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