Teach Abroad Blog
Teaching abroad
How to begin teaching abroad
First off, you need to make sure you’re ready. 95% of schools are going to require at least a 1 year commitment. Everyone is relying on you to fulfill this obligation. The school’s reputation with the parents is based on the quality of their teachers. The parents don’t want to see their kids changing teachers every 3 months. It’s not effective for learning. So, you have to go into it with the right expectations. If you spent extended time traveling abroad in the past, then you have probably already developed the right mindset and will be ready to face the challenges that come with living in a foreign country. If you haven’t traveled long term, then just expect a period of adjustment. Part of the commitment of Teaching Nomad is to set you up with schools that have quality programs designed to make this transition time easier.
Living Abroad
5 ways to make the most of your time teaching abroad
It occurred to me that some people may go to teach abroad and assume that just because they are in another country that amazing things are going to happen to them. In some cases this may be true, if you lie low and don’t do much, it will probably still be a great experience. Of course this is the “easiest” path, stay in your comfort zone and let time pass you by. But that’s not the kind of person you are, that’s not why you’ve chosen to teach abroad, is it? Depending on which country and city you’re teaching in, this will be more relevant to some of you than others. Some of you lucky people will get placed in cities where you are one of very few foreigners, which will make following these steps easy. Others will end up in huge metropolises with McDonalds on every corner and an operator service that will send you text messages in the language of your choice. I write this more for the ladder situation. For those of you preparing to go abroad, put these items on your to-do list and if you’re already abroad maybe you need a reminder of why you’re there.
5 Chinese Culture Basics From a Laowai (Chinese word for foreigner)
China being an ancient culture with 3,000+ years of history brings with it many customs, traditions, and ways of doing things. This isn’t meant to be a complete list of all of them, but just some day to day things that I’ve learned and may benefit you on your adventure to teach abroad in China.
