Guide to Getting a Better ESL Job in Asia
Teaching ESL
Here goes-
1. One of the first things you’ll need to do is choose a location.
There are so many places in the world where you could teach ESL. For many this is basic, for others it could be daunting since there are so many choices. Here are a few basic questions to ask yourself to help you find a better place for you.
What are your interests? Such as surfing, snowboarding, hiking, clubbing, martial arts,etc.
Is there a language you want to learn? Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, etc.
What culture do I want to be immersed in?
Are you looking for an adventure or more like security and saving money?
What kind of environment (temperate, tropical, urban, rural, etc.) do you want to be in?
2.What level/age do you want to teach?
You can teach anywhere from kindergarteners to college and adults. The vast majority of schools (private) have been aimed at teaching kids (aged 8-13 or 14) this is primarily the age range that I taught in Korea and Taiwan. Generally speaking kids outside of the USA tend to be better behaved. Private adult schools exist as well though these are certainly less common.
Do you like kids? How about a classroom full of them? Kids can be loud.
How about the surging hormones of teenagers?
How about several months of paid vacation? University jobs are available in Korea-some can even get in without a teaching certificate- and are generally pretty cushy. In Japan and Taiwan the credentials needed (master’s degree) for these jobs are usually higher.
How many students do you want to teach in a class?-private language schools have fewer students (3-20) per class than public schools/universities (20-45)
3.Choosing a job.
Do you want to work in a public or private school?
-Public schools in Asia are entirely in uniform (the kids). Working in one of these schools would be more like one in America. These are longer hours usually 8:30-4:30, teaching about 4-5 hours a day with maybe at most a couple months paid vacation. Conditions vary. Usually in Korea you don’t need a teaching certificate to do so, most in Taiwan you do, Japan is mix. You can work as an ALT assistant teacher these are considered pretty good jobs, however there’s a longer process to get in to one of these programmes like the JET programme.
-Private schools called Hogwans(Korea), Buxibans(Taiwan), and Eikaiwa(Japan) are numerous.
Teaching hours are usually more but actual working hours are less. Franchises abound. After the kids finish public school they’re off to another school for a solid day of 12 hours+ of school. They are essentially “businesses”. Again conditions vary. Schools are opening and closing down all the time. Many teachers have felt that there duties sometimes can extend up and beyond the “normal” call of what they imagine a teacher to be. Some cater to parents wishes, parents who usually have no idea of what’s actually best for there kids’ level and/or don’t speak any English. Many schools directors don’t speak English either, so there can be communication problems. *Materials and curriculum vary and often they are subpar and/or at an inappropriate level for the students. This can lead to more preparation time and/or poor lessons, better materials are easier to prepare with and lead to better classes.
*What are the three best questions to ask when screening your employer?
A.Get references from past and current teachers. If they have nothing to hide then it shouldn’t be a problem. Schools will likely give you contacts of someone whom they had a good relationship with, so you may have to politely pry from the teacher to get the whole truth out; the school may be good but no school is perfect, something can always be improved upon.
B. Get photos of the housing- If you’re arranging a job from home then this applies. You can also ask the other teachers about it. Many teachers in Korea have found themselves in poor conditions.
C.What materials do they use? See above. If you haven’t taught before then you may have no idea, however you could ask them where their books are published. Often materials published in a non-English speaking country can be full of spelling/grammatical errors and will be somewhat foreign to you.
Lastly I’d suggest just going there, interview there, there’s nothing quite like seeing for yourself.
Ian Patrick Leahy has taught English in Taiwan and Korea. He currently lives in Busan, Korea
To begin, I have taught in Korea for more than 15 years. Thirteen of them at universities and one at a hagwon. I am retired now and teach privates. I am married to a Korean and live in a villa in a Korean area where I am the only foreigner. I believe I am qualified to speak about Korean education systems. My brother-in-law was the Minister of Education for all of Korea. I have been instrumental in assisting the implementation and formulation of requirements for teachers.
Mr. Leahy has given some information that is not necessarily correct. The Korean law only requires a B.A. degree, whether earned in the States, Canada, or the UK. I would venture that 98 percent of schools, universities, or private schools do not require a teaching certificate. If they did, most teachers here now would have to leave.
The primary requirement besides a B.A. is to be a native speaker of English. The degree can be in sports, music, art, business, or any other field. It really doesn’t matter as long as you have one. My own degrees are in English: B.A. M.A. and PH.d. all in English and focused upon grammar, writing, and vocabulary.
Mr. Leahy remarks about the grammar errors in the books offered but failed to note that his own letter contains spelling errors, grammar errors, syntax errors, and poor structure. It is such poor quality of instruction that makes it difficult for others to overcome previously taught techiniques.
A couple of years ago I had a job lined up in Korea working at an institute, teaching business English, Western business customs, etc.. When I arrived and began the work-visa process, Immigration said I couldn’t get one. Reason: Technically, the job was considered an English language teaching job, and my degree wasn’t from the same country that I was from. Although my degree was from an accredited American college, the campus was physically in Europe (there are a number of American colleges there). The way the law reads (or at least did at the time), an American with a PhD in English from Oxford in English or a Brit with a PhD from Harvard in English can’t legally work in Korea.
I had a lousy four week vacation and left. :-(
I was in Korea while in the Air Force; I love the country and would like to go back – you state it is possible to teach without being a college grad but I have not found this to be true.
Can you steer me in the right direction? Pls email your reply.
This would have been great to know 8 years ago when I first came to Korea. I have learned the hard way. I am sure this info will help a lot of future teachers.
Jeff
About the B.A. degree, does immigration automatically disqualify from lists of schools? What kind of verification do we need to be aware of?
Skip the hassle that is Korea and head over to China instead. I just spent a year teaching English and it was an amazing experience in all respects! Yes, I have a B.A and I got a three weekend certification from Oxford to teach TESL but that was enough to land a sweet position at a high school simply by responding to emails while living in a hotel in Shanghai for a few weeks.
Found a good job opp in an email, took a train to the city, walked in and met the principle and my host and they hired me that day and I speak NO Mandarin. They gave me two weeks while they were getting my new apartment ready and let me live on campus, all expenses paid (except food), and in a few weeks I was already used to teaching 16 forty-five minute classes per week to respectful, polite, eager Chinese teenagers.
I was being paid twice what my host was earning and he was the VP of the entire school(!) and they gave me a raise after my first six months. I had six weeks off for summer (paid) and had enough money to travel the entire country including Tibet and Hong Kong.
Just put a digital package together with your resume, passport photos, pics of your passport, your degree or certificate, and respond to emails from other very popular TESL sites and you’ll have a dream job very quickly.
Korea has a bitter reputation, Japan is strict and huge demand means fewer good positions, but China is wide open and the pay and environment is getting better everyday.