Serious Teachers Forum

What advice would experienced teachers give to newcomers preparing to teach in China?

I'm interested in exploring job opportunities in China outside of traditional teaching roles, specifically as a Cultural Ambassador or in positions like after-school program coordinator or extracurricular activity supervisor. With an associate degree and a TEFL certification, I'm curious if anyone has experience or knows anyone who has successfully secured such roles. If you have any insights or tips on these alternative career paths, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

EAST VERSUS SOUTHEAST ASIA Hello! I would like to apply for my first teaching job. I'll soon get my TEFL. Is that the best certificate? The East Asian economy is very inflated. Considering cost of living there, it doesn't seem better to teach in East Asia rather than Southeast Asia. Converted to USD, the salaries aren't terribly different but the cost of living is 1/3 to 1/4 in SEA. What are your thoughts? I'm a native born American but have a second Philippine citizenship and two passports. Will an ASEAN passport make visas easier in SEA? Yet I can get the pay for a US citizen? I prefer to work in KR/JP but I don't like the idea of eating ramen everyday.

Wonder if it's possible to get a 3 - 6 month teaching contract to teach essay writing at a high school level. Love teenagers and have no problem with class management. Would anybody know anything more about this possibility or where it would be possible? Taught for 15+ years but retired a few years ago. I'm a writer/musician. Thank you!

Hi, I have lived and taught abroad twice. This time I plan to take my Mom and her dog. I just found out he is too old to fly. So, that means I will have to sail and/or drive which leaves me with fewer choices such as Mexico, Caribbean, and Central America. Also, I have a B.S. in Elementary Education. Can someone recommend: 1. safe countries and areas 2. an agency or website with listings for those countries 3. ideas about how to travel with the dog and how to get to my new country

Ageism My career as an ESL teacher has spanned 15 years. It has been my second career in life. Now with a wealth of experience and a proven track record as a capable teacher, I am getting passed over for jobs in favour of less experienced and younger candidates. I am 54 years old. When I was in my thirties, every CV I tendered for a teaching position resulted in a job offer. Has anyone here experienced this discrimination? Regards, Peter

Hello everyone, I am a fifth year teacher of History and Geography in Australia. Within the next three years, my parter will conclude his Phd and we hope to move overseas to Europe. What post graduate studies would be advantageous for a teacher preparing to apply for work overseas? Or, what might European educators view as strengths in the Australian system that I can focus on to make myself more employable in the competitive market of teaching overseas? If you have any advice please reply in the thread.

Moving abroad to teach! Hello, My name is Sophia and currently live and teach in the UK, 30 years old with 7 years primary school teaching experience. I am interested and keen to experience working and living abroad. I have a serious passion for change and currently feeling unfulfilled. I am nervous and a little apprehensive as I have don’t really have friends that have done anything like this before to offer advice. If anyone could shed some of their experiences/advice on moving, living and working abroad, I would be extremely grateful. Many thanks!

Dear educators, I am looking for education professionals who have been working in an International School/Schools abroad to give input in my thesis. My thesis for Oulu University of Applied Sciences Master´s in Education Entrepreneurship program focuses on recruitment of teachers for International Schools. I am focusing on Teacher´s perspective in the process to find out what are the qualities and prerequisites that teachers prioritize and value, when deciding on overseas employment. Here is a link for the questionnaire: https://forms.office.com/r/ipdGdTUjmy I will be posting the finalized thesis e-version link here when finished in the end of 2023. Thank you! Pekka

Hi guys! Does anyone have an experience working in Abu Dhabi? o Bahrain? I am currently in China but I am slowly planning my exodus as most of the foreigners here. If anyone could give me some advice about getting to work in Middle East, I would appreciate a lot. Thank you in advance.

I'm planning a conversation activity where students have to antagonize/make alliances. They represent gays, differently-abled people and blacks. They work in groups of 3 where each minority is represented by 1 student. They are in a government-appointed committee where they are going to allocate funds to each group so they have to prioritise what is socially urgent or important; for example, ramps for buildings, quotas, cross-curricular contents at school and so on. How can I get them to use the words “crip”, “queer” and the “N WORD” incorrectly showing offence when the slur is misappropriated and pride when it is correctly used as a badge of honour? Is there a game strategy to kind of create some kind of “jinks”? Thanks!

My name is Leila. Currently I am doing research about teaching foreign languages: what problems do teachers have, how do they organize their workday, etc. If you want to share with your experience, please let me know. I will be glad to any feedback

Response from Employer advertiser, nationality is known to advertiser and then asking for Passport copy Via email and once received the school informs that passport will be difficulty due to working visa (EU country BTW, no such problem). Should withhold sending of ID via email to the advertisers requesting?

Hello, as you may know there are thousands of teaching jobs around the world that is available, however the biggest concern is that to get to those jobs will require either to be quarantined in that particular country or not even allowed to travel at all with all these lockdowns. My advice is even though we need the job, the money and remaining perks, please don't make the mistake that I did. I am currently in Afghanistan and we all know the status of this country and what is happening. Trust me, I did make a big mistake and I am paying the price of not being able to leave the country or having the freedom to move around the city as a result of security issues. Please if you have plans on travelling to work abroad, do proper research

Flights? I'm pretty confused about how to get to a position. Does anyone know about flights to China from Georgia or Turkey, or even alternative transportation from Ukraine? There are many positions open, but how do we get there?

Hello colleagues, it is my first post here. I am from Ghana and working as a biology teacher in Jakarta. I am planning to make a move to the US and I got interviewed by 2 schools last week (March 30). Both told me I they will move me to the next phase of the recruitment process but I have just been informed by friends that schools cannot process an h1 visa for me at this time because the deadline has passed. Those going to teach in the US in 2021/22 academic year are those that were recruited a year ago. I am confused because the schools that interviewed me should know better. Why are they pursuing my candidacy if they cannot sponsor me? Anyone has an idea if schools can hire at this time in America for expats to go and teach in September?

Hello! I am a preschool teacher and I have some problems with the discipline in my classroom. Two of the kids are always running and screaming and one of them refuses to do what I tell him to do and disturbes the others, who are playing or ”working”. They are good kids, but they are not paying attention. I don*t know how to impose myself. I tried to raise my voice, but it is not working. Also, I think my childish face does not help me very much in this case. Can you tell me some tricks from your experience?

Has anyone taught English in Iraq or Kurdistan? I would love to hear about your experience. Thank you, Bahareh

Job advice Hello everyone!! I'm planning to start working in China by August and I have to decide whether to teach at Linhai city or Shenzhen. It's my first time being in China and I'm just starting learning the language. Where would you recommend me to go? I'm pretty open-minded but I fear I might experience some culture shock in the first city