Teaching Overseas - Opportunities to Travel

Reporting from Laos...

In my experience of teaching in northern hemisphere schools, the Christmas break can be very short and come at the end of a really long term...

When you are teaching overseas at an international school you'll often find that you get an extended Christmas break, even if you live in a non-Christian country. This is because the school community (that is, the paying clients) demand it.

I'm feeling very relaxed and I'm only halfway through my three-week winter (Christmas) break. I'm currently in Laos, where I've spent some time learning to weave.

Christmas breaks long enough to go home and visit your family may be a priority for you and if it is then you need to add a question about it to your interview list prior to the job fairs. If you end up looking at a school that is predominantly made up of a non-Christian local client base, you may not receive a long Christmas break, and may even end up having to work on December 25th!

Fulbright International Teacher Exchange

Getting you feet wet with the Fulbright International Teacher Exchange is a great way to break into teaching overseas.

With the Fulbright Teacher Exchange program you can trade places with a teacher in another country for anywhere from 6 weeks to 12 months.

Exchanging you job with another international teacher is a lot less complicated than taking on a contract at an international school for 1-2 years because you don't have to quit your job, you don't have to sell your house while being able to indulge yourself in an international teaching experience in a safe and controlled way to see if the lifestyle is for you...

Fulbright grants allow you to take your US salary with you wherever you go (so you could well end up saving money while you are teaching overseas!) and will pay all your relocation costs.

The Fulbright program is the brainchild of J. William Fulbright who envisioned the exchange program as a cultural and educational exchange vehicle.

The limits to the Fulbright program are that you have to be a US teacher who exchanges with a non-US teacher in another country, or a non-US teacher who will exchange with a US teacher and take over their teaching position for the agreed upon period of time.

So, while not being a 'worldwide' program, the Fulbright exchange of teachers allows American teachers to travel and explore the world while allowing non-American teachers to get a taste of the US education system - which could lead to a better chance of securing a teaching job at an American International School!

Teaching Overseas - signing up with a job fair organiser even if you don't attend their fair...

If you're looking for a teaching job overseas then you've probably checked out the international teaching job fair organisers...

There are a number of international teacher recruitment fairs held around the globe, but they may not be convenient to you, so you may have decided not to sign up with any of them.

This is a mistake!

Many international schools looking to employ overseas teachers list their jobs with these job fair organisers - and registering with them means you get access to these listings in a searchable database!

With the various ways technology allows you to communicate remotely with potential employers around the world, you are cutting your own throat if you do not register with one of these organisations.

Teaching jobs overseas are easier to get when you approach you job hunt with insider information - Get your copy of the Complete Guide to Securing a Job at an International School Right Now!

If you haven't come across these organisations yet... here are some links to get you started:

Search-Associates

The International Educator

Council of International Schools

Overseas Teaching Job Fairs - too many interveiw invitations!

You will need to be prepared with a mechanism to quickly and easily turn down interview requests because the chances are you will be invited to interview with schools that you have no interest in teaching for.

One way to prepare for this contingency is to prepare ‘thanks but no thanks’ notes ahead of the job fair. You can then fill in the blanks on the refusal letter and either pass it on to the recruiters at the sign up session on the first morning of the fair, put it in the recruiter’s mailbox, or slip it under the door of their hotel room.

When you are preparing your application packs to take with you to the teaching job fair you simply prepare and print some copies of your refusal letter and take them with you to the fair.

A major problem with this plan occurs if you have not prepared enough of the notes, as my colleague experienced when she received interview invitations from 26 schools, of which she was only interested in two! What do you do then? You will have to resort to hand-written notes.

Another option is to take along a pad of Post-It notes. Post-It notes can be stuck to hotel room doors or on to the recruiter’s table at the sign-up session. A bonus to using this method is that your note will not be accidentally mixed in among other papers because it is both sticky and colourful.

Before you turn down interview requests you need to consider how much practice you have had recently with job interviews. Do you feel confident? Going to job interviews with schools you are not very interested in teaching for will give you an opportunity to practise rusty interview technique in preparation for the schools you really are interested in. Additionally, through interviewing with these recruiters you may discover that an international school you were not very interested in is actually the perfect place for you to move to.

Interviews for Teaching Jobs Overseas at International Teaching Job Fairs

You will be surprised at the number of teaching job interviews you will be invited to attend at an international recruitment job fair. You may be worried because you have sent out your resume to all the recruiters on the job fair organizer’s list of schools that have vacancies in your teaching area and yet you have received no responses, or only automated responses.

Trust me, this is not a problem!

You will find that when you arrive for the orientation session and check your mailbox that you have received a number of interview invitations from those very same recruiters that have not sent you a personal response to your initial attempts to make contact.

One colleague of mine said she received interview invitations from 26 schools at the last job fair she attended. Another reported that she’d spent hours sending out her resume to different international school recruiters and received a very disappointing response pre-job fair; however she also received an astounding number of interview requests at the job fair.

Kicking Off International Teacher Recruitment

December marks the start of the recruiting season for teaching jobs overseas with the first job fair being held in December in Sydney, Australia.

If you haven't already sent in your application to Search Associates, CIS or ISS, you need to do it right away!

Get all the insider information you need to kick start your international teaching career today!

Can you make money teaching abroad???

I've been teaching abroad for 11 years, and one of the questions other teachers are always asking me is... are you making any money??

My answer is always that it depends on where in the world I choose to go and teach.

For the last 3 years I've been in Asia, one of the best paying regions worldwide. And today I realised that since the summer I'd let my pay build up in my bank account a wee bit.

When I checked the exchange rate online I realised I had over $15 000 sitting in my account... much more than I had thought, so I'm wiring a lump sum home tonight.

So, can you make money teaching abroad?? Yeah, and if saving money is a priority for you, Asia is where you want to be!!!

Have you found your teaching job abroad yet?

The recruiting season for international schools has started and is heating up as I write this.

I've just checked the TES website and there are 315 job ads in the teaching abroad section. Last week there were under 300, so you need to be checking the site once a week.

Usually the new jobs are listed first so you won't need to look through the whole 315 ads each week!!!

Check it out now and secure your teaching job abroad next year!

International School Job Fair Survival Secrets

Check the international teaching job fair organiser’s website the evening before the sign up session for changes in vacancies.
International school vacancies are fluid and can change from day to day, especially once the job fairs start. When you go into the sign up session take with you an up-to-date list of schools with suitable vacancies. This will enable you to line up in the lines that are going to get you the best result.

Look at the international schools’ websites prior to attending the sign up session.
If possible look at the school’s websites to find out what programs they offer, whether they are in the center of the city or in the suburbs, what extra curricular activities they offer, what accreditations they have. This can assist you in deciding whether they are going to be a suitable employer for you.

Take extra copies of your application pack to give to school recruiters.
Your application pack is your ticket to getting interviews. If you’re following the strategies I give you in The Complete Guide to Securing a Job at an International School, you should have emailed your application pack to the attending schools that have relevant vacancies prior to the commencement of the job fair. In addition to this, take extra copies with you to the job fair, and especially the sign up session, to give to schools that suddenly put up vacancies that interest you.

Be prepared to wait in line to talk to the international school recruiters.
When you attend a job fair, remember that a long line could indicate a school where teachers want to work, and vice versa. To help you make the decision about whether you stand in line and wait, go to the front of the line and see if there’s any literature on the table that you can take away and read.

Use the time you stand in line to gather information.
International school teachers attend these teaching job fairs and they are a vital source of information. Use the time you are standing in line waiting to talk to recruiters to elicit information about different schools, programs and conditions. Ask them all the questions you have because they’re the best source of information you’ll find and while you’re all standing in line, what else can you do?

These are just 5 tips for surviving international teaching job fairs… You can find 12 more secrets to surviving job fairs on page 27 of The Complete Guide to Securing a Job at an International School.

International Schools and Extra Curricular Activities

Do you have children who are heavily involved in extra curricular activities? Are you concerned that moving your teaching career overseas could result in them missing out?

Here's how you can assess what each prospective new job teaching abroad can offer you and your child in terms of sports, music, drama, etc.

Smaller international schools may be a pleasant change from working in a national public system, but the downside is that there may be only limited opportunities for your children to take part in extra-curricular activities.

Check schools’ websites to see what sports are offered. If there is no obvious link, you can always look at the pictures to see if there are any sports or music related ones.

If your children are dedicated sports players you can inquire about regional sporting competitions and what sports take part in them.

Other activities to find out about, depending on the interests of your children, are Model United Nations, Amnesty International, International Youth Awards (similar to the Duke of Edinburgh Award), orchestra, choir, drama productions, etc.

Most international schools will expect teachers to offer an extra curricular activity for the students. Some ideas for you are:

• natural history club,
• needlework club,
• roller blading club,
• scuba diving (if you have the appropriate certification)
• and all kinds of drop in lab to support students with their homework and projects.

Teaching Overseas - Language Support

Teaching overseas when you have children can involve a lot more consideration than if you don't have a family to consider. One thing you need to inquire about when you are looking at an international school abroad is what languages they offer students.

Most schools will offer a number of foreign languages for your child to learn. If your child has already been learning a language, you may want to find out if they will be able to continue at your new school.

This is an important consideration if you are moving to an IB school because all students are required to learn a language other than their mother tongue. In grades 11 and 12 (years 12 and 13) this is particularly relevant because your child will be expected to sit the Diploma exam which presumes a prior knowledge of the language.

If you are moving to an IB school and your child has never studied a foreign language before, ask which languages are offered at the ‘ab initio’ level. This is the level that Diploma students can enter a language for the first time.

Teaching Overseas with Children

Teaching abroad is an opportunity to expand your horizons and enhance your resume with the view to advancing up the career ladder. But, if you have a family, making sure you’ve got all the information you can find will help you find the best position for your whole family.

There are many international teachers who love the lifestyle and are of the opinion that their children are the better for getting an international education. Essentially your children will not only benefit from expanded horizons themselves, but they’ll be getting a private education too! Teaching overseas is not for the faint-hearted, but the risks of making a poor decision can be managed.

One thing to consider is:

Learning difficulties and learning support
If your child has learning difficulties don’t try and hide it from the school because you’re worried that the situation will affect your employability. If it does, you probably don’t want to work there, and you surely don’t want your child going to school there! Learning support departments are becoming more common in the better schools, and as a consequence there’s a raised awareness of special education and supporting children with difficulties. To find out whether learning support is available at a school you’re thinking of applying to work at, check their website for a list of departments or a list of staff. If there is no mention of learning support provision, either ask the school directly or have a friend email the school, pretend to be a prospective parent and ask for you.

Teaching Applications and Email Attachments

When you are sending your teaching application to international school recruiters via email you will want to attach your resume, a photo, your teaching philosophy, etc. But here is where you run into a problem...

Many email clients restrict the size of the attachments allowed into people’s inboxes. And while you want to attach the elements of your application pack to support you email, you also want to ensure that your email is delivered.

If your email (including attachments) is too large, it will get bounced back to you. The solution to this problem is to make sure your documents are concise and without images, not to zip them.

When you zip your documents you are assuming that the recruiter has the software required to unzip them, and the desire to do so. It's important that you keep the number of steps the recruiter has to take to see your resume to an absolute minimum as this increases the chances of them actually reading it!

If you want to include a photo of yourself, don't put it in your resume, attach it to your email as a .jpg separately.

Email Teaching Applications Keep it Formal

We are so used to firing off emails to our friends and colleagues that poor grammar, spelling and layout has become habit.

Now, I'm not knocking informal email ettiquette at all, and I'm as guilty as the rest of being very casual and relaxed in my attitude to paragraphing and using capital letters in my emails.

But this is not acceptable in an email that you send to an international school recruiter applying for a teaching position abroad. Just because you're sending an email doesn't mean that you should write like they're your best buddy. They're not. Your emails should be formal and follow the accepted letter writing rules...

Avoid using abbreviations and emoticons:

While those little winks ;) and smiles :) are cute and useful in conveying non-verbal communication clues in personal emails, they have no place in a business email.

Write formally, without contractions or short cuts. LOL, OTOH, and BTW are not appropriate in this setting, remember that you are sending a formal letter asking the recruiter to consider you for a teaching job in an international school.

This may all seem obvious to you and it certainly does to me, but I was shocked to receive an email recently from an individual that had ‘u’ instead of ‘you’. I was less than impressed.

Gettting International School Recruiters to Read Your Emails

Do you have one of those email clients that strips out the pictures automatically... for security reasons? I do, which means that any fancy colours, pictures or formatting is completely lost on me.

If international school recruiters have an email client that strips all the coding out of your emails, then your email is going to start looking very unprofessional!

So, what should you do?

Send your email messages in plain text. Keep it simple and make sure your email is sent out in plain text. Any pictures you want to send should either be left out or attached separately.

Remember, this email is the first time you will have any contact with a potential employer. You want to put your best foot forward!

Applying For Teaching Jobs Overseas Via Email

How many emails to you get in a day? Around recruiting time, international school recruiters get inundated with hundreds of emails from hopeful teaching applicants - in addition to what they are already getting.

When you send in your application pack by email with all you documents attached, your goal is not only to get your email opened and read, you also want the recruiter to open your documents and read them too. So, how do you get your emails read? You use these crucially important tips to make the recruiter WANT to read your email!

One way to help the recruiter recognise that your email is important and should be opened is to use a meaningful subject line.

I suggest you include the specific teaching position you are applying for and your name. By using this style of subject line you are immediately identifying it as an email from an applicant and the recruiter will expect to see a teacher application when they open the email. Also, this will make it easier for the recruiter to find your email in their inbox should they need to refer to it again.

Getting your application email opened is the first step to getting a teaching job overseas!

Teaching Jobs Abroad Can Be Easier With An Overseas Director

International schools come in many different shapes and sizes. There are American schools, British schools, IB schools, Department of Defence schools, privately run schools and non-profit schools, to name a few.

One distinction teachers looking for a job overseas should be aware of is that of locally run versus foreign run schools. Being aware of this one difference can ensure that you sign an overseas teaching contract with your eyes wide-open.

Locally run schools are more likely to be a cultural shock to teachers from abroad, depending on the culture of the incoming teacher and the culture of the host country and/or owners.

A locally run international school may have some ‘quirks’ that can make life difficult for an international teacher. These quirks may include an old-fashioned approach to teaching assignments (sexism), an unwillingness to assign failing grades to students who haven’t succeeded in mock exams or tests, and many more.

International schools run by a foreign director, however, are more likely to be operated in a manner more in keeping with schools you are used to.

Using simple guidelines to evaluate potential employing schools can ensure that you land yourself in a teaching job abroad that you can be happy with.

Will an IB school hire me without training?

Bill contacted me with this question and I’m including it (with his permission) and my answer because I think it’s relevant to getting your recruitment campaign off the ground and chugging along ‘full steam ahead’:

Dear Kelly,

I just purchased your book online and am looking forward to reading it. One question before I get started: I have been teaching literature for 10 years at the high school level. Currently, I have taken a year off to complete my M.A. in English and a Latin certification. I really want to teach overseas, and specifically in an I.B. school. Will an I.B. school hire me without the I.B. training? Can I get training now?

Sincerely,
Bill

... My answer...

Hi Bill, thank you for your email.

In answer to your question, you can most certainly get hired by a school that offers the IB curriculum without any IB training. Generally international schools are looking for good teachers who are qualified and can offer instruction in English.

I do not think you need to search out IB training prior to getting a job, most IB schools will send you to conferences and training sessions in your first year to get you up to speed.

In order to become more familiar with the I.B. programmes you should look at the IBO website pages I have listed in my book for MYP and DYP. This will help you get an idea of:
· the structure of the programmes
· how your subject fits into the curriculum as a whole
· the unique aspects of the IB curriculum.

If you're looking to do some training prior to looking for a job teaching abroad, then TEFL or ESL in the Mainstream is always seen as a great resource for teachers who are teaching in a multi-lingual environment.

Hope this has helped!
Kelly

Get Respect When You Teach Overseas

Teaching overseas is a great way to improve the conditions you face at work every day. Especially if you land a job teaching in Asia!

Asian countries in particular have a culture of respecting teachers, which makes teaching here an infinitely more pleasant experience than teaching at home.

In Thailand Thursday is teachers' day and many schools hold an assembly at the beginning of the school year to honor teachers.

My school held a Wai Khru (honor teachers) assembly today. The students who study Thai language and culture prepare floral arrangements for teachers, then present them in an assembly.

I received this basket of flowers from my senior students. I was the only one to receive one with a photo attached.

The fact that I don't have to discipline very much means that I can enjoy a more relaxed teacher-student relationship and still get the most out of my students.

Teaching in Asia is vastly different from where I last taught at a state school in the UK. I enjoy coming in to work and there are very few times that I have to exert myself to discipline students, usually I can concentrate solely on the education!

Five Amazing Cultural Events for UNDER $200!

Every year since arriving in Bangkok I have made a point to attend some of the shows that are held at the Thailand Cultural Centre in Bangkok.

This year is no different, next month the Bangkok Intenational Festival of Dance and Music will kick off again and I've got tickets for 4 fantastic shows. I've also got a ticket for Cats in November, not everyone's cup of tea I know, but I love cheesy musical theatre!

And what is the feast of culture setting me back? A measly and very affordable $186, that's less than 100 quid. I'm ecstatic!

Over the next month I'll be enjoying some Mexican dance, some modern ballet performed by an Italian troupe, some cutting edge contemporary dance from Portugal and finally I'm rounding it all off with some Flamenco.

Living and teaching abroad has only broadened my horizons rather than limiting them in any way!

Going home after teaching abroad - will you get a job???

A friend of mine who has been teaching abroad for several years now is always talking about going home... Not because she doesn't like teaching overseas, it's more like, she wants to psych herself up for it, because she thinks the time will eventually come.

This week she sent me a link to an article in the New York Times called With Turnover High, Schools Fight for Teachers. This is great news for her, if she ever takes the plunge and returns home.

The article talks about US schools having difficulty offering recruitment and retention bonuses to teachers in an attempt to hire them for positions in low-achieving schools. Some of these bonuses are LARGE! One teacher received a recruitment bonus of $10 000 from one school.

Now, I have my own opinion on whether recruitment bonuses are a good thing for education, but I can't argue that it's a great idea for teachers!

If you're worried about giving up your current teaching job to take a position overseas, don't be! In the UK, the US and in NZ, the education authority will often PAY YOU to go home, as well as give you a job!

Check out the New York Times article, maybe the US will soon be opening up and allowing Overseas Trained Teachers (OTT) to teach there...

Knowing When to Phone Home When Teaching Overseas

My parents will tell you that there's been a number of occasions when I've phoned them at unreasonable hours, usually in the dead of night.

I've found the easiest way to find out the time in another country. Check this out!

Time Zone Check is the ultimate website for checking when to phone someone abroad.

• It's graphical and the selected location moves as you draw your mouse across the map
• It shows YOUR time zone in the top left hand corner, so you can judge the time difference
• It accounts for daylight savings

This is seriously the best site I've found for this, go take a look!

Teaching Overseas - How much will it cost?

Something that's always on my mind when I'm moving to a new teaching job abroad is... Will I make enough money?

One of the best ways to judge that is figuring out how much it's going to cost you to live there, and I've found this handy little tool to help you with that!

Now, the International City Cost Guide is aimed at TEFL teachers, but it'll work just the same for you.

You can find it at TEFL.com and although you'll have to sign in and get a password to use it, it's well worth the effort.

Knowing how much it's going to cost you to live overseas can help you to assess the quality of the package that's being offered.

"The best international schools around the world"

Recently a UK newspaper published a story called "The best international schools around the world" which included a list of schools abroad that were recommended by 'word of mouth'.

While this may not be a list that many international teachers would agree with, it's a starting point to see what schools are available for parents, and makes interesting for teachers who are looking to teach overseas.

Check out the article on the Guardian website:

The best international schools around the world

Proof! Starting your international teaching career in the UK works!

I recently interviewed an American teacher who launched her career in international schools after a year spent teaching the British National Curriculum at a grammar school just west of London.


Since then Junie has gone on to teach in 3 international schools in 2 countries that offered the UK curriculum. She has now spent more time teaching the British curriculum than the American one she originally trained for!

Hear all about teaching overseas from experienced teachers who are doing it right now!

Start Your International Teaching Career in the United Kingdom

Currently there is a shortage of experienced teachers to fill key jobs in the United Kingdom. This could be your opportunity to springboard your teaching career into the international school sector.

If you are looking at getting yourself a teaching job abroad at an international school but have not yet been able to land a contract, you could sneak your way in through the back door.

In nearly every country in the world you can find an international school that offers the British National Curriculum. All of these schools are looking for teachers with recent experience teaching in the UK.

With recent experience teaching the British examination courses for GCSE (Grade 9) and A-Levels (Grade 12), you will have a resume that recruiters for British schools will be very interested in and they will be lining up to interview you. The same follows for elementary school teachers who are familiar with the key stages set out in the UK National Curriculum.

Search Associates, one of the largest recruitment organisations dealing with international schools even has a separate branch that specialises in placing teachers with UK experience in British International schools.

Teaching Overseas Can Make Accessing News and Events From Home Difficult...

NO MORE!!

When you're teaching overseas you do not need to be cut off from news and events at home. Provided your favourite sources have websites you can get access. But there's a new technology that you should be looking for that will have the news delivered to you whenever the website is updated.

This is an RSS feed. You subscribe to a website (and it's usually free) and then when the content is changed you are sent the new information automatically.

While I knew what RSS was, I hadn't figured out how to actually use it to my benefit... so I went looking...

Here's what I found! It's called 'RSS Feeds in Plain English' and boy, does it deliver. Watch this video and you'll know exactly what you need to do to get news and events sent to you. It's a two step process that they walk you through, so it's easy!

Using Leverage To Get Your First Teaching Job Overseas

The job market for Overseas Teaching Jobs is a competitive one. Leverage the experience you already have by putting together a targeted resume that reflects your strengths.

International school recruiters are looking for teachers that have experience with multilingual or multicultural classes, but have you pointed this out on your resume? Make it clear that you have worked with students from different cultures and you'll be one step closer to landing your first teaching job abroad. This can be done as easily as describing the student cohort in broad terms when you list the schools at which you've previously worked.

Many schools abroad are smaller than domestic schools, and so many recruiters are looking for teachers that have a range of diverse experiences to offer to the school. If you have taught other subjects than the position you are applying for, then put this in your resume, with subtlety. Be careful that you aren't taking away from the fact that you are a specialist in the field for which you're applying!

International schools usually run extensive extra-curricular programs, especially schools that offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Programmes. Faculty members are expected to contribute to the extra-curricular program, which means you can leverage your life experiences to secure your first job abroad. The IB emphasises creativity, service and action, which boils down, at the most basic level, to sports, arts and community service. If you have experience organising outdoor activities, coaching sports, teaching craft or hobbies, then you need to include this in your resume.

One key thing to remember when you're applying for a teaching job overseas is that recruiters are looking at the 'whole' person to see how they'll fit into the faculty, the culture, and what they'll contribute to the school community. Everything that you can bring to the school should be included in your application pack, so that the recruiter has an opportunity to 'meet' the person, not just the teacher.

Finally, if you don't have experience teaching multicultural or multilingual students, you can get experience by enrolling for and completing a certificate in teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL). This is a sure-fire way to prove your willingness to learn more about the issues international students face, and your willingness to adapt. To improve your chances of landing a teaching job abroad, you can get a TEFL certificate online.

Teaching Jobs Overseas - How to use leverage to get yours!

The Funny Side of Culture Shock When You're Teaching Overseas

Finally you will start to see the funny side of it all and most of the things that made you angry during the frustration stage will either cause you to laugh or you’ll be able to shrug your shoulders and pass it off as being a feature of your new home. When you’re in this stage of the cycle you’ll begin to remember your old home without your rose-coloured glasses again.

You may wonder how I can write with so much confidence about culture shock, and it’s because I’ve experienced it all. I’ve moved country 7 times in the last 11 years and each time I’ve been hit with culture shock. Sometimes only a mild dose, but it’s always there.

Culture shock has never put me off seeking teaching jobs abroad. I recognise it and work with it. In this article I’ve given you 5 methods of alleviating the stress of culture shock. Remember that all international teachers feel culture shock to some degree. You won’t be alone, so don’t let it stop you from enjoying the fantastic experiences you’ll have teaching abroad.

Recognising Culture Shock When Teaching Overseas

Recognising culture shock for what it is and acknowledging which stage you’re in is the first step to lessening the grip it has on you.

For example, if you suddenly feel like you hate your new teaching job because of how hard it is to make the purchasing department understand what it is you’re trying to order, recognising that this as an effect of culture shock can help you adjust your behaviour and let it go before it cripples you.

When you first get to your new home you’ll feel happy to be there and everything you see or experience will be wonderful and new. This is the ‘honeymoon’ stage of culture shock and it feels great! It can last from several days to several months. This is the time where you’ll be sending loads of emails to your friend using words and phrases like ‘awesome’, ‘best decision I’ve ever made’, ‘don’t know why I didn’t do this years ago’.

Recognise this stage of culture shock and enjoy it.

Next comes the period of frustration, full of situations like the first example above. When you sink into this part of the cycle you’ll begin to dislike everything about your new home. It’ll be too hard, too smelly, too hot, too loud, and everything else ‘too’!

This is also when homesickness could strike you with a vengeance. You may find yourself developing a hostile attitude towards every one not of your own nationality and culture. Your old home will suddenly seem like the best place in the world and you may regret ever leaving it.


Strategies to cope with the stress of culture shock

1. Learn some of the local language before you leave home. You’ve signed a contract that means you’re going to be living in your host country for 1-2 years, learning the language will help you get around and make friends. Some great ways to learn the local language while you’re still at home…

2. Take time to get used to the new time zone, the different weather and smells, sounds etc.

3. Begin building friendships as soon as you arrive and meet the other new teachers. You’ll form a bond with these teachers in the first year especially because they’ll be coping with culture shock as well. This will be your support group.

4. Stay in touch with people you’ve left at home. In my most recent move I found the best medicine for the frustration phase was an email from my old colleagues telling me how unsatisfied they were at my previous school.

5. Cut yourself some slack. When you recognise the symptoms of culture shock, give yourself a break, watch a favourite movie, look at pictures from home, have a meal at your favourite restaurant. Revel in the great things you’re experiencing in your new home so that you can put your frustration in perspective.

Recognising culture shock when you're teaching overseas

Dealing with Culture Shock When You're Teaching Overseas

Culture shock is the term used to describe how people feel when they are exposed to an unfamiliar culture or way of life, and the feeling of disorientation and separateness they experience. It’s a condition that every teacher working overseas feels in varying degrees, whether they’re new to teaching abroad or old hands at it.

Luckily culture shock follows a fairly predictable cycle and there are a number of ways you can prepare for it and lessen the impact of it once you’ve made the move overseas.

Unfortunately, when describing culture shock, it comes across as a negative thing to be avoided at all costs, and I’ve just told you it’s inevitable for anyone wanting to teach abroad. It’s important for you to remember that teaching overseas is an opportunity to explore other cultures and enjoy a better teaching environment. Yes, you will experience culture shock, but you can manage this and it’s not all bad!

Factors that can contribute to culture shock are :
* People speaking a different language, dialect or with an unfamiliar accent.

* Dealing with a different currnecy, money that is a different colour, feel and value. Keeping track of exchange rates can become a tiresome chore when living abroad, so once you’ve received your first paycheck, don’t bother. Earn local, spend local!

* People behaving in unfamiliar ways, even local customs can vary from one end of a country to another.

* Spicy and/or unfamiliar food. You may need to substitute ‘like’ ingredients in your favourite recipes too.

* People staring at you, if you are in a country where your skin colour or facial features stand out as being different, this will happen.

On top of this you’ll be the new teacher in school, so the procedures and policies will be different to what you’re used to at home.

Teaching Jobs Abroad - choosing your referees and getting recommendation letters

When you're applying for a teaching job abroad, you have to have a killer application pack to sell yourself to the international school recruiter as being the best possible choice to fill the post they've got.

A big part of your teaching application pack is your referees and recommendation letters.

Some experts on resumes recommend that you do not include referees in your resume. I disagree and have never followed this advice. I always line up my referees prior to sending out my resume and get their permission to include their contact details at the bottom.

Why do I flout the advice of the experts? I don't think a recruiter who has over 100 resumes to read is at all interested in contacting me again in order to get the contact details of my referees.

My intention is that my resume will interest them to the point of wanting to know more about me... and that they should be able to do so easily and with the least amount of effort on their part. And so I provide the contact details of my referees at the bottom of my resume.

You should identify and include three referees. Not all recruiters will require three referees, but I have run across a number of recruitment services and international schools that do, so be prepared with three.

One of your referees must be your current or most recent head teacher/principal. The recruitment services that run the international teaching job fairs require one of your referees to be your current head teacher/principal. The other two could be any person that has a professional relationship with you.

Once you've identified who you wish to be your referees, you will need to approach them and ask their permission.

At this point you can also request that they write a recommendation letter for you too. Recommendation letters are like a window into your life for the recruiters. Through what your colleagues write about you the recruiter can get to know you a little.

The recommendations you get from your colleagues are pivotal. They must be of excellent quality and really show off your good points.

I've got some awesome recommendation letters by giving my referees a writing frame to help them. They appreciated the structure and I got great letters, a win-win situation.

Check out these recommendation letter writing frames...

How can I get a Police Clearance Certificate?

Information for NZ, Australia, the UK and the USA

In NZ you can get a copy of your Criminal Record from the Ministry of Justice by contacting the Privacy Unit of the Ministry of Justice in Wellington.

In the USA you can get a ‘Criminal Record Check’ from the local police. This will only cover the state in which you live, so if you’ve lived in a number of different states in recent time, then you should apply to the local police in those states as well.

In the UK you can apply for a ‘Subject Access – Conviction History,” which is a record of any convictions you have, from your local police station. This is the document that you can obtain yourself under the privacy laws. Your other option, if you are currently employed, is to ask your employer to request a Criminal Records Bureau check, which involves a more rigorous search of your record.

In Australia the Australian Federal Police in Canberra can issue a ‘National Police Clearance Certificate’ which covers all states and territories except Queensland. If you live in Queensland you’ll need to contact the Queensland Police Service directly.

Teaching Jobs Overseas - Police Clearance Certificates

Make sure that your teaching career isn’t brought to an abrupt end because you’re unable to prove you haven’t got any convictions that would make you a danger to children. Here’s why you MUST get a police clearance certificate when you teach abroad…

Police clearance certificates are as important to international teachers as their passports. Why? Without a police clearance certificate many countries will not allow teachers to work with children.

The clearance certificate goes by many different names; what you’re looking for is an official document that records any convictions on your criminal record. Regardless of whether you have any convictions or not, you will be required to produce official evidence that your record is clear.

If you record is not clear you may still be able to teach abroad, but you will need to find out which countries will grant you a work permit with the convictions you have.

More rigorous background checks for foreign teachers applying to work in Thailand have been put in place because of a recent high profile arrest of an American teacher by American immigration officers in August 2006. The teacher was taken back to the States for questioning in a murder investigation.

Once you’ve obtained your police clearance certificate, take it with you when you move overseas. It’s one of those important documents you should always be able to lay your hands on. A clearance certificate is one of my top 10 things to take when moving abroad. You’ll need to have the original with you; it’s not one of the documents you can carry in digital format.

When you are nearing the end of you first overseas teaching contract start making enquiries about what you need to do to obtain a clearance certificate from the police in the country you’ve been teaching in. This is important! When you’re teaching abroad it’s important you maintain an unbroken chain of police clearance certificates or the equivalent.

Should you eventually desire to return home and pick up your teaching career there, you’ll need to supply the clearance certificates you’ve collected whilst working abroad. A consequence of not being able to produce a record of your conviction history could be that you’re unable to continue working in the education industry as a teacher when you return home.

Teaching Overseas and Police Clearance Certificates

You need a great teaching resume to get a great job teaching overseas...

Your application pack is the first opportunity you'll get to 'wow' an international school recruiter. And your teaching resume is a pivotal part of your application pack.

If your resume is not flawless, it's going to get thrown into the trash can along with an estimated 95% of resumes received by recruiters. You cannot afford to have any grammar or spelling mistakes in your resume because the recruiter is unlikely to bother reading past the first one s/he notices.

The job market for overseas teaching positions is a competitive one, but there are strategies you can use to ensure that you get your dream job abroad. One strategy is to put together a killer application pack and send it along with a personalised cover letter to each recruiter you wish to build a relationship with.

A teaching resume aimed at international school recruiters should emphasise your experience in working with multi-cultural and multi-lingual groups, your recent professional development and how you've enhanced your current school whilst you've been working there.

Because all international teachers suffer culture shock, recruiters aren't just looking at a teacher, they're interested in the whole person. Include a brief list of your personal interests in your resume. In every interview I've had with an international school recruiter, I've been asked about my interests and how I'll pursue them abroad.

You can either prepare your resume yourself or have it written for you by a professional service. Either way, you need to get it proof-read before you send it out to recruiters, even if it's been written by a professional.

Do as I do, get your teaching resume professionally proof-read for FREE! ProfessionalResumes.com call it a free resume critique, but it works just like getting someone to proof-read it for you.

Don't send your resume out with mistakes that will guarantee it gets thrown away! It takes no effort at all to get it checked, and the payoff for sending out a well-crafted resume in a targeted application pack is... a lucrative, stress-free teaching job overseas!!!

Securing a teaching job overseas will be the best decision you'll ever make!

Teaching at an international school is an opportunity to put your qualifications to great use.

You’ll be able to support yourself, often having more left over at the end of the month than you would at home, and travel extensively to exotic destinations you’ve only ever dreamed about.

And guess what?

Internationals school principals have been discussing an expected shortage of international teachers!

That’s right, with the sudden explosion in the number of schools opening for business in the last couple of years there’s been an equal explosion in the number of positions recruiters need to fill…

...but as yet there hasn’t been the required increase in teachers applying.

Teacher Shortage = Opportunities for YOU

Teaching Vacancies Overseas

FAQ - Will I get a job teaching overseas if I have children?

Yes you can!

You may have some trouble finding a job if you’re a single parent with more than a couple of children, or something similar, simply because the recruiters know you probably won’t be able to manage financially on a single teacher’s salary and allowances.

Contracts for overseas hired teachers often include such perks as free tuition for your children (often limited to two, but not always), so you’ll get a private education for your children too.

The best thing to do is hear about the experiences of other international school teachers...

Overseas Teachers Talk

Avoid nasty surprises!

Learn everything you need to know about teaching overseas!

Teaching Overseas with Children

FAQ - Do I need a TEFL certificate to teach overseas?

This all depends on what kind of credentials and experience you already have.

If you don’t already have some kind of teaching qualification, then you probably don’t have any other option, if you want to teach in an international school. With a TEFL certificate you can teach the English as a Second Language classes that are offered at most schools catering to expatriate children.

Based on my experience doing both, teaching EFL or ESL at an international school is preferable to teaching at a private language school. So plan your job-hunt accordingly.

You may also want to consider getting a TEFL certificate if your teaching experience is all in mono-lingual and mono-cultural situations. In this case getting a TEFL qualification to add to your current credentials will only improve your chances. It will show recruiters that you are prepared for the issues you’ll encounter in your multi-cultural classes abroad.

You can complete a TEFL certificate in 40 hours of study and without ever having to leave the comfort of your own home! Or you can go to a far off location and combine getting the qualification with a holiday abroad.

Read more...

Do I need a TEFL certificate to teach overseas?

FAQ - Can I get a special ed teaching job overseas?

3. Can I get a special ed teaching job overseas?

There is currently a huge demand for qualified special education teachers in international schools. So yes! Just this January a (special ed) colleague of mine went to an international teaching job fair and the schools were lining up to employ her... But she could only fill one of the many positions she was offered.

To find which schools are looking for special education teachers, you need to either register with one of the recruitment fair organisers, or individually search for international schools and then find their vacancy pages.

I've done that job for you, as a FREE Gift with The Complete Guide to Securing a Job at an International School you'll receive access to the links I've collected to over 100 schools vacancy pages. And the collection is growing...

Teaching Special Education Overseas

FAQ - Will I make more money teaching overseas?

2. Will I make enough money teaching overseas to live on? What if the cost of living is high?

These are all legitimate questions about moving your teaching career abroad, and you should seek to answer them before you make any life-changing decisions. I get asked these questions all the time, here's my answer...

Exactly how much money is enough? This is a hard one to answer because we all have different opinions on how much is enough, don’t we?

You should do your homework because just as individual teachers needs are vary, so do international school packages and the cost of living in different countries. It is possible to make loads and loads and put your investment portfolio on the map (or cover the map with your travels! Or both?), but it really depends where you go.

Western Europe doesn’t have the same potential for earning that the Middle East or South East Asia has, but you’ll still make enough to live reasonably. Even in Western Europe, some schools pay better than others, and Eastern Europe is a whole other set of conditions again because of the low cost of living.

Go into teaching in an international school with your eyes-wide-open and you will end up having a fabulous and lucrative experience.

FAQ - Where can I teach overseas?

Ever since I wrote my book The Complete Guide to Securing a Job at an International School I’ve been inundated with questions about teaching overseas. I’ve selected the most frequently asked ones to answer for you here…

1. Where can I teach overseas? How can I find vacancies?

There are over 4000 international schools of varying sizes worldwide and all of them need teachers. So the answer to the first question is… just about anywhere!

One way you can find out whether there’s an international school where you’d like to work is to ‘Google it’. I simply typed in ‘international school Bangkok” and up popped a whole page of listings.

Of course this isn’t the way to go about landing your new teaching job abroad, but you can certainly check out how many schools are available in the destinations you’re interested in.

Teaching overseas is an awesome opportunity to restore your enthusiasm for education. You can find overseas teaching vacancies online for free. Knowing how to make the best use of those vacancy postings in order to maximise your chance of securing a coveted overseast teaching job? Well, that's where my expertise lie... I've refined my strategy into the one-stop, all-you'll-ever-need, international teaching guide.

Where can I teach overseas?

Moving Your Teaching Career Overseas - Remember those you leave behind

Wherever you go you build relationships. Just because you're leaving your old home for your new home teaching overseas, doesn't mean you have to sever ties with the people you're leaving behind.

10. Email addresses, mailing addresses and phone numbers of the friends and colleagues you’re leaving behind

I also took the leaving cards I received from friends and colleagues. You may be tempted to pack these in your shipping or you may even think about throwing them out. However, if you have enjoyed a great relationship with your colleagues then you will miss them. I found that having a reminder of them around me when I was dealing with the initial stages of culture shock reminded me of the good things I’d left behind, but also all the stuff I didn’t like! It helped me to refocus on the reasons I had moved my career overseas!

Having been a global nomad for more than 10 years now, I’ve found that staying in touch with friends and colleagues at home is really up to me. I haven’t stayed in touch with any of the fabulous people I met and got to know in the first 6-7 years of teaching abroad, and it’s mostly my fault because I didn’t make any effort.

I’ve been much more conscientious in recent years and I believe it’s worth it. I love catching up with old friends when I go back to places I’ve lived before; I always have a plethora of places to stay and have even hosted some of my friends when they’ve visited my new home.

Moving Your Teaching Career Abroad - contact details of people you leave behind

Teach Overseas and Never Have To Supplement your Teaching Salary Ever Again!

For 8 of the last 10 years I've been doing supplementary work to boost my salary so that I could afford to have a good lifestyle. I even took on extra work whilst I was teaching overseas, but that was all before I started teaching at an international school...

Learn ways to supplement your teaching income at 5 Ways for Teachers to Make Extra Money, or secure a job at an international school and never have to take on extra work again!

My Guide will show you the quickest and easiest way to find your own international school teaching job (and it's possible to work in a place where you don't have to pay TAX, too!)

Don't work your butt off to make enough money to live on, you can work in a low-stress teaching position and make more than enough money to live on when you teach overseas.

Moving Your Teaching Career Overseas - Learn from someone who's been there...

You've got a contract, you've packed up all your stuff and you're boarding the plane. Congratulations! You're on your way to an exciting new life. So, what do you know about your new home??

9. A guide book, culture shock book

Get a guide book! And perhaps even more importantly, get the Culture Shock book for your destination. Find out why people are bowing to you, or why no one blows their nose in public or why people have to cover their bodies from elbow to knee. It's really, really important that you know these things... so you don't screw up!


Don’t leave home without a guide book! Take some time looking at different brands of travel guide. Different brands have different styles. I prefer a different brand for traveling than staying long term because of the depth of information provided.

The Culture Shock series is superb. Get the one for the country or region you’re moving to and read it from cover to cover. You’ll get an insight into the cultural norms for the society you are moving into, and can prevent you from making any disastrous faux pas that could ruin your first few months abroad. First impressions count, make sure your first impression is a good one by doing some research.

Moving Your Teaching Career Abroad - guide book

Moving Your Teaching Career Overseas - Don't forget your children's...

Whether your children are excited about your new teaching job overseas or not, you have to plan for their move as well as your own. Most importantly you need to take a copy of...

8. Your children’s school records

Your children will probably be attending the same school where you’ll be working. Take all their reports and transcripts with you so that you can ensure they get placed in the correct levels. Knowing as much as possible about your child will help the school’s administrators and counselors plan a suitable orientation programme for them.

Moving your teaching career overseas - your children's school records

Moving Your Teaching Career Overseas - Contacts for the School

It would be a nightmare to get to a foreign country and realize you don’t actually have the phone number or address of the school that’s supposed to be employing you, don’t you think? So #7 on my list of things you really, really need to take with you when you move overseas to take up your new teaching job is...

7. Contact details of the school, a copy of your teaching contract and a copy of all the communication you’ve had with the school (this can be in digital format)

Most likely, the school will have some kind of orientation programme in place to help you get settled in, and this may even mean someone meeting you at the airport. But, in case they don’t turn up, have the school’s contact details handy.

You should have a copy of your teaching contract to take with you. It’s good to have a copy so that you can check your conditions and stand up for yourself if you feel you are not getting what was promised. Please don't think I'm implying the school is going to rip you off... but as with any job, you sometimes need to clarify issues.

When I moved out to Thailand, I also made sure I had copies of all the emails that I had received. I gradually deleted them as I settled into Bangkok and acted on all the advice I’d received prior to making the move.

Moving your teaching career overseas - contract with the international school

Moving Your Teaching Career Overseas - Driving

I'm sure you're addicted to your car and the convenience of driving everywhere. You shouldn't take for granted that you'll be able to drive legally where ever you end up moving to... or that you'll need to drive at all!

6. International Driver’s License

An international driver’s license is not a new license and doesn’t require you to take a driving test. It’s a document that you use abroad to make your national driver’s license acceptable to foreign officials. An international driver’s license is a little booklet that you hand over with your license when it’s requested.

An international driver's license is a translation of your license into a number of prominent world languages so that officials in other countries can figure out what vehicles your driver’s license permits you to drive.

Even if you don’t intend driving overseas, it’s a good document to have because you never know what the future holds.

Little known and harmless 'sneaky' trick: many tourist places will accept it as deposit ID so you can keep a hold of your passport!

Moving your Teaching Career Overseas - international driver's license

Moving Your Teaching Career Overseas - What if there's an emergency?

It's probably safe to say that you have all your important numbers on-hand, and could easily find them in an emergency. This is something we tend to take for granted in our lives. But when we move our whole life abroad, we can lose sight of the important stuff in among all the minutae of details.

5. Emergency numbers

You probably won't be taking your whole filing cabinet with you when you move overseas, so plan ahead and make a record of the numbers you think you'll need.

You need to take these contact numbers with you, at least:

* A responsible member of your family
* Your bank
* Your credit card company
* Your insurance company
* Your Doctor
* Your travel agent

Now, you can probably find most if not all of this on the internet. But in an emergency, like your wallet being stolen, do you really want the hassle?

Moving Your Teaching Career Overseas - emergency contact details

Moving your teaching career overseas - vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate!

If you've been living in a developed country all your life, you have probably been innoculated against TB, Polio, Tetanus, etc. But are your vaccinations up-to-date? When was the last time you had, say, an Oral Polio Booster?

4. Vaccinations and a vaccination certificate

You are going to be living and working abroad, which means that you’ll be exposed to all sorts of new organisms. Check with your doctor or with a travel clinic to see what vaccinations are recommended for the country to which you’re moving and be sure to let them know that you’ll be living there long term rather than just going on holiday for a week or two. If you’re traveling to Thailand for a holiday the recommended vaccinations are different to the ones recommended if you’re staying here a while.

Get a vaccination certificate to prove what vaccinations you’ve had and ask your health professional to make a note of when you’ll need to get any booster shots. Many vaccinations are good for a number of years, but some need a series of shots before you are covered for any appreciable length of time.

If you've got kids and you're moving to Asia, think about getting them vaccinated against Rabies. There are a huge number of dogs and cats living on the streets and I know of two children that have been bitten and had to be innoculated later (not that the animals are rabid, but you never know when you'll come across a carrier!)

Moving your teaching career overseas - vaccinations

You can't afford to leave your medical records at home when you are moving your teaching career overseas

Even if you're as healthy as a horse, you still need to take your medical records with you when you take up your teaching post overseas.

Why? Because it gives any physician treating you for the first time a head start... Be prepared as Sir Baden Powell would say:

3. Medical records and adequate supplies of medications

Anyone in your family that has an ongoing medical condition should request a copy of their medical records. For your children you should have or get a copy of their vaccination record.

Additionally, take a two month supply, at least, of your regular medications with you. This will give you plenty of time to check out the provision of medical services in your new country and to find and register with a new doctor.

FYI...

Some medications are sold under alternative brand names in different countries. It took me ages to figure out that Tylenol was the American brand name for paracetamol. Ask your doctor for alternative names for your regular medications before you leave home.

Moving your teaching career overseas - doctors and nurses

There are some things that you can't afford to leave at home when you are moving your teaching career overseas

Going abroad is exciting, but when you're moving your whole life abroad for a considerable number of months, there are some things you can't afford to leave at home, under any circumstances.

This is the second installment of my 'Moving On Out – Top Ten Things To Take With You When You Move To Your New Teaching Job Abroad' series.

2. Original documents that prove who you are and what you know

Government departments don’t tend to accept copies of foreign identification or certification documents. Ensure that you take all your original documentation. If you don’t have it, then get it.

It’s always good to leave a copy at home with someone responsible too, either with a family member, a lawyer or in a safety deposit box, so if you can, get duplicate originals. An extra set is insurance against theft, fire or natural disaster and makes good sense.

My parents have a file in their filing cabinet with all my important documents, including my will.

You’ll need:
* Birth certificate
* Marriage certificate
* Police clearance certificate
* Degree certificates
* Your will
* Teacher certification
* Recommendation letters

Moving your teaching career overseas

Moving On Out – Top Ten Things To Take With You When You Move To Your New Teaching Job Abroad.

Once you’ve secured your new teaching job abroad, you’ll probably have several months to get yourself organized before taking up the post. Here are the top ten things you need to take with you when you move overseas. Read this now as some of these can take time to prepare properly!

1. Passport (valid for at least the length of your contract)

You may think this is an obvious one considering we’re talking about relocating your whole life to another country. Tell me, do you know when your passport expires? Mine expires in 2015.

Depending on where you’re living, a new passport may take up to 6 months to get. It’s not wise to rely on the ‘estimated turn around’ time on the form as in the past both the UK and the USA have had extremely long delays in issuing new passports to their citizens. Of course, if you’re running short of time you can usually apply for an express service, at a ridiculously inflated cost.

So, go now and check when your passport expires.

It’s better for you to have a passport that’s valid for the length of your contract because it’s a real pain to have to get a new one issued from a consulate or embassy abroad. Trust me; I’ve had to do it!

Moving your teaching job overseas

A Quick and Dirty Guide To International Schools For Teachers Seeking Overseas Employment #4

Private Board-Run International Schools

Let’s face it, most international schools are going to be private. What reason would any country’s government have to run a special school for foreign children? I can think of a few and none of them are particularly good!

And so, you’re going to be stuck with a private school. But this doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

Private board-run international schools are generally the best of the lot. These schools are run on a not-for-profit basis where any and all profits are usually ploughed back into the school in order to fund future improvements.

The board is often made up of a mixture of local business people and officials (to ease the school’s relationship with officials), parents and teachers. The primary goal of these schools is more likely to be to provide an excellent education for students because you’ve got educators and parents on the decision making body.

The good, the bad and the ugly of Private Board-Run International Schools…

The Good is that quality education is the number one priority of the people with the decision making power.

The Bad isn't really that bad... it's just that when board members include people who are not trained educators, sometimes they have some trouble prioritising issues the way education administrators would. And if the terms of office are restricted, then they may only think in the short-term rather than the long term.

The Ugly is that sometimes cultural differences can affect the good of the school. In some countries, maintaining or enhancing the 'status' of the school can take precedence over good education for the students. Or even good hiring decisions.

Still, if possible, this is the kind of school you really want to be working for!

Teaching Overseas in Private Board-Run International Schools

"Create Your Own Professional-Looking Letterhead Using Microsoft Word"

I started using this very easy to learn technique to create a letterhead several years ago when I couldn't remember whose address went at the top of a business letter I was writing!

Now I simply create a letterhead with my name and contact details. It gets over the problem of remembering the correct formatting rules, and it looks really professional. Also, it's a great way to brand yourself and ensure that your resume is easy to find if it's stuck in a pile of other resumes.

I made a short, step-by-step instructional video so that you can create a professional-looking letterhead of your own, in under 10 minutes!


View my "Create Your Own Professional-Looking Letterhead Using Microsoft Word" Video Now!



To get the best resolution for watching this video, click on the down arrow at the bottom right hand side of the viewer and select 'original size' from the list that pops up.

Teaching Overseas Can Make Prank Day a Pleasure...

Today is the last day for the seniors who graduate this year. They have negotiated the pranks they are allowed to play with the senior management and here's a picture of the one that has directly affected me...

They are spot on in what they've accused me of, it looks like they really have been listening to me!

They are also announcing a 'joke of the hour' over the public announcement system, which is a little disruptive and the jokes so far have been really bad!

The students also covered the whole campus in cling film and it was challenging to get into school this morning because they'd strung it between the buildings!

All in all, the pranks are a bit of fun and not the least bit disrespectful to either the staff or the other students. Prank Day was nothing like this in my previous school in the UK where it was always something to be firmly controlled in case of damage.

Teaching Overseas = Pleasurable Prank Days

Don't miss your golden opportunity through lack of preparation

When securing a teaching job overseas is your goal, the competition will be high. There are many teachers out there who want to join the international school teaching circuit.

You need to be one cut ahead of the rest in order to succeed in your goal. Learn more about how to secure that dream position from someone who has been there and done that...

ME!

Learn more...

The Complete Guide to Teaching Overseas

Are you ready to go out and Get That Job!

If you want to be really prepared for your job interview and ensure that you land your dream job Download the Complete Interview Guide Now

10 Years Later...

I am sitting in the lobby of a hotel in Singapore right now, across from my parents.

Finally, after 10 years of living and teaching overseas I have managed to meet up with my parents for a holiday together abroad.

In fact, this year I'm going to be spoiled because they are coming over to Thailand in a month to spend some time with me.

So, this post is short, I just wanted you to know what I was up to...

Teaching Couple?

Many teaching couples don't teach in the same school for personal reasons. If you're a teaching couple who would like to move your teaching careers overseas, then don't be put off by the thought of having to teach in the same school as your partner.

If you teach different levels, for example one of you is elementary trained and one high school, then you have very little to worry about as most international schools run the two levels separately (even when they share a campus).

Many international schools are so large that they have more than one school. Check out the Singapore American School which has more than 3700 students spread over 4 schools situated on one huge campus.

Finally if you are a teaching couple who want to teach overseas, then move to a city that has a number of international schools. If you choose to attend an international teacher recruitment fair, this strategy would be easier to put into practice because of the number of schools represented.

Teaching Overseas as a Teaching Couple

The World is Full of Opportunities... Especially if you're living my life!

Does that sound arrogant? I certainly didn't mean to be, but I am teaching overseas and think everyone else who has teaching credentials should be doing the same. Even if that does mean increased competition for my next international teaching position!

It's Easter this weekend, and I've got the next 10 days off. Yep, that's right! No going into school for me until Tuesday 17th! I'm spending 5 days of my vacation learning traditional Thai massage at a school here in Bangkok. It's a fantastic experience that I probably wouldn't have if I wasn't living and teaching here in Bangkok.

I was talking to my colleague and massage classmate, Maggie while we were having lunch today and it occurred to me just how many opportunities have come my way because I'm an global nomad.

Since I've been teaching overseas I've had the opportunity to:

act in open university television programmes
act in a commercial
escort groups to ski resorts - and ski for free!
escort groups on excursions around the UK and see more of the country - and get paid!
travel to Paris for a weekend for a jolly
visit Cadbury World for 'professional development'

These were just the things I thought of while I was sitting having lunch with Maggie. When I think of the opportunities I've had and taken advantage of during my career teaching abroad, I am reminded what a good move it was for me to make.

Is a move you're thinking of making? Stop thinking and start doing!

Teach Overseas

A Quick and Dirty Guide To International Schools For Teachers Seeking Overseas Employment #3

Military Schools

A US Department of Defense school is a school that is attached to a military base abroad. The Department of Defense is responsible for providing education for school aged dependents of all military and civilian employees who are required to live abroad in order to carry out their jobs.

There are over 100 US Department of Defense schools in Europe, and at when I was researching this post there are 210 schools located around the world in 12 countries. The children of military personnel can also be found in American schools abroad in countries where there is no Department of Defense school available.

The British Equivalent is Service Children’s Education (SCE) Schools which number only 27 schools world wide with the majority of them situated in Cyprus and Germany. SCE schools are designed to give the students the same kind of education they would receive if living in the UK and attending school there. So teachers in these schools will be governed by the National Curriculum and examination boards of the UK.

The good, the bad and the ugly of taking on a teaching job abroad in a Military School…

The Good, well it's easy to evaluate the package being offered because you will be employed on a contract similar to one offered to teachers from either the US or the UK, it's a national job so you'll get a national contract. And you're salary is going to be pegged to a value in either US dollars or Sterling. If you are working for the SCE you will be employed on a British teaching contract, with a few extras.

The Bad is that you're going to have to pay TAX! You will have to pay national taxes. One of the benefits that comes with teaching at an international school is that you can pay less tax or work in a tax free environment. When you work for a overseas military school you will be employed ‘in’ the country whose military the school serves.

The Ugly is that you're going to miss out of the best things about teaching overseas. You’ll be teaching American or British students the relevant curriculum. You will miss out on experiencing a true multi-cultural classroom and all the benefits of teaching international children.

Teaching Overseas

A Quick and Dirty Guide To International Schools For Teachers Seeking Overseas Employment #2

English Speaking ‘International’ Schools

Some schools do not do a very good job of being an international school, rather they should be called English Speaking Schools. In fact, many schools springing up in the Middle East do call themselves just that because most of the students are local, for example the Dubai English Speaking School.

The majority of the student body at an international school should hold passports from outside the school’s host country. If the majority of the student body is local to the host country, then surely that negates it being an ‘international’ school?

Many international schools put a limit on the proportion of students that can come from the host country. These schools often have a waiting list for local students because wealthy local parents want their children to have a superior education.

The good, the bad and the ugly of teaching overseas at an English Speaking ‘International’ School…

The Good is that, as with privately owned and operated international schools, there are a lot of them around, all looking for teachers who want to teach overseas.

The Bad is that instead of enjoying a multi-cultural classroom with students that are enthusiastic and all have different experiences to bring to class discussions. You will probably be teaching wealthy children who possibly have no concept of what it is like to have to do things like chores and who may not have any concept of the real world.

The Ugly is that you will be teaching a class full of students who will share a common language that you don’t understand, mono-lingual classes being taught subject specific content in a language that isn’t their own can be a real struggle. You are not going moving your teaching career overseas to work harder than you do at home!

Teaching Overseas

A Quick and Dirty Guide To International Schools For Teachers Seeking Overseas Employment #1

Private International Schools

Private international schools are essentially businesses with directors who are focussed on making a profit. There is a considerable amount of money to be made in providing private education in areas where the supply is less than demanded. This is the Economic law of supply and demand. For teachers wanting to teach overseas, private international schools can be a mixed bag of good and bad features.

Many wealthy parents are demanding English language education for their children, and that has lead to the propagation of international schools. This is a particular feature of the Middle East and Asia, where new schools are starting up each year. The year I was looking for my current position teaching abroad there were a total of 5 new schools starting up in Dubai.

The good, the bad and the ugly of teaching overseas at private international schools…

The Good is that they are plentiful. There are a large number of private international schools for teachers to choose from.

The Bad is that while it is possible to balance good educational practice with the desire to make substantial profits, it is unlikely that in a knock down fight between the two that the goal of educating the students well will win. Teaching overseas should not involve you being required to ignore or go against your teaching philosophy.

The Ugly is that you know when a school’s continued survival, and consequently profit making potential, is dependent upon tuition money from students, how likely do you think it is that the school will expel students that are negatively affecting the learning of others?

Teaching Overseas

April's Newsletter is Ready to Go to Press!

This month's newsletter has information to assist you in choosing a school that will offer your children an excellent education, as well as a being a good professional move for yourself.

It also has my second installment on Podcasting to Enhance Teaching and Learning, along with some other great advice about keeping your personal information secure on the internet.

As I've been talking about making podcasts to enhance your teaching and learning, I decided to make one to promote this month's newsletter. It's the most basic kind you can make, it hasn't got any bells and whistles, and it shows you how easy it is to do. This one took me less than 20 minutes to record, edit and upload!

April's TeachOverseas.info Newsletter

Want a Private Education for your Children but You Cannot Afford It?

You need to teach overseas! Pick a country, any country, and there will be at least one international school there. International Schools offer private education for expatriate’s children worldwide. And, while most of the parents have to pay school fees, one of the conditions nearly always included in the contracts of international teachers is free education for the teachers’ children.

Did you know that there are over 4000 international schools worldwide, all requiring teachers to staff them, many of them offering excellent quality private education.

Picking a school that suits both your children’s needs and yours can be challenging, but it is possible. In a recent interview I conducted with international teachers, Maggie Hos-McGrane, an international teacher of 19 years experience said that after she had completed her research she’d found only 30 of the more than 4000 international schools suited both her and her children. If you have children, here are some things you should consider when applying for teaching posts abroad in international schools.

Is the school out to make a profit?
There are a number of different kinds of international schools to choose from, some are run by a board and are not designed to make a profit, and others are run by an individual or company in order to make a profit. Some are supported by companies or embassies, the list goes on...

As a teacher you will be concerned that the school’s educational philosophy matches your own. As a parent you want to insure that your children’s education is the priority of the school, rather than the amount of money spent on educational materials and the effect that will have on the school’s owner’s profit.

There are some directors or owners of international schools that may be more interested in the financial benefits of running a school than the education benefits to the students. Be aware, both as a prospective employee and as a parent.

Is the school accredited, or a member of an appropriate association?
International schools can become accredited by an organization that sets educational and operational standards for international education institutions. One such organization is the Council of International Schools (CIS). In order for an international school to become accredited by CIS, they must go through a rigorous appraisal process which looks at the staff and management, the facilities and, the quality of teaching and learning in the school.

If an international school is accredited, then you can be confident that the quality of education provided by the school is high. Most schools that are accredited by an organization like CIS advertise their status on their webpage, brochures and stationery. Keep an eye out for logos and such. These will let you know which organisations have a relationship with the school.

Other organizations that offer accreditation for international schools are NEASC, COBISEC, ISCIS and the Association of Christian Schools International, to name a few.

How many students are in the school?
This is particularly of concern for parents of high school aged children as the number of students in a school may affect the number of subject choices offered at higher levels. For example, if there are only 30 students in the graduating class, then the school will have to limit the number of subjects being offered to make it cost effective. For example, a small school may not have the numbers of students to run both business studies and economics. Or may not have the numbers to run maths higher, maths standard and maths studies. This can often affect profit and non-profit making schools alike.

Additionally, the number of students in the school can affect the number and type of extra curricular activities offered, and therefore your child’s opportunities to experience team sports and other activities that are usually run after school.

When a school has a large number of students, this can also mean that the school is more likely to have a well-stocked library, well equipped laboratories, up-to-date computer equipment and outdoor activity areas. This is usually true of larger schools simply because there is a larger pot of money to fund these facilities from.

On the other hand a school that has thousands of students, while usually offering a wide variety of subjects and activities for students, can often be an anonymous place for children. It is up to you to decide what a good balance is for you and your family.

Which curricula does the school subscribe to?
There are international schools abroad that offer what is essentially a national curriculum. In fact, in the case of many British schools abroad, it’s even called the National Curriculum.

You can find international schools that are running the national curriculum from America, Britian, Australia, Canada, France (usually taught in French), and so on. Securing a teaching contract in an international school that offers the national curriculum that you and your children are used to will help ease the transition. However, you are not limited by the curricula that you have taught in the past, international schools are generally looking for good teachers and realize that we can adapt and teach any curriculum.

When you are looking for a good school for your children, you may run up against some curricula that you haven’t come across before. For example, there is the school wide system offered by the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO). The IBO offers the Primary Years Programme up to Year 6, the Middle Years Programme from Years 7 to 11, and the Diploma Years Programme for Years 12 and 13.

Which examinations will your children be working towards?
There are a number of examinations available for international school students, and you will need to understand the options before making any decisions about accepting an employment contract.

I mentioned the IBO previously as being a school wide programme. However many schools adopt bits and pieces of the programme. You may find that an international school offers the Diploma for the upper two years but offers the British IGCSE for Years 10 and 11. IGCSE is an examination based qualification, and the IBO Middle Years Programme has no formal examination assessment, students get a certificate and a record of achievement. Some international schools have a mix and match attitude to the curricula offered.

International schools that run national curricula tend to prepare students for the related national exams. American schools overseas run a mixture of state curricula and AP courses.

I am primarily concerned with helping teachers get teaching jobs in international schools. Here I have listed just a few of the factors you’ll need to consider if you are interested to get a private education for your children by teaching overseas. While I don’t have any children of my own, many of my colleagues do, and they believe that the education their children are receiving abroad is better than what they could get back home, wherever home may be.

You can find out more about the benefits to teaching overseas and the pitfalls that await the unknowing newcomer by listening to Overseas Teachers Talk, a collection of interviews with experienced international educators.

7 teachers = 50+ years experience and every corner of the globe.

Teaching Overseas