paul
- 2004-12-20
Hi paul, that's a good question. I spent 5 years teaching in Europe, and decided to turn the thing on it's head and teach French and Spanish here in the UK. The barriers to entry here are incredible... but I've started a 3-yr Modern Languages BA course at uni, even though I'm already fluentish, then I've got to do a PGCE after I graduate. Wot a pain, but I suppose it will be worth it, security and a nice pension, which TEFL never offered, and I am learning some interesting things, particularly phonetics. It's a long haul, though.
Paul
Beatrix
- 2004-12-04
Hello u,
One only has to recall the fact that one's abilities in communication has been strengthened, a bit like a piece of pottery with a glaze having been thrust into a furnace. You have some fancy communication stategies, that the average Joe doesn't have. This can mean that you will be a valuable team member anywhere where there is business and people to commucicate with. Believe me, I', doin' it till I get a better ESOL offer, which is in the pipeline apparently.
BEA BEA 
Don't worry, be happy.
Robert Newman
- 2004-12-04
As an Ex-teacher, I am now fairly happy and getting very slightly more prosperous as a scum of the earth recruiter in Thailand.
Please don't feel ill towards me, I did it because I really wanted to help teachers here gat a better deal than they were. Now, I am the only recruiter that is endorsed by Ajarn.com who generally dislikes them intensly.
There is life after ESL teaching, but it depends on how you can face reality in the real world.
Robert
falutin
- 2004-12-04
There's an interesting thread on just that topic over on the www.ajar.com forum, which is based in Thailand.
I've gone, at least for now, in the other direction. Until this year I have taught 15 years as a regular teacher here in Canada and overseas. Now I've started teaching only esl privately and am finding it very rewarding. Nice to work for myself for a change.
Am curious also to hear from any TEFL teachers who a) have been "doing it" for a long time, or b) did it some years ago and are now doing something else, mainly because I'm curious if anyone has found that teaching English in a non-English country will either be rewarding over the long term OR, perhaps even more significantly, lead to other good paths in life. Thanks as always for the insights!