I think I already mentioned this... but Julie says to avoid Thailand for teaching (and she loves Thailand, so that's saying something.) Apparently, most of the jobs are taken by creepy sexpats who will do anything to stay in the country - so you won't get treated well or even paid well.
If you have a teaching certificate, you can work for an international school (teaching diplomats' kids, etc.) which is much better - they actually care about the quality of their English teachers and won't hire unqualified people, so you aren't competing against the sexpats, but you do need a teaching certificate.
This is all second hand (from Julie) but she's done her homework where Thailand is concerned so I tend to believe what she tells me.
Though I don't have first-hand experience with them, I've been told that Footprints Recruiting (based in BC) is quite good. A friend of mine who was doing the CELTA (TESL certificate) with me vouched for them.
If you like, I can get you in touch with a friend of mine who's currently teaching ESL in China.
cool, sure. China 's not as high on my list as the other countries, but not by much, and if it pays well I'd go. Thanks for the info about the footprints people, I'll have to check them out.
funny you should mention that, since the dude from Gaijinsmash got into japan by the JET program, and was talking about this, and answering questions on his last post. you might want to check it out. i read the dude religiously.
Funny, my brother is currently on my couch, with his visa fresh in hand, packing for his trip to teach English in Korea this Saturday. He's going to the Namyangyu Readingtown Campus, which is in the town of Namyangyu not far from Seoul.
Anyway, his general advice is that personal recommendations of good schools are about a million times better than going with an agency. His specific advice is to ask any friends who were over there (a) whether they liked their school and (b) if they got paid, then try to find out if that particular school is hiring. Agencies will often place you somewhere where the answer to one or more of those questions is "no".
Also, his personal ranking of countries is Japan first, based on being the most interesting culturally (I guess this is a matter of taste, to a degree), then Korea second, due to still being interesting and paying the most. Granted, he hasn't been over there yet.
cool. i've heard different things about Korea, Mostly what you said about paying well, but it's not as interesting to me as the other countries I mentioned are. I'll keep it in mind.
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If you have a teaching certificate, you can work for an international school (teaching diplomats' kids, etc.) which is much better - they actually care about the quality of their English teachers and won't hire unqualified people, so you aren't competing against the sexpats, but you do need a teaching certificate.
This is all second hand (from Julie) but she's done her homework where Thailand is concerned so I tend to believe what she tells me.
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If you like, I can get you in touch with a friend of mine who's currently teaching ESL in China.
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Cheers!
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Larry taught english in Japan for 4 years.
larryrobert@mac.com
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Anyway, his general advice is that personal recommendations of good schools are about a million times better than going with an agency. His specific advice is to ask any friends who were over there (a) whether they liked their school and (b) if they got paid, then try to find out if that particular school is hiring. Agencies will often place you somewhere where the answer to one or more of those questions is "no".
Also, his personal ranking of countries is Japan first, based on being the most interesting culturally (I guess this is a matter of taste, to a degree), then Korea second, due to still being interesting and paying the most. Granted, he hasn't been over there yet.
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thanks a lot for your advice :)
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