Your Passport To The World - Teaching English Abroad

By:Brenda Townsend Hall

Teaching English in a foreign country can be an incredible challenge... and it can also be one of the most fulfilling experiences you'll ever have. Living abroad, absorbing the culture of another people, and using your native English knowledge to enlighten your students are all wonderful aspects of this rewarding career.

But before you take the plunge and sign up for a job overseas, there are a few things you should consider about yourself and your intended path. Keep in mind... not everyone is cut out for a job like this!

Teaching English in another country is not just a job. It's also a lifestyle choice. Regardless of where you choose to teach (and sometimes, your choices may be limited by what areas are in need at a certain time), it can be a time-consuming and demanding project, and it will definitely test the limits of your sense of adventure. You will be immersed in a whole new culture and expected to follow it as a citizen. Contrary to popular belief, an English teacher in another country is a far cry from being a tourist.

A job teaching English won't be like a vacation. Depending on what type of school you choose to teach at and what country you're planning on working in, your life will be very different from what you have experienced in the past. Even if you've visited your country of choice before, unless you actually lived as a native you won't have a clear feeling of what it will be like to teach English there.

This isn't to say that teaching English is a grueling job that doesn't allow you to enjoy the native culture, however. You'll still have time to yourself to enjoy the sites, and you should certainly do so in order to gain a better understanding of your adopted life as well as your students. The key to enjoying this experience to its full potential is to keep an open mind. This should become your mantra during the entire duration of your job.

Having an open mind will allow you to experience life in your new country first-hand. If you don't expect special treatment, don't allow yourself to get caught up in feeling out of place, and don't waste your time comparing your new life with your old one, chances are good you'll feel at home before you know it.

You might love to travel, and that's fantastic. But love of travel isn't enough to make teaching English abroad the career for you. You must also possess a sense of independence and self-sufficiency that will allow you to adapt easily to the unexpected. Because your life isn't going to be just about teaching English and returning to a hotel room to await your flight home. Chances are good you'll be living in an apartment or rented home in your new country for at least a year, and you'll be doing everything from grocery shopping to taking public transit. You will become, for all intents and purposes, a working citizen of a place that could be vastly different from what you're used to.

Still sound like fun? Congratulations! You're one of a special group of people for whom teaching English abroad may just be the perfect career.

Digg del.icio.us Blink Stumble Spurl Reddit Netscape Furl

Article keywords: Teach English, Teaching English, Teaching English Overseas, ESL Jobs, ESL, TEFL, TESOL

Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

Michelle Simmons is a contributing editor for ESLemployment, the leading job and resource site for the English Teaching Industry. Interested in receiving hundreds of English Teaching jobs listings weekly for free? To learn more visit Teaching English Jobs.

Top Career Articles
1). Learn How To Draw Realistic Faces By : Adam Reeder Drawing a face isn’t as hard as it looks. To begin, you start with an egg shaped oval. Draw a line down the center of this egg. This line will giv
2). Pharmacist Resume Samples Will Help You Create An Unmistakable Resume! By : Robert Marcus Pharmacist resumes must have information of your experience relevant to the position in a quick and clear format. Employers are interested in a highly qualified person and customer friendly attitude. Apart from highlighting your qualifications, contact information, experience etc, the following points will provide a hint on how to prepare the resume for a Pharmacist position.
3). How To Write The Best Teacher Resume You Can By : Laura Adams It should come as no surprise that there is a currently a shortage of teachers in the United States. This unfortunate trend has been seen for well over a decade. To compound the issue, recent labor studies have predicted that teaching positions will likely continue to grow faster than the national average for the next several years due to recent government regulations to reduce class size and increase educational accountability.
4). Skilled Workers Needed By Auto Industry By : David Sanders An auto dealership job may put you on the road to a rewarding career-particularly if you're a veteran. Military veterans have the skills and work ethic needed for many careers. A new study by Harris Interactive estimates there are more than 100,000 career jobs currently available at auto dealerships across the country. The report also found that auto dealers hired more than 15,000 veterans since January 2004.
5). Reflections on "How to Do what you Love" by Paul Graham through Meditation. By : Swami Satchidanand I was reading "How to Do what you Love" by Paul Graham last night and because I loved it so much I decided to write a little more of me into it.
6). Keys To Getting The Law Enforcement Job You Want By : Don Cirillo These days, when uncertain economic times are putting many careers in doubt, an increasing number of people are looking to work in law enforcement. And there are very good reasons for this. As many industries have shrunk, North American communities have steadily increased their budgets for law enforcement. Police officers now enjoy better pay and often outstanding benefits.
7). Nursing facts that everyone should know By : Suzanne Verita Most people say it is a career about caring. Others say it is a job about professional administration of medications and cure to patients. Some say it is the duty to work out predicaments by using critical thinking skills. In whatever way you want to call it, nursing is, indeed, a conglomeration of all these beliefs and the faculty of many other skills.
8). The Female Firefighter By : Barney Garcia Firefighting is no longer just the domain of the male. Just like every other career, trade, or profession women have made inroads into this traditionally male territory.
9). How To Achieve A Balanced And Healthy Lifestyle In Retirement By : Cynthia Barnett Now that you’ve retired, you have entered an entirely new phase of life, a life filled with new challenges, adventure and hopefully one that brings you complete and total satisfaction. However, if you’re like most people, change isn’t always easy and is sometimes stressful. This stress is completely normal but may be compounded if you don’t learn how to balance all the demands on your time.
10). Career - Test Your Negotiation Skills By : CD Mohatta Negotiation is part of every professional’s life. To negotiate, means to arrive at an understanding with another person, so that both of you are satisfied with the results. Do you know what is your skill in negotiation? If not, why not test and find out because most of our interactions demand negotiation. You are negotiating with your love partner about which place to go for dinner.

New Career Articles
1). Quitting Your Job Can Be A Reality By : Jeff Schuman Thanks to the internet anyone living anywhere can quit their jobs and live their dreams. You just to need get started planning how you are going to do it.
2). Job Hunting On A Shoestring By : David Cassell Tips that you can easily implement to stay in the black during your job search
3). Unemployment Blues: Reframing The Pain By : Virginia Bola In addition to the anger and fear generated by job loss, there is the total emotional devastation of being figuratively thrown on a pile of human debris.
4). Employment Interviewing: Ask For The Job By : Virginia Bola During any interview, it is important to display unabashed enthusiasm for this position, with this company, at this time.
5). The Business Opportunity of a Private Investigator By : Robert Gravener In this article we talk about some of the opportunities that are out there for a Private Investigator and what aspects of this exciting career may be or not be for you.
6). How to Answer Interview Questions: A Guide to Job Seekers By : Dave Poon When seeking for a job, it is important that you are ready when you face your future employer. The most challenging part is the interview.
7). Are You In The Right Job? By : Garry Zancanaro If you become known as a person that can be relied upon to get a job done, who is efficient and productive, has initiative and is prepared to accept challenges, and has a positive attitude to your work and your co-workers, you will be considered a great asset by any well run organisation.
8). Unemployment Blues: Mind Over Mood By : Virginia Bola Unemployment plays havoc with our emotional system. We take a number of hits all at once: loss of occupational identity, economic pressure, family anxiety, and the humiliation of job search.
9). Prolonged Unemployment: Reconnecting With The Labor Market By : Virginia Bola If you have been unemployed for an extended period of time, you know that potential employers are going to look at your long period of unemployment with a jaundiced eye.
10). Your Online Home Internet Business By : james lowe The triumphs and traumas of starting your entrepreneur career on the internet