal environment.

Photo by prufrock27.

6. It’s Thailand!

Beautiful terrain, pristine villages, tropical weather – who wouldn’t want to go to Thailand? Instead of just visiting, get a deeper experience by studying or even settling down here!

Community Connection:

Ajarn.com is the standard resource for ESL teachers in Thailand. Check here for TEFL courses, teaching jobs and other information about living in Thailand.

StudyAbroadLinks.com lists TEFL programs in Thailand.

Thaivisa.com gives lots of information for foreigners living in Thailand – specifically about visas, but their forums and classifieds have lots other information.

If that isn’t reason enough to look into ESL work, here are eight hidden benefits to teaching English abroad.

1. The training is painless.

A TESL certificate can be attained through a 100 hour course, and most schools offer evening/weekend sessions or online courses. The fees start at about $500 USD, and many schools have services to help with the job hunt.

If you have some extra cash and want to start your travels immediately, larger ESL schools offer four week TESL training in exotic locations around Europe, Southeast Asia, or Central and South America.

2. You can be a student in your own classroom.

Regardless of age, the students you teach will be excited to see a foreigner take an interest in their culture. Most will gladly offer tips about local foods to eat, places to see, and things to try.

Young students can teach you a lot about pop culture or local slang, and simple conversations will give you insight into their family lives and customs. For just one example, check out Matador member Teresita’s blog, I Heart Our Global Pop Culture Icons.

Photo of Iraqi student by Army.mil

3. A year is a long time…

…to experience a whole calendar’s worth of festivals, holidays, cultural events, and seasonal foods. You’ll get much more insight than a single trip. Also, worldwide holidays like Chinese New Year or Christmas are a bit different in every country. You’ll get to experience a unique version of a familiar holiday.

4. It’s a crash course in cultural sensitivity.

Most expats reach the “Their society makes ZERO sense to me!” phase at some point. It’s a normal step in one’s adjustment to a new culture. Getting past this phase of culture shock means opening your mind to new and unfamiliar things. Whether the traffic laws are driving you crazy, or new acquaintances ask questions that seem invasive to you, be patient.

Photo of Korean students by watchsmart

You’ll come to appreciate the ways in which this foreign culture operates. Most often, you’ll note customs that strike you as far more practical than those in your native country.

5. You’ll get an instant network of local acquaintances.

Whether you’re teaching in a language centre or public school, you’ll be amongst colleagues who speak English. Regardless of their level of expertise, they’ll likely be keen to practice their English conversation skills with you. Not only will you have new friends, but your coworkers can help you navigate the area and its customs better than any guidebook.

6. You’ll be tapping into an excellent grapevine.

A lot of good ESL jobs, and general travel tips, are accumulated by word of mouth. By meeting other ESL teachers, you can get advice about new destinations or jobs from people who have been there, lived that.

Whether you wonder which South American country has the fewest work visa hassles, or you’re curious about how rainy Vietnam’s rainy season really is, other teacher-travelers can help.

Photo by dcJohn

7. Travel is simple with a great home base.

If you’re based in Thailand, you can visit Cambodia or Laos for under $50 USD. If you’re teaching in a European country and you’re close to an airport, a weekend in Prague or Berlin is a cheap RyanAir flight away. Once you’re set up in a foreign country, the journey to other exotic locales becomes much, much easier.

8. It’s a resume-booster, even if you don’t want to teach long-term.

You might worry that this job will look like a blip on your resume. Even if your teaching experience consisted of sing-alongs and barnyard animal flashcards, don’t underestimate the skills you developed along the way. Communicating across cultural barriers, using leadership skills to conduct classes, and picking up a new language (even just conversationally) are great assets.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Lots of Matador members are either teaching abroad now or have past ESL experience. Whether you want to teach in Istanbul or http://matadorabroad.com/?p=50 According to Chinese legend, Type O blood gave me a need for adventure.

I retired to a Montana cabin in 2004, wondering if I’d find contentment blogging from my deck between travels. China topped my to-tour list.

Then, opportunity e-mailed: A recruiter needed English teachers in historic Xian.

After months of questioning and waiting, I found myself in a city of six million, a few hours from the Terra Cotta Warriors, facing university sophomores.

Adjustment wasn’t always easy. I could have benefited from employment guides like Teach Abroad China.

Hindsight allows me to share these tips with you:

Shed Your Worries

I fretted about mastering the language, but learned the words for thank you, hello, and bye. I couldn’t master tones and visual characters. Free Chinese lessons, offered with every contract, never materialized. I recorded pinyin (phonetic spelling) on a handy cheat sheet.

My fears about not speaking Chinese dissolved; anyone with a college degree was a “foreign language expert.” I moved from adjustment to acceptance, often feeling strange.

Language wasn’t my only worry upon arriving.

I’d practiced yoga squats before arriving, knowing only hotels boasted sit-down toilets and toilet paper. No worries! Tissues were cheap, and W.C. experiences became comfortable.

Some milk of magnesia before meals helped tummy transitions to spicy foods. I avoided street food, bought sealed bottled water, took vitamins and calcium.

I biked, walked China’s graceful parks (lovely, safe), joined sunrise Tai Chi (free, everywhere), and ran for buses (one yuan, anywhere). Fresh produce, fruits, rice, and noodles unexpectedly melted unwanted pounds.

Destinations

Community Connection to China

Drop Your Preconceptions

I learned to accept that set expectations would change.

I learned to look both ways and cross streets. I began taking aimless weekends, and biked on cobblestones around city walls.

I found out about my vacation time the day it began; however, serendipitously, travel tickets usually went on sale a day before departures.

I wore a mask during heavy pollution to follow Xian’s love affair with eleven dynasties. My favorites were the Shaanxi Historical Museum (teacher discounts) and Big Wild Goose Pagoda’s Fountain Show (free).

I accepted a last-minute weekend invitation to a mountain village, with four generations in one concrete room. My gifts (pens, postcards, stamps, stickers) were left quietly, Chinese-style, on a table. Delighted kids discovered them.

Why did the family disappear one at a time all day? The mystery was resolved at bedtime. They walked me to my hotel room, where each one had taken a luxurious shower!

Examine Your Attitudes

I further relaxed in 2007, teaching laid back Forestry College students in “Spring City,” Kunming City.

Foreigners had their own street, coffee, pizza,and English newspapers. I lapsed into speaking English, taking cabs, and eating Western food.

My students, annoyingly, arrived halfway through class. At break, they apologized for missing English for a “boring Party meeting, but it is necessary.”

I learned patience and dropped movie-based notions about political fervor.

I’d expected different standards of cleanliness, noise, quality, and promptness, but not the extremes I found.

The Chinese, meticulous about clothing, seldom noticed dirt elsewhere. They shouted into cellphones, bought another when something broke, and showed up hours early/late for appointments.

Understanding this lessened my judgments.

Watching my Chinese neighbors, I learned how attitudes were cultural two-sided coins.

Stepping over the ubiquitous trash, I realized that litter provided street sweepers with daily jobs. I set aside recyclables for rubbish collectors to sell. Tired of photographing bare-bottomed babies in split pants, I researched potty training. Toddlers left to play naturally took care of business by watering a bush, requiring no help.

I found out that grandparents, continually holding kids, whistled when babies urinate. Chinese doctors asked why Westerners don’t whistle to obtain samples during medical check ups. I considered America’s disposable diapers and psychology books.

Balancing yin and yang became more fun than one-sided superior attitudes.

Expand Your Boundaries

Occasionally, I retreated to my apartment to enjoy music, books traded among English readers, and my Western link. Mostly, I ate hot pot, learned mah jong, visited temples, and answered the same questions repeatedly at English Corners: “Where you from? You like China? The food?”

In 2008, I deepened a lifelong interest in children, trading college phrases for kindergarten enthusiasm.

I moved to Hainan Island’s “End of the Earth,” South China Sea. Chinese teachers biked with me to Sanya Beach, cooked vegetables from our school garden, and learned American songs and games.

In spite of wearing a moneybelt and my backpack in front on crowded buses, I was robbed in paradise. A bag was grabbed from my bike basket while I snapped pictures nearby. I found that some Chinese, while honest to the point of returning tips, simply helped themselves to anything left unattended.

Vigilance about valuables, creaky knees, and frayed nerves restored with noontime naps. My senses came alive. Hearing my name yelled across playground became my music.

Each stint in China imprinted rich memories: sunrises on mountaintops, open exchange among lasting friendships, the sparkling taste of hotpot. Well past China’s employable age, I was asked back to each job.

I’ve already forgotten any regrets, wondering about 2010’s horizon.

Community Connection

Interested in visiting the Middle Kingdom? Check out Matador’s 8 Places to Experience Unspoiled China. And if you think teaching English could be for you, take a browse through our Teaching Abroad archive.

All photos courtesy of author.

1. Copan Ruinas, Honduras

Wake up for class to the sound of horses trotting on cobblestone roads and the aroma of freshly made tortillas. Copan Ruinas is home to mystical Mayan ruins, boasts vibrant local culture and is at the center of a growing eco-tourism movement in Honduras.

There are numerous opportunities in Copan Ruinas for both teachers and volunteers . Find paid vacancies in local villages or in the local bilingual school. Take field trips to the Bird Park in Copan Ruinas and explore the shade-grown coffee fincas.

Photo by cadampol

2. Antigua, Guatemala

Just 45 minutes from Guatemala City is the town of Antigua, Guatemala, with epic volcano views on the horizon. Enjoy classes outside, exploring the colorful 16th century architecture. Donate your time to teach for two months through a local education program and experience a meaningful cultural and linguistic exchange.

Photo by dsnet

3. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rio is a city with brown sugar beaches, bohemian neighborhoods and a pulsating nightlife that will leave you teaching phrasal verbs with sore feet from dancing samba. Rio is also an international hub for teaching English with multiple opportunities in language schools, along with volunteer opportunities in the favelas. When you’re not in the classroom, paraglide from Sugarloaf, play capoeira, and fall in love with Rio’s riotous rhythms.

Photo by armandolobos

4. Buenos Aires, Argentina

Work will always take a backseat to pure enjoyment in the modern city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Take advantage of the theatre, develop a taste for red wine and Argentine steaks and get caught up in the swirling nightlife of the most cosmopolitan city in South America. Why not learn the tango while you’re there?

Photo by formfaktor

Intag, Ecuador

Escape to the cloud forests of Intag, Ecuador, where you can teach as a volunteer in one of the greenest corners of the Andes mountain range.

Photo by sara_y_tzunki

Valparaiso, Chile

Teaching in the UNESCO World Heritage seaport city of Valparaiso, Chile is a dream job for many travelers. Find an apartment on the hillsides of Cerros Concepcion and Alegre, where you’ll have a sweeping view of the Pacific Ocean.

Photo by anarchitect

Athens, Greece

Island hop on the weekends, eat roast chicken drenched in olive oil in the shadows of the Parthenon and develop a taste for ouzo while teaching in the frontisteria of Athens, Greece.

Photo by ranopamas

Tuscany, Italy

Tuscany has a pleasingly laid-back rhythm of life. The rolling hills of the countryside will appeal to your artistic side and motivate you to write your Toscana novel while teaching English on the side.

Photo by juanillooo

Prague, Czech Republic

Meander through historic architecture dating back to the Middles Ages in Prague, Czech Republic. Living in the centre of Old Town in Praha is a close commute to many TEFL vacancies.

Photo by cuellar

Andalucia, Spain

Flamenco cuevas, free tapas and winter skiing in the Sierra Nevada makes Andalucia, Spain a tempting place to teach, especially for its laid-back siesta lifestyle.

Photo by josjos

Istanbul, Turkey

Hadi gel! There is never a shortage of jobs in Istanbul, Turkey. The culinary excellence and alluring districts of the city have already enchanted a number of expat teachers. Intrigued? Read “An English Teacher In Istanbul“.

Photo by will-ellis

Hainan-Dao, China

Freelance on the remote island of Hainan-Dao, China and have your next preposition lesson on a tropical beach, or high up in the Limuling mountain range.

Photo by will-ellis

Majuro, Marshall Islands

Majuro, Marshall Islands is a Micronesian getaway five hours from Hawaii, with plenty of local teaching opportunities and world-class scuba diving.

Photo by cmichel67

Zanzibar, Tanzania

Volunteer with young students on Tanzania’s paradise island of Zanzibar and teach vocabulary in the first National Jozani Forest and Bay Conservation.

Photo by paulwatson

Cape Town, South Africa

Teaching in Cape Town, South Africa’s cosmopolitan outdoor adventure playground, appeals to adrenaline junkies, tree huggers, and city slickers alike.

Photo by marionaubert

LINKS:

Teach in Guatemala

Volcanoes in Antigua

Language School in Brazil

Paraglide in Rio

Theatre in Buenos Aires

Work in Buenos Aires

Intag Cloud Forest

Volunteer in Ecuador

Teach in Chile

Valparaiso, Chile

Teach in Greece

Teach in Italy

TEFl in Prague

Ski in Spain

Teach in Turkey

Istanbul districts

Beaches in China

World Teach on the Marshall Islands

Support Schools in Zanibar

Table Mountain, Cape Town

Surf and Shark-dive in Cape Town

Teach in Cape Town, South Africa

Feature photo by lopesFamily. Photo above by amirjina.

Chances are, if you have a college degree and are reading this article, you are qualified to teach English in Japan. A degree in any field, English language fluency, and adaptability are the only qualifications many companies require.

Of course, a teaching certificate, a professional demeanor, and deep reserves of patience won’t hurt either. Because so many people possess the skill set required for teaching jobs in Japan, competition can be stiff. But if you know where to look and know what you’re looking for, your job search can be a success.

Who You’ll Work For

Photo by Alex Halavais.

First, you need to know what jobs are available. If you expect to walk off the plane and into a public high school classroom where you’ll plan your own lessons and develop your own curriculum, think again.

While this does happen, most entry-level jobs for foreigners are for assistant language teachers (or ALTs) at public schools or as conversation teachers at private companies.

There are one-stop programs that will place English speakers in public schools as ALTs, provide working visas, and often even pay for living expenses and transportation to Japan.

If you are looking for a tried and true program, check out JET (the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program), which is run by the Japanese government.

Applications are accepted once a year and the interview process is intensive. It is, however, worth it.

JET pays a decent living wage, provides a nationwide support network for ALTs, and takes care of all paperwork. An equally established, but privately held, ALT placement company is Interac.

Alternatively, many public and private day schools in Japan hire teachers and assistants directly. Look at the links section below to find places where these jobs might be listed.

Day school positions are ideal for those who are already residing in Japan and teachers with quite a bit of experience under their belt. Japanese speaking ability is also a big plus when applying directly with a school.

Then there’s the option of working at an English language conversation school, or eikaiwa. Eikaiwas are geared toward a wide range of students, from preschoolers to retirees.

These jobs are plentiful. Since most students at these schools have day jobs (or day classes), hours tend to be on evenings and weekends. With these positions, you are more likely to teach alone and be responsible for developing your own lesson plans.

For this reason, many companies require a teaching certificate of some kind before they’ll offer you an interview, so look into getting your TESOL or TEFL certification. Unless you go with a big corporation (and even then it’s a good idea), research the eikaiwa company you are applying with thoroughly. I will provide links to a few well-established ones in the next section.

Photo by MShades.

The Hunt

Ok. So you’ve decided on the kind of position you’re gunning for. Now where do you look?

Teaching sites: Check out these websites devoted to teaching English as a second language (ESL):

• www.daveseslcafe.com
• www.teachinginjapan.com
• www.japanenglishteacher.com

Japanese Media Sites: Many newspapers and magazines in Japan have up-to-date job listings. These are probably your best resource if you want to apply for a position directly rather than apply with a program like JET:

• Japan Times: http://classified.japantimes.com/job_search_en.php
• Metropolis Magazine: www.metropolis.co.jp
• Japanzine: www.seekjapan.jp

Eikaiwa Companies: Look for job openings and research companies directly through their websites:

• Aeon: www.aeonet.com
• Berlitz: http://careers.berlitz.com/Asia/jp/berlitz.asp?aInfo=1&cInfo=JP&cCode=44
• Geos: www.geoscareer.com
• ECC: www.japanbound.com

Photo by jrkester.

Know Before You Go

Accepting a teaching job in Japan is not the same as accepting a job in your home country. You have to think about visas and living arrangements thousands of miles away. You have to communicate with people in a foreign language and you have to leave life as you know it behind for the length of your contract term.

For a lot of people, it’s a thrilling prospect. Taking a teaching job in Japan is the chance of a lifetime to completely immerse yourself in a foreign culture. But make sure it’s right for you. Give it a good long think before hopping on a plane. Moving to and living in Japan is not easy for everyone. It wasn’t for me. It is rewarding and life-changing…but it’s not easy.

Ok, ok. You’re sure you want to do it. The next step is research.

Check with your country’s embassy and find out what the visa requirements are for working in Japan. Next, research the company or companies you are applying with. Search the internet for forums by and for English teachers in Japan. (There are more than you think, and users are nothing if not opinionated.) gaijinpot.com and ithinkimlost.com are solid sites.

I would also suggest boning up on Japanese culture. Research business practices and social customs. There are also a number of books available written by former teachers in Japan. Two books written by JET Program alumni are Learning to Bow by Bruce Feiler and Japan Diary: A Year on JET by Eric Sparling.

Photo by Andy Ciordia.

Better Your Chances

Now some tips on how to make your resume stand out when applying for an English teaching job.

• Get a teaching certificate. There are vacation TESOL courses in southern Thailand. There are online certification courses. There are weekend classes, and there are year-long intensive diploma courses. The options are plentiful for acquiring a teaching certificate. It not only makes you more marketable, but a teaching certificate course will prepare you for the day when you finally step into a classroom full of eager students.
• Learn Japanese. This is a no-brainer. If you’re moving to a foreign country– any foreign country– the more you know of that country’s language, the better. A move to Japan may seem easy and breezy after your vacation in Tokyo where English signs and English speakers abound. But once you take that job in a tiny rural town in Hokkaido, you’ll wish you had spent more time figuring out how to say “I’d like to turn on the electricity in my apartment, please.”
• Volunteer tutor. Give back to your community and build job skills at the same time. Volunteer at an after-school program to get a feel of how to work with students. Also, many cities offer opportunities to teach English as a second language to immigrants and refugees. Check out volunteermatch.org to see what is available in your area.

Photo by gwaar.

Finding a teaching job in Japan doesn’t have to be a daunting task …as long as you know what to look for. Remember to do your research and think it through. Good luck, and I’ll see you in school!

Community Connection: For more advice on looking for work in Asia, check out Mike Jones’s “Top 10 Online Resources for Finding a Job in Asia.”

Feature photo by mars-hill Photo above by mars-hill

ACLE has begun recruiting for English teaching positions in holiday camps around Italy. The season runs for twelve weeks starting in June.

ACLE have been running for over twenty-five years and were the first organisation in Italy running Theatre in Education programmes to be endorsed by the Italian Ministry of Education.

You do not need a teaching or TEFL qualification to work for ACLE, although they are an advantage. The company stresses an informal teaching approach with drama, games and interactivity foremost. Training is given in a four to five day preparatory camp near San Remo where you can share ideas with past tutors, understand the organisation’s vision and teaching methodology.

Photo by mars-hill

No arrival or departure costs are covered by ACLE. You must hold travel insurance and, in addition, pay for an in-house training/orientation camp before starting work with them.

Near the end of the season they often drop the orientation camp fee if they are in need of extra teachers. After starting teaching, transport within Italy is paid for and accommodation is arranged. This is either in a hotel or with host families: a real chance to immerse yourself in Italian life.

Salaries for new tutors are 220 euros a week for non-residential “City Camps” and 240 a week for residential “Summer Camps”. Returning tutors earn 20 euros more for each programme. Salaries are paid at the end of your contract, although you can request payments in advance.

Candidates must:

• Be a Native English speaker (distinct foreign accents are not acceptable). GENUINELY enjoy working with children.
• Be energetic, positive, flexible and know how to smile.
• Be aged between 20 and 30 by June 1st of the year in which you are applying (Please note you may still apply if your age is outside this range) or have completed a minimum of a year at university, college or experienced a gap year!
• Be in possession of a valid passport. If you are in the process of applying for your passport, please send in your
  application followed by a copy of your passport once you have obtained it.

To find out more or apply for a position with ACLE, visit their website.

Feature photo by akahodag. Mexico City, above. Photo by pulpolux

I was inspired to teach English after studying abroad in Mexico as an undergraduate. Learning a foreign language opened up my mind on so many levels that I wanted share the experience with others. Mexico, with its culture of hospitality, is one of the world’s most rewarding places to teach.

However, like most places in the developing world, it’s a challenge to earn a living.

Practical Info

Certification

Don’t be intimidated by all the acronyms for English teaching (TESOL/TEFL/TESL etc.) The skill-sets are mostly interchangeable. While some teachers do snag a job without certification, I strongly recommend having one.

Most reputable schools prefer to hire certified teachers. But perhaps most important: when you find yourself in front of the classroom, having training and a certification helps you feel less like a deer in the headlights!

Still, no four-week certification program is a substitute for classroom experience, but a reputable program (such as those offered by School for International Training, Trinity College, or International Teacher Training Organization will give you the basic tools to help you develop as a teacher.

Some of their courses are even offered in Mexico, with guaranteed job placement upon completion.

Photo by omar_eduardo

Pay

Average pay for English teachers in Mexico is less than you’d make flipping burgers home, about 50 pesos/hour (you may do a little better in urban areas like Mexico City and Guadalajara). In Mexico 50 pesos/hour is nothing to sneer at.

The problem is that few schools can offer you full-time hours. Most teachers cobble together a living by juggling classes at more than one school and giving private lessons on the side.

Migration

Foreign teachers in Mexico are required to have an FM3 work visa, which costs over 2,000 pesos (or 2/3 the average English teacher’s monthly wages). The visa can take months to process, and you can’t file for it without first obtaining a written job offer.

This is why most schools allow you to begin teaching as long as you’ve at started the FM3 paperwork (yes, there is such thing being as an illegal US worker in Mexico!). Sometimes it’s possible to expedite the process by getting an apostille stamp on your university diploma or TESOL certificate before departing for Mexico.

Photo by esparta

Types of Teaching Jobs

Never accept a job without first checking out a school’s reputation. If you can’t speak to current or former teachers in person, the best place to find the inside scoop on schools are Internet forums like the ones at Dave’s ESL Cafe or TESOL Worldwide. Another option is going through a job placement program like LanguageCorps, which I worked for in Oaxaca.

Private Language Academies

These small schools usually offer a relaxed (sometimes to the point of unprofessional) work environment, both in and out of the classroom. Pay is average.

Franchise schools

These include chains like Berlitz, Cambridge Academy, and Harmon hall. These tend to have a more regimented work environment (you might have to wear an unfashionable uniform) and teachers have less control over curriculum and methodology.

While they pay only a little better (or the same) as private schools, some offer contracts guaranteeing a certain number of hours in exchange for commitments of six months or a year.

Photo by cfrausto

Universities

In general, university classes are larger and students less motivated. Public universities are also plagued by bureaucracy and labor disputes.

Pay ranges from 50 pesos/hour to 12,000 pesos/month with benefits (especially if you’re experienced, or willing to work in a remote rural area). Universities are more likely to offer contracts and assume the cost of your FM3. On the other hand, most will not allow you to start teaching without a visa in hand.

Corporate Classes

Some schools and private agencies provide teachers to big- shot corporate clients who don’t have the time to attend regular classes. The pay is excellent, 80-100 pesos/hour, plus transportation, but hours are limited. My best teaching experience was teaching corporate classes at the Oaxaca airport.

Interview/hiring process

The interview/ hiring process in Mexico can be very informal by US standards, especially at small, private language academies. The most important factor is the personal impression you make on the director.

You may be asked to teach a class while the Director or EFL coordinator observes you. This can be nerve racking, but remember they’re probably more interested in how you interact with students than how well you can explain the mysteries of the past conditional tense.

They want to see that you care about students and teaching and not just looking for a way to finance a Mexican vacation! If the later is the case, forget: teaching is a demanding profession and at 50 pesos/hour you will not be able to afford the lifestyle you enjoy at home, much less that of tourist sipping tequila under the palms!

Community Connection

Matador contributor and podcaster Craig Martin has been funding world travels since 2003 using ESL. He explains more in his podcast How to Get Work Teaching English as Second Language.

For a complete listing of blogs, feature articles, and guides on Mexico, as well as local experts and travelers travelers to link up with right now, please visit the Matador Community.

Feature photo by kalandrakas. Photo above by kalandrakas

1. Addressing Someone, Respect

Bowing is nothing less than an art form in Japan, respect pounded into children’s heads from the moment they enter school. For tourists, a simple inclination of the head or an attempt at a bow at the waist will usually suffice.

The duration and inclination of the bow is proportionate to the elevation of the person you’re addressing.

The duration and inclination of the bow is proportionate to the elevation of the person you’re addressing. For example, a friend might get a lightning-fast 30-degree bow; an office superior might get a slow, extended, 70-degree bow. It’s all about position and circumstance.

In addition to bowing, addressing someone properly is key. Just as a “Dr. Smith” might feel a little insulted if you were to refer to him as “Smith”, so would a Japanese if you do not attach the suffix “san” to their last name, or “sama” if you are trying to be particularly respectful.

Usually children are content with just their first names, but you can add the suffix “chan” for girls and “kun” for boys if you like.

2. Table Manners

Some simple bullet points here:

- If you’re with a dinner party and receive drinks, wait before raising the glass to your lips. Everyone will be served, and someone will take the lead, make a speech, raise his drink, and yell “kampai!” (cheers).

- You will receive a small wet cloth at most Japanese restaurants. Use this to wash your hands before eating, then carefully fold it and set it aside on the table. Do not use it as a napkin, or to touch any part of your face.

- Slurping noodles or making loud noises while eating is OK! In fact, slurping hot food like ramen is polite, to show you are enjoying it.

- You may raise bowls to your mouth to make it easier to eat with chopsticks, especially bowls of rice.

- Just before digging in, whether it be a seven-course dinner or a sample at a supermarket, it’s polite to say “itadakimasu” (I will receive).

3. No Tipping

There is no tipping in any situation in Japan – cabs, restaurants, personal care. To tip someone is actually a little insulting; the services you’ve asked for are covered by the price given, so why pay more?

If you are in a large area like Tokyo and can’t speak any Japanese, a waiter or waitress might take the extra money you happen to leave rather than force themselves to deal with the awkward situation of explaining the concept of no tipping in broken English.

Just remind yourself: a price is a price.

Photo by tavallai

4. Chopsticks

Depending on the restaurant you decide upon for that evening, you may be required to use chopsticks.

If for some reason you aren’t too adept with chopsticks, try to learn before passing through immigration. It’s really not that hard.

One false assumption among many Japanese that’s slowly being dispelled by time is the “uniqueness” of Japan. Japan is an island nation; Japan is the only country that has four seasons; foreigners can’t understand Japan; only Japanese can use chopsticks properly.

I cannot count the number of times I’ve been told I use Japanese chopsticks with skill and grace, despite the fact I’ve seen three-year-olds managing just as well.

If you’re dining with a Japanese, don’t be surprised if you receive a look of amazement at your ability to eat like a Japanese.

5. Thresholds

Take off your shoes at the entrance to all homes, and most businesses and hotels. Usually a rack will be provided to store your shoes, and pair of guest slippers will be sitting nearby; many Japanese bring a pair of indoor slippers just in case, though.

Never wear slippers when you need to step onto a tatami mat (used in most Japanese homes and hotels; the standard unit of measurement for area even today), and be careful to remove the toilet slippers waiting for you in the bathroom.

It is extremely bad form, for example, to reenter the main room of a house wearing slippers that have been running across dirty linoleum.

6. Masks

Photo by toestubber

SARS is long gone, though I did happen to see a “SARS Preparation Kit” during my brief stay in a Japanese hospital.

Nevertheless, sterilized masks, like the ones you’d see in the emergency room, are commonly used by salarymen, office ladies, and municipal workers to protect other people from their germs.

Rather sensible when you think about it, as masks do not protect the wearer so much as the ones around him. The reason could be anything from a slight cold to simply being worried about exposing other people; don’t let it concern you on your Japanese vacation.

7. Conformity

When groups of high school students in Japan were asked to identify the dangers facing children today, the majority agreed on the number one threat: individualism.

Japanese society is focused on the group. Western cultures are focused on the individual.

Does this mean that the Japanese are nothing more that worker bees in a vast hive of steel and concrete? Certainly not, but their presentation of such individual qualities are carefully calculated and given in doses.

Drawing attention to yourself as an individual is a huge no-no: don’t blow your nose in public, try to avoid eating while on the go, and don’t speak on your cell phone in crowded public areas like trains or buses.

The main problem with this is that foreigners simply can’t avoid standing out; we stick out like sore thumbs no matter how long we’ve been here, or how much we know about Japanese culture and society.

As a result, being in Japan gives foreigners the status of D-level celebrities: you’ll get glances, shouts for attention, calls to have pictures taken with people, requests for autographs (happened once to me on a southern island), and overall just more awareness of being a “stake that sticks out”.

8. Bathing

Photo by meganscheminske

Public bathhouses are alive and well in Japan.

Sento, or neighborhood bathhouses, can be found from the largest area in Shinjuku to a small town on the island of Shikoku.

Onsen, or hot springs, are very popular as weekend excursion resorts.

Unlike in western cultures, the Japanese bath is used after you have washed and rinsed, and feel like soaking in extra-hot water for 10, 20, 30 minutes. It’s an acquired taste to be sure, but can be very relaxing.

If you happen to be invited into a Japanese household, you will be given the honor of using the bath first, usually before dinner. Be extra careful so as to not dirty the water in any way; the sanctity of the ofuro (bath) is of utmost importance.

Take the time to visit a sento if you have the opportunity. These are places without barriers, without regard to skin color, age, or language… well, they are separated by sex with the exception of some mixed-bathing areas.

Lying in the hot water and slowly listening to my heart beat slow down is a time when I feel most attuned to Japanese culture.

9. Speaking English

Japanese will generally assume you are a native English speaker until you prove otherwise. Even during a short visit, you’ll see:

-A group of schoolchildren in neatly pressed Prussian uniforms walking across the intersection, shouting “Hello! Hello! Herro!” as they assess your foreign features

-A random person just walking up to you and asking “Where are you from?”

Friendly? Certainly. But I can see how constant celebrity status might get confusing or frustrating for travelers who don’t speak English.

Although you may speak some or fluent Japanese, the default language of choice is English. Many Japanese will insist on using their own English language ability, however limited, to converse with foreigners, in spite of the fact that the person on the opposing end may have more knowledge of the local tongue.

10. Safety

Every Japanese person I have met warns me to be safe in my travels, to take care of my belongings. Every foreigner tells me not to worry, nothing can go wrong, nothing will be stolen. This may be based on individual experience, but there are other issues:

- The fear of crime in Japan is high, especially among Japanese citizens.

- Murders happen. I repeat, murders happen. People are attacked, robbed, assaulted, raped, beaten, and swindled

However, Japan’s low crime rate is evident when you see businessmen who have missed the last train sleeping outside on a park bench, or a group of 5-year-old boys walking by themselves for over a kilometer to make the starting bell at school.

Going to Japan?

Check out our humorous list of 10 Extraordinarily Useful Japanese Phrases.

Community Connection!

There are a bunch of cool Matador folks living in various parts of Japan. If you want the lowdown on teaching English, ask Abram or Stephanie.

If you’re looking for a photography outing in Asia, ask pro photographers Ryan Libre or Scott Lothes.

Wanna ride a wave? Ask Angie where the best surf spots in Japan are.

Wanna go hiking? Check out Tim’s definitive list of the top 10 hikes in Hokkaido.

photo by Tal Bright

An American friend I had taught with in Taiwan beckoned me to Istanbul with tales of local men serenading Western women, luring them into love spells with baklava. Her descriptions of lunch by the seaside and bustling spice markets charmed me all the way to the travel agency.

“It’s my New York, but better,” she had said.

I got my suitcase and tea glass ready.

Upon arriving, a crowd of fake blondes congregated at the airport entry gates with the sort of urgency that says, “This is a great place.” Counting bright headscarf after bright headscarf, my first impression of Istanbul was part-Europe, part-Asia, and part hyperactive kid on the beach.

Now that I have been living and teaching in Istanbul for a few months, there’s still enough radiation to keep me feeling like a holiday girl, even teaching forty plus hours a week.

Considerations for teaching

photo by tinou bao

Money

When contemplating a job here, it is important to remember that you are still the same old barking English seal teacher that you are anywhere else in Asia, but you will probably get paid decent money and have enough eager students, to make it worthwhile.

Local Vibe

Be prepared to entertain your students as much as you teach them, and anticipate to be showered with home-cooked food from friendly students who appreciate the effort you put into your classes. Most will be willing to share their language and culture.

Culture
Should you tire of the workaholic schedule that English schools will likely impose, there is always the hammam (Turkish bath) to indulge in, where a burly masseuse or masseur, will scrub you like Hercules.

Cuisine

Culinary delights abound, including fish still squirming fresh on the market table, sold by boisterous men in rubber boots. Rice is most often replaced with a range of other, more inspiring carbohydrates, like flower-shaped herb bread, and cherry-filled baklava.

The mighty lamb is prevalent, sliced with grilled peppers and tomatoes, and served together with yogurt, cilantro and pita bread.

Job Placement

For those seeking ESL teaching work in Istanbul, numerous jobs abound, and can be found simply by walking into the language schools themselves, or by applying with a resume, cover letter, photo and scanned copy of qualifications and passport over the Internet.

While I have never heard of an English school here that doesn’t need teachers (which means you will probably be working some serious overtime) private language schools mostly hire people with a Canadian, British, Australian, or American passport, a TESOL certificate (or similar qualification) and/or a degree in any subject, from a recognized university.

First time-teachers are usually welcome, as are people of various ages. My current work staff includes everyone from ages twenty to fifty-five, and they are generally sane people, from various professional backgrounds.

Accomodation

Some schools provide accommodation, but most don’t. However, there are throngs of English-teachers actively searching for roommates, and most language schools will offer some help in finding an affordable and comfortable place to live.

Prices

Costs for accommodation, food, and other necessities of life are comparable to Canada, the US and some parts of Europe. As Turkey is in close proximity to several Middle-Eastern and European countries, you may also want to travel.

Depending on whether or not you choose to go by train, plane, bus or car, prices can vary from the extraordinarily cheap to the staggeringly expensive.

photo by robokow

Activities

Istanbul has no shortage of things to do. In the Greek Quarter, old women haggle over striped socks at the market and fruit vendors greet shoppers with heaping triangles of olives and figs. Speeding taxis with bashed-in fronts steer and skid amongst the crowds of pedestrians spilling over the curbs in the downtown districts.

Ladies selling flowers by the boat docks push stems of daffodils under your nose, commanding, in their hats and headscarves, a mere dollar a bundle.

One of my best moments so far in Istanbul has been taking pictures of stray cats in a historic graveyard at 7am, while men and women beat carpets, men prayed, and children chased pigeons. People were doing their everyday activities, but it was nonetheless impressive.

Nightlife

Numerous nightclubs in almost every area of the city provide a comfortable places for expats and locals alike to get their groove on. While going out is expensive, one will feel at the end of the evening, as if their money has been well spent.

In Istanbul, atmosphere is everything- clubs and pubs are usually “dressed to the nines”, with plush velour, seaside seating, water pipes, hip music and cheerful chatter, in a multitude of languages.

For me, Istanbul is a spot to rest my rucksack while I’m turning the tricks of the English teaching trade, but my respect for the place and its people now goes beyond my initial pinwheel of tourist images. It is now my temporary home, and one that I see myself returning to.

For aspiring and seasoned travelers, there is no other city that quite captures the glamor of a martini glass, the pizzazz of a belly dancer, and the wild imagination of two continents.

As for whether it’s “better than New York,” I’m hardly to judge, but surely, anyone who comes here to teach will not be disappointed.