Introducton |
|
Every year more than 37,000 Americans, Australians,
New Zealanders, the British and Canadians go overseas
and teach English. They change schools and countries
every 2-3 years, moving from Athens to Rome, Tokyo
to Sao paulo and so on. Teaching overseas is a rewarding
job with established international schools offering
comfortable tax-free salaries,
great benefit packages including health insurance,
free round-trip airline ticket(mostly), annual home
leave, free housing,
bonuses, etc.
The family-like atmosphere of those schools create
outstanding conditions for professional growth.
There are a lot of teaching jobs all over the world.
But most of them come from Asia; Korea, Japan, China,
Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, etc.
Students in those countries really work hard to
learn verbal and written English.
But their traditional education systems, which are
changing rapidly, are having a hard time changing
into new systems
which are aimed to teach more verbal and practical
English.
So, they want lots of native speakers like you.
|
| |
|
Salary and benefits |
|
 |
Wages - range between 1,000~3,000
US dollars/month |
|
Overtime - paid by hour |
|
Paid vacation - 14~30days with all national
holidays off |
|
Health Insurance - full or shared cover(50%) |
|
Severance pay - Equivalent to one month's
pay upon the completion of one year contract
|
|
Housing - Mostly furnished ones offered |
|
Airfare - Mostly round-trip ticket offered |
|
| |
|
Working hour |
|
Usually 22~35 hours a week, Monday to Friday(some
Saturdays) with weekends off
It varies depending on the situation of the country
you will work in. |
| |
The contract is signed on a yearly basis.
The teaching conditions vary from one institute
to another.
As an ESL teacher, you will teach about 20~35 hours
a week(25 hours average),
Monday~Friday(some Saturdays).
Most employers will provide you with housing(furnished)
and return airtickets.
The salary ranges from 1,000~3,000 US dollars a
month.
After completing the one year contract, your employer
will(may not) pay you a severance pay(equivalent
to one month's salary).
About 10 to 15 days of paid vacation(For college
positions, you usually get 12 week paid vacation)will
be offered to you.
Regardless of the teaching conditions, many schools
will provide a curriculum, textbooks,
teacher's manuals of their program.
It's not always necessary for you to follow the
curriculum. You will, however, have to do the research
to offer supplementary material to make the class
interesting or emphasize
what you think is important. In some schools, although
rare, everything will be left for you to decide. |
 |
|
Work visa |
|
To work overseas, you have to get a legal working
visa or a sponsorship visa from your employers.
To become an ESL/EFL instructor, you must be an
English native speaker
and meet at least one of the following requirements.
And for other general jobs, you have to have suitable
qualifications as required. |
| |
|
Qualifications |
|
|
Native English speakers(from
USA, Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand,
Sth Africa, Ireland) |
|
B.A./B.S. degrees or above in
any major (Korea, Japan, Taiwan, etc) |
|
Two years' deploma with TESOL
certificate(China, Indonesia, etc) |
|
| |
|
Required documents |
|
|
A sealed academic transcript |
|
Resume and cover letter |
|
Original diploma or notarized copy by consulates |
|
A copy of your passport |
|
| |
|
Clothes |
|
Thougn institutes seldom have a uniform, most
have a dressing code.
The first impression and professional attitude are
extremely important in Asian countries.
In some countries, men should wear nice dress pants
and ties or sweaters
and women should wear dresses/skirts, dress pants
and blouses, nice shirts or sweaters.
Also, men should be cleanly shaven and have their
hair neatly cut. A tidy appearance is always expected.
But these days casual jeans and plain dresses are
accepted.
Just use your common sense and a bit of understanding
of relatively conservative culture should be your
guide.
Most Asian countries have four seasons, so bring
clothes for all four seasons with you.
You can sometimes buy things at a bargain price,
but it is becoming more and more difficult to do
so.
So if possible, try to bring things with you instead
of planning to buy once you arrive at each country. |
|
|
Food |
|
Do not expect to get your native food that you
used to have.
And remember that you are in a foreign country,
especially with one of much different food cultures.
Exploring Asian cuisine can be a valuable experience.
And if you like to cook, bring essential spices
and seasonings.
Asians are beginning to cook more western foods
like Italian dishes. So oregano and basil are available.
Of course, others are generally available at foreign
super markets.
Not much baking is done in Asian countries(At many/most
homes, they don't have ovens),
and the ingredients are somewhat difficult to find(getting
easier these days).
But there is an abundance of French bakeries, American
style cookies, cakes and doughnuts available.
Of course, in most countries, there are western
food chains like Mcdonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut, etc.
|
| |
|
Taxes |
|
Yes, there is, and it depends on the country you
will work in. Generally, you will have to pay about
3 to 5% of your pay for tax and your employer will
automatically deduct it from your monthly paycheck.
Your employer will provide you with a summary of
deductions/tax payments on each monthly payday.
The English language Income Tax Guide for Foreigners
may be obtained from the government Tax Office.
Americans who work abroad and earn upto $70,000
for a year can get an income tax exemption.
So you do not have to worry about paying tax back
home.
However, you have to claim the annual tax return.
Also you can check it on the tax office website
in each country. |
| |
|
Cost of Living |
|
Prices are slightly lower in most Asian countries
except Japan than they are in most parts of North
America.
And since your accommodation is provided(in most
cases), it is not unreasonable for you to expect
to save a substantial amount of money while you
are teaching overseas.
Your main expenses in Asia will be for food, long
distance calls, miscellaneous utilities and travel/transportation.
(The costs for both short and long distance trips
are very reasonable; accommodation at all price
levels).
Most teachers report about being able to save over
two-thirds of their salary,
spending only one-quarter to one-third of their
salary for a living. So you can save a lot. |
| |
|
Part time Jobs |
|
Most English teachers in Asia enjoy this a lot.
For some teachers, money from this part is a lot
more than their full time jobs.
Even though you are not allowed to have extra jobs
other than your schools, most are doing these practices.
To legally have part time jobs, you have to have
a consent from your sponsoring employers. Remember
not to brag about it. |
| |
|
Procedures |
|
=>
Post your resume(free)
▶Apply for open positions ▶Have an interview and
negotiate the working conditions ▶Send your documents
to your potential employers ▶Receive a job offer
and visa letter and take it to the local consulate
▶Obtain the working visa ▶Reserve a flight ticket
▶Get on the plane ▶Meet your employer at the airport
in each country ▶Welcome to~!!!!
|
|
Post your resume(free)
|
|
|
|
