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I was just teaching in Japan last year to help fund stuff while I studied. I had jobs despite still working on my degree.. albeit private.. under the table types of ones.
+ Pay is good, You don't have high expectations placed on you.
- Asia will require a degree, (As I had a student Visa i could do part time work) It's fairly mind numbing stuff I'll be honest.
I was considering once I got my degree to go back to Japan and teach English too, but now I've experienced it, I don't want that at all. It's a real thankless gig. Oh some of the students will be grateful don't get me wrong, but you're not there to make a difference, you're there to read from a textbook to most likely a bunch of kids who don't give a rats anyway.
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Does it matter what your degree is in? Seems kinda random if its not related to teaching english.
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On August 24 2011 06:16 Radioman wrote:
Starting a new life in a foreign country would be exhilarating, would it not?
yup its fantastic :D
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I read and have seen from many english teachers that you need a 4 year degree in anything (could be from astrophysics to zoology) and then you can try and get one, but it is great if you get a TESL or TESOL etc after you get your B.A. or B.S. experience also helps of course but idk how crucial it is to have.
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On August 24 2011 06:29 Zidane wrote: Does it matter what your degree is in? Seems kinda random if its not related to teaching english. Doesn't matter, but having a TESL or TESOL etc to supplement it helps alot.
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On August 24 2011 05:26 FFGenerations wrote:Show nested quote +On August 24 2011 05:21 Flummie wrote:I did this before in Thailand and without a degree its almost impossible to get a job even if u have a TEFL so dont expect too much of it Oh and also, if you are NOT a native speaker, even though ur English is really good or fluently, you will have even more problems finding a job as an English teacher in Asian countries how do you know its almost impossible to get a job without a degree? i will obviously find out for myself when i start applying i guess. getting a degree is not an option Why would you make a thread asking for advice, only to ignore advice from someone who has experience with the job you're inquiring about?
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On August 24 2011 06:27 Gingerninja wrote: I was just teaching in Japan last year to help fund stuff while I studied. I had jobs despite still working on my degree.. albeit private.. under the table types of ones.
+ Pay is good, You don't have high expectations placed on you.
- Asia will require a degree, (As I had a student Visa i could do part time work) It's fairly mind numbing stuff I'll be honest.
I was considering once I got my degree to go back to Japan and teach English too, but now I've experienced it, I don't want that at all. It's a real thankless gig. Oh some of the students will be grateful don't get me wrong, but you're not there to make a difference, you're there to read from a textbook to most likely a bunch of kids who don't give a rats anyway.
how did you come about teaching english? you were in the country with a students visa , did you then apply for some jobs while you were there, or did you "network" your way into a job (how?), or just self advertise locally or in a website?
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On August 24 2011 06:29 Zidane wrote: Does it matter what your degree is in? Seems kinda random if its not related to teaching English.
They want to make sure that you're of a ... certain class of citizen. Well spoken, intelligible, responsible, etc. Requiring a degree is an easy way of fulfilling those sections. I'm not trying to argue for the practise, just saying it makes some sense.
That being said I'm graduating this year and hope to get a job through the Korean program.
BTW it's my experience that teaching through the government in China requires an English degree.
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On August 24 2011 06:29 Zidane wrote: Does it matter what your degree is in? Seems kinda random if its not related to teaching english.
For Southeast Asia, at least, it doesn't matter for the most part. English majors can attain a slightly higher starting salary as new teachers (and it is truly slight) but know that English majors nowadays aren't necessarily any stronger in grammar than any other major. Grammar courses are not required to receive an English degree. What's the most important to Korean employers is the fact that you look like a white person, you sound like an educated white person and you have patience and are able to keep order in a classroom. It doesn't take an English degree for a native speaker to speak correctly and that's what they're interested in.
As an example, interviews for the lower level teaching jobs for Korean private schools are often performed simply so the interviewer can hear your accent.
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On August 24 2011 06:36 FFGenerations wrote:Show nested quote +On August 24 2011 06:27 Gingerninja wrote: I was just teaching in Japan last year to help fund stuff while I studied. I had jobs despite still working on my degree.. albeit private.. under the table types of ones.
+ Pay is good, You don't have high expectations placed on you.
- Asia will require a degree, (As I had a student Visa i could do part time work) It's fairly mind numbing stuff I'll be honest.
I was considering once I got my degree to go back to Japan and teach English too, but now I've experienced it, I don't want that at all. It's a real thankless gig. Oh some of the students will be grateful don't get me wrong, but you're not there to make a difference, you're there to read from a textbook to most likely a bunch of kids who don't give a rats anyway. how did you come about teaching english? you were in the country with a students visa , did you then apply for some jobs while you were there, or did you "network" your way into a job (how?), or just self advertise locally or in a website?
Use a recruiter. In Japan there is also the public school route through the JET program. In Korea this program is called EPIK. There are private school options as well.
Whatever route you take, just contact a recruiter. You are they product they are going to sell. It is in their interest to find you a job. There are literally thousands of them. If you don't like your recruiter after talking with them or trying to deal with then, drop them and go on to the next.
As a teacher, recruiters will not charge you. They get their money from the schools they place you in. The schools themselves tell recruiters that they have jobs they need filled and the recruiter finds people who can fill them, they help you get your visa completed, etc.
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On August 24 2011 05:26 FFGenerations wrote:Show nested quote +On August 24 2011 05:21 Flummie wrote:I did this before in Thailand and without a degree its almost impossible to get a job even if u have a TEFL so dont expect too much of it Oh and also, if you are NOT a native speaker, even though ur English is really good or fluently, you will have even more problems finding a job as an English teacher in Asian countries how do you know its almost impossible to get a job without a degree? i will obviously find out for myself when i start applying i guess. getting a degree is not an option Then don't expect too much
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From what I hear, the degree doesn't matter, but I would throw in at least some English courses so that it seems like a natural interest of yours. I intend to go back to University and get a degree in Education with English (although I haven't yet checked what the non-literature-related options are here) and Japanese, as I've previously studied about half a degree of IT anyway, so in a foreign country or not, I'll have qualifications for teaching IT and English at least. That's just me though, I would love to be a teacher, so if teaching English would be your only teaching interest, there's no need to go into Education. Gingerninja, by mind-numbing, you mean mind-numbingly boring, yes? Is that to get the degree (also hard/easy or just boring?) or do you mean the actual teaching work?
syst: You could also have contacted multiple recruiters to deal with at once, couldn't you? There's no harm in that, right?
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On August 24 2011 06:36 FFGenerations wrote:Show nested quote +On August 24 2011 06:27 Gingerninja wrote: I was just teaching in Japan last year to help fund stuff while I studied. I had jobs despite still working on my degree.. albeit private.. under the table types of ones.
+ Pay is good, You don't have high expectations placed on you.
- Asia will require a degree, (As I had a student Visa i could do part time work) It's fairly mind numbing stuff I'll be honest.
I was considering once I got my degree to go back to Japan and teach English too, but now I've experienced it, I don't want that at all. It's a real thankless gig. Oh some of the students will be grateful don't get me wrong, but you're not there to make a difference, you're there to read from a textbook to most likely a bunch of kids who don't give a rats anyway. how did you come about teaching english? you were in the country with a students visa , did you then apply for some jobs while you were there, or did you "network" your way into a job (how?), or just self advertise locally or in a website?
I am a Native English speaker... that's how difficult and how qualified they expect you to be. Mostly through companies advertising through my host universities international office, a few given to me by former students, contacts made with people etc.
The Degree to everyone wondering, it doesn't matter what it's in, its just a requirement to make sure the person applying to enter the country to work isn't some high school drop out with no actual skills. At least if they have a degree, they're intelligent to some level and have at least been through the education system. Japan/ Korea don't require any teaching certification that I am aware of, a degree and being an English speaker seem to be enough in my experience. Ofc it wouldn't hurt any to have them. I literally got one of my part time jobs by answering the question... "Hey you're British aren't you?"
On August 24 2011 06:43 Fuchsteufelswild wrote: Gingerninja, by mind-numbing, you mean mind-numbingly boring, yes? Is that to get the degree (also hard/easy or just boring?) or do you mean the actual teaching work?
I meant the jobs themselves. Most of the time your asked to just follow the textbook or play games that tbh don't work at all, or you are a conversation partner which isn't as bad... but a lot people I know struggled with that because they'd literally show up to lessons and find their student had no topics to discuss and would just sit and look at them for an hour in-between small talk.
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On August 24 2011 06:43 Fuchsteufelswild wrote: syst: You could also have contacted multiple recruiters to deal with at once, couldn't you? There's no harm in that, right?
Sure. I didn't do that but I hear it works well.
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Might be good for you to ask questions at reddit.com/r/korea There are a ton of people teaching t here. It's a great community/group of people, and they are very helpful
I'm bpcoxkr there.
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On August 24 2011 06:16 Radioman wrote:Show nested quote +On August 24 2011 06:06 syst wrote:You can't translate if you only know the minimal amount needed to survive. Nobody is going to sponsor your visa like that. If you want to know what's available in a country you should just go. Get a 3 month tourist visa for Korea, start tutoring clandestinely to keep yourself afloat, be a respectable, hard working person and jobs can come to you. There are teacher recruiting agencies that could use English speakers, for one. As with all good jobs, nobody is going to say, "hey come over here, jobs aplenty for everyone!" You have to put yourself out there by getting out there. I wasn't neccessarily putting the minimal speaking skills and transator together. Obviously you must have optimal verbal/communicational skills to be a translator. I've been learning Korean for acouple months little by little and I plan on going next year in the Fall for about 1 month (purely for Vacational purposes) but when I opened this thread it made me think about moving to Korea and how interesting it would be to just uproot and GO! Starting a new life in a foreign country would be exhilarating, would it not? It sounds like you are patronizing your Korean langauge studies. You will need to study alot and very effectively to learn Korean as fast as you are implying. and even then, it is not a guarantee because talent does factor into language learning.
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On August 24 2011 07:02 TheRPGAddict wrote:Show nested quote +On August 24 2011 06:16 Radioman wrote:On August 24 2011 06:06 syst wrote:You can't translate if you only know the minimal amount needed to survive. Nobody is going to sponsor your visa like that. If you want to know what's available in a country you should just go. Get a 3 month tourist visa for Korea, start tutoring clandestinely to keep yourself afloat, be a respectable, hard working person and jobs can come to you. There are teacher recruiting agencies that could use English speakers, for one. As with all good jobs, nobody is going to say, "hey come over here, jobs aplenty for everyone!" You have to put yourself out there by getting out there. I wasn't neccessarily putting the minimal speaking skills and transator together. Obviously you must have optimal verbal/communicational skills to be a translator. I've been learning Korean for acouple months little by little and I plan on going next year in the Fall for about 1 month (purely for Vacational purposes) but when I opened this thread it made me think about moving to Korea and how interesting it would be to just uproot and GO! Starting a new life in a foreign country would be exhilarating, would it not? It sounds like you are patronizing your Korean langauge studies. You will need to study alot and very effectively to learn Korean as fast as you are implying. and even then, it is not a guarantee because talent does factor into language learning.
I have no aspirations to becoming a translator I was simply stating that I understood that gaining a position as a translator would require I high understanding of both languages.
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So, it seems in my case: Accent ✓ - Born and raised in Australia, but with an English mother. Have always cared about language. Conversation partner situation ✓ - I'm often picking up on little errors and being nit-picky about them, I'm sure I can come prepared for lessons with backup ideas for topics to cover and practice activities. ^_^ Also I worked for a few months for an interpreting and translation company (mostly subcontracted), so just to clarify (although I think people had the correct idea), you really do need to be extremely fluent in a language to be considered for official translating (and will usually be required to have additional translating certification, different for each country though, I imagine). For interpreting at events that do not require NAATI certification (or otherwise, country-specific I imagine), it's not always so hard to join a subcontracting business or, with advertising, get at least occasional jobs as an interpreter. Networking will be key there. Large companies also would be likely to demand only higher certified interpreters too, but competition here is not that of the biggest cities, so you can get away with less certifications for most jobs. Regardless of certification, you need to be typically needed to be good at English, but fluency in the other language was probably even more critical, to the point where even people who had spent 10+ years in a country would still barely get any jobs that came in compared to people born in the foreign country who spoke English. Native speakers were heavily favoured (perhaps a bias in the company though).
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the people on this site might be able to tell you a lot of stories and help you in general about teaching english abroad. The community is for english speaking expats in germany but there are enough who were in other countries prior to coming to germany.
www.toytowngermany.com
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I was looking into this before. Where are you from? When I searched sites that school could place ads in around 95% of schools required you to be a native speaker(USA, UK, Australia etc) and they all require you to have a BA degree. It's a bit different country to country but I know Japan were quite strict on this. Also if you manage to land a job at an official school not 1 of those private lessons to 50 year old women kinda job your visa should get sponsored so you won't have any problem with that.
But really just search on google I think 1 site was called something like gaijinspot.
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