Teaching English Abroad/in Hong Kong

[cheadle hulme]

Anyone done/doing this?

I'm a bit sick of this country at the moment and me and the missus are thinking of moving out to Hong Kong for a bit. Probably 3 months at first to check we like it and then 12 months or so.

I'm a qualified accountant, but I won't be able to work over there as I don't speak chinese. I also fancy a break from spreadsheets and budgets!

I've seen TEFL courses and there seems to be a niche for teaching professionals "business English". Quite fancy this tbh. As long as it covers the living expenses (missus is going to work too) then I'm not too bothered about the pay rate. Mortgage over here will be covered for a while out of savings.

Anyone got experience of TEFL courses, particularly online ones?

How long did it take and how quickly did you get a job?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Fnaar]

Do either a CELTA course (see here for info) or a Trinity Cert TESOL (see here for info)
Personally I wouldn't bother with an online course... you need practical classroom experience. Also employers will all have heard of the CELTA or Trinity courses, and most reputable ones will ask for either as a minimum.
Not cheap (700-1,000 quid is typical) for a four week intensive (very intensive) course. Some centres (see the websites for centre lists) will offer them part-time. Or, (again follow through on centre lists) if it's an option for you, take one abroad...

 

[very-near]

HK - nice . I lived there for a while when I was a kid. Cost of accommodation on the island is very high though.

 

[Globalti]

I was an English Assistant in Huelva, Spain, for 6 months as part of my BA Modern Languages course. I found teaching (which is what it amounted to) pretty stressful, partly thanks to the unpleasant environment and mostly due to my complete inexperience and unpreparedness. I would definitely recommend a TEFL course before you go but I'm sure you'll have a briliant time and come back with a whole new perspective on being British!

 

[Maz]

I am currently studying for a CELTA. As fnaar said, the CELTA and Trinity CERT TESOL are the most widely recognised and accepted qualifications. Mine is an evening class over 1 academic year (I have to take an afternoon off to do my teaching practices) - your other options are a 4-week intensive course either here in the UK or abroad, or an online course (I wouldn't recommend the online course).

I intend to use my CELTA at some point in the future. At the very least it's a useful qualification to have. If I were free and single I'd be off round the world in the blink of an eye...one of my colleagues has already got a job lined up in Japan. Another plans to go to Hong Kong after qualifying.

Let me know if you need more info.

 

[cheadle hulme]

Cheers guys. There also seem to be a lot of slightly dubious on line providers so I'm definitely minded to go with CELTA as Fnarr and Maz suggest.

I've done plenty of training in my corporate career, so have no reckon I'll be OK with the practical side of things. CELTA also do a 4 week course in HK, so I could go out and do that and suss out the lie of the land as it were.

We've got to come back in September anyway, so I think we'll treat the 3 months as fact finding/training/holiday. Last day in work on Friday for me after my abrupt "this is all shoot" tantrum on Monday!!

 

[Maz]

Yay! Go for it, CH. Good luck!!

 

[Dayvo]

Have a look at this site for available jobs:

http://www.tefl.com/

Most require a TEFL qualification, but if you're a native speaker with a university degree, then that will help enormously in parts of the world where a more informal approach is taken.

I have a TEFL qualification but limited experience, although I hope to use it more in the winter months in the Far East!

Go for it! It'll open up a whole new world for you.

 

[Arch]

I've toyed with doing this sort of thing, mainly in my more vague "what am I going to do when I grow up?" moments. I've often wondered, how much does it hamper you not speaking the other language - the one your students are native in? I can get by in French, and that's about it.

 

[Dayvo]

I've toyed with doing this sort of thing, mainly in my more vague "what am I going to do when I grow up?" moments. I've often wondered, how much does it hamper you not speaking the other language - the one your students are native in? I can get by in French, and that's about it.

If you're thinking about going to Asia (cheap, hot, beautiful) then not knowing the local language is not important as you'll be working with an indiginous teacher who will know enough English to help you with the pupils/students until they are at such a level where they are conversant to a reasonable level.

 

[Maz]

I've toyed with doing this sort of thing, mainly in my more vague "what am I going to do when I grow up?" moments. I've often wondered, how much does it hamper you not speaking the other language - the one your students are native in? I can get by in French, and that's about it.

You should be fine in a French-speaking country (like France!). Using the students' first language is not always a good idea - their learning experience will be more intense and meaningful if you speak in English throughout. Many modern foreign language teachers in this country conduct their whole lesson in the target language.

The group I teach is multi-national so English is the only common language. Students are from Congo, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia, France, Spain, Iran...

 

[Fnaar]

I've toyed with doing this sort of thing, mainly in my more vague "what am I going to do when I grow up?" moments. I've often wondered, how much does it hamper you not speaking the other language - the one your students are native in? I can get by in French, and that's about it.

Obviously it's an advantage if you CAN speak the lingo, but TEFL courses basically train you in the art of teaching English through the medium of English... (as opposed to relying on translation, or doing it through the medium of dance )
Imagine you're TEFLing here in this country... in your class you have a couple of Brazilians, a few Spaniards, the occasional Chinese person, two stray Inuits and a Dane... unless you're a polygot, you have to use English...

 

[Arch]

Obviously it's an advantage if you CAN speak the lingo, but TEFL courses basically train you in the art of teaching English through the medium of English... (as opposed to relying on translation, or doing it through the medium of dance )
Imagine you're TEFLing here in this country... in your class you have a couple of Brazilians, a few Spaniards, the occasional Chinese person, two stray Inuits and a Dane... unless you're a polygot, you have to use English...

Cheers. I will be imagining teaching English through the medium of dance all evening now... "Now class, I want you to really BE that apostrophe..."

It would certainly be a useful sort of qualification to have, and I enjoy teaching (I've done a bit as a post grad). I fear I'm going to end up so over qualified, I'll never get a job anywhere - the more qualifications I get, the less ambition I seem to have to actually use them.

And I do fancy living abroad sometimes, although I was thinking more of Europe...

 

[Fnaar]

Hey, you could make a really diabolically bad sitcom with that material...oh, it's been done.

Hey, Mind Your Language, you

 

[Maz]

Hey, you could make a really diabolically bad sitcom with that material...oh, it's been done.

Yeah. It was Mind Your Language. It was 'kin hilarious, too!