Interview with Louise teaching
English in China and taught Vietnam
 

Where are you from Louise?
 
I come from England.

Where are you teaching or where did you teach?

I taught at a couple of schools in China, and Vietnam.

What do/did you like most about living and working abroad?

I really enjoyed learning about Chinese and Vietnamese culture - the way the people
live and their ideas, their traditions and national holidays, what they eat and do in
their spare time. As well as a challenging job, teaching was also great fun, showing
students how to speak through activities and games. A lot of the students were
delightful and it was rewarding to see students improving their English because of
something you've done for them. Another thing that's really good is in countries such
as China, Japan or Korea the school will usually give you accommodation as part of
the job benefits. Some of the apartments we had were lovely, really luxurious - an added bonus.

What do/did you dislike the most?

To be completely honest, what I didn't like was the way the school management
always tried to take advantage of you as a foreign teacher. The schools I worked at
lied to me about certain aspects of the school and made me work all the hours under the sun - more than I was told when I signed the contract. They lie to you about visas and paid vacation. I met many foreign teachers who have been treated the same way. It would be nice, when you travel out of your own country to a new one you're not familiar with, to be treated with a little more respect and courtesy.

How did you get started teaching abroad?

I took a TESOL course in Australia, and the teachers gave me lots of advice of how to find a teaching job abroad. I searchedonline and found lots of jobs on websites likes davesesl.com and marksesl.com. I applied for some and was surprised at how immediate the replies were. I accepted a job in China, before leaving the UK.

Do you have any back ground in teaching English, if not, how did you learn?

When I began teaching in Asia, I had no experience teaching English, only my English teaching training (TESOL). I could gain lots of useful experience working in China, and from there I can go on to teach in another country if I want to, now I have more experience. Many schools will hire people with no experience, and some will take you on with experience but no qualification. However, it's getting a little harder to find these kind of jobs, as more schools are asking for more qualifications and some experience. But you should still apply for a job even if you don't have everything they are asking for.

How long have you been teaching English?

I have been teaching English for a little over a year now.

Do you feel teaching English overseas is a good way tomake a good living?

It depends where you are! In China, you will only make good money if you are working in one of the big cities like Shanghai or Beijing. You can earn between £800-1000 a month and get an apartment - which is a really good living in China. In a smaller town you may not earn as much but you can save a lot because the cost of living is cheap.Well-paid destinations include Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Vietnam's not bad either, but they don't usually pay for your accommodation. Anywhere else might be what Westerners
see as a low wage, but the cost of living is cheap, so you can save money.

Can you give some good advice for someone thinking about living and teaching English abroad?

Regarding visas: For a work visa, the school needs to send you a letter offering
employment and an official letter from the government to apply for one. But it
seems to be very difficult to do this yourself before you leave your country.

It seems to be better to get a tourist visa first and let the school change it for
you into a working visa when you arrive. One thing I'd advise from personal experience, is to make sure the school has a certificate to hire foreigners before you accept any job. If they do they'll be able to send you a scanned copy of it. If they can't send you one, chances are they don't have one - which means they won't be able to get you a work visa, which you need to work legally in the country. I would not advise anyone to do this, although there are plenty of teachers who do.

Can you describe what it is like living and working in country you're in?

Certainly different! I've found that in the smaller towns and cities in China, the people are a lot friendlier than in the bigger cities, probably because they don't see as many white people. There's a lot to get used to, like having people stare at you, having beggars approach and physically touch you to ask you for money and of
course, not having a lot of the home comforts around. In some countries where they hardly see foreigners, like in the
smaller towns of Cambodia, or China, you will feel a little bit like a celebrity since everyone wants to shake your hand or say hello - it's just a novelty for them to see a foreigner!

Do you have any warnings for people considering teaching English overseas?

Don't do anything you might do in your own country because the laws are very different and something you might do at home where you know what to expect, there might be a very different penalty for in another country. In some countries, such as Vietnam, I would advice against telling anybody where you live, since I've heard of some teachers who've
been robbed blind after telling the locals where it is they live.Generally, you just have to watch your back, logical for anyone traveling to a different country.

If you could do it over again, what would you do differently?

I would have visited a city first to see if I liked it before going to work there. I should have gone to one of the bigger cities like Beiing first. I would check out the reputation of the school better next time as well find a school who would treat me well. A way of doing this is to speak
to teachers who have worked at the school before, or are working there
now.