Overview:  This article discusses teaching in a foreign country within Asia, general, teaching myths, opportunities and qualifications.

Teaching in Asia can be both rewarding and frustrating.  It goes from one extreme to the other with little common ground between the two.  The Old Codger has seen a few good teachers, a few average teachers and an abundance of bad teachers in his teaching career in China and Thailand. 

Let's dispel a couple of myths right from the beginning. 

Myth # 1:  Because I am a native English speaker I can teach English.

  Nothing could be further from the truth.  To be a good and effective teacher requires a special personality and a lot of creativity.  Unless you land a teaching job in a private school, you will be trying to teach students that do not want to learn English. 

Myth # 2:  I can make good money as an English teacher in Asia.

  You will typically make decent money for the country that you are teaching in, but it typically will be around the equivalent of USD $1,000 per month or less.  Enough to live on, but difficult to save a lot, and you will not have any retirement, medical insurance or other benefits. 

In Asia, there are three basic teaching options:

Teaching in a private school.  Many private schools will also contract with local businesses for specialized courses or classes.

Teaching in a government school.  This can be elementary, secondary or at the university level.

Tutoring is something that one can contract for on their own.  Most tutoring is done with one or two students.

Qualifications:

Throughout Asia, the requirements for teachers are identical, though there are some variations of the requirements. The basic requirements are a University degree in any discipline and a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) or TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) or a CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) certificate.

Even though these are the basic requirements, those requirements are not always strictly required.  Despite that sounding like a lot of double speak, the meaning should be clear.  A University degree is not always required or alternatively, a TEFL, TESL or CELTA certificate may not be required.  Exceptions to the rules are typically granted to government schools but not private schools. 

It is also possible to teach without any credentials at all in some areas of Asia.  Those positions may be for pay, or may be volunteer.

This information is correct as of January, 2008.  It could change at anytime and without any warning depending on political considerations and situations.  Before coming to Asia in search of a teaching job, closely check for the qualifications that may or may not be in place.  For example, some jurisdictions require criminal background checks.  Other require University transcripts which must be in a sealed envelope.

Teaching Opportunities: 

There is an abundance of teaching opportunities available throughout Asia.  As stated above, the two primary opportunities are either with private schools or government schools.

Private schools:  Private schools provide for more individual teaching experiences.  Teaching in a private school is typically teaching from a text book, and according to a proscribed program or curriculum.  It has also been said that a private school will "suck the life" out of a teacher.  The drawbacks to teaching in a private school are typically:

Evening and week-end hours.  Work weeks can be from 20 to 42 hours a week depending on the school. 

Lower rate of pay per hour than one might find in a government school.

Few paid holidays or vacations. 

Government schools:  Government schools typically have large class sizes - as many as 55 students.  If teaching in a grade or primary school or secondary school (high school) you typically will have a significant percentage of students who do not want to be there or want to learn English.  In Universities, the problem is not quite as great.  Typically, you will not be doing "normal teaching" but instead will be more of a facilitator who is charged with the task of getting the students to simply speak English.  This means, no text books are provided to you to work out of.  You will need to develop your own lessons which will require a certain amount of creativity and imagination.  Other drawbacks to teaching in a government school are typically:

No or limited teaching resources. 

Teaching in what could be considered primitive conditions - no heat or air conditioning.  Typically, blackboards are old and worn out.  Student's desks and teaching desks are typically old and worn out or outright dangerous.

Large and often unmanageable classes.

Bias from native teachers who believe that you are making more money than they do, for less work. 

Little support from teaching staff or alternatively interference from the teaching staff. Happy mediums are hard to find.

Ideally, the better places to teach in government schools would be in a University, but those jobs are difficult to find.

Employment Opportunities:

There are numerous teaching opportunities in Asia.  Some are good.  Some are adequate.  Some are terrible. 

A number of teachers in Asia are perennially itinerant individuals or backpackers.  These teachers are typically interested first and foremost in themselves, and their students second.  They are more interested in gaining the experiences of living in a foreign land as opposed to fitting into the culture and environment for a longer term commitment.  Because of this, the turnover rate in the teaching profession (if we wish to call it that) is great.

Because of the above, there will be more teaching opportunities in areas of Asia that are not typically considered to be "tourist destinations."  Pay in these areas will be less, but the cost of living is also less, so ultimately, in the final analysis, the pay is fairly stable wherever one decides to teach.

Obtaining a visa and work permit to teach is typically a very "do-able" thing.  The school that you are working for will assist you with the details and in obtaining such.  For your own personal safety and longevity, do not work for any school without the proper permits and visas.  One thing is definite:  You ain't going to like staying in the Monkey House - jail - awaiting deportation.  You also won't like paying the fine that goes along with those types of infractions. 

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