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Year out abroad, what to do?

Nikkormat

Nikkormat

Well-Known Member
I'm planning to bugger off abroad for a year or so. The easiest way to fund this appears to be by teaching English (TEFL), and as I plan to do a PGCE when I return this seems a sensible option.

Where to go? The low wages in Europe put me off, and China/Japan/Korea don't appeal much. I'm not expecting good pay, but it would be nice to earn enough to live without resorting to savings.

It seems that I've got to 28 without finding a career or any direction in life. I'm hoping that some time abroad will focus me a bit. At the moment I'm waiting to hear back (via a friend) about a teaching job in Nepal.

By the end of December I should have £2000 in the bank. If I spend £1000 on a CELTA TEFL course I'll be left with £1000 - enough to get by with as back-up for a year?

Not quite sure what I'm asking, but any suggestions are welcome.

Cheers.
 
perfect mate - you're doing it just at the right time i.e. the same age I did it :p

You've got your money worked out ok, and if you sort your job out here first you'll just be dipping into it to get a few things for your house and extra bits for yourself. Wherever I've taught English in the world - Indonesia, Morocco, Japan, Burma - the salary has always been enough to keep me very happy indeed. Good to have a back-up in case things go tits up though.

As for where to go, I think you're right to avoid Japan and Korea. Eastern Europe, yeah ok the salary isn't great but it will pay for an excellent lifestyle. Plus, you'll be teaching mostly adults / teens as opposed to kiddywinks elsewhere in the world (especially Far East.) Having said that, you could look into finding a school in Indonesia or Thailand which has a decent balance of adults and kids - they do exist. Occasionally there'll be offers for Latin America. I nearly scored a great job in Brazil, still unsure how that fell through. Just make sure the school's reputable.

A friend of mine taught in Nepal for six months, loved it. You should be hoping that comes through, in Asia there are few opportunities outside the big economic powerhouses.

Good luck!
 
Cheers Purves, I still have a lot more research to do before making a decision, but I am hoping that this job in Nepal works out. :)
 
Nikkormat said:
I'm planning to bugger off abroad for a year or so. The easiest way to fund this appears to be by teaching English (TEFL), and as I plan to do a PGCE when I return this seems a sensible option.
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Ahh, but will you return???!

Allow me to briefly describe my scenario as a way of showing you one possible answer to your wonderful connundrum.

I too planned to bugger off for a year or so at 27, but 16 years later i'm still in the country i went to, thailand. The money i took, a grand, lasted me four months and when it ran out i bluffed my way into a teaching english job. You can still do this.

But a year or two later i did the certificate in tesol at ecc in bangkok, and it was a revolution in terms of showing me actually how to teach properly. It tripled my motivation and enjoyment in teaching. You can still do this. And doing the cert for four weeks in bangkok will be cheaper than doing it in england, when you consider living expenses while not earning a penny.

So, you could bugger off with two grand, have a wee bit of a holiday, say two months, do the certificate after that, then start earning and learning and enjoying life. Or, in thailand at least, you could get a job, get yourself into the teaching, then a while later do the certificate, and then just carry on.

You might find that your plans to return home may be put on hold indefinitely... I say that because there's some beautiful countries in our world, and you may discover that teaching adults english is a vocation for life...
 
Yeah, I'd go for more than a year before a PGCE. Spend a couple of years getting your teaching toolkit in order and enjoying a pretty much stress free life. Enjoy it to maximum volume. The PGCE isn't going anywhere, it'll still be free and available in 2010 and with a couple of years - maybe more - under your belt you'll be more than capable, and v attractive to PGCE courses.

I did it for 5 years before a PGCE. So glad I did. Then after I did my QTS year, I went back to EFL. I missed enjoying life and job.
 
I would say that Thailand is reasonable and my friend is currently working in Taiwan while learning to Kite surf.

He was on about 700-800 quid a month in Thailand. That is a packet there trust me. Had a nice place in Bangkok which I rate highly as a great City to live in.

I think he was on 2.5k USD in Taiwan, but its more expensive there. I'm not sure though, would have to ask him.
 
purves grundy said:
Yeah, I'd go for more than a year before a PGCE. Spend a couple of years getting your teaching toolkit in order and enjoying a pretty much stress free life. Enjoy it to maximum volume. The PGCE isn't going anywhere, it'll still be free and available in 2010 and with a couple of years - maybe more - under your belt you'll be more than capable, and v attractive to PGCE courses.

I did it for 5 years before a PGCE. So glad I did. Then after I did my QTS year, I went back to EFL. I missed enjoying life and job.
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I'm currently doing a Masters in Literature, and I'm seriously considering going straight into the PGCE afterwards. I was originally thinking of doing as you suggest - going to Thailand and doing a couple of years of TEFL - and then coming back if all went well to do the PGCE. However, I'm beginning to think that as I really love my subject, I'd prefer to teach that rather than TEFL, and I may as well do the PGCE, do my probation year, plus another year of experience, and then move into the more lucrative international schools market.

What concerns me is that this is the stressful option, and the TEFL for a couple of years is not so much. The latter is attractive as by the time I'll have finished the Masters I'll have done 4 straight years of education, so a break would be nice.

Anyway, to the OP, I'd listen to Fela and purves, they know what they're on about. Due to the weakness of the dollar you can do the Celta in bangkok for £750 at the moment. No better time to do it in that respect.
 
Hello again. Well, I've been offered a job in Nepal. However, I'm told the visa will only be for three months, which is not ideal - I'd been hoping for 9 months or more. Board & lodgings will be provided, plus a (very) small wage to cover a few beers etc.

I have £2000 now. It looks as if I'll spend £500 or so on a flight there, maybe £100+ on insurance, and I would imagine the rest will be swallowed up somehow. I planned to go trekking too, but with a three month visa I don't expect I'll have chance. I'm sure it will be a great experience, but I can envisage returning to the UK in summer with no money and having to stack shelves for another six months before I can do anything.

Alternatively, I could do the CELTA, and go to the Czech Republic. A girl at work has offered to put me up for two or three weeks when she goes back in March; she's a native and she's also worked as a teacher so will help out with finding me a job (of course I'd try to find something before going). If I do this for a year or so, I might be able to arrange a stint in Nepal later.

Decisions decisions. All I know is that I want to go somewhere else.
 
Sunray said:
I would say that Thailand is reasonable and my friend is currently working in Taiwan while learning to Kite surf.

He was on about 700-800 quid a month in Thailand. That is a packet there trust me. Had a nice place in Bangkok which I rate highly as a great City to live in.
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That's well above average for TEFL jobs in Thailand though. The OP would have to have a bit of experience etc to get that sort of salary I reckon...
 
Oh well. Fuck ups aplenty.

Two weeks into the CELTA (here in Manchester) and today I'm dropping out. I've wanted to do it for three years, I finally saved the cash, and now I realise I'm fucking shit when it comes to grammar. £1300 in course fees and books, might as well have pissed it up the wall instead.

I've got £1500 left. Give me some ideas please.
 
Nikkormat said:
Oh well. Fuck ups aplenty.

Two weeks into the CELTA (here in Manchester) and today I'm dropping out. I've wanted to do it for three years, I finally saved the cash, and now I realise I'm fucking shit when it comes to grammar. £1300 in course fees and books, might as well have pissed it up the wall instead.

I've got £1500 left. Give me some ideas please.
Click to expand...

If it's not too late, you're no more shit at grammar than anybody else suddenly having to learn what they take for granted when speaking themselves. You only have to give it a bit of time and brain work, and it all comes to you easily enough.

Have you not enjoyed the methodology sessions? After two weeks you should already have taught some lessons, how did they go?

You could come to thailand, look presentable and smart, and get teaching jobs with no qualifications. Alternatively if you have a degree, you can also get a job at a college or university teaching english for less money, but enough to not need to use your savings.

Then you could try the celta again.

But i can't believe you're dropping out!!

Picking grapes don't need no education...
 
fela fan said:
If it's not too late, you're no more shit at grammar than anybody else suddenly having to learn what they take for granted when speaking themselves. You only have to give it a bit of time and brain work, and it all comes to you easily enough.
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Yeah, I second this. Lots of people find learning English grammar tough - I certainly couldn't tell you offhand what the fuck the past participle is - but learning it for teaching purposes is just learning what stuff you already know is called. Didn't notice any glaring grammatical errors in Nikkormat's posts on this thread so grammar can't be that bad!
 
Thanks chaps.

I was due to give a lesson on comparatives today. I started to plan it last night and just thought "where the hell do I start?" Six hours of gazing at a blank page later, I decided I couldn't go on. I've spent pretty much from 6am to 10pm every day for the past two weeks studying, and I think I needed a scream and cry.

Fortunately one of the course tutors phoned me at lunchtime, and said just what you have: that nobody on the course really knows it all, and that it will come in time. I've taught four assessed lessons already, all passes, so it would be foolish to drop out now.

Thanks again. Hopefully the next time I post it will be "Wooooo look at my certificate!"
 
Switzerland probably pays quite well for TEFL, partricularly if with a bit of experience you can get in to teaching for business.

The minimum wage is quite high so even workers in Maccy D's get paid OK.
 
I reckoned I was pretty shit at teaching English and didn't exactly enjoy the TEFL course.

Out of 12 or so people on my course, I think two dropped out and everyone else passed.

If you stick with it and try you are unliekly to fail it! I got the feeling they would pass anyone unless you were absolutely hopeless and would be an embarrassment to the school that passed you.
 
Yeah, stick with it!

I managed to gasp most of it on the job. You may end up teaching elementary or beginners in which case the grammar you need isn't that bad anyway.
 
Errol's son said:
Switzerland probably pays quite well for TEFL, partricularly if with a bit of experience you can get in to teaching for business.

The minimum wage is quite high so even workers in Maccy D's get paid OK.
Click to expand...

Hardly a banging place for a young buck, is it?
 
fractionMan said:
Yeah, stick with it!

I managed to gasp most of it on the job. You may end up teaching elementary or beginners in which case the grammar you need isn't that bad anyway.
Click to expand...

I should point out that although grammar has its place in teaching/learning english, there are more important things really, such as learning vocabulary and getting as much speaking practice in the classroom as possible.

Don't anyone get hung up over grammar. It's what's bored countless millions of students around the world. And twisted up the teachers!
 
I don't doubt it, but unless something's radically changed on BBs there's always room for uniformed idle speculation and gross generalisations, surely? I have never been to Switzerland so I speak from a position of ignorance.
 
Oh mate, stick with it absolutely! I went through this, I really did, and I bet many other people on your course will be having similar problems. Just do what you need to do to get through your course, and don't be afraid to ask your tutors for help, I know I did on more than one occasion. You're paying their salary!!

Don't reinvent the wheel - nick ideas and activities from the resource books that are knocking around the school. Don't stay up all night making lesson plans or cutting up pink bits of cardboard, it's all been done before.

Make sure your lesson aims are genuinely achieveable. The temptation when you're first doing some grammar point is to open a grammar book, see that there's about twelve different uses for this grammar which all seem equally important to you at this time, and that somehow you have to get them all into your lesson. You don't.

For your other observed lessons, do more skills-based lessons. Much easier for a novice teacher to knock up an interesting skills lesson - interesting for you and the students - than a grammar lesson.

Once you're through the course, all the grammar you need to know you'll pick up as and when you need it i.e. when you're making lesson plans. In your job, you'll almost certainly be using a textbook which will provide the basic framework for your class. Just work around that. Once you've done your first set of lessons on all the tenses, it will fall into place. Believe me.

And when you've learned all the grammar and have a dozen activities for every grammar point that exists, you'll realise it's all a load of bunkum and go lexical :cool:
 
purves grundy said:
it's all a load of bunkum and go lexical :cool:
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Lol, you still on a percentage from Michael Lewis? :D

Totally agree with your post btw, excellent advice :)

Nikkormat - stick with it mate. You just need to pass the thing & the world's your whelk. I did mine at 28, fucked off round the world teaching for over 8 years, (Central/South America, Korea, Egypt) came back, taught ESOL in London for a bit & am now 2 months off finishing my PGCE.

Nobody expects you to know all the grammar (anyway most of the teaching you do will be from books & the students can fill you in on the rest - it's called 'guided learning' or whatever the catchphrase is now - they ask you a question, you nod sagely and reply 'hmm what do you think, can you find any other examples to back up your ideas?').

Re: working all night to churn out lesson plans. I remember it well & it's a pain in the hole but it's also the only time you'll be doing it, (unless you end up doing your DELTA in the next couple of years ;)). Purves is right when he says to try & stick to skills based/functional lessons - way easier & more enjoyable (though if you're CELTA's like mine, you get forced into teaching a certain amount of 'grammar' lessons).

You're not going to be teaching anything that's not been taught a million times before; google '<whichever grammar point you're doing> lesson plan' and thieve anything that looks good. Have you got any books by Scott Thornbury? He was always good to nick stuff off and was cutting edge when I was teaching. Keep your aims to a minimum (therefore way more achievable) and get through it.

Good luck.
 
Thanks for the advice, all. Sweet FA, the prospect of spending my evenings planning lessons is partly what made me want to quit, so it's nice to know there are other ways.

On this course, we are allocated a topic for each of our assessed teaching sessions, with a mix of grammar and skills. For the first two weeks I've been teaching at intermediate level; next week and the final week will be at elementary.

You're right, it would be foolish to quit now.
 
Nikkormat said:
You're right, it would be foolish to quit now.
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Absofuckinglutely :)

Elementary's great btw - grade your language, use plenty of NVC, concept-check your heart out and you'll be fine (plus the grammar's way easier at that level ;)).

Not sure if it's still any good but this place; www.eslcafe.com used to be a good place to check out jobs, lesson plans etc.
 
Sweet FA said:
Lol, you still on a percentage from Michael Lewis? :D
Click to expand...
"to be on a percentage from" - hmmm, very interesting multi-word verb there :p

Have you got any books by Scott Thornbury? He was always good to nick stuff off and was cutting edge when I was teaching.
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Oooh yeah - an excellent writer. My mate did the DELTA under his tutelage in Barcelona and completely fell in love with him.

Anyway, top advice mate. You've followed pretty much the same teaching footpath as me, same ages etc.

Nikkormat said:
Thanks for the advice, all. Sweet FA, the prospect of spending my evenings planning lessons is partly what made me want to quit, so it's nice to know there are other ways.
Click to expand...
You'll be too busy bevvying it up, organising weekend trips into the wilds and such like for that! Stick with it Nikkormat, come back for more advice if necessary :)
 
Done, finished, passed :)

Thanks again for the words of encouragement, folks.

I'm probably heading for the Czech Republic soon.
 
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