Hello everyone, I'm looking to leave my current employment in the Air Force next year and possibly start teaching English abroad. The countries I would look to go for this would be China, or potentially Burma. I have been to China and Hong Kong in the past and know some Mandarin. Though to be honest I tend to pick up languages quite well so I am not worried about going to a place I don't know. I am aware of the value of getting a TEFL, and I seek to do that in the new year. I have no University qualifications, just the standard run of the mill grades from high school. So if anyone has any experience of either working in the countries above or teaching English abroad or just general MAP commenting all welcome. Raz
Given the general economic climate in the UK and cuts in the armed services, would it not be best to stay in the RAF a while longer and pickup redundancy pay? - and at the same time work on the TEFL course e.g. evening class.
I don't qualify for redundancy, as I have not been in that long (im 21) I will have it done before I leave though which will be this time next time year. Raz
I've been TEFLing since 1999. I've worked in Finland, Czech Republic, Japan and now back in the Nordics. You don't really need TEFL certs. or a degree to work in Asia, but having them will help a lot and keep you away from the cowboys....TEFL is full of them. If you are going to do a TEFL course, you should do the CELTA or the Trinity one, they carry more weight. Drop me a PM or post away if you have any questions.
I'd still stick with the RFA for a while as a) you are young and b) its always good training you get in the RAF - much better than a civilian job. I guess you do some kind of engineering e.g aircraft maintenance. If they teach you to fly, you really should stay there as gaining a commercial pilot's licence is expensive and time consuming. At some point in your life, you may want to earn decent money e.g. when starting a family, and the better the training you have, the better your job chances are. The TEFL course will give you options as well. I am 53 and travel pretty much all over Europe if not quite the planet, and I may do a TEFL course sometime, as I teach English ad-hoc for free, from time to time, but I can't see it being my main income earner.
TEFL pays very badly...unless you're in the Mid-East. You can get lucky in Asia, but for every good job, there is a a ton of dodgy ones. The wages in Europe are terrible. Most of the work is on a freelance basis, so there is little security. It's pretty hard work and can have very bad hours. The upside is it can be a ton of fun...and you get the chance to live abroad if that suits you.
How easy is it to pick up work like this for a couple of months? How many hours do you have to work? I work as an IT contractor mostly in Europe and do have periods where I am not working usually a couple of months, and a fairly easy going job for a few months would suit me fine, while I looked for my next contract.
When you say it pays badly you mean ill be struggling? Or it pays badly by UK/US standards? Working overseas interests me a lot, didn't plan on staying in Europe tbh. Hours are fine also not to bothered about that. ---- No I'm not an engineering type, im more of Int/Operations type guy. It pays ok i mean im comfy and I have a secure job but it bores me to no end Raz
If you sit more on the Intelligence/Operations type world and you have a bent for languages, maybe look for a career in MI6 or whatever (I don't actually know) but I did read a while back that MI5/MI6/GCHQ etc needed folk with the relevant basic military training and language skills. As best I know its the fodder skilled jobs in the forces that will bear the brunt of the cuts.
SIS require a degree So maybe down the line but not for the next period of my life, thanks though Raz
Embra - Well, the usual thing is 24 units...so 24 x 45 mins....personally that doesn't bring in a lot of money, so I work more when the work is there. But it obviously depends on what you consider to be an ok salary to live off. There's other ways to make money on the job though, but that varies from country to country. If you are "in-country", then it could be quite easy to get work. Every country is different, it will depend on the local market. There's lots of work in Eastern Europe and practically none in the Nordics. The industry has changed a lot in Europe over the past few years. As it's quite easy to move around a lot of the schools/companies prefer to hire people who are already based in the country. I don't think I can post links to jobs here so I'll PM you. The economic situation has caused a lot of problems in the industry...as with everything else. There is a lot less TEFL work around these days in Europe. Asia is doing ok, as is the Mid-East. Latin America seems to be growing. Razgriz - Well, if you aim for Asia then the wages can be better and there is more work available if you get a freelance type contract. The problem with the hours is they can be at awkward times. You might find you are working a couple of hours in the day then doing a ton of classes at night..you know...the time when you want to be practicing your martial arts!! A lot of the jobs are in private language schools, you can get jobs in the public schools too. The private schools can work after school/work hours. But it all really depends on what country you are in. The best thing is to thing about what country/countries you would like to TEFL in and then figure out the pay, hours, conditions etc
I did TEFL in Italy for a year (with 3 months off for summer holidays, despite being adults they seemed to think that they shouldn't do classes while school kids were not at school. I did the basic training course and got in fine with a private tutor rather than a big school. As stated by Boris the pay was pretty rubbish, but I was lucky in that I was living with a family friend so I got rent quite cheap. I had an absolute ball doing this and highly recomend it if you find it interesting. Usually the schools dont mind if you dont speak much of the language of the country as that forces the students to speak english.
Doing it for a year or so is fine and a lot of fun...but a career in TEFL is not the best choice you can make. I think over 90% of people quit TEFL after 1 year. Yeah, you don't usually have to worry about speaking the local language. Native speakers are normally given students/groups who can use the target language already. Your aim is not really to teach them, but to make them practice. But it differs from country to country. EDIT: Despite my negativity about the pay/contracts...It can be a lot of fun. The other day I sat for 90 mins chatting with one of my students about Crossfit...then Christopher Hitchens. He happily pays me for that.
Check out Dave's ESL cafe (http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/) for some great insights and info. I taught English in the South Korean public school system (EPIK) for 4 years - it required a college degree but the pay and conditions were excellent. The college jobs teaching EFL/ESL were very good as well and there were quite a few out there. Private sector jobs were a mix of awesome, good, not bad, and horrible. I don't know much about other countries but SOuth Korea requires a college degree. Other EFL/ESL certifications were handy - sometimes could generate extra money on the job. Take a look at the link I posted - it's a good place t ask about specific areas and requirements/expectations.
Save up some money before you go, then just hop on a plane and go find a job over there. Don't let not having a degree hold you back. China is desperate for people to teach English. Also don't be afraid to think outside the box. I know many foreigners in China that have got jobs for other places such as bars or hostels. There is lots of opportunity there.
Dave's ESL cafe is a good resource...the forum is broken down by country, so it's quite easy to get some idea of the market in China. If in the future you get a job, then post there and ask for any info regarding the school/company. It might just save you.
Thanks will be checking these sites out. @The saving money yea I heard that one before, I was thinking of saving about £5,000 ($8,000) as kind of to live on money, staying in the cheapest of the cheap hotel un till I get something nailed, though getting a job first before going is probably best, Raz
There is online TEFL courses...Obviously doing it face-to-face and getting the class practice is better, but it is an option. http://www.teflcoursereview.com/courses/type/online-courses/ I'd look at International House and see about doing the CELTA course. They are one of the more reliable and respected companies in the industry. You can do the course abroad as well. I think it's about £1,200 and last for 4 weeks...It's pretty intensive though. http://ihworld.com/teachers/centres/b5d954643673cfe4969e126e25702c17/
