 Writers' Community! |
|
| Home Page Two Columnists Q&A Submit an Article FAQs Contact Author Login |
1flightaway.comShawn Siferd (5)     1flightaway.com How to find work as an English language TeacherPosted Thursday, February 19, 2009 (275 days 20 hours ago.) Viewed 138 times. World travel is something that many people dream about, but never actually get out and do. "What is the reason that most people don't follow their dream of traveling the world?" During my last visit to the United States I attended a gathering of old friends and teachers and ask them to complete a survey answering the question stated above. What my survey proved was pretty obvious. 42 out of 57 people answered that they couldn't travel the world, because of time and money. The other 15 gave reasons such as family, illness, fear of flying, and not knowing the language. Money and time are very good reasons to hold a person back from fulfilling their dreams of traveling the world, but the problem can be easily solved by combining all three to create one solution. One of my friends in the United States made about 3000 USD a month teaching, but also had a lot of expenses like healthcare, transportation, rent, cable, internet, ect So even though he earned a good income he also had a lot of bills to pay. When he lost his job as a teacher about four months ago, I asked him to put together his resume and send it off to me. After receiving his resume I contacted one of my friends in Japan and ask him if he knew of any teaching positions that were available. The next day I received an email with 12 different teaching positions that my friend in the Japan wanted to offer my friend in the United States. I sent my friend the 12 positions and a list of things that he needed to do in order to make his trip and new life a bit easier. He is now making the same wage he did in the United States, but instead of having all of the bills to pay, he only has to pay for rent. What inspired me to write this article was a picture of him in Kyoto, Japan that he sent me last week. It was a great feeling helping him find a job, but it was an even greater feeling giving him the chance to experience a new culture and way of life. For about a month now I have been running a website trying to help everyone who is interested in finding a job living and working abroad as a foreign English language teacher (EFL). The site also helps people who are already working as an EFL teacher with free teaching resources. I have also published a guide on how to get a job teaching English as a foreign language. If you are interested in my book you can find it here. http://www.lulu.com/content/6031971 It is now my dream to provide everyone interested the proper tools that they need to teacher English as a foreign language and to change their lives forever. www.1flightaway.com 
Permalink Comments (10) The "Model" English Teacher in AsiaPosted Friday, February 13, 2009 (282 days 8 hours ago.) Viewed 328 times. When it comes to teaching English as a foreign language in Asia there are many reasons why one teacher may be more qualified than another teacher. Many people are under the impression that having the right degree and years of experience would be the factors that apply to getting hired as a foreign English-language teacher in Asia, but the sad thing is this is not always the case. Sometimes it's not how qualified you are, but more about your age and your looks. Although this may be a comical it is also a sad. During my almost 10 years of experience in teaching, seven of them have been in Asia. What I have found is that many employers are looking for " The Model English Teacher." Now, this cannot be blamed entirely on the employer, but more on the consumer demands or better known as the students. A majority of the students in Asia would rather have a cute young teacher to teach them their English skills, then an older not as attractive qualified and experienced teacher. I know what you must be thinking, "How could you make this accusation?" It's really not an accusation, but more like an educated observation. I have personally witnessed licensed teachers with over 20 years experience be turned away and in their place a handsome unlicensed teacher get the job. Why does this happen? English in Asia is in very high demand, because people know that English is the international language of business. Now, just because they know they have to study the language doesn't mean that it also can't be an opportunity to speak with a cute teacher. This might sound funny, but it's also very true. Although this is true for a lot of the language schools there are still universities and high schools that are looking for more than just a cute face. A lot of the university jobs and some of the high school jobs will hire based on a person's qualifications and not their looks. It just seems that the English language in Asia has become more of a hobby or fad that might lead to greater opportunities, but you still have to look good doing it. To conclude this article I would like to give you one personal example of what exactly I'm talking about. I hope that you can find it entertaining and educational. Here it is: It was my last week of classes in Japan and at the end of these classes I would finally receive my degree and my teaching certification. At this time I was determined to find a teaching job so I could continue my stay in the country, but I wasn't sure where to look. So, one day I woke up early and decided to go to some specific English schools in town to distribute my resume. One of the first schools I walked into was beautiful and lined with glass walls. There was a man standing at the counter who appeared to be about 35 years old and extremely overweight. I decided to sit down and wait until the man was finished with his conversation, but unfortunately I heard how the conversation ended. The lady behind the counter had told the man, "I am sorry. We are not hire teacher now." Once I heard this I decided it was time for me to leave, but as I turned to leave I heard the lady's voice, "Excuse me sir." To be polite, I turned around and went back to the counter to explain to the lady that I was there for the same reason as the man before me. It was to my surprise that when I told her this, she replied by saying, "Oh please have seat, I go get my manager." Out of curiosity I asked the lady, "I thought I heard you tell that man that you didn't have any open positions." She replied, " He not good." "He not good," I said to myself. I later spoke with the man who was the manager at that company. Although he was a very nice man, I couldn't help but think that if I took this job as my first job out of university and started my career in a place that wouldn't teach me good classroom conduct that I might be making a mistake. With this in mind I left that company and continued my job search. I later took a position at a company that proved to be one of the best companies that I've ever worked for and I feel lucky to have had them as my first employer. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. If you are an ESL/EFL teacher, want to be in ESL/EFL teacher or maybe you are just interested in traveling the world. Come and visit us at: www.1flightaway.com. We have great resources, links, photos, and more stories to tell. Hope to see you soon and thanks again. www.1flightaway.com "Travel and teach the world"
Permalink Comments (9) |
Archives:
All Posts by Shawn Siferd |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Home |
Page Two |
FAQ's |
Contact |
Terms of Service |
Article Submission Guidelines |
Questions & Answers |
Privacy |
Mission / About
Copyright © 1999-2009 SearchWarp.com, All Rights Reserved - SearchWarp.com is an IcoLogic, Inc. Company