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KEYFUMBLER
from DUBLIN (Ireland) on 2005-11-25 03:49 [#01787056]
Points: 5696 Status: Lurker
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So i got the chance next year to travel/work teaching english is asia and i'll probably stay in oz for a few months too doing casual work as i got the 1 year working visa.
Anyone got any experience of this? Anyone recommend a particular country to check out? I'm big on japan so my ideal plan is to take up residence there at the end of my travels after gaining some experince teaching. I must set up a blog to document the adventures and will defo hook up with some of you mentalists along the way!
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manicminer
from Paris (France) on 2005-11-25 05:11 [#01787092]
Points: 1423 Status: Lurker | Followup to KEYFUMBLER: #01787056
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Yo Keyf
I've never been to Japan (or outside of Europe, if I'm honest), but I've got a bit of experience teaching English.
I taught English in Lithuania for a few months without any formal qualifications or experience, then I returned to the UK and got a certificate, then returned and have been out here for a year teaching English.
I've no idea about Japan, but over here it is possible to get work without a teaching certificate. However, it tends to be fairly badly paid. One option is to get private students, but then that can be fairly unreliable (e.g. if they cancel lessons) whereas if you're teaching a full class in a school, hopefully at least some of them will always turn up!
The certificate I got was the CELTA. From what I can gather, it's the only one worth doing really - a lot of the cheaper, easier ones won't even be recognised by schools.
It cost me 1000 pounds and took a month - it was pretty tough going in that there was a lot of work to do. I would be in-school going to lectures and doing teaching practise sessions 9 to 5, then working until after midnight preparing for the next day/writing essays. Weekends were spent at home, but also working 9 to 5.
In terms of difficulty, it wasn't that bad - just had to overcome my fears and make sure that I listened to the instructors' advice on teaching methods and made the necessary improvements. I revised some English grammar (the tenses, etc), but was surprised in that it was easy to learn a lot of it along the way. CELTA taught me this - that I might not know the ins and outs of English grammar, but it's really easy to pick it all up and as a native speaker I have the necessary "feel" for the language already.
The course was a real help and upped my confidence in teaching no end, and I think my teaching has been pretty successful. Although you can find yourself treated like dirt at times, it's pretty rewarding and meeting your students is a great opportunity to make new friends in an unfamiliar place.
My main piece of
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manicminer
from Paris (France) on 2005-11-25 05:13 [#01787094]
Points: 1423 Status: Lurker
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advice would be "don't take it too seriously". I mean, yes, prepare for your lessons, make sure you know your stuff, get everything to run smoothly and be dilligent. But don't be too harsh on the student's themselves. Make the lessons fun, play plenty of games. Make them look forward to coming to the lessons. That way the attendance remains high and they learn a lot more.
But, best of all, they'll like you and will forgive you if you make a mistake or a lesson goes wrong ;)
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manicminer
from Paris (France) on 2005-11-25 05:15 [#01787097]
Points: 1423 Status: Lurker | Followup to manicminer: #01787094
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(shit, just noticed a rogue apostrophe in "students" in the last post - and i call myself an english teacher!)
Hope that's of some help, despite the fact that I have no experience of Asia. I'd be happy to give you more advice if you need it.
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Ezkerraldean
from the lowest common denominator (United Kingdom) on 2005-11-25 05:34 [#01787117]
Points: 5733 Status: Addict
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an old teacher of mine now teaches english at some really posh school in Abu Dhabi - he says its the best decision hes ever made. japan would probably be fun too. go for it!
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giginger
from Milky Beans (United Kingdom) on 2005-11-25 05:35 [#01787118]
Points: 26326 Status: Lurker | Show recordbag
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If you're in Oz then go to Perth. Poontastic.
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KEYFUMBLER
from DUBLIN (Ireland) on 2005-11-25 07:12 [#01787195]
Points: 5696 Status: Lurker
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cheers lads. Lithuania sounds great from what ive heard.
I'm getting private japanese lessons at the mo and so am seeing the other side of things and its fun (except for the falling-for-my-teacher part but thats another story)
A freind of mine teaches 4-6 year olds in a japanese shopping center creche in Osaka!.... lucky git gets to play with toys all day and as the kids are so well behaved, its a doddle.
Oz-wise i intned to vist freinds in perth and melbourne, brisbane and sydney.
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lupus yonderboy
from 1970. (United Kingdom) on 2005-11-25 07:18 [#01787199]
Points: 1985 Status: Lurker
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NOVA, AEON, GEOS, and JET are the main Japanese teaching schools. Jet is government run wereas the others are profit driven so it goes that Jet is better. You can do an 80 hour TEFL for about £300, i just completed one from i-to-i and you get to do alot of it online in your own time. i'd like to go to Kyoto.
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giginger
from Milky Beans (United Kingdom) on 2005-11-25 07:21 [#01787201]
Points: 26326 Status: Lurker | Followup to KEYFUMBLER: #01787195 | Show recordbag
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Much the same as I did then mate. Although my Sydney experience was Airport only.
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Netlon Sentinel
from eDe (Netherlands, The) on 2005-11-25 07:34 [#01787207]
Points: 4736 Status: Lurker
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My brother is going to teach English in Nepal next year. He'll have sold virtually all of his earthly possesions and ditched his well-paid job when he sets sail.
infonepal
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