ESL EFL Road Show – Succeeding at TEFL Abroad

This week’s post is a mixture of several blogs from experienced ESL EFL teachers around the world and includes their ideas about what helps make a person successful teaching English abroad.  We hope you enjoy their perspective.

From TEFL Tips:

Sharon de Hinojosa has been teaching English since early 2003.  She started posting on Dave’s ESL Cafe shortly after and found herself regularly helping out other people and giving advice to newbies.  Over time, things progressed and she thought it would be a good idea to compile answers to FAQ that newbies often have about TEFLing and that’s how TEFL Tips got started.

From Istanbul Stranger

Most of the time, Stranger doesn’t completely suck at living abroad. Here are some handy tips that probably won’t make a lick of sense until you’ve managed to survive in another country for a couple of years, giving you newbies something to look forward to. Read about it  Here

Originally from Reno, Nevada and most recently from Portland, Oregon, Stranger came to Turkey almost 10 years ago. She had all kinds of education before that, which she’s almost done paying for. Stranger’s been working in the former Byzantium since she arrived, teaching adults at language schools and universities. She also did some freelance writing while on work-hiatus for baby-raising, and currently babysits grown-up children in the English prep department of a large university.

From Teacher in Mexico

Teaching abroad is a very select set of challenges to thrust yourself into. A new language, a different culture, strange food, and unknown risks are not what most people call fun. It takes a particular brand of daredevil or world-beater to see these hurdles as attractive. That particular brand of person is common among those that succeed in teaching abroad but the most important factor that each one knows is that it is imperative to have goals to succeed on, and the willingness to  . . .  Read More

Guy Courchesne, TEFL course instructor, Teacher in Latin America. Guy is a journalist and and EFL teacher that has lived in Mexico for 11 years. He has been teaching business EFL and TEFL courses for the last nine years in Mexico City, Acapulco, and Guadalajara. He is a member of Mextesol and also gives English teaching workshops to language institutes around Mexico. You can find him at Teacher in Mexico 

From our own TEFL Newbie:

People often ask very unrealistic questions about working abroad. It is as if all practical reasoning has been abandoned.  Do you really expect to be housed at a 5 star villa and fed gourmet food while you teach English at a resort?  Read more to find a happy middle ground and realistic approach . . .

Ted Tucker (your host here) is a retired TEFL educator and TEFL Teacher Trainer.  With an overseas career that started as a Peace Corps Volunteer in  Botswana in 1989 – he has been abroad ever since working in countries throughout Asia and the Middle East.

TED’s Tips™ #1:  Working abroad is great fun, but use your head and have realistic expectations about what a life abroad can bring you.

The BEST EFL Teaching Jobs in China: Government Colleges, Universities and Secondary Schools offer the most reliable and worry-free jobs in China. Click on the Link if you would like to Teach English in China

Can you Survive Abroad?

Are you made of the right stuff to thrive teaching English abroad?

I run into people from time to time that are slowly – and sometimes not so slowly – unraveling.
People who will soon be on their way home, whether they know it or not.

I often also meet people who are having truly the time of their lives, have never been happier, some even feel they are going to live ten years longer due to the lower stress levels of living abroad.

What about you?

Will you Thrive Overseas?

This is an important question.  Research indicates that about 80% of people who are fired from their jobs are fired for social and other reasons not related to their ability to do their job.  In other words, they couldn’t get along with others and/or they had bad working habits.  My opinion would be that overseas 80% turns into about 90-95%.

It is not very often that someone just doesn’t know how to teach English, it’s not really rocket science.

What is it that will Help you Survive?

The most important skills I have seen for adapting, surviving and thriving while living overseas are the following:

1.  The ability to laugh at yourself. You are going to make mistakes.  You are even going to make a fool of yourself from time to time and nothing eases the tension like a good laugh or a big smile.   People are a little wary of foreigners pretty much in every country and if you can show that you are a foreigner they need not worry about, you will soon have allies helping you succeed in your new world.

2. The ability to say, “I’m sorry” – even if the situation you are apologizing for is not your fault.  Fault doesn’t matter, getting along does.   Making sure fault is pointed at someone, in many cultures, wins you permanent enemies.  Leave your Western-style over-assertiveness home.  Arrive with a gentle spirit.  I am not suggesting that you be a patsy for every scam in the world – only that your first reaction not be anger or assertiveness, but instead to ask why a situation is the way it is.  You may often be surprised by the answer.

3. Don’t take life too seriously. Don’t take your job too seriously.  Items #1 and #2 require that you not get overstressed by problems that pop up on a day to day basis, and when they do, that you relax and go with the flow a bit to see where that flow goes.

4. Avoid contact with “Negative Ninnys”. You will meet a few very negative people overseas who would like you to be as unhappy as they are.  Avoid them like the plague.  Look for the happiest and mellowest people where you work or in your social circle and make them your friends.  You will soon find your world too – to be mellow and happy.

5. Find a way out of the box. If you find  yourself in trouble at work, ask how to fix it.  Be aware that other cultures may have very different ways of dealing with problems.  You can always ask for help in the context of a question about culture.  You can say, “I am not sure what to do here.  In my culture someone might do this or that”.   “What do you suggest that I do to solve this problem?”  By approaching the issue in a cultural context you can easily seek help and people are quite willing to provide it.   You can turn a problem in to a team problem-solving exercise.

Life really can be that easy.

TED’s Tips™ #1: Before you head overseas, make a personal decision to succeed and be very determined to do so.  Define for yourself what that success means then do everything to make that work.  Sometimes that means backing off a bit of Western habit and assertiveness.

TED’s Tips™ #2: Don’t forget to smile.  Put on a good attitude.  Help people enjoy being around you.

The BEST EFL Teaching Jobs in China: Government Colleges, Universities and Secondary Schools offer the most reliable and worry-free jobs in China. Click on the Link if you would like to Teach English in China