Top 10 Places to Teach English Abroad

Here is an excellent place to start your search for the perfect country in which to teach English.
"Top 10 Places for Teaching English Abroad"

A Long Time Comming

I have officially settled in here in Ukraine and am a week into my first summer vacation. My first semester of English Teaching in Ukraine definitely had its challenges and successes. I worked with a group from third through eleventh grade, and have developed, borrowed, and stolen some great language games. Now that I have a reliable internet connection I will be sharing reflections from the semester, game and lesson plan ideas, and more. To kick things off, here is a list of the things that I would do a bit differently if I could go back and start the semester over again. Learn from my mistakes : )

I wish I had's:
1. I wish I had asked the students' regular English teacher to sit in on my lessons at the beginning of the semester. It is very nice to have freedom in teaching, but the students tend to behave better when there is a teacher who speaks their language sitting in the back of the classroom.

2. I wish I had insisted on giving grades to my students. I don't know if the school I was working at felt that it would be too much work for me to give grades, or what, but they told me not to. This was my #1 mistake of the year. I hate to say it, but sometimes the quest for knowledge isn't enough to motivate all of our students. Grades are an important and motivational carrot that I did not have the privilege of dangling this semester.

3. I wish I had observed more classes. The education system is different here in both blaring and subtle ways. Watching host country nationals work with students more would have given me insight into what pupils are used to (especially when it comes to grading and classroom management) and what level my students are truly at with English.

4. I wish I had integrated more thoroughly with the rest of the staff. When teaching at a school where you barely speak the language it can be very intimidating to strike up a lunchtime conversation. My advice, try your best. People are curious about you, and you are probably as intimidating to them as they are to you. Bring in a baked treat, show up to those staff meetings you don't understand, and for the love of goodness if they invite you over to their home or out on the town GO!

5. I wish I had developed a clear goal for my English clubs from the beginning. I came in with guns blazing. After about a month at school I started three English clubs (elementary age, middle school, and high school). However, I didn't exactly know what my students or I wanted to do at the weekly club meetings. By the end of the year I was still working consistently with the elementary group, but my older students had lost interest. Trust me on this, have a plan before you set the first meeting. It is very nice to think that your students will come in with the great idea to study poetry or throw a spelling bee... but it's not likely. You are the teacher. You make the plan. Integrate input as it comes.

Making Connections

I have officially begun the process of learning some Ukrainian and Russian before I move. It has really got me thinking about the language learning experience, and what my students will be going through.

To help us new volunteers get started on learning Ukrainian the Peace Corps sends out twenty short lessons to practice with. They provide you with written text in English, phonetic Ukrainian, and Ukrainian in the Cyrillic alphabet, and recordings that ask you to listen to the speaker and then repeat. These are definitely the basics, phrases like "I'm American" and "good afternoon."

I've been working with these lessons for a few weeks now, and it is definitely helpful to hear a native speaker say the words, however, I could listen to those lessons all day long and I hardly remember a thing when I'm done. For me, it is not enough to just hear and repeat. I need to work with the material and come up with memory tricks on my own. For example, the word for bye in Ukrainian is poka. When I think of polka the dance I can envision the dancers hands moving up and down in the air, almost like a wave. Waving goodbye is my connection. This has been working pretty well for me, plus it's fun and rewarding to come up with something that works for you. You have to be creative, patient, and flexible, skills that are key to all language learning.

It is important to keep in mind that our students need more than to just hear the words that we want them to learn. They must manipulate them and draw connections.

Don't Stop Until You Get Enough

I have officially been accepted to serve in Ukraine as a Peace Corps volunteer!  I leave in September, and can't wait to get started on this incredible journey.  I have been assigned to teach English to Secondary students.  I am excited about this for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that I will be learning Ukrainian while my students are learning English.  I think that the perspective of learning a new language while teaching a language will be invaluable.  Throughout my travels I will post about my experiences teaching English abroad, and provide you with resources that I have created, or were helpful for me.  I can't wait to get started.  

Come along for the ride!

Future Updates

As I get ready to depart for Eastern Europe, and while I am overseas I will be documenting my professional experiences teaching English on this site.  Keep checking in for more resources and stories of my adventures abroad!

Tutoring Safety

I have just begun the process of becoming an English tutor for the summer.  I posted an ad on craigslist.com and have received several responses from interested individuals.  If you are looking for some paid or volunteer experience with teaching English I would highly suggest this rout for finding people to work with.  However, there are safety concerns that always come along with working through a site like the one chose.  Here are some tips for how to stay safe while using these extremely helpful online tools.  

Craig's List's Safety Tips

Wired Safety is another great site with lots of information about how to stay safe while using technology.

Teaching English in Korea

Korea is one of the most popular countries for people interested in paid English teaching opportunities.  The US Department of State has created an "unofficial guidebook to give teachers basic information on the business of teaching English here so that they can be better informed before committing themselves to a particular job."  The document was created by the US Embassy in Seoul, and has a lot of information about the benefits and detriments of teaching in South Korea specifically.  Check it out...

TEACHING ENGLISH IN KOREA, OPPORTUNITIES AND PITFALLS