I'm going to be going to the Search Bangkok fair and knowing it is competitive, I want to do the best to make my Search profile attractive.

I was wondering how much parent confidential references count? I already have one from my previous school (I only just obtained it, so it had no impact on me getting my current job). But I was thinking of getting a couple from my current school.

I can see it causing gossip that I am leaving amongst the student body.

So are these sorts of references worth getting?

Hi,

What is everyones thoughts on this? Is it worth just contacting schools through the Search Associates email or should I also be contacting them directly through their school email (possibly filling out additional requirements in the process).

Do you think this is being proactive or being a pest?

You can teach English in Taiwan with just a university degree. That will be enough for you to receive an ARC (essentially a work permit/ temp residency card). Now whether the immigration department/education department will make a distinction between you working at an international school or not is another thing.


I think it is likely that the school you are applying for has a policy of only hiring people with the necessary licences and teaching degrees.

If you have your heart set on Taiwan, then you can immigrate here without securing employment beforehand and teach English without the licence. Maybe you could do an online Masters or get whatever certification your country/state whilst living in Taiwan.

I live in Taiwan and haven't been to either Hong Kong or China so I can't speak with any authority on the latter two.

Taiwan is a really safe and convenient place to live. In Kaohsiung and particularly Taipei, it is easy to get around due to the MRT. The people are really nice and welcoming. You will find all sorts of western luxuries as well as plenty of goods from Japan and Korea. It has a 24 hour convenience lifestyle. There is always a food vendor open no matter what time of night and at worst you can just go to one of the 7-11's that is on basicly every corner. You can get by quite easily without learning Chinese or Taiwanese. In terms of drinking and going out, I wouldn't call it as exciting as a western country or many other big cities in Asia, but in Taipei there will be enough to keep you occupied. The country has a lot of natural beauty.

On an international teacher's salary you should be living a pretty comfortable lifestyle. You'll be able to afford renting a nice apartment and eating out regularly with plenty of national travel and international travel during the holidays. The cost of living is probably about the same as Bangkok in Kaohsiung and a bit more expensive in Taipei. Definitely cheaper than Hong Kong.

The downsides are that there is quite bad pollution. In Kaohsiung during winter the AQI is generally between 130-180. The pollution is better in Taipei. The weather is nice all year around in the southern part but it can be rainy and miserable in winter in Taipei. Summer is really hot. Typhoons also come through in the rainy season and earthquakes happen. If you are a single male you will enjoy the dating scene. Many single female expats complain of difficulty dating compared to back home. It would be a good place for bringing a family due to the cost of living, child friendly environment and safety. Traffic is dangerous and crazy.

Hi all,

In 5 months I will pulling up stumps in Australia and moving to Taiwan to begin my first role as an MYP Humanities teacher. I am feeling a mixture of excitement and fear (what will I do if I hate it? What if I can't make friends?) but mostly just excitement that I will taking my first step on a new career and will have the pleasure of living in an exotic location. The schools seems like a decent school according to paid reviews sections. The housing allowance and salary plus other benefits seems like I could live a pretty comfortable life as a single person. The two Admins I have met up with (both during and after the conference) seem like very nice people who are highly effective at their work. Most students will be local and so I doubt I will have any discplinary issues. From my research, it seems like a good school to begin my international teaching career.

I have been taking Mandarin classes to help prepare myself for living in Taiwan - but it is such a hard language so things are going a bit slower than I would like.

So my questions to you all more experienced people. What did you wish you did or knew in your first year of teaching in international school.

I'd like to hear about some advice on teaching is IT - whether It be about the workload, dealing with other staff, getting your head around the IB, teaching students who are ESL but in the IB program etc.

BUT

I would also love to hear some advice on getting adapted to a foreign country and what tips you give - how did you deal with culture shock, making friends with expats and locals, creating a healthy life/work balance etc.

+

Hi everyone,

I have a couple of interviews lined up for the search fair in Melbourne. I have tried looking for interview questions on here but due to the search function specifics, it keeps saying that the question I am asking is too common and nothing is coming straight up. At best, when I have managed to get it to search it came up with 70 pages of threads with very few having anything to do with the type of interview questions asked.

I was wondering if someone could either post a direct link to a good thread or could give me some of the types of interview questions that International schools might ask? I am familiar with the types of questions Australian schools generally ask but some that are specific to international schools would be great.

Cheers guys and best of luck to others going to Melbourne SA fair.

Sciteach. Thanks for the email. That was really helpful. I've sent you through another email.

So I might of jumped the gun a bit with the Chinese school. Although it sounds awesome on paper, the reviews of the school were not good at all. Without going into too many details, it sounds like a bad place to work.

Thank god for this site. The review section has paid for itself already. Thanks to everyone (particularly sciteach) who has responded to this thread and the other one I made. It's great to get advice from people who really know what they are talking about. All this advice has been invaluable in helping me make a very important (and life changing) decision.

Have a great new years everyone!

^
I was thinking of making a A4 colour page with a couple of pictures of myself (I don't have any of me teaching at Australian schools due to privacy issues - I was thinking a professional picture, one of me travelling and one me teaching English overseas), my teaching philosophy, some dot points on experience, education and interests, plus contact info for my referees. I was going to try and get it printed on nice paper.

If I get an interview, I have a copies of my CV, a letter of recommendation and academic transcript.

Is a cover letter necessary. I have some that I sent out to the schools that I am interested in via the search email already. Should I just print these and give them to the schools I have already emailed? Should I do this when requesting an interview or would it be unlikely to be read?

Also, could someone point me to a thread on the types of interview questions international schools ask? I tried using the search engine but apparently it is too common a question to search haha. I'm familiar with what an Australian school would ask but I imagine international schools have additional questions.

Thanks for your response, PsyGuy.

I'll be taking your advice in regards to the spreadsheet. There are pro's and con's to all of the above schools. To be honest, I still don't have a clear winner in my mind. Obviously, it will depend on who offers me a position and who doesn't. Bangkok is very enticing and although no formal offer (ie. a contract) has occurred they have strongly indicated that they want me to be part of their school. It is a pretty good situation that I find myself in.

Just to muddy the waters further, another school has expressed interest in an interview. This one is in Guangzhou, China. I originally was ambivalent towards China due to all of the recent media attention towards the air pollution (I'm not asthmatic fortunately).

The salary quoted on SA is really high $55,000-$57,000USD before tax. Plus airfare, $1250 pm housing allowance, $5000 furniture allowance (although it says the apartment is furnished) and a $1500 moving allowance. Out of all of the packages, this is the best. It is also a non-profit school and seems to have a pretty international student body. Further, I would be teaching IB Psychology which is the subject I most want to teach.

So the school seems great. What is Guangzhou like as a city?

Alwaysadjusting:
Best of luck to you too at the Melbourne Fair. Do you have your heart set on anywhere in particular?

If you are going to the drinks on Sunday, I might see you there!

I completed my provisional registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching several years ago. I am not an expert on registration but will do my best.

For the VIT, you need to complete a portfolio piece plus some other work that satisfies the principle standards of AUSVELS/VELS and the VIT (or whatever the hell they choose to use each year). You will need to be teaching regularly in order to do this. Substitute teaching won't allow you the time and I also assume that they require a substantial minimum amount of days teaching in order to do this.

You will need a principal/VP who is familiar with AUSVELS and the VIT who has to sign off on your work at the end. You will be presenting your portfolio to them. They will also need to sign off a number of other criteria. Further, you will need a mentor who is currently teaching within your states system and knows AUSVELS and the VIT. They will need to be registered with the VIT.

I really can't see you achieving full registration with an Australian authority without either doing minimum one year of full time work in Australia or through somehow getting work at an international school that has an Australian curriculum. Most international schools require a minimum of two years experience anyway.

Sciteach: Yes it is a pity there is no PM feature. You seem to know a lot about the schools and countries in question. I just created an email address (my existing ones have my full name in them). If you want you can send me an email with any other information you would like to share. As choosing the right school/country is a massive life decision I want to be well informed. I'd be really happy with any advice/information you can give. Thanks so much for what you have already written.
Here is my email address:
inteacher1985@gmail.com

Maybe make a post on this forum letting me know if you sent an email, as I really won't be using this email address for anything other than communicating with you.

Thank you to everyone else who replied. You guys are fantastic!

PsyGuy:
To answer your questions about my priorities.
Teaching in a school with a fair administration and a positive work environment (ie. no bullying of staff by other staff) - very high.
Living in a location that has a variety of things to do: very high.
Money/benefits. medium (I don't need a lot of luxuries but enough money to save for holidays and have some savings).
Being able to make friends/have existing friends: high.
Prestige of the school: low
Curriculum: medium.
Working in a well resourced school with adequate materials, access to internet and my own computer, good communication between staff, a - high.
Reasonable life work/balance - high. I'm not lazy and am happy to work hard but I don't want to spend my whole time abroad working until midnight and having no time to relax and explore the country/region.

I hope this helps.

Great responses from both of you. This has filled in a lot of the blanks for me. I'm feeling a lot more confident about the process.

Thanks PsyGuy for outlining some of the motivating factors behind the admins' decisions. Having never worked within international education and having never set foot in a job fair, I really had no idea what to expect. Your response has changed that.

One last question. What is an Ichiro? I've never heard of the term before. Is it like a portfolio of the work I do in class?

Also. how accurate are the Search Associates 'Expected Savings Potential? Some of those seem too good to be true.