Teaching English as a Foreign Language

I decided to double major in Dental Hygiene (which I'm kinda putting off for now) and ESL, which is helping those who don't speak English, learn English. Teaching abroad is something I really want to do because I want to travel and experience life and learn about other cultures. However, in order to teach abroad I must not only earn my TEFl (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Certification, which isn't a big deal, along with a Bachelor's degree, which means more school for me that I'm not excited about but I'm so driven to teach in another country that I'll go ahead and go to school for an additional 2 years to earn my Bachelor's. I have to get an internship in ESL to see what it would be like.

There are many places I would consider teaching, such as Japan, South Korea (although I've heard some stories about bad experiences) Hong Kong, Dominican Republic, and although a lot of Canadians speak English, I would consider Canada because it's not far from home and easy travel.

Today I was able to observe a close friend of mine classroom (she's not an ESL teacher) just to get an idea of what teaching would be like, and Boy was it a handful. She teaches kids, and I'm more interested in Secondary-Education rather than Primary. Little kids don't listen and have extremely short attention spans which I definitely won't have the patience for unfortunately although they seemed to have some structure, they're still learning a lot. I enjoyed today's experience and the kids seemed to liked me quite a bit.

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SapphireKpop #1 Nov 21, 2016 07:28:42

I also want to teach abroad. I've been thinking about it for 2 years now. I might even minor in TESOL.
What are the bad experiences you heard about South Korea? I was thinking about teaching their after college.
I'm still young and I'm not sure if I'll be ready to leave the country in a few years. I'm also debating if I should do the minor or just get a certificate later on incase I change my mind.

springjasmine91 #2 Nov 17, 2016 15:39:43

You should come up Malaysia...these people are using Malaysian English often mixed with Malay and it's rather irritating to hear them. I no expert but urghhhh!!! Frustrated. Sorry for ranting

chuchu94 #3 Nov 17, 2016 12:18:32

Teaching is tough, but good luck. Wish you Lots of patience to teach because it is important.

dreamshade #4 Nov 17, 2016 09:26:48

Oh! I'm taking TESL course in my university and was attracted to read your blog post. I'm still in my first year, currently in my second sem. Just like a friend of yours, I'll be teaching kids during my last sem as a practicum before I graduate (I'm taking diploma by the way). It will be quite challenging for me since I'm not that good in handling kids and I still have a lot to be improved before I can be a teacher.

And WOW, you're so ambitious! I hope you can achieve your goals and dreams successfully. Don't mind about bad experience. It's bound to be there for us to learn from it. We might feel bad during the time, but don't get discouraged with it. Soon as we have gone through it, those bad experiences we hate the most will be the ones that last in our memory. Bad experience is there because you are strong. You can brave through it. Have faith in yourself and never give up! Lol sorry for the sudden advice. Anyway, good luck! I'll be rooting for you :D

sleepingprince #5 Nov 17, 2016 03:51:51

All the best to you. Helping and teaching others is a good thing :)

LadyVamp #6 Nov 17, 2016 00:39:25

I have a bachelor degree in education and I have to tell you that patients is the key to being a teacher. I observers class room for many hours during my education, but nothing you see represents what it's like taking control of your own class. Some people love it, others are terrified. I worked with middle school kids. So ages 12-14 ish. Plus, I did some subbing with elementary kids. The difference between them is huge, but both sets require a lot of control and patience to handle. I'm not trying to scare you. I just wanted you to be aware.
I really hope you like teaching and end up a sucessful esl teacher. It will be challenging, but if you are determined and really go for it, it will be worth it in the end. :) good luck! I'm rooting for you!