Where have you taught English?

I was just doing a bit of fun reading about teaching English in Mongolia. Bring a good coal smog filtering mask, Under Amour and prepare to eat many different kinds of four legged meat.

Got me to thinking about where the lot of you have taught. I’m easy: Taiwan was my first gig, for 18 years at all levels including owning a school, and then in public school in NY, five years and counting…

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I first taught in japan was the easiest job ever. Like 60 students in a class and one main teacher and around 7 assistant teachers.

I was an assistant and did like f all, they expected nothing from us lol.

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That sounds interesting. We have “co-taught” classes in NY with a content teacher and an ENL teacher who also usually does f-all.

It was the life!! I wonder what it’s like in that school now though with the rona, I was there back in 2018

My friend in Tokyo says not great. No vaccine yet and wearing a mask all the time in the heat sucks.

Whereabouts in Japan were you?

Osaka.

Sounds similar to Taiwan tbh, at least it’s not as humid in japan

Taught in Seoul, South Korea (2007-2013) Cut my teeth in Korea. Started at a cram school, then a middle school and finally within a language program at a university.

Went back to the USA in early 2014 to do my Masters. Taught ESL part-time for a couple years in the states at the same time as I was doing my Masters. Just at a couple academies. This was a great teaching environment because I got students from all corners of the world. Not often you get a Brazilian, a Saudi, a Japanese and an Italian in the same classroom. I miss that kind of mixed cultural classroom.

Met my future-wife while doing my Masters and missed Asia anyway, so followed her to Taiwan in 2016 when I graduated. Been working at a uni here ever since.

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Everyone who has been in Taiwan long enough has usually taught at some point.

I’ve been a political journalist in my 20s, worked in high tech in my 20s (miss the stock sheets), science/comms in Europe in the private sector in my late 30s, three government jobs in three different countries (70 percent of my job history in these areas from 20s to mid 40s), and in economic development/Leadership office comms (not teaching) at a science university in my late 30s.

In Taiwan, while working in government and then the private sector over seven years, I taught on weekends at universities (Shih Hsin and Chinese Culture Universities). Enjoyed it a lot—taught journalism English and MBA courses and enjoyed the public speaking practice (and provided me with beer spending money I could hide from my wife :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:).

So a combination of private sector, public sector, and academia experiences (latter in teaching and commercialization of research type positions).

When I first arrived in Taiwan, in my early 20s after a long China-Laos-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore-Indonesia sojourn between jobs, I did teach one summer camp in Taiwan (like 100,000 NT for 15 days) and vowed never, never, never again. :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: Good money for a backpacker but bloody exhausting keeping entitled kids entertained.

Best expat crowd? Taiwan by far (and met my wife there). Best country for quality of life/work balance? France (love Dordogne-Lot areas). Best job experiences? Canada/UK.

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Taught English only in Taiwan since 1988.
Taught school in the bush in Kenya for a few months when I was travelling when I was eighteen, back in 1973. Local MP seeking re-election figured he had to do something to show concern, so drove his Mercedes to City Park in Nairobi to scour up some hippie travellers.
Me: Sure, but I’m not qualified.
Him: Can you read and write?
Me: Yes.
Him: You’re qualified.
Of course as soon as the election was over the funding disappeared.

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I may be the only foreigner in Taiwan who’s never taught English.

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I imagine a few others are in the same boat, they just get jobs as English teachers

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Many foreigners in Taiwan who’ve never taught English.

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Jesus, how old are you? I should take it far easier in you!

Precisely half his life in Taiwan as well. A degree of empathy is in order.

Best I can do is rational compassion.
image

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Paul Bloom needs to spend 33 years teaching English in Taiwan. Then he might change his tune!

Do you think he’d find the energy/empathy to like a single post from a fellow Forumosan, or would that be too much to expect of Paul Bloom?

Taught in Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Japan and worked with kids in the states. I was lucky enough to work with fluent international school kids before I returned here a few years ago. I used to teach to fund my travels and I was spending three plus months a year bumming around Asia before rona hit. It has been a crazy twelve year adventure with a lot of ups and downs. Maybe I’ll write a book about my experiences one day.

I’m heading back stateside soon for a non teaching job. Taiwan has shown me that I wont have much of a future if I continue teaching, so I’m excited to move on.

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12 years? Nice. That’s a very interesting life that no one will even care about when you get back home. lol

How was Vietnam?

Very true! I’ve accepted that most of my fellow countrymen spend their days talking about boring observational things. Truth is, many expats here are pretty much the same and I love them for it.

Nam was great. I did a bit in the south and made the mistake of moving north to Hanoi for a few years. Vietnamese people are amazing, the money is great, the food is good, there are tons of exciting places to explore and the cost of living is way better than what we get here. Just the food scene in Saigon alone makes it worth living there. If you can look past the pollution, how dirty it can be, the inability to walk anywhere, having to watch yourself when you go out, not really knowing who to trust without researching them first and the balmy weather, it’s beyond worth it. Taiwan is a wonderful place to visit, I’d say Vietnam is a amazing place to make a productive life that will get you somewhere.

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