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Anyone ever gone to South America to teach English? I'm particularly interested in Ecuador and Peru because of the scenery. Did you find you had enough money to travel.etc? How long did it take you to pick up Spanish, and how hard was it to live day to day (shopping, taking public transport) in a Spanish-speaking country? What about socialising/making new friends?
What of the actual experience teaching English in another country? I do enjoy teaching, but I'm not sure I'd be comfortable teaching in a school and having to control all the children, especially in a cross-cultural situation. Are there any cultural differences in the teaching environment I should be aware of? Would they not prefer somebody who speaks/is educated in Australian English, instead preferring those who speak American English?
Anyone ever gone to South America to teach English? I'm particularly interested in Ecuador and Peru because of the scenery. Did you find you had enough money to travel.etc? How long did it take you to pick up Spanish, and how hard was it to live day to day (shopping, taking public transport) in a Spanish-speaking country? What about socialising/making new friends?
What of the actual experience teaching English in another country? I do enjoy teaching, but I'm not sure I'd be comfortable teaching in a school and having to control all the children, especially in a cross-cultural situation. Are there any cultural differences in the teaching environment I should be aware of? Would they not prefer somebody who speaks/is educated in Australian English, instead preferring those who speak American English?
I spent ten months in South America - mostly taught English in Brazil.
However, I also went through Peru and Ecuador, each of those two countries for one month each.
Regarding having money to travel. I found that the money you earned there, wasn't good at all, to travel extensively. You really need to have savings to both travel extensively and teach English there.
However, if you just chose a location, and taught there. You could make it work much easier. Teaching English there is poor pay. But, if you are interested in South American countries, it's a great way to experience them.
Picking up Spanish. Fortunately, it comes quickly for native English speakers. I didn't know any before going down, but its inevitable that it'll fire you up to study. I used a textbook 'Practical Spanish Grammar', and just worked on that - it's like a workbook. I had other stuff like that too. Daily studying, and attempting to use phrases you study, and suddenly you're involved in basic conversation and communicating your essentials. (You won't be having deep discussions however - but enough to have fun and get in trouble, and maybe out of trouble )
Day-to-day living is easy. You aren't car dependent to do things either. Lots of cheap taxies, buses, whatever. Not a problem at all.
Regarding preference for American English over Australian English. Well, you almost never meet Australians in South America. I did meet a few, but not nearly as many Europeans and Americans you'd meet. However, teaching English in South America is very low pay, and I don't think they care so much the nationality of the native English speaker, as anyone who is physically present, has a pretty good shot at getting the job.
Of Peru/Ecuador, Cuzco has a lot of little english schools. It's a very touristic town, and could be a real good home base for living/teaching. Lima is a real interesting city - probably the best nightlife outside of Brazil is found in Lima. Up in Ecuador, Quito is real nice because of its permanant spring-like climate.
Anyone ever gone to South America to teach English? I'm particularly interested in Ecuador and Peru because of the scenery. Did you find you had enough money to travel.etc? How long did it take you to pick up Spanish, and how hard was it to live day to day (shopping, taking public transport) in a Spanish-speaking country? What about socialising/making new friends?
What of the actual experience teaching English in another country? I do enjoy teaching, but I'm not sure I'd be comfortable teaching in a school and having to control all the children, especially in a cross-cultural situation. Are there any cultural differences in the teaching environment I should be aware of? Would they not prefer somebody who speaks/is educated in Australian English, instead preferring those who speak American English?
I taught English for one year at university in Guayaquil, Ecuador. At the time I was there, the univ. instructors' salaries although paid in sucres (the local currency at the time) was linked to the dollar. So not only did the instructors have money to travel but were able to save enough money to bring back money to the USA. But now this situation doesn't exist. The pay in general in Ecuador is quite low for an English teacher.
When I arrived in Ecuador, I only knew a few phrases of Spanish. But the university arranged a homestay for me with an Ecuadorian family that spoke no English. I picked up basic Spanish within a few months as Spanish is not a hard language for an English speaker to learn. (I had also learned French as a child so that also helped me.) I found the Ecuadorians to be very friendly (so socializing was not a problem). Ecuador has extensive bus system so getting around by public transportation is not a problem.
I know that students there prefer to learn American English rather than British English. So I assume that they would also prefer American English over Australian English. During the first semester that I taught there, one of the teachers was an Ecuadorian woman who spoke excellent as she had lived in the USA as well as studied there for her B.A. Some of students complained about her heavy Ecuadorian accent when she spoke English. But all her students were happy with her teaching otherwise. So the most important point is that one is a good English teacher rather than one's accent.
Although I taught university students, I did have some discipline issues with some of the young adult male students in one of my evening classes (of students that worked during the day and came to classes at night). But the students were happy with my teaching and gave me a small token gift at the end of the semester to show that.
I am planning on moving to Ecuador in early 2014 to teach English. What qualifications did you have to teach English? At which university did you teach? How did you find out about the job opening?
Any response from you would be greatly appreciated!
Unless you qualify for a staff position at a regular school or college, it is very difficult to make more than enough money to just cover your cost of living. Jobs are easy to find, just ask around, but will almost certainly be part time. If you don't have a residence visa that allows you to work, everything will be illegal and under the table. However, a visa or permit can usually be arranged through an institute that hires a lot of language teachers, who will know how to cut through the red tape for you.
Thanks but that doesn't answer any of my questions.
Does anyone have any experience teaching English in Guayaquil? If so, what qualifications did you have to teach English? Where did you teach? How did you find out about the job opening?
Thanks but that doesn't answer any of my questions.
Does anyone have any experience teaching English in Guayaquil? If so, what qualifications did you have to teach English? Where did you teach? How did you find out about the job opening?
I taught English in Guayaquil for one year at one of the universities located there. I was required to have a M.A. in TESOL. I found out about the job opening via an ESL/EFL job email list that I was subscribed to.
I have been offered a position in Administration (I have a doctorate) at the American School of Guayaquil.
I know I don't need to speak Spanish at this school, but it's kind of embarrassing to have lived in Miami for over 20 years and my ability in this language is so limited. For this reason I am a little unsure about taking the position.
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