Jamshyd said:
There are three main requirements for teaching English abroad, in order of importance:
- A University Degree (Bachelor's at least)
- "Native" English Speaker (whatever the hell this is, I have issues with this one)
- A TEFL/TESOL degree
I totally agree with you on the ambiguity or general semantic issues with the "native speaker" requirement. Obviously, what they mean is that they want someone whose mother tongue is English, but there isn't exactly a way of verifying that. I had a few friends who were teaching in Korea with me for whom English was a second and third language. They were both French Canadians and one of them had learned Spanish abroad before he learned English. However, they will assume that - if you don't have an non-English accent when they speak to you over the phone - that you are a "native speaker." This whole thing had a negative effect on some teachers I taught with in Korea who were first generation Korean-Canadians who decided to go to Korea and had basic knowledge of Korean...in the past, they got paid less even though they were "native speakers." Luckily, this sort of discrimination is being phased out since they are starting to recognise the advantages of receiving an education from someone who has a good grasp of the culture and language of the country, but who speaks English perfectly. Sorry, that was a bit of a rant.
You will be able to find jobs without a degree, deja, but they will be shady. You can get work legally in Taiwan if you have a 2-year diploma, but in most other countries you need a Bachelor's degree to get a VISA. If you don't have a working VISA, you'll have to leave the country often to make VISA runs, which is shady business in and of itself. You can get caught quite easily if you don't cover all of your bases. I'm not sure about SE Asia, so maybe Jamshyd can help me out here.
Jamshyd said:
In the past, you used to be able to teach English simply by being able to speak it. Long gone are these days. Now most schools asks for at least one or a combination of the above. That said, if you're a girl and you look "western," you will find a job much easier, and you can always luck up. As for how you find work, it is usually through the internet.
http://www.eslcafe.com/ is a good start although there are better country-specific ones. The big TEFL countries currently are: China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Thailand (and maybe Hong Kong).
I actually think this is a move in the right direction. Knowing how to speak English does not make a good teacher.
I have to disagree on one point though: the advantageous nature of being female. In many countries in Asia, males are more likely to get positions of power. My male co-worker in Korea - who performed the same supervisory duties as his wife (they were both head teachers) - was paid significantly more a month than she was. This was only a year ago. If you are female, they will be more likely to think that you should be teaching younger kids - ECE and elementary - whereas they seem to prefer male teachers for older kids and adults. It does depend on your school, of course. I don't want to stereotype, but this is a pattern I noticed. I think things are different in a lot of countries, though. I think females are also seen as more caring; thus, as better teachers. I've heard that they prefer female teachers in Thailand because they've had scary experiences with some of the male teachers there? No idea if this is true or not. Probably heresay.
Oh, and Hong Kong is a little tougher to get work in, as they already speak decent English. Same situation as India, except they speak English well there and most of the jobs for native speakers involve training call-centre employees.....??? This is what I've heard. I could be wrong.
Okay I talk too much.
