Teaching and Traveling Experiences?

modulus · Joined: 27 Feb 2005 Posts: 8

Recently one of my close friends decided to take a trip to Korea and to fund the trip by teaching English lessons. He's in Korea at the moment, he says it's great and that the people there are really great - they're very polite :). I've heard from him that the pay for teaching is extremely good too, although generally Asians/Korean's prefer white/caucasian people to teach them English - especially if it's at a school! He says that his school has an opening for a native English speaker for a temporary 6-month job. He recommended that I try it out.

This sounds pretty tempting, although I'm Asian. I'm really thinking about giving this thing a shot! Does anyone else have any experiences regarding teaching and traveling?

Laura · Joined: 16 May 2004 Posts: 446 Location: San Francisco

Not first hand, but a friend of mine when to China to teach English and loved it so much he stayed there for about 2 1/2 years. He's now got a computer related job that requries him to travel back and forth to China, and even a Chinese girlfriend.

I have heard there's some scams regarding English teachers in China, but have never heard anything bad about Korea. There are bunches of web sites out there for people who want to teach English in Asia. It really sounds like it could be a great adventure and an incredible learning experience! If I weren't married and wasn't working at another career already, I'd certainly be very interested in checking it out.

Good luck to you, and let us know what you find out and what happens!

Jonathan · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 185

Justed wanted to say "welcome to the Travel Forums modulus!" :D

cocodrilo · Joined: 12 Apr 2004 Posts: 494 Location: Western Japan

I have been teaching English in Japan for 20 years. It started with a stint an an "Eikaiwa"(school that concentrates on teaching conversational skills to students of all ages) and after 1 1/2 years of that, moved on to high shcools, technical schools and universities. I have a friend who spent a year teaching in Korea. She was not pleased with the company, they had her teaching ridiculously long hours and her apartment was grotesque. This has happened to people I know many, many times who have worked for various companies in Japan. What you need to do is THOROUGHLY research the company and go over their contract (if they offer any) before you decide to join. A lot of companies outsource, and they have their teachers drive(or take local transport) hours each way to other companies or schools. I heard my friend was getting around $2000 a month in Korea. In Japan, the salaries are comparable, although the cost of living is much higher and you will need a heck of a lot more than that for living costs. I have been to Korea 19 times and love the place. The people are friendly and eager learners(a good deal of them are fluent in the Japanese language as well.) and I would imagine it could be a very nice place to live & work. Do take my advice and really look into the companies before you commit. It is a hassle to spend the the time and money getting yourself over there, only finding out that it is not what you expected. I will search for an ELT newsletter webiste that can give you more information, firsthand, from teachers living & working in Asia.

cocodrilo · Joined: 12 Apr 2004 Posts: 494 Location: Western Japan

Here's the ELT newsletter I just mentioned:

http://www.eltnews.com

...and their latest newsletter:

http://www.eltnews.com/newsletter/index.html

modulus · Joined: 27 Feb 2005 Posts: 8

Thanks for the advice guys. I will be sure to look into this offer a bit more, I'm going to do a bit of research to see how this thing works. My friend seems to be having a good time, but you never know :(.

Jonathan · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 185

Great resource their cocodrilo, thanks.

Good luck figuring everything out modulus, and don;t forget to keep us posted! :wink: