Is Teaching English for You?

March 14, 2019

"El Principito" Musical
San Valentin
Poetry Recital
Dr. Seuss' Birthday
Carnival

Authored By:

Meghan M.

So, you’re thinking about teaching English as a foreign language?

I made a quiz to see if you should!

1. Are you a teacher in the United States but are looking for a way to make a living abroad?

Yes, you should teach abroad

2. Are you about to graduate from college and don’t know what you want to do, but know you want to travel? Did you already graduate but fit those criteria above?

Yes, you should teach abroad

3. Are you looking for a way to break out of your current job and do something new and exciting that will flex your creative muscles AND be very social?

Yes, you should teach abroad

4. Are you looking for any job that will give you a visa to travel each weekend?

No, you probably shouldn’t teach abroad. Maybe you could take a gap year, and try to find remote work for a smaller company.

Teaching is a job that should be taken seriously, and moving abroad to teach English is a decision that shouldn’t be made lightly.

Teaching is for you if you have the following characteristics:

Creativity
Patience
Optimism
Grit
Resilience
Respect
Excitement
Making yourself a fool
Kindness
Organization

Some of these characteristics are born, but many can be honed over time, and are improved by - you guessed it - travel. Visiting a foreign land, and learning their traditions and culture helps you gain respect, kindless, grit, patience, and definitely making a fool of yourself. If you don’t have a cringy memory of the time you prepared for ten minutes at home to ask the woman behind the counter for a sandwich, and botched it anyway, you should try it!

Putting yourself into uncomfortable situations in another culture can only improve our reputations as Americans, and help you learn to let things roll off your back. We’re known as the culture who thinks themselves superior, and who won’t acclimate.

Teaching is a world of full acclimation as well as immersion. We as teachers must come halfway, sometimes 90% of the way, to help our students achieve their learning potential. Sometimes it takes a month for a student to start talking in English, sometimes it takes a year. However, once that student speaks, the 90% is worth it.

Each time they make more of an effort, you grow more patience, and more grit to keep them engaged. Each time they laugh at you or a dopey song because it helps them remember important information, they’re learning, and becoming international citizens in their own rights. The growth is remarkable worth the planning, and often overwhelming stress of a class who won’t calm down.