Has anyone here been a teacher in a foreign country?

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   sgheilerposted 12 years ago

   How was the experience, and what country did you teach in?
   I have read so many negative things about teaching abroad and very little about the positives! Please share your personal experiences, or recommendations.

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2. 59

   recommend1posted 12 years ago

   I teach in China and on balance it is considerably more positive than negative.  However, I am an English native speaker and 'in demand', also China generally respects teachers and guests in their country so I get VIP treatment pretty much everywhere.  Other nationalities do not get such good treatment but are also generally treated pretty well.
   
   If you are a qualified teacher in a specific subject (other than language) then there is a good demand.

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3. 86

   livelongerposted 12 years ago

   Taught English in Poland for 2 years.
   
   I enjoyed it, but I lived in a very rural part of the country and suffered from terrible boredom. Teaching English, though, for native speakers, is pretty easy, especially since they generally want you to focus on conversational skills.

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      recommend1posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I was in Poland a while and found it boring also, even in big town !

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      1. 86

         livelongerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Unfortunately true. Their culture is pretty introverted, so they don't like to do much.

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4. 61

   sanatharaposted 12 years ago

   I worked as a teacher in United Arab Emirates for nine years and it was good time.In our school we used to celebrate 'Teacher's day'. It was great experience. I learned many things during this period. In UAE Arabic language is compulsory subject. So, I learned the language and used to take tuitions also. I missed it a lot.Happy teacher's day to all the teachers.

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5. 93

   Paul Kuehnposted 12 years ago

   In tne 1970s I taught English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Taiwan for 6 years.  I have now been teaching EFL in Thailand for the past four years.  I have had some great experiences and have really enjoyed seeing my students improve their English language skills.  I have made so many friends by teaching and have also learned a lot about the Chinese Mandarin and Thai languages as well as Chinese and Thai culture.

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6. 82

   classicalgeekposted 12 years ago

   I taught English in Czechoslovakia in the early 90s and loved it. I cried when my immigration status became a problem and I had to move back to the U.S. I'd go back again in a heartbeat.
   
   Of course I had a lot of Czech friends who wined and dined me for conversation practice, and made some friends there that I still keep in touch with.

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