Has anyone taught English abroad (i.e. Japan, China, etc.)?

Question

What were your experiences?

Did it help career-wise? Did you enjoy it?

How old were you when you went?

Any programs that you would reccomend?

WellTraveled,
Thanks for your feedback. How interesting. I'm also in tech (web dev), so it's a bit off the standard career path for me, too. That's good to hear that you picked up some Japanese there, and that it was enjoyable.

Shining Ray, 28? That's cool. I'm a smidge younger, and feel like I'm already behind and young. I guess I still have plenty of time. :)

I spent a week in Japan and loved it. I have not yet been to China.

Answer 1

I taught English in Japan for a year when I was 21 -- it was a blast. I learned at least as much Japanese as my students did English :)

Help career-wise? Well, sort of. I got a degree in computer science and went on to software development, so teaching wasn't helpful on my resume...but knowing Japanese proved very useful in my career.

Sorry, can't recommend a program, since the company I worked with is long gone (this was in 1981)...but most of them that work in Japan, at least, are reputable from what I hear.
Go for it -- it's a great experience!

Answer 2

Teaching overseas has been at the end of my teaching career. I ran a machinist curriculum at a community college in North Carolina and decided I didn't want to spend the rest of my days talking about "deer huntin' an' NASCAR" (not that there is anything wrong with either of those).

After getting an M.Ed. in adult education from NCSU, I went to Saint Michael's College in Vermont to get a TESL certificate. I had been teaching some ESL in North Carolina but I needed the certification to make me feel better. In reality, only a BS or BA is needed.

So at the age of 45, I went to Japan. I had possibly the best teaching job in Japan - 6 weeks on, 3 off all year long teaching at a private school for difficult Japanese kids. They were fine and the school was great. 40K a year and a free apartment and all my meals - it was a boarding school in the mountains about 4 hours from Tokyo.

But in 1999, I packed it in after 5 years and moved to Thailand where I teach now. So it's been 12 years since I left North Carolina.

Now for programs, in Japan, the JET program is good but you age out at 35 for that. Also NOVA, the big language company has an age limit - probably 35ish.

Between Japan and Thailand, I would pick Japan if it wasn't for the isolation. In the 6 weeks I taught, I never saw another westerner except the priest at the Catholic church I went to every Sunday. Bangkok is not a problem - a very foreigner friendly place (sometimes too damn friendly!).

But it's fun. And life is short. Good luck! The link below is for teaching in Thailand.

Answer 3

Yes, I taught English in China, and it was a GREAT experience!

Some of the benefits to teaching in China are:
You are not required to have a degree in TESL. The only requirements from the government are that you are a native english speaker at least 18 years old. Some individual schools have the requirement that you have attended college as well.

As far as helping me career-wise, it actually helped crystallize my ideas of what exactly I wanted my career to be. I was a biology major in college, and I was not sure what I wanted to do with that. But after working in China, I realized that I wanted to work in medicine in the 3rd world and use my education to help those less fortunate. When I applied to medical school, I found that just having worked overseas gave me an advantage over many applicants, because it demonstrated that I was a well-rounded individual.

I was 21 when I went to China, and it was a wonderful experience at that age to work with people in a different culture. My students were high-schoolers with YFU, which means they were preparing to come to the US (and some to Canada or Australia) as exchange students. I would say from my experience that just one year living in China and working with their young people can be a life-changing experience.

There are tons of programs that you can go with, and I am not really sure which is best. I think it depends on your personal feelings. If you are adventurous, just go to Beijing and look for an opening - I had a friend who did that successfully. If you want to make money doing teaching, carefully examine your company/program's policy. The group I went over with did not pay teachers for the first month trial period.

Overall, I would really, really recommend the experience to anyone who wants to expand their horizons.

Answer 4

I was curious about teaching in all of these places too (and Hong Kong) and visited all of them over the last 10 years keeping an eye and an ear open for the conditions and opportunities. I also checked a few ESL/EFL websites and read what others had to say about teaching in those places, and the general consensus still seems to be: 1. Japan 2. China (including Hong Kong) 3. Taiwan 4. Korea

Answer 5

I started teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) over 20 years ago, I have taught in England, Italy, Germany and Holland. I was 20 when I started

To start off you need a basic qualification, in Europe you will need a TEFL diploma. YOu can study for this full time over a matter of months, or part time over a year or so.

You need to check that the course you want to do is recognised in the country you want to go to.

There are lots of bad schools making money out of providing expensive and bad TEFL training. You really need to check that you choose a reputable school, ask what % of their students get work, where they work. Ring up schools and ask them that if you applied for a job with this qualification from this school would they accept it?

There is loads of info on the web about TEFL, there are loads of schools, and loads of jobs.

This is an interesting job to do. Be aware that it is not really a long term career option, as there is no real career structure in the field.

You will need to stay up to date on new courses and teaching methods in order to stay employable. The hot thing at the moment is business english.

Answer 6

A friend of mine is currently teaching English in Japan.

He is 32.

I think the program is called JET. Something like that. I know that they call the teachers "JETs."

Answer 7

A girlfriend of mine from H.S. is teaching in Japan, she loves it! She's 28 now, not sure when she went...