I desperately want to get out of this country and think that teaching English in a foreign country (preferably China) looks like a good option. I understand that I will have to take a TESL course.
I have had some troubles while researching this venture.
Many of the sites listing such jobs seem somewhat shady, with ads that tout that the best teaching jobs are not publicly listed and to find them you should sign up for their service.
Is there really a strong demand for native English speakers to help teach? I would like to get out of here as quickly as I can (if possible, before Christmas). Is that reasonable?
What should I look for in a TESL course. The ones I have seen all appear to be much shorter than I had expected. The one I am signing up for is the longest at two weeks.
What else should I know about attempting this pursuit?
I taught for a year in Japan for a company called NOVA. It’s certainly not a scam (though people have their gripes). They do just about everything for you setup-wise including visa, housing, placement, etc. They do NOT require any kind of course or certification, but only a Bachelor’s Degree due to Japanese employment laws.
I’d highly recommend it, if even only as a way to get over there and get started. A lot of people went over there with NOVA since it was so seamless, then jumped ship once they had a place to live and a 3yr work visa.
The other thing I would recommend is that you have a genuine desire to teach English, otherwise you’re going to be a rotten teacher to people who pay a lot of money and have high hopes, and you will be frustrated and miserable too. You don’t need experience, just the right mindset.
Ahh, good to know. I suppose the world has changed quite a bit WRT immigration laws in the last couple years.
I’d certainly agree with HB that you better want to teach English because…well for one thing, it ain’t easy. But also keep in mind that depending on the circumstances it might not be what you’re expecting. That is, if you’re expecting something where you’re standing up at the front of a class with a chalkboard and a text book saying “repeat after me.”
In my case I was sitting around a small 3-person table with a businessman from Sony and a governement employee. As a matter of fact, I was the only one of the three who wanted to be there.
My sister went to teach overseas and had a horrible experience. She was an impulsive person and went almost on a whim. She did not research the company and ended up living in the classroom (It was in the contract that she was to have proper accommodation) that she taught in, and never ended up being paid. I know many others who have had great experiences so just make sure that the company you are working for is credible.
In many parts of China, there is a ridiculously high demand for native-english speakers. If you just walk down the street in many medium-sized cities speaking english, you’ll get job offers.
Being there by Christmas is a little unreasonable. The time to process your visa may even take that long. But, you don’t need TESL certification to teach in China, a bachelor’s degree will be fine. It might take a bit longer to find a place, but not as long as taking the course.
If you take the approach of signing up with an organization before you leave, I also strongly second the recommendation to do your research. In particular, get a look at your potential living conditions and get them to commit to how many hours per week you’ll be teaching. Also keep in mind that the further you get from Shanghai and Beijing, the harder it will be to survive without Chinese language skills.
p.s. regarding the visa abandonment, in China at least, it depends on how much of a risk-taker you are. If you set things up in advance, you will have a work visa which you cannot abandon. But, you can get a semi-legal, extended tourist visa (must renew every 6 mo.) from Hong Kong. This will allow you to work in many schools and still be able to leave/travel at will, but this option puts you at risk of sudden deportation.
A TESL or TEFL certificate course lasts four weeks so Christmas is a bit tight - these courses are an investement though, they don’t teach you English they teach you *how to teach *English which ultimately makes things so much easier. Gives you the confidence to do your job and means that you should be able to get jobs with the more reputable schools / get a better salary than the unqualified teachers etc. etc.
Now for the preachy bit - you say you want to get out of the country … but not why … none of our business … fair enough but being in another country doesn’t change everything - there are still bills to pay, friends to be made, people you don’t like to get on with, work routines / schedules to be respected, food to be bought, meals to be cooked … and you’re far away from any of your usual support networks …
If you do decide just to ‘go for it’ - at least make sure you have a return ticket
Go, and have fun. But I do have a word of caution: sometimes (too often), you can’t go home again.
I know a lot of people who have gone to teach English who have fallen into a specific kind of trap. They go as are clever, talented, young adults, who for whatever reasons don’t want to enter the North American job market (usually, because they want to travel but not be a backpacker, and/or because they have an English or History degree and can’t get a good job in this market). They have a blast: they are making plenty of money, and living in a fun place. They are usually very popular among the locals (usually IMO because of some combination of their charming personalities, and colonial dynamics that give white English-speaking North Americans (probably Europeans too, although I am not as familiar with their situations) a special sort of status in third-world countries) which would make anyone feel good.
Then, they finish up their tenure and come “home.” This can be very difficult. In Taiwan (or wherever), they were rich and popular and had cool jobs. Here, where everyone can speak English already (so only the really talented teachers can get work), they still can’t get good jobs because they only have history degrees, they are no longer popular everywhere they go, and now their old friends are getting settled and/or on with their lives. The returnees are ‘behind’ - as in, they will be going through the unpleasant post-graduation-job-hunt ordeal well after their peers. It’s tough living in a shitty student apartment when you’re 28 and all your friends have better-than-minimum-wage jobs.
In other words: it will not solve any problems. You will have to come home again, and if you don’t like “home” now you won’t like it any more after a few years away. The only times I’ve really seen it work is if:
you are already trained as a teacher, not just an English teacher - that vastly improves your job prospects, everywhere
it was part of the original plan to stay overseas (or at least, it was never ruled out)
you have non-English-teaching skills that will help you when you return home, either pre-existing ones or ones you develop while you’re away (one friend went away to teach, and came back with a fancy import-export business - now he divides his time between here and southeast Asia, and has many fancy electronics).
