I did it, but it wasn't really a professional job. I did it as a summer job like 4 years ago in Saudi. This was teaching english, not literature. Where exactly were you thinking of doing this?
I have a couple friends that taught English in S. Korea ~ they both liked it for a while, but got sick of the lifestyle over there after about a year. I’ve considered doing it myself, but have never gotten around to it…
Considered it seriously before meeting my wife. My plan was to teach English for a year or two in Japan and learn conservational Japanese as a side benefit. I vaguely recall that there are schools that will prep you for teaching English abroad and will help with your placement. I was also considering taking a Japanese immersion class before I left (since I wanted to compensate for not being able to read the language).
I have known some people who participated in the JETS program and taught in Japan. All seemed to like it but said that the real money was in private lessons. They minimized their load in the JETS program and made a lot of money with private. Most of them also picked up a beginners conversational level of Japanese.
My brother taught in Japan for a year. He was living with his girlfriend though, so he never really picked up Japanese. Unless you will be living with someone who is fluent in both Japanese and English, I imagine your experience will be quite different.
I was about to it when family illness caused me to change my plans. I was going to go to Korea most likely, but had also talked to folks in China, Taiwan, and Thailand. Some of the indonesian ones looked really promising at the time, but I was never able to get ahold of the people there. I don't have as much advice as I would have if I'd been able to follow through, but I know that a number of people were kind of ripped off by some of the schools in Korea. On my old computer I had a list of bookmarked schools, organizations, and bulletin boards on the subject. I will see if I can find any of them now. I did know one person who went to Japan to teach English. He was hoping to save a bunch of money, but ended up just breaking even. I've heard that from posters of people who taught in Thailand as well, but I never knew any of them personally. I will be envious if this works out for you. It should be a great experience. That was my feeling anyway. I remember one thing that might open up more options for you is if you are single. I was just about to get married, and my wife and I would have both been going over there, so the selection of places was less than it might have been. There were still plenty of options but not as much as single folks have. Definitely keep posting about your progress in this endeavor. Do you have a TSOL or TEFL certificate? You don't have to have one, but that will help your pay and your options about where you work. If you can in Korea try and get some private tutoring jobs on the side. They can very likely be for wealthy patrons who will pay well for your work. That was where I was hoping to earn a little extra spending money. If you do end up going to Korea, or China you might already be aware of some of the little cultural nuances that are different, but I can help you out with some of them, especially if you end up in Korea.
I actually don't care that much about money. I have enough saved up from my job now (which I will of course be leaving) to last for a year or more.
Some of the places I looked at had courses that taught you their native language as well. That seemed like a huge plus for me. If it isn't about money at all, then look for schools that give you more time off. That way you can travel and explore etc. I think about half the schools went 6 days a week, and some were year round, and some weren't. The Indonesian ones seem to offer a lot of time off, but I only did preliminary explorations of those places. I can't find the website of one place in Korea that was great. Maybe not to work for, but just to look at the website. The guy who runs the school has his picture everwhere, in a style that is very amusing. Even though that isn't a school I would recommend anyone teaching at, it is worth it to look at the website. This is one website that I found usefull for doing research and asking questions. Of course like all boards some posters have their own issues. http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/index.php
Breaking even should be the expectation. I was going to teach English in Japan just for the life experience. I vaguely remember that somebody like a school has to sponser you and they may control your visa for a period of time. Even when they do control your visa, you could get after-hours, private work that paid better. My thoughts were that my first year I would not explore the private work but force myself to get to know the language via eating out, shopping, meeting the neighbors, hitting on women , etc.
I agree a teaching certificate will help. I spent the 02/03 school year in Taipei, Taiwan. There was high demand for teachers at the time, and likely still is, although expectations are a little higher now (thank god). I think the going rate was about US$15 to $20 an hour. If you don't have a background in Chinese or Taiwanese and aren't really interested in learning, I'm not sure if I'd recommend Taiwan, since it may be difficult to get by. However, it all really depends on your personality. I hate attention and am paranoid about being scammed, so living in another country where I don't really know the language doesn't appeal to me. Of course you most likely aren't like me if you're considering teaching English abroad. I have a friend who's doing JET right now. He's not having a great time, but every situation is unique. Feel free to e-mail me if you'd like to know more about Taiwan, teaching English there. I may not be able check this thread regularly.
http://www.footprintsrecruiting.com/index.php?abarcar_Session=715aea7ebaf405674894abe19bafc6e6 i'm planning on doing it in 2 years when i complete my BA in English.
