Teaching Enlish as Second Language?

[Jesus is Coming Soon!!!]

I am wondering if I would enjoy teaching English as a second language in a foreign country, maybe China. For now, I am thinking of signing up for a trip that is 3 weeks involved in an "English Camp".

My question is, do you think a 3 week trip would be a good indicator to me as to whether or not I would do a good job if I committed to a long term trip where I taught English for a whole school year?

Also, in how many countries does the government pay your salary for long term teaching (versus you having to raise your own support)? I have heard of one program in China where the government pays you to teach, but I am not sure how common this is in other countries.

Thanks.

 

[147]

I did a one month trip to Korea to teach English to North Korean defectors last summer, and had to raise my support. It was enough of an indicator that I enjoyed the work, but definitely not enough to prepare me for actual teaching work. I actually stayed a second month.

I don't know about programs in China, as I was hired by a Korean school here.

Japan has the JET program, which is basically a government program from what I can tell, so it's government sponsored. The alternative to that is AsianAccess, which would require sponsorship money.

There's always English camps in the Philippines (for Korean students usually), especially during school holidays.

 

[savedbyhim01]

I have lived in China for 9 years and I have had various jobs teaching ESL. Firstly, I would say it is extremely unlikely you would be able to get a job with the government paying your salary teaching English. I've never heard of these jobs, but if they exist I'm sure their requirements would be very high, probably something along the lines of Master's Degree and 2-4 years of teaching experience outside China (which maybe you have, I don't know).

I do think 3 weeks teaching English could give you a good idea if you would like this job or not. It depends a lot on where you would end up teaching long term. I have taught at some places (middle schools) where it is a headache because the students don't want to learn. Other times it can be pretty good if the students enjoy learning English. My 2 week mission trip to China took place in 2001 and I came back and have lived for nine years so I would recommend trying it.