[LeightonBlackstock]

Interesting. I will

I know you can study an 'iPGCE' here in Bangkok (as well as other cities in Asia) but it always comes with the disclaimer of '*Not eligible as a teaching license'

Would be fine spending a year in Singapore

[EinsteinsLaundry]

For what it is worth, I am currently in Korea and am Canadian. If anyone has specific questions you can send me a PM!

[cooldude898]

I have recently accepted a teaching position in Taiwan and was wondering if anyone could comment on how the country compared to neighboring Asian countries in terms of payment, worklife, cost of living, nightlife, women, etc.

Basically, I'm going to be in Taoyuan (a nearby Taipei suburb). It is cheaper than Taipei which is a plus, and although there seem to be bars and a couple nightclubs in the area, I'm still not entirely sure on the place and would love some first hand testimonials.

I know this is a very open ended question, but if anyone has any experience in that specific area for ESL, I'd love more info.

[CJ_W]

(12-14-2014 03:37 PM)RexImperator Wrote:  

Is this kind of thing still possible? That's some decent money. (Not that I'd want to go to West Africa now given the Ebola outbreak, but still...)

I'm looking to make some changes in my (stagnant) career trajectory and I have a B.S. in Physics. Teaching overseas could be an interesting way to shake things up.

Look into working in China in a job with your degree, They've been hiring foreign scientists a LOT there, I met a nordic guy who was paid to work on superconductor something in China

[EinsteinsLaundry]

(12-16-2014 09:18 PM)cooldude898 Wrote:  

I have recently accepted a teaching position in Taiwan and was wondering if anyone could comment on how the country compared to neighboring Asian countries in terms of payment, worklife, cost of living, nightlife, women, etc.

Basically, I'm going to be in Taoyuan (a nearby Taipei suburb). It is cheaper than Taipei which is a plus, and although there seem to be bars and a couple nightclubs in the area, I'm still not entirely sure on the place and would love some first hand testimonials.

I know this is a very open ended question, but if anyone has any experience in that specific area for ESL, I'd love more info.

Here in Korea, the basics are:
Salary ~ $2000 month
Airfare
Housing Allowance
Severance Pay (1 months Salary for each year you have worked)
$2000 bonus for contract completion (1 year contracts)

Taiwan:
~65 000 NT (~$2000)
Airfare, housing allowance and bonuses can be found, but they don't seem as common as in Korea.

The cost of living in Korea can be pretty cheap, but I think Taiwan would be cheaper.

Girls:
As for girls, it is hard to say, I have never been to Taiwan. Taiwan has a lot of independent Chinese workers, so I think that is a good thing. Korea can be tricky, most girls live with their family until they are married, however they are no strangers to the sex game. It can be a bit of a mission here with language and cultural barriers, but it is definitely possible to do anything you do back home here. Korean girls won't necessarily fall in love with you if you are a foreigner (however some REALLY like them, and there are places you can go to find these people). For what it is work Korean girls are really hot haha.

[Hedonistic Traveler]

(12-16-2014 07:39 PM)EinsteinsLaundry Wrote:  

For what it is worth, I am currently in Korea and am Canadian. If anyone has specific questions you can send me a PM!

How long have you been in Korea? I just got here a week ago, it's pretty quiet so far.

I'm kinda out in the boonies. I could've waited until February to get a better location, but I had already delayed moving abroad by four months on account of some last-minute medical issues.

I'm most likely going to be dipping out after five months to Taiwan or SEA, I'm just trying to get some money together for an online teaching certification program.

(12-15-2014 12:33 PM)LeightonBlackstock Wrote:  

it always comes with the disclaimer of '*Not eligible as a teaching license'

Have you looked into those Leighton? Dash from naughtynomad put me onto the one he did, it got pretty good reviews online too. You can even do the student teaching at an international school abroad, they set you up with one. It's an American program though, I don't know what the deal in the UK is.

[LeightonBlackstock]

(12-16-2014 09:18 PM)cooldude898 Wrote:  

I have recently accepted a teaching position in Taiwan and was wondering if anyone could comment on how the country compared to neighboring Asian countries in terms of payment, worklife, cost of living, nightlife, women, etc.

Basically, I'm going to be in Taoyuan (a nearby Taipei suburb).

Dude, Taoyuan is complete no-mans land. It's a village practically. My advice is to keep searching and get a job in Taipei. There are still plenty of jobs there (about eight million people live there?). The price difference is negligible. You can find SOMETHING near one of the MRT stops.

My friend lived in Taoyuan and was always travelling to Taipei for some much-needed noise. He said there was like one bar there. In fact, he actually changed his accomodation to Taipei and commuted to work because he became so bored of it. I visited once, nothing there. He had an absolutely terrible job earning 38,000NT a month.

Taiwan doesn't have a drinking culture anywhere near that of Thailand or Korea, so you've gotta be in the city (unless you wanna drink with farang English teachers)

Have a look around Banqiao (Taipei). Loads of English schools there, not far from Central Taipei. I had a two bedroom apartment there with a HUGE balcony (on the top floor) for 8,0000NT a month lol. It must have been about 60 square metres. My school was good too (as far as TEFL goes). Hell, PM me, I'll throw you the names of some schools in that area.

Taipei is a fantastic city. The money will be very similar to Korea but you will have to pay for your own flights and accommodation. It's the only real city in Taiwan. It's gotta be there (or perhaps Kaoshiung). Unless you've been offered a really high salary to be in Taouyan (or are teaching adults.)

Plus, if you're gonna be in a quiet place, surely you'd rather be down South where it's hot all year and there are beaches? (Perhaps Tainan?)

[cooldude898]

(12-17-2014 08:52 AM)LeightonBlackstock Wrote:  

(12-16-2014 09:18 PM)cooldude898 Wrote:  

I have recently accepted a teaching position in Taiwan and was wondering if anyone could comment on how the country compared to neighboring Asian countries in terms of payment, worklife, cost of living, nightlife, women, etc.

Basically, I'm going to be in Taoyuan (a nearby Taipei suburb).

Dude, Taoyuan is complete no-mans land. It's a village practically. My advice is to keep searching and get a job in Taipei. There are still plenty of jobs there (about eight million people live there?). The price difference is negligible. You can find SOMETHING near one of the MRT stops.

My friend lived in Taoyuan and was always travelling to Taipei for some much-needed noise. He said there was like one bar there. In fact, he actually changed his accomodation to Taipei and commuted to work because he became so bored of it. I visited once, nothing there. He had an absolutely terrible job earning 38,000NT a month.

Taiwan doesn't have a drinking culture anywhere near that of Thailand or Korea, so you've gotta be in the city (unless you wanna drink with farang English teachers)

Have a look around Banqiao (Taipei). Loads of English schools there, not far from Central Taipei. I had a two bedroom apartment there with a HUGE balcony (on the top floor) for 8,0000NT a month lol. It must have been about 60 square metres. My school was good too (as far as TEFL goes). Hell, PM me, I'll throw you the names of some schools in that area.

Taipei is a fantastic city. The money will be very similar to Korea but you will have to pay for your own flights and accommodation. It's the only real city in Taiwan. It's gotta be there (or perhaps Kaoshiung). Unless you've been offered a really high salary to be in Taouyan (or are teaching adults.)

Plus, if you're gonna be in a quiet place, surely you'd rather be down South where it's hot all year and there are beaches? (Perhaps Tainan?)

Okay this is a bit of an overload lol.

The only plus side of the Taoyuan job is that I get free housing (dorms at that, so not too hot). Other than that, I haven't been able to find any jobs with perks like that in the country. My only other offer is for some town in the center of the island (pop 20k?) which I have absolutely no interest in. Worst case scenario, if I don't get any more offers within a couple more weeks of applying, I'll take the Taoyuan job (pay is decent, 80 teaching hours/month for 2k/month) and move to the city after 2-3 months and just commute.

I'm pretty much open to Taipei or Kaohsiung, both seem lively enough for my tastes. But that's interesting how you mentioned Korean drinking culture. I can see how they do have a tendency to party/drink more, but I've heard nothing but negative things about the women and people in general compared to other asian cultures, namely Taiwan. That's why I gravitated towards it and was open to taking the financial hit.

I just graduated college with a Biology degree btw. Essentially I'm in the process of formulating a backup plan in case my main career goals don't work. TEFL seemed to fit due being able to pick up 2-3 years of international teaching experience with it and then come back home and pick up a master's in education. With the master's and experience, I'd apply for international school positions and be able to make a Western teacher's salary in places with low cost of living/fun women. I was just mainly wondering about the viability of this plan, long term.

[Moto]

That's what I did. Got my teaching license as well as TEFL. Moved to a country where I could make a US teacher's salary with half the cost of living and sexier women.

All sunshine and roses, right?

Teaching isn't easy. If it's only a means to an end, and you don't actually have a passion for teaching or don't like the school environment, it may not be a walk in the park.

I've had some serious ups and downs, I'm about to be in a new country and on a new adventure to further my career.

While in my opinion planning a really good TEFL lesson is harder than planning a good elementary lesson, it is overall harder to teach elementary (and probably any grade K-12). You need strong classroom management, you don't learn that in teacher training or teaching business English to adults. You may need a serious shift in your attitude, beliefs, and expectations about yourself as well as students to be successful, as I have.

Just don't go into this thinking it will be easy. But by all means go for it.

[EinsteinsLaundry]

(12-17-2014 07:20 AM)Hedonistic Traveler Wrote:  

How long have you been in Korea? I just got here a week ago, it's pretty quiet so far.

I'm kinda out in the boonies. I could've waited until February to get a better location, but I had already delayed moving abroad by four months on account of some last-minute medical issues.

I'm most likely going to be dipping out after five months to Taiwan or SEA, I'm just trying to get some money together for an online teaching certification program.

I have been in Korea for 9 months, and will be here for another year. I live in Daegu, whereabouts are you located?

[LeightonBlackstock]

(12-17-2014 02:50 PM)cooldude898 Wrote:  

The only plus side of the Taoyuan job is that I get free housing (dorms at that, so not too hot). Other than that, I haven't been able to find any jobs with perks like that in the country.

(pay is decent, 80 teaching hours/month for 2k/month)

To get a good job in Taiwan you need to be there in person.

I recommended accepting that job but only as an absolute back-up

Fly to Taiwan a month before the start date of that job and hunt around Taipei. You'll get something, I'm sure, and if you don't you have that to stop you from starving

It won't be expensive to live in Taiwan for a month job-hunting. I know a hostel for 5000NT a month that's always empty and never gets farang tourists if you need to do it on the cheap.

The pay offer is decent yeah, but do you really want to live in a dorm?

You can get that pay in Taipei at almost all the main jobs.

[jdreise]

(12-14-2014 03:37 PM)RexImperator Wrote:  

(03-08-2012 10:00 PM)jdreise Wrote:  

A coworker from my school just got hired by an oil contractor to teach Physics in Equatorial Guinea. He’s going to be making $20,000 a month, working your typical 28 on, 28 off shift. That’s $120,000 a year, tax free for 6 months of work. He has no teacher’s license btw, just a Bachelor’s in Computer Science and about 4 years of teaching physics and math in a Thai public school.

Is this kind of thing still possible? That's some decent money. (Not that I'd want to go to West Africa now given the Ebola outbreak, but still...)

I'm looking to make some changes in my (stagnant) career trajectory and I have a B.S. in Physics. Teaching overseas could be an interesting way to shake things up.

Yeah, there are still positions like this out there, but you're going to need experience and connections. The whole "teaching abroad/ESL" thing is an industry, and a (subjectively) lucrative one for people who learn some of the ins and outs.

You'll see a lot of bad talk on the internet from people who taught in a language school (or contracting agency) for one contract, got dicked over hard, and went home and complained about how they made no money and how everything is so horrible. Teaching in language schools is the international education field equivalent of flipping burgers. Get beyond the mindset that all you can do is teach ESL in these places and there are actually tangible possibilities in the international education market. An obvious benefit is much lower taxes and cost of living coupled with a decent Western salary and expat benefits. Anyway, I digress...

There are quite a few Physics teaching positions in China with the recent explosion of "international" schools and programs in the country. Most of them pay in the RMB 18,000 to 28,000 range with flights, housing, workweek meals, insurance, completion bonuses, 2+ months of vacation, and maybe a few other perks. Since you'll only have 20 or so teaching periods a week, you can double your income by working outside. It is possible to triple the above income, but you'll need to be somewhat fortunate with scheduling and select your corporates and part-times well.

Here's a job that's being advertised right now (my notes in bold):

Quote:

Description:
1. An Intetrnational High School is now finding mathematics, physics and chemistry teachers, one for each position.
2. Salary after-tax 20,000-23,000/month
3. You are supposed to teach high school students from grade 1 to grade 3 <--This means grade 10 through 12 in the US system
4. Schedule Monday-Friday 8:30am-5:30pm<-- You would probably teach fifteen to twenty 40-minute classes per week
5. Contract completion & renewal bonus offered<--A completion bonus between RMB 10,000 and 20,000 is pretty standard
6. Chinese medical insurance offered<--- This might be shitty insurance
7. Chinese public holidays paid and western holidays<--Probably around 2 months, maybe 3
8. Working Visa/Foreign Expert Certificate offered<--FEC is good because you can transfer it to another employer
9. Location close to Xingzhi Road on Metro Line7
10. Availablity the end of February, 2015

Requirements:
1. BA degree or above
2. At least 2years teaching experience of specific subject teaching<--there are ways to get around this
3. One-year contract
5. English Native Speaker with related educational background would be prefered
http://jobs.echinacities.com/jobchapter/1354465192

Have a look around that website and maybe on linkedin. I saw a physics job in SH posted on linkedin today.

(12-16-2014 11:07 PM)CJ_W Wrote:  

Look into working in China in a job with your degree, They've been hiring foreign scientists a LOT there, I met a nordic guy who was paid to work on superconductor something in China

CJ_W is correct. There is a lot of work for things other than teaching in China. A Western face with a STEM degree should be able to find something rather easily, although you might end up making the same or more as a teacher if you play your cards right and you'll probably have more vacation time to travel around Asia.

[albusan]

Hey guys, I'm a newly single man starting a plan to live a different lifestyle in the near future. I'm recently discharged from the Marine Corp. I want to experience SE Asia for a while but I can see money being an issue.
I make $920.00 a month automatically. If that's not enough for living in Sea I'm thinking teaching English is my only option.
Also I need to find away to get a longterm VISA also.
I see some problems:
I have an associates only. Do I need a Bachelors? I'm reading mixed responses to this question.
Apparently you have to be white, I'm hispanic American but I really don't have a latin accent. My first language is English.
I need to get a TEFL, TESOL, or CELTA. That's probably the easiest problem to solve.
I need to be in SEA first before I get hired for the job?
Am I missing anything else? I'll appreciate the help guys.

[LeightonBlackstock]

That website EChinaCities is infamous for selling on details and aiding identity theft in China

Axion of TEFL #124: Never post your resume onto one of these 'online formatted' systems which you can find on recruiter sites (unless it's for a specific school/company)

A school that wants to hire will never go through the arduous process of logging into multiple sites and deciphering the information on ten different tabs. If there's no email to contact them, approach with caution. For 99% of TEFL jobs you send your Photo and resume by email and that's it

However, ignoring that website, that's pretty awesome information jdreise, will certainly be looking into that. Have an engineering degree

[MidWest]

Guys. What is a good website to do get your TEFL or TESOL certification? I want to get that out of the way this winter break. Do I need to go to a classroom for this? Or can I just do it in the convenience of my house? And how much does it generally cost? Thanks.

[EinsteinsLaundry]

Classroom is best bet. Some places don't accept online only certification. However, some people have had success with it. I went with oxford seminars. It will run you about $800. Worth it though to get you overseas!

[TheGrandAdmiral]

Taught over the summer in China. Made the mistake of not doing a proper scouting mission before settling down, but it was a great experience and I plan on returning next year. I already have a few jobs lined up, but if I could make residual income somehow and just spend my time in China exploring, that would be much better.

[jdreise]

(12-22-2014 03:18 PM)LeightonBlackstock Wrote:  

That website EChinaCities is infamous for selling on details and aiding identity theft in China

Axion of TEFL #124: Never post your resume onto one of these 'online formatted' systems which you can find on recruiter sites (unless it's for a specific school/company)

A school that wants to hire will never go through the arduous process of logging into multiple sites and deciphering the information on ten different tabs. If there's no email to contact them, approach with caution. For 99% of TEFL jobs you send your Photo and resume by email and that's it

However, ignoring that website, that's pretty awesome information jdreise, will certainly be looking into that. Have an engineering degree

I've been offered and accepted two part-time teaching jobs (that I later when other more profitable opportunities arose in those time slots) and a proofreading job through that Echinacities website.

I'm no expert on identity theft in China, but the information you put on that website is not any different than what someone puts on Linkedin. There's no reason to upload anything more than a resume, cover letter, and photo. You should never send anything more than those 3 things unless you've already been to the school and had a face-to-face interview.

[MidWest]

(12-24-2014 02:01 AM)jdreise Wrote:  

(12-22-2014 03:18 PM)LeightonBlackstock Wrote:  

That website EChinaCities is infamous for selling on details and aiding identity theft in China

Axion of TEFL #124: Never post your resume onto one of these 'online formatted' systems which you can find on recruiter sites (unless it's for a specific school/company)

A school that wants to hire will never go through the arduous process of logging into multiple sites and deciphering the information on ten different tabs. If there's no email to contact them, approach with caution. For 99% of TEFL jobs you send your Photo and resume by email and that's it

However, ignoring that website, that's pretty awesome information jdreise, will certainly be looking into that. Have an engineering degree

I've been offered and accepted two part-time teaching jobs (that I later when other more profitable opportunities arose in those time slots) and a proofreading job through that Echinacities website.

I'm no expert on identity theft in China, but the information you put on that website is not any different than what someone puts on Linkedin. There's no reason to upload anything more than a resume, cover letter, and photo. You should never send anything more than those 3 things unless you've already been to the school and had a face-to-face interview.

How about a copy of a degree or a TEFL certificate?

Also jdreise, what do you recommend in terms of obtaining the TEFL certificate. I really don't want to go through a class program for this. Is it possible just to do it online? Thanks in advanced.

[Adrenaline]

I'll have a 4 year degree in Education (Primary School) at the end of this year. Will this be enough to land most jobs without a TEFL course, or is TEFL necessary? What are my chances of getting a top-end job, considering I have an actual teaching degree?

Also, which country is my best bet to save the most possible money? I was thinking Japan but apparently jobs in Tokyo are hard to get, and I don't want to be living in a remote area. The pay and benefits in Korea sounds pretty tempting. Would love to teach in Thailand but the pay just seems way too low compared to other options.

[Hedonistic Traveler]

(12-24-2014 06:33 AM)Adrenaline Wrote:  

I'll have a 4 year degree in Education (Primary School) at the end of this year. Will this be enough to land most jobs without a TEFL course, or is TEFL necessary? What are my chances of getting a top-end job, considering I have an actual teaching degree?

Also, which country is my best bet to save the most possible money? I was thinking Japan but apparently jobs in Tokyo are hard to get, and I don't want to be living in a remote area. The pay and benefits in Korea sounds pretty tempting. Would love to teach in Thailand but the pay just seems way too low compared to other options.

If you're a certified teacher you should look into international school jobs like Jdreise and Moto are talking about. More money and much more professional. You'd probably be stuck somewhere shitty for a few years due to a lack of experience though.

If you'd rather teach English for whatever reason you can do it with just a degree in Korea and Taiwan. Korea would be better for saving money, it's easy to save a $1000 a month here and I know people doing closer to $1500.

If you want SEA I had a friend save about $800 a month working in Saigon. He said he had a good time. No TEFL either, but I think you're supposed to have one.

[Hedonistic Traveler]

Sorry for the double-post but do you guys have any recommendations for sites to pull worksheets off of?

All my classes have a wide-range of age-groups which means I need a lot of busy work. I usually just google for worksheets, but I'd love to find a site that consistently has good stuff. I'm mainly looking for lower-level work, about 6-11 years-old, my older kids are easy to keep busy.

Any help would definitely be appreciated. The other teachers at my school are fucking useless.

[LeightonBlackstock]

Hedonistic Traveler:

I am the laziest fucking planner on this planet, I plan NOTHING.

If these things work with midde-aged, staunch Thai yellow shirts then they'll work easily with kids. It helps to have 101% energy (which I do when I teach)

1) The serious recommendation: http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/ : Print of the 'two-page mini lessons'. Easily eat up an hour. Do this with your class of Middle schoolers who sleep at the table and have already had ten hours of education before their lesson with big-nose.

2) Ask everyone five questions. Get everyone to stand up, walk around the room and ask each other 5 questions. It can be as easy as 'What's your name? What's your job?' or more difficult (This has eaten up 30 minutes before. You can then ask everyone "What did you find out about Kim-Jong-Lee? and it'll eat up another 30 damn minutes. Demo it on yourself first to get the juices flowing. Usually my students ask me "How many girlfriends do you have?" and we all laugh and pat our knees and occasionally someone throws up with all the excitement.

3) The gossip game. You tell one person in the class to keep their mouth shut. Then everyone else shouts out things they know/think they know about that person. Easily kills 30 minutes with my students. After you ask the person if its true. I play this game nearly every class, they fucking love it.

4) Compliments. Tell everyone to walk around and give each other two compliments "you're hair looks lovely!", "I love your bag". They find this hilarious for some reason. Maybe add some crap in about replying to compliments if you can be bothered.

5) Find someone who....... This takes 2 minutes to prepare. Print of a table on some paper with things like "has a girlfriend", "cannot swim", "hates cats, "thinks their civil liberties are being forever curtailed in the name of counter-terrorism". They walk around and ask questions. It eats up 30 minutes. Then feedback eats up another 30.

6) Debates. Start of the class with 'What do you usually debate about?' to extract the language/emotion from THEM. Never GIVE them the crap, get it out from them and throw it back. Then when you've got them to write down things such as "I think kimchi should be eaten on the hour, every hour rather than just three meals a day" you ask the groups to discuss

7) Selling shit. I got my Thai students to try and sell things they would never buy in a million years, such as 'Indian food', 'Tanning lotion' and 'Independent thought'. They had to prepare presentations. and convince people to buy their product.

8) Drama. Role-plays. Group one, you're at an airport. Group two, you're a couple arguing. Group three you're giving birth. You have twenty minutes. After you'll show everyone

9) A love story. I get them to answer ten questions. e.g 'Where is a good place for a date?', 'Name a nationality', 'Describe a beautiful woman' Where is a good place to meet someone?". Ok, now write a story about Teacher Leighton, I'm on a date with a gir. After you're gonna read it out to us

10) Make a movie. I elicit ten words. e.g. "What is a smelly fruit?" "What is something you tell a girlfriend?" "Name a place?" then I give them a line like "Wait a minute, that's my hat". They have to make a play, then show it to the class after

11) ASK ME ANYTHING These can get good questions. Get them to write questions for you first. I've had "How many girlfriends have you had?" "Have you ever been to a ladyboy pub?" "What do you think of the Thai prime minister". You then answer. Then say "Ok, now you can ask each other, stand up and ask everyone"

Do some of these and you're kids will laugh, it'll look like you're doing a good job, you'll never have to plan and you'l be able to teach when hung over as piss

[Suits]

(12-25-2014 09:02 AM)LeightonBlackstock Wrote:  

Do some of these and you're kids will laugh, it'll look like you're doing a good job, you'll never have to plan and you'l be able to teach when hung over as piss

Ain't that the truth.



I go the no planning route too. I will do occasional prep work, but my method for teaching English is based on repetition until the students here in China can actually manage to express the most simplest of desires in English.

Most college level English majors in China can't communicate in the most basic of English, so getting that far with a bunch of 8 year olds is a major success.

Learning a few new vocab words each week doesn't do anything, except build a useless vocabulary.

Constantly drilling the same exercise repeatedly until all the kids can actually order a burger in English actually works, even if it takes a whole semester.

Hence, very little prep work.

[VolandoVengoVolandoVoy]

I recently did a ton of research, as I was going to move to China or Taiwan to teach.
I decided against it, as I can make good money if I stay where I am, and because I don't want to move anywhere new until I've finished my project of getting back into an elite level of physical fitness.
That said, the single resource I found that was best for teaching in China is the China Foreign Teacher's Union (http://www.chinaforeignteachersunion.org/). They have master lists of blacklisted and whitelisted employers in China, and much more. They can help you avoid disaster and getting cheated. If you are polite and email them directly and they aren't busy, they can even help you in the job search process.
* Apparently Chinese employers hate them, and have tried multiple times to hack their website, so they must be doing something right.