Hello everyone! I’m contemplating switching from teaching in international schools (I’ve taught math and science) in the Middle East and Europe, to ESL teaching (in a language school, public school, or elsewhere).
I’m really looking to compare the pros and cons of both, but having no ESL teaching experience, I’m hoping that those who’ve done both the international school route and ESL teaching route can help me. Any comparison you can provide is welcome!
Specifically, I have the following questions:
1. For a reason I won't get in to, I'd love to have just a 1 year contract with the possibility to renew (opposed to the standard 2 year contracts in international schools). However, I’d still like the summer months off. So, I’m basically looking for a contract from September-June. Do ESL teaching jobs typically offer such contracts, or do you usually need to work through the summer months?
2. The second thing is the “community” aspect. I’ve loved teaching in international schools because of the community of other western expats, who speak English, whom I can befriend in the midst of the new culture/language. I’m wondering if ESL teaching would offer such a community. From my research, it sounds like the two main options for ESL teaching are placement in language schools (where there WOULD be others who spoke English…but you’d be working after school and the weekends), or in a local school (where most likely the local teachers would not speak English).
3. The third question is about age. I just turned 40. Is the ESL teaching community primarily individuals in their early 20’s?
4. And the last question had to do with workload. When I was teaching in an international school, work never ended, and I’d be working well into each evening, and all weekend (typical for teaching). What is the workload like with ESL teaching? Is it more or less time consuming? How did it compare to the work load of international teaching?
Thanks everyone!
International school route vs. ESL teaching route
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NationsNomad
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Tue Jan 05, 2021 2:57 pm
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kellysensei
- Posts: 71
- Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2012 6:04 pm
- Location: St. Paul, MN
Re: International school route vs. ESL teaching route
I'm an ESL teacher who went from a language school in Japan to public schools in the US and soon to an international school overseas.
To answer your questions:
1 - unless you're at a public school or international school, ESL jobs are typically 12-month contracts (so no summers off). You will probably have 4-5 weeks vacation scattered throughout the year. Depending on the school and country, you can extend your contract by 3, 6, or 12 months.
2- If you work at an English conversation school, most of your colleagues will speak English and take you out to restaurants and community events. I am still friends with my Japanese colleagues, even after 15 years. You should be able to make friends, but keep in mind, there may only be one or two other foreigners at your branch school, so if you don't click with them, it could be kind of lonely.
3 - In my experience, most ESL teachers at language schools are between 23-35 years old. However, I've known ESL teachers in their 40s, and actually, my 40-year-old husband just got his TEFL certificate and plans to look for ESL work in our new country. If you have business experience or previous teaching experience, you should be able to get a job.
4 - With ESL teaching in language schools, once you leave for the day/weekend, you're done. I don't remember ever taking work home, and I got to thoroughly enjoy and make use of my time on the evenings and days off.
That said, you're likely to make a lot less money at a language school vs an international school and have far fewer days off.
Good luck!
To answer your questions:
1 - unless you're at a public school or international school, ESL jobs are typically 12-month contracts (so no summers off). You will probably have 4-5 weeks vacation scattered throughout the year. Depending on the school and country, you can extend your contract by 3, 6, or 12 months.
2- If you work at an English conversation school, most of your colleagues will speak English and take you out to restaurants and community events. I am still friends with my Japanese colleagues, even after 15 years. You should be able to make friends, but keep in mind, there may only be one or two other foreigners at your branch school, so if you don't click with them, it could be kind of lonely.
3 - In my experience, most ESL teachers at language schools are between 23-35 years old. However, I've known ESL teachers in their 40s, and actually, my 40-year-old husband just got his TEFL certificate and plans to look for ESL work in our new country. If you have business experience or previous teaching experience, you should be able to get a job.
4 - With ESL teaching in language schools, once you leave for the day/weekend, you're done. I don't remember ever taking work home, and I got to thoroughly enjoy and make use of my time on the evenings and days off.
That said, you're likely to make a lot less money at a language school vs an international school and have far fewer days off.
Good luck!
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Smokegreynblues
- Posts: 29
- Joined: Thu Oct 24, 2019 9:50 pm
Re: International school route vs. ESL teaching route
Both can be good depending on the country you are going to. In places like Japan/Taipei/Vietnam. The pay that one can have is almost the same as a lower-tier international school. For ex in Taipei, it's possible to make 100k NTD or more by teaching 30-40 contact hours a week. Yes, people do it. Or one can make 110k in an international school. The money is not that different. The only difference is the holidays.
Japan would be the same. it's not unheard of to make between 400k-500k yen by doing corporate business English( Though starting salaries are much lower), Similarly most international either pay the same/ some low tier ones even pay less.
However in the long run if you decide to have a family and raise kids, IS ex-pat benefits will be much more. However many teachers on this forum- like me, find it hard to get into proper/top IS, for reasons such as "licenses" "competition" etc.
ESL route is perfect for a beginner. One may even spin it off into teaching EAL in big IS's, and those positions most often pay the same as other subjects.
Japan would be the same. it's not unheard of to make between 400k-500k yen by doing corporate business English( Though starting salaries are much lower), Similarly most international either pay the same/ some low tier ones even pay less.
However in the long run if you decide to have a family and raise kids, IS ex-pat benefits will be much more. However many teachers on this forum- like me, find it hard to get into proper/top IS, for reasons such as "licenses" "competition" etc.
ESL route is perfect for a beginner. One may even spin it off into teaching EAL in big IS's, and those positions most often pay the same as other subjects.
Response
In direct reply to your inquiries:
I would agree with prior contributors, most contracts in ESOL are one year in length and you work during the summers, you get about 4-6 weeks off a year in holidays, etc. You can usually renew for anywhere between 3 months to multiple years. Where I disagree is that you can always resign before the end of your contract, ESOL positions are usually so numerous theres always another ES you can go to when the summer is over. Depending where you are you may also be able to arrange a less than 1 year contract if you dont need visa sponsorship, etc.
If youre working for an ES there are very likely going to be plenty of other English speaking ETs. If your working at a DS. it depends you might be dispatch where yes you work in a DS and there arent many other NESs but you have a central office you can hang out at and likely where youll do your production tasking, or yes its as you describe there arent many and likely very few NESs at your DS, in a small enough DS or department you might be just you.
Not really, ESOL spans a wide range of ages. You just see different concentrations doing different things. Usually by 40 a career ET is in some type of management/leadership position (DOS or CM) or they have what is essentially their own ES. There tends to be higher demand for young and attractive female ETs.
Its much less time consuming in ESOL. If your working youre getting paid, and when your not getting paid you dont have to do anything. You leave work at the ES, you dont take work home, you dont have to prep, or do marking outside of work.
The coin between EE and IE isnt that different when you consider two main factors:
1) ITs early in their career spend a lot of time working outside of their contact hours doing what is essentially unpaid work some as lesson prep, and marking, even meetings. Its later in an ITs career that they have developed the efficiencies that cut down on all those unpaid after work hours. EE can compensate for the generally lower pay by working more lessons. A typical IT works 20 instruction hours an another 20 non-instruction contact hours in a week, whereas an ET can teach all 40 hours, once you look at those totals IE and EE pay about the same.
2) Its a lot easier at a certain point in EE to go into business for yourself or start your own ES, which is much harder than starting your own IS, which is practically infeasible. Thats where the coin in EE is similar if not greater than the upper steps on the IE salary scale.
As to OSH benefits, its becoming more common that at a certain point, ISs withdraw the OSH benefits once youve been at an IS a certain length of time, at which point they consider you an LH.
I would agree with prior contributors, most contracts in ESOL are one year in length and you work during the summers, you get about 4-6 weeks off a year in holidays, etc. You can usually renew for anywhere between 3 months to multiple years. Where I disagree is that you can always resign before the end of your contract, ESOL positions are usually so numerous theres always another ES you can go to when the summer is over. Depending where you are you may also be able to arrange a less than 1 year contract if you dont need visa sponsorship, etc.
If youre working for an ES there are very likely going to be plenty of other English speaking ETs. If your working at a DS. it depends you might be dispatch where yes you work in a DS and there arent many other NESs but you have a central office you can hang out at and likely where youll do your production tasking, or yes its as you describe there arent many and likely very few NESs at your DS, in a small enough DS or department you might be just you.
Not really, ESOL spans a wide range of ages. You just see different concentrations doing different things. Usually by 40 a career ET is in some type of management/leadership position (DOS or CM) or they have what is essentially their own ES. There tends to be higher demand for young and attractive female ETs.
Its much less time consuming in ESOL. If your working youre getting paid, and when your not getting paid you dont have to do anything. You leave work at the ES, you dont take work home, you dont have to prep, or do marking outside of work.
The coin between EE and IE isnt that different when you consider two main factors:
1) ITs early in their career spend a lot of time working outside of their contact hours doing what is essentially unpaid work some as lesson prep, and marking, even meetings. Its later in an ITs career that they have developed the efficiencies that cut down on all those unpaid after work hours. EE can compensate for the generally lower pay by working more lessons. A typical IT works 20 instruction hours an another 20 non-instruction contact hours in a week, whereas an ET can teach all 40 hours, once you look at those totals IE and EE pay about the same.
2) Its a lot easier at a certain point in EE to go into business for yourself or start your own ES, which is much harder than starting your own IS, which is practically infeasible. Thats where the coin in EE is similar if not greater than the upper steps on the IE salary scale.
As to OSH benefits, its becoming more common that at a certain point, ISs withdraw the OSH benefits once youve been at an IS a certain length of time, at which point they consider you an LH.