Recommendations and tips

Teaching ESL

On this page, we look at why you should get a job teaching ESL abroad, with a few tips from people who have gone out and done exactly that.

BUILD FOR YOUR FUTURE

Mark Williams
[email protected]

Do you need to get away? Try something new? Are you bored of waiting tables? Got debts, debts, debts? Do you want to start saving money? Learn a new language? Trying to figure out what you want to do tomorrow?

If your answer is “yes” to any of these questions (and mine was yes to nearly all), you should seriously consider getting a job teaching ESL overseas. It is pretty easy to get yourself going and to begin having fun.

I live in Busan, Korea, and have been doing so for nearly four years. I have picked up enough Korean to put on a Résumé: I have travelled to seven countries throughout Asia: I have experienced a world class event in the World Cup: I have met people who are sure to be life-long friends: I have paid off my huge student loan and saved enough to put myself through a master’s degree in Canada, put money down on a house and more…

I have friends who work at hogwans (ESL institutes) who are doing there M.B.A. by correspondence at the same time. I have friends who are studying a full-time martial art like Taekwondo, Kuk-seol, or Hapkiedo, while saving over $1500 Canadian a month. Others are living the party life, while saving serious cash for their future.

Honestly, it all depends on what you want and how motivated you are. Think about your current situation. Is it making you happy? Is it fulfilling? Is it what you want? If your answers are” no” then look over some of the jobs posted on this site and see if there is anything intriguing. I bet you there will be something there that will open some doors for you.

Good luck!

TAKE THE CHALLENGE

Shannon Evans

I was a naïve 23 year old boy when I boarded a Korean Air flight and headed towards the most unique and rewarding challenge of my life. After 5 years of living, thriving and teaching ESL in South Korea, I am a much better man for it. I enjoyed the challenges and thrills of living in a foreign country. The entire journey provided me with invaluable life experience, and placed me in the financial position to pursue post graduate studies in Australia. Anyone who is hesitant and nervous of teaching abroad is missing out on an incredible opportunity. I had the pleasure to both work and socialize with some members of this website, and I highly recommend their expertise in helping you find the job that suits your needs. Just go for it.

SHORT AND SWEET

G Gilmour
Winnipeg, MB

I had a great time teaching in Korea. I had an apartment really close to the school with a mountain right outside my door. I spent weekends hiking and relaxing. The staff members were friendly. There were a lot of materials for teachers to use in the resource library and there was unlimited use of the photocopier, which, was an issue in some schools of other companies. The teachers at the school were very supportive and I found that there were a lot of things to do in the area and places to explore around the city of Chinju and the rest of Korea. I recommend teaching at either institution to any new teachers. It’s a great opportunity to improve teaching skills. There is never a dull moment in Korea. My next stop is China for a change of scenery.

USE A RECRUITER!

Tasha Jillson
Buffalo, NY, USA

Hi there!
I used Russell Recruiting/Asian Gateway to find a job in Asia, Korea actually. I had a really tough time finding someone I could trust, it seemed like a minefield out there, all these promises and hot air. Thankfully, the people at Russell Recruiting calmed me down and helped steer me through to the right path. I got to choose from a number of different positions and was given the contact info for the teachers at the school so I could check up on things and get the real take on things like the actual apt I was to live in, who my roommate was going to be, what the director was like to work for, etc. Thank God I had this info ahead of time, I felt totally comfortable walking into my new job, my new country and I can say that I have now been at the same school for three years and have enjoyed every minute of my time here! I would seriously recommend these guys to assist you in finding work, they know what to watch out for!

EXCITING LIFE

Norm Blaisdell
[email protected]

Hello! Yes I really mean hello to all of you. It is a great pleasure to see a web site like ESL Job Find where one can post something like this. Well, life is exciting if you are in Asia. My experiences in this part of the world began with Japan, followed by Taiwan, S Korea and China.

Japan was great but most people where I was, seemed friendly and helpful but cold to Americans at times. The kids were like all kids, interested in what you are doing or what is going on, plus they like to really have fun.

Taipei was very crowded, dirty congested with obnoxious motorcycle drivers with disgusting taxi drivers or bus drivers who chew on some form of nuit and spit it out the window. The school where I worked was huge and had many branches and you can be sent to as many 3 of them in one day and never did they let you remain in one place in Taipei although if you were in the southern parts where only one school was, you stayed there. They were extremely secretive about who owned the school, where the office was and many other things.

Being an inquisitive individual and eager to learn about them, my investigation came up with many interesting things and I knew more about them in the end. Basically, it is a front and a good one at that, but then they were not very kind to the teachers; paying a very low amount of money, giving nothing else and they really lied to you just to get you to come and work. They did not screen anyone and most of the teachers were not that great either.

S Korea well I got the shaft and still am owed a great deal of money. I really would not like to go back and work, but to visit is a greater adventure than anything else really. China is wonderful. Nice people and very friendly. Have been here 2 years and at 2 different schools. Love my recruiter and she works hard to make sure I get the best. I will go on to another city in the fall which is great and seeing more of this vast land is wonderful.