teaching english in a foreign land

[skinnyhb]

has anyone ever done this? i graduated college a year ago and am looking to do something different for a little while before getting the proverbial "real job". i don't really speak any foreign languages, but from some of the websites i have found, it sounds as though they teach you. any ideas?

kenny

[Schmidty]

My older bro does it n japan and makes a lot of cash

[Amorphic]

secondary language mastery is quite the challenge, good luck if you try it out.

[Jfew44]

Ya good luck bro, I took 3 years of spanish in high school and barely remember how to say hi.

[skinnyhb]

ya, but everyone always says that immersion into a foreign language makes learning it much faster, so im wondering if they throw you into a intensive class and put you in the environment, assuming you'll learn as you teach.

[DSM4Life]

I took Italian for 3 years and like Jfew44 i can't speak it at all, except for the curse words.... ciao

[*El Diablo*]

Try learning Hebrew .... lol.. I had to!..

[ChuckLee]

I took Italian for 3 years and like Jfew44 i can't speak it at all, except for the curse words.... ciao

Italian language sucks

[*El Diablo*]

Italian language sucks

Why chuck?

[ChuckLee]

It's complicated and verbs are almost all irregular and too many to learn.
It's my native language, and I prefer english way more.

CL

[*El Diablo*]

okay... I see!. But atleast you have some very nice girls in Italy..

[ChuckLee]

Nice girls are all around the world IMO.
Sure, italian beauty is something particular, and it's my national pride along with soccer!

[*El Diablo*]

Nice girls are all around the world IMO.
Sure, italian beauty is something particular, and it's my national pride along with soccer!

I wouldnt say the SOCCER word if i where you, Arsenal came and opened up a can of woop ass on you mo-fo's Milan.... But i like them nice girls.... oooh!

[ChuckLee]

You make me remember that sad match...Milan is my team...
But we are still World Champions and I don't think there's the need to remember who won both Champions League and International Cup last year...

[Z-Ro]

Du sollst Deutsch lernen. : )

I can only half-ass speak Deutsch but can read/write it better... I know a few people that went to China to teach english.

[DSM4Life]

It's complicated and verbs are almost all irregular and too many to learn.
It's my native language, and I prefer english way more.

CL

So you are saying that the English language isn't flawed/complicated ?

[soccer#3]

You make me remember that sad match...Milan is my team...
But we are still World Champions and I don't think there's the need to remember who won both Champions League and International Cup last year...

forza juve!!

[Panzerfaust]

has anyone ever done this? i graduated college a year ago and am looking to do something different for a little while before getting the proverbial "real job". i don't really speak any foreign languages, but from some of the websites i have found, it sounds as though they teach you. any ideas?

kenny

Man, I hate to say this to you but from the look of your post. You are in no position to teach anyone English.

You have to remember, you are not just talking to them. You are teaching them proper grammar, composition etc.

But by all means, let me know what country interests you.

[gixxerboy1]

Italian language sucks

Try learning Russian

[Panzerfaust]

Du sollst Deutsch lernen. : )

I can only half-ass speak Deutsch but can read/write it better... I know a few people that went to China to teach english.

Ich verstehe Sie sehr gut. Ich spreche nur ein klein wenig Deutsch. Ich bin lernen aber meine familie ist Deutsch und meine Vater spricht Deutsch aber leben in Tennessee und ich lebe in Texas.

[Prada]

It's complicated and verbs are almost all irregular and too many to learn.
It's my native language, and I prefer english way more.

CL

In that case all latin derived languages would be difficult. French, Spanish(from Spain) and Italian all have more complex conjugations and of course there are nouns that are either feminine or masculine....something that you must know unlike in english. A simple verb can be singluar/masculin singular/fem plural/masc or plural/fem and depending on the case it is spelled differently.

[CSAR]

Dude, I'll give you a real no shitter about teaching English in a foreign country...

First off, let me explain my background, so you'll have an idea as to my knowledge on the subject. I've been living in Japan for the past 8 years. I have a doctorate in applied linguistics and I'm employed as an assistant professor at a large private university in central Tokyo, where I teach various English courses (mainly communication), an American culture course, and a language acquisition course for graduate students.

I'll give you a breakdown of things to consider and the rationale behind each.

1. What language (other than English) are you fluent in? If you're not fluent, then what is your ability within that foreign language? If all you speak is English, you'll just be "that stupid foreigner who can't speak our language." It sounds stereotypical, but consider every experience you've ever had or seen in the media regarding language barriers and miscommunication. I guarantee that if people aren't making fun of your poor language skills to your face, they're most certainly making fun of you once you're no longer present. And if they're not making fun of you, they'll be throwing things at you telling you take your stupid round-eyed face home.

2. Is it an ESL or EFL country? If you don't know the difference, you probably shouldn't even think about teaching English. The typical ESL student is going to be more motivated to learn English. The majority of EFL students are not really interested in actually learning English, but doing it for other reasons (required class, boredom, etc.)

3. What is your ethnic background compared with the country you're interested in? You may think race shouldn't be a factor in this day and age, but it is. For example, in Japan, if you're not Caucasian (that's a white person, BTW), prepared to get bullied and generally treated worse than a Caucasian. 94% of apartment rental companies and landlords in Tokyo won't rent to non-Japanese. It goes beyond any language barrier, because my Japanese is pretty good, my wife IS Japanese, and we were still turned down for the majority of apartments we were interested in. A lot of stores and restaurants in Japan (even Tokyo) have "Japanese Only" signs on the front. African Americans, Latinos, and other non-Japanese Asian races are treated much worse. Don't believe that equal rights and racial equality are the same as in the States.

4. What do you know about language schools and English students abroad? Language school recruiters are just like military recruiters, they'll tell you whatever you want to hear to get you to sign on the dotted line (I'm a vet too, BTW). If they tell you paid housing, it means they deduct it from your pay. If they tell you paid transportation, it means they deduct it from your pay. The average English conversation school in Japan pays roughly $2,400 per month. Oh, and you're gonna teach your ass off to get paid. Now, deduct 10% for taxes, $800 (or more) for that crappy, tuna can they call an apartment, $100 for electricity, $100 for water, $80 for gas, $500 (or more) for food, $200 for miscellaneous expenses, and what are you left with? Think it's a lot? Japan is really expensive, so whatever else you do, it's gonna cost you. A pint at the pub? $9 Oh, sorry that was Guiness? $10, please.

5. Do you really enjoy speaking English all day to people (and by people, I mean bored housewives, crossdressing pervs, social misfits, the elderly, and the mentally insane, retarded, etc., etc., and NO, I'M NOT JOKING). Normal Japanese people don't want to learn English. My wife is not a normal Japanese woman (THANK GOD), but she's not Westernized either (THANK GOD). She got tired of being treated poorly by Japanese guys (ranking of 9 on a chauvanist pig scale) and wasn't ready to become a lesbian, so she decided to learn English.

Man, I could go on and on, but the bottom line is that if you're just a college grad, you're gonna get the bottom rung of English teaching jobs. Add to that all the racism, xenophobia, and other crap you gotta endure and for a low-paying, low-prestige job, it ain't worth it. I haven't even touched on all the crap you have to put up with in Asian countries (Thailand being a noted exception), but a cockroach has more rights in Japan than I do.

My advice is that if you're really interested in teaching English abroad, get your master's in English, TESOL, or linguistics, get some publications on your CV, and then look for university positions abroad. I hate teaching English, but I love my job. I make just over 6 million yen a year, but I only teach 6.5 months out of the year, I only teach eight, 90 minute lessons a week, and not much is expected of me because I'm a "gaijin". The other 5.5 months I'm free to get the #%&! outta this place.

[Panzerfaust]

Dude, I'll give you a real no shitter about teaching English in a foreign country...

First off, let me explain my background, so you'll have an idea as to my knowledge on the subject. I've been living in Japan for the past 8 years. I have a doctorate in applied linguistics and I'm employed as an assistant professor at a large private university in central Tokyo, where I teach various English courses (mainly communication), an American culture course, and a language acquisition course for graduate students.

I'll give you a breakdown of things to consider and the rationale behind each.

1. What language (other than English) are you fluent in? If you're not fluent, then what is your ability within that foreign language? If all you speak is English, you'll just be "that stupid foreigner who can't speak our language." It sounds stereotypical, but consider every experience you've ever had or seen in the media regarding language barriers and miscommunication. I guarantee that if people aren't making fun of your poor language skills to your face, they're most certainly making fun of you once you're no longer present. And if they're not making fun of you, they'll be throwing things at you telling you take your stupid round-eyed face home.

2. Is it an ESL or EFL country? If you don't know the difference, you probably shouldn't even think about teaching English. The typical ESL student is going to be more motivated to learn English. The majority of EFL students are not really interested in actually learning English, but doing it for other reasons (required class, boredom, etc.)

3. What is your ethnic background compared with the country you're interested in? You may think race shouldn't be a factor in this day and age, but it is. For example, in Japan, if you're not Caucasian (that's a white person, BTW), prepared to get bullied and generally treated worse than a Caucasian. 94% of apartment rental companies and landlords in Tokyo won't rent to non-Japanese. It goes beyond any language barrier, because my Japanese is pretty good, my wife IS Japanese, and we were still turned down for the majority of apartments we were interested in. A lot of stores and restaurants in Japan (even Tokyo) have "Japanese Only" signs on the front. African Americans, Latinos, and other non-Japanese Asian races are treated much worse. Don't believe that equal rights and racial equality are the same as in the States.

4. What do you know about language schools and English students abroad? Language school recruiters are just like military recruiters, they'll tell you whatever you want to hear to get you to sign on the dotted line (I'm a vet too, BTW). If they tell you paid housing, it means they deduct it from your pay. If they tell you paid transportation, it means they deduct it from your pay. The average English conversation school in Japan pays roughly $2,400 per month. Oh, and you're gonna teach your ass off to get paid. Now, deduct 10% for taxes, $800 (or more) for that crappy, tuna can they call an apartment, $100 for electricity, $100 for water, $80 for gas, $500 (or more) for food, $200 for miscellaneous expenses, and what are you left with? Think it's a lot? Japan is really expensive, so whatever else you do, it's gonna cost you. A pint at the pub? $9 Oh, sorry that was Guiness? $10, please.

5. Do you really enjoy speaking English all day to people (and by people, I mean bored housewives, crossdressing pervs, social misfits, the elderly, and the mentally insane, retarded, etc., etc., and NO, I'M NOT JOKING). Normal Japanese people don't want to learn English. My wife is not a normal Japanese woman (THANK GOD), but she's not Westernized either (THANK GOD). She got tired of being treated poorly by Japanese guys (ranking of 9 on a chauvanist pig scale) and wasn't ready to become a lesbian, so she decided to learn English.

Man, I could go on and on, but the bottom line is that if you're just a college grad, you're gonna get the bottom rung of English teaching jobs. Add to that all the racism, xenophobia, and other crap you gotta endure and for a low-paying, low-prestige job, it ain't worth it. I haven't even touched on all the crap you have to put up with in Asian countries (Thailand being a noted exception), but a cockroach has more rights in Japan than I do.

My advice is that if you're really interested in teaching English abroad, get your master's in English, TESOL, or linguistics, get some publications on your CV, and then look for university positions abroad. I hate teaching English, but I love my job. I make just over 6 million yen a year, but I only teach 6.5 months out of the year, I only teach eight, 90 minute lessons a week, and not much is expected of me because I'm a "gaijin". The other 5.5 months I'm free to get the #%&! outta this place.

Wow! $59,000USD gets you how far on Japan?

[RapaciousShark]

I speekeh z frensh, so kees eet

[CSAR]

Wow! $59,000USD gets you how far on Japan?

Sadly enough, not very far at all. Rent alone for us is $1200, and we're about an hour outside of central Tokyo. Add two kids to the mix, plus some monster plane ticket prices to get away from Japan and keep our sanity, and the insane cost of living here and the crumbs are pretty small. Once the kids are both in school, then my wife is gonna have to get her little butt back to work!