Does anyone know which hotel is hosting the ISS fair? I can't for the life of me seem to find out online. I plan on attending and would like to know if it is necessary to stay in the hotel that hosts the fair, or is it fine to stay a cheaper place that's nearby. I figure that as long as I have a working cell phone and am in the vicinity, I should be fine. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!

Hi PsyGuy, thanks for the detailed response. The point about schools having the money not needing ESL teachers is a good one. I don't think this is the case in Korea so I will contact these schools first. I sub at a few schools here in Korea and live near another so I know that most of the students speak Korean as their native language. This is often a problem for IS teachers here.

Regarding the other obstacles you mentioned, I am aware of and partly agree with all of them. However, I don't think the experience I have is worthless. It says a lot about me as a professional and a school that ignores those types of things and relies on a list of requirements when hiring teachers is not really a place I want to be. What I am saying is that it can't hurt me. Put up against other inexperienced ESL teachers (and there are many), it makes me stand out. And a Master's in TESOL is nowhere near an 'introduction' to methods and pedagogy. Compared to my Bachelor's in Elementary Ed, the Master's required so much more in terms of time and mastery of content.

If you don't mind, I'd like your opinion on plan B (if nothing works out with ISS).

I'm considering moving back the states to get K-12 experience and work towards another subject certification. There are many good reasons to go back to the US first - my kids' English can catch up to their Korean, I can get all of my wife's immigration stuff done, and get the experience I need. I'm afraid, though, if we were to get settled in, we would find it hard to leave again.

My wife could be certified to teach Korean in less than a year. I have seen several openings for Korean too. So going home would provide her with some opportunities as well.

Thanks again!

Hello, thanks in advance for the replies and your patience since posts like mine show up all the time.

I am looking for an int'l school position and want to attend a fair in Bangkok next January but am not sure if I should go with ISS or SA.

I recently became certified in K-12 ESOL (found out I passed yesterday) but have no K-12 experience. All of my teaching experience (9 years) is at the undergraduate and graduate level at universities in South Korea. For the last six years I've been a TESOL trainer in South Korea's largest TESOL certificate/MA program. I have a Bachelor's in Elem. Ed and a Master's in Ed (TESOL). I am also working on a PhD in Applied Linguistics (should finish Spring 14). I've published several papers on second language acquisition in Korean peer-refereed journals and have presented at linguistics and TESOL conferences. I can speak Korean. I have a non-teaching spouse, a 4 year-old, and a 1-year old. ok... i think i mentioned everything.

So, what is a better fit for me and what are my chances of landing a decent position?

Thanks again! This information is invaluable.