Applying to teach English abroad

[Nighthawk]

I went to Taiwan earlier this year with my gf (she's Taiwanese) and especially in the south the people stared like I was an alien, and on two occasions a bunch of teenagers came over and asked to have their photo taken with me like I was a rock star.

 

[Master Bates]

to repeat what i said before...korea treats you the best and pays the best.

What are you basing that on? I've seen a pretty large consensus that Japanese people are friendlier and more polite, and you're much less likely to be screwed over by your employer in Japan than in Korea. Plus they've been particularly suspicious of foreigners during job interviews lately, treating them like potential criminals.
Not to mention pretty much everyone thinks Japan is more fun.

 

[taiyuu_otoko]

Korea Taiwan and Japan

Ok, for what its worth, here's my experience. I am currently finsihing up a year contract in Japan. I will be here another year at least. I taught in Taiwan for a year before this, and Korea for a year before that, and in between korea and taiwan, I got a teaching certificate in Thailand.

Korea: I lived in a small BFE town that was boring as hell. I went to busan most weekends. I had korean GF in the states for a couple years, but my opinion of them is they are very whiney and materialistic. the only girls I saw with whiteys in my small town were B5 at best. The pay was the best, the teaching was the easiest (no time required for lesson planning, just show up and play english games with the kids). If you choose Korea, shoot for Seoul. Lots of sketchy schools that don't pay, lie to you, etc. BUT if you are in the states, Korea is by far the easiest to get into, and they pay for pretty much everything. You only need to show up with food money for a month. People you meet on the street aren't that friendly.

Taiwan: Friendly people, iffy food, lower salaries, no paid apartments. Better girls IMO. Better attitude, but not as good looking. All you will teach is kids. Hot and sticky from spring through fall. Lots of fun stuff to do on the weekends (bars, clubs etc) I lived in Taichung, which is a fairly sized city.

Japan: Friendly people, good food, salary between taiwan and korea, but you gotta pay for your flat. By far the best girls. Dress classy when they go out, very polite and feminine. Can be kind of spoiled though, as almost all kids are pretty spoiled by their parents. its not uncommon for kids to live at home into their 30's, and sometiems not working and just living off of dads paycheck. They call these NEETs (No Education, Employment or Training). If you have any kind of social skills you'll have no problem with the ladies. Problem is , now its hard to get a job in a decent sized down. So you might have to setttle for a place out in the boonies, where NOBODY speaks english. For example, I sent my resume into a job in Osaka (2nd or 3rd largest cities) and I was one among aobut 150 resumes. And lots of places ask for experience.

I was in Thailand for six weeks, and loved it. Very friendly people and nice girls, but the pay is crap, otherwise I would have stayed there.

PM me if you want any more information, but yea, deciding to come to asia to teach english has been one of the best decisions of my life.

i was an engineer for 10 years and that was boring as phuck.

 

[Master Bates]

Where did you live in Japan? And which country did you enjoy overall living in the most?

Also, I was kinda looking into Taichung for a while, myself. I heard the weather is better than other major cities in Taiwan, there's less pollution and it's more laid back. I eventually got turned off by things like the weather (I HATE hot and sticky weather), reading about the food and how often people get food poisoning and stuff like that, and how superficial and materialistic the girls can be.

 

[Leporello]

I've been here in Vietnam for amost 2 months already. I got 8 more days left. If you have a teaching certificate, your salary could get up to about 1500 a month for about 26 hrs in a month. If you are considering Vietnam, apply for the ILA school. After teaching there for a year, you can transfer to RMIT. RMIT is an international college. Vietnamese girls are super cute. A lot of them speaks english.

26 hours a month? Don't you mean a week?

and yeah, Viet girls are very cute... especially if they want to pratcice their english with you. In private. And I can't get enough of those banh mi.

 

[zinc64]

Ok, for what its worth, here's my experience. I am currently finsihing up a year contract in Japan. I will be here another year at least. I taught in Taiwan for a year before this, and Korea for a year before that, and in between korea and taiwan, I got a teaching certificate in Thailand.

Korea: I lived in a small BFE town that was boring as hell. I went to busan most weekends. I had korean GF in the states for a couple years, but my opinion of them is they are very whiney and materialistic. the only girls I saw with whiteys in my small town were B5 at best. The pay was the best, the teaching was the easiest (no time required for lesson planning, just show up and play english games with the kids). If you choose Korea, shoot for Seoul. Lots of sketchy schools that don't pay, lie to you, etc. BUT if you are in the states, Korea is by far the easiest to get into, and they pay for pretty much everything. You only need to show up with food money for a month. People you meet on the street aren't that friendly.

Taiwan: Friendly people, iffy food, lower salaries, no paid apartments. Better girls IMO. Better attitude, but not as good looking. All you will teach is kids. Hot and sticky from spring through fall. Lots of fun stuff to do on the weekends (bars, clubs etc) I lived in Taichung, which is a fairly sized city.

Japan: Friendly people, good food, salary between taiwan and korea, but you gotta pay for your flat. By far the best girls. Dress classy when they go out, very polite and feminine. Can be kind of spoiled though, as almost all kids are pretty spoiled by their parents. its not uncommon for kids to live at home into their 30's, and sometiems not working and just living off of dads paycheck. They call these NEETs (No Education, Employment or Training). If you have any kind of social skills you'll have no problem with the ladies. Problem is , now its hard to get a job in a decent sized down. So you might have to setttle for a place out in the boonies, where NOBODY speaks english. For example, I sent my resume into a job in Osaka (2nd or 3rd largest cities) and I was one among aobut 150 resumes. And lots of places ask for experience.

I was in Thailand for six weeks, and loved it. Very friendly people and nice girls, but the pay is crap, otherwise I would have stayed there.

PM me if you want any more information, but yea, deciding to come to asia to teach english has been one of the best decisions of my life.

i was an engineer for 10 years and that was boring as phuck.

Did you live in Yangsan by any chance? I'm here right now and still have six months left. I also go to Busan on the weekends. It's true..the majority of Korean girls are VERY materialistic and whiny. Also, you have to have a lot of game to get with them...or money. It's not much easier than in the states and the language barrier even makes it harder in most cases. But still, there are plenty of women here. I got lucky and met a very pretty Korean girl who is not just all about money thank god. Like I said before...Korean girls are very shallow and materialistic. Seriously, the average Korean girl's goal in life is to marry a rich Korean guy. I'm not even kidding. My GF tells me every day how all of her friends are like this and even her sister and how she doesn't want to be like that.

Yes, sometimes people treat you like a rock star..taking pictures with them and such...and buying you drinks or even meals...but that does not equate to more *****. Korea is VERY different than the states. For instance, girls tell me I'm very handsome all of the time upon first meeting here...literaly several times everyday...but that's considered normal here and doesn't mean crap. My GF tells told me Koreans are super big on lip service. Basically, Koreans consider it cool to know a foreigner. It's very superficial. That being said, there are still a lot of great things about Korea, though.

To the OP, the girl situation is much easier I hear in Thaliand, Cambodia and Vietnam. You will have to have game anywhere...but especially so in Korea.

 

[taiyuu_otoko]

Basically, Koreans consider it cool to know a foreigner. It's very superficial.

Ha Ha Ha! I forgot about the "Instant best friend" syndrome.

BTW, I lived in Miryang.

 

[Master Bates]

Is it really that much harder to meet girls in Korea than in, say, Japan? Really that much of a difference?

 

[Master Bates]

Another thing, to those who've taught in Korea, how do you feel about this thread:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=116727&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Seem to be some pretty negative experiences.

 

[Leporello]

Yes, you need a 4 years degree, and a teaching certificate. Vietnam is great. And yes, I do have a gf.

You want to tell us a bit more about the Vietnam situation?

 

[bachelor]

I'm actually in Korea right now and it has been a worthwhile experience. Japan is very expensive, Vietnam is cheap but the pay isn't as high. I would recommend Taiwan or Korea. The pay is the highest of the asian countries. I have had a great experience so far in Korea. I am in the Seoul area. If you want to better your game, being in a foreign country is definitely a good step.

 

[Master Bates]

What's the nightlife like in Seoul? Are there lots of interesting areas to explore and stuff to do in the city?

 

[Leporello]

That's another thing: probably the city culture is way different from the rural culture in these places, probably even more so than in the US.

 

[bachelor]

Seoul has an area called "Hongdae" where most of the foreigners hang out. Most of the Koreans who hang out in this area also speak English pretty well. There's this bar called Tinpan where I have met some pretty good sets of girls.

There are "cultural areas" if you also want to hang out. Everything is within the Subway Map. Itaewon is another area where foreigners hang out. This area is more sketchy because of all the weirdo people that are there. During the day, it is a good area but at night I try to stay away.

If any of you are looking to teach in Korea, send me a private message. I have some openings at my school in 6 weeks. We have some foreign teachers leaving. I could use a solid wingman!!!

 

[Master Bates]

Thanks.

And thanks for the offer, but I'm not looking to move quite yet. More like late summer/fall. How long does it typically take to land a teaching job at a reputable place? Including application/interview, getting a visa, time between job offer and starting, etc.

 

[bachelor]

The main site I use is seriousteachers.com they list new jobs every day and i get about 20 emails from various parts of the world. All you need is a BA and be from one of the countries listed: USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and South Africa. Once you go with a school, you will need to get a Criminal Background check done. The school pays for this;I think. They recently have added this and are planning to change it so you don't have to. From there, you are waiting. The school also pays for your flight and apartment while you are here. The average pay is from 2200 USD to 3300 USD which in Korea this is a good amount to live off of. The food here is pretty cheap and healthy. Hope this answers most of your questions!

 

[Master Bates]

Awesome, thanks man! Do you know how much you'll be getting paid beforehand or is it pretty much luck of the draw? 3300 is quite a bit more than 2200.

 

[bachelor]

Depends on your qualifications and the school you teach at. Keep looking at that site I gave you and be picky about where you go... If you do decide to come here, hit me up... I could use another solid wing!

 

[Master Bates]

Or you could just post what you know here instead of PMing it to people.

 

[Leporello]

Hmmm....

Vietnam Experiences a 'Quiet' Sexual Revolution

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP31844.htm