How to Add International Experience to your Resume!

Teaching a year or two overseas is a great way to add international experience to your resume and invest in your future. Here’s why.  Most companies these days have an international connection – they buy, sell or operate overseas. So, they are always interested in hiring people with international experience – and the ability to function in a different culture. Teaching also means you can train people and that’s another specialization that companies look for when they hire managers and management trainees.

Working in a foreign country gives you a hands-on opportunity to learn another language that can boost your employ-ability. Some schools will even pay for you to learn the local language. Can’t beat that! Prospective employers see fluency in a second language as desirable.  It’s not only a practical asset; but one that signals a cultured individual willing to make an intellectual effort to go the extra mile.

If you are interested in teaching overseas for a year or two and adding international experience to your resume, I can tell you that there are always many teaching jobs available. The key to finding a position quickly is to be flexible. If you are new to teaching, be ready to accept a teaching post in a country even if it is not your first choice. Once you have experience, you can be more selective. The main thing is to build experience.

Below are some of the thousands of current jobs. These are from one source. There are many such sources. When you register for our TESOL course, we will show you where to find teaching positions. Here are the latest teaching jobs from around the world as of May 27, 2013. Bear in mind that this represents only a small portion of all the jobs out there.

Current Database Status (country/jobs):
Azerbaijan[1], Bulgaria[3], China[48], Czech Republic[5], France[2], Germany[2], Honduras[1], Hong Kong[4], Indonesia[9], Iraq[2], Italy[10], Japan[2], Jordan[1], Kazakhstan[2], Kosovo[1], Kuwait[1], Latvia[1], Libya[4], Malaysia[4], Mexico[1], Oman[1], Poland[1], Portugal[1], Russian Federation[12], Saudi Arabia[30], Slovakia[2], South Korea[7], Spain[34], Taiwan[2], Thailand[5], Tunisia[1], Turkey[7], Ukraine[2], United Kingdom[160], United States[1], Vietnam[5], Worldwide[20]

There couldn't be a better time to get started than right now! You could be teaching and gaining valuable skills and experience in one of these countries within a few weeks. Some students are hired even before they complete their TESOL course.

Grammar Fitness

Here's a classroom activity that I like to use because it contains all the elements of English - reading, writing, listening, speaking and spelling. Let me begin by saying that this activity is really called "Dictation Race". However, students spend so much energy running up to the board and back to their partners that I have taken to calling it "Grammar Fitness". I have used this with 9-14 year olds and also with ages up to 30+. All ages participate and enjoy the activity immensely.  It works well with classes up to about 20. Above that, unless you have a huge classroom, it becomes unmanageable. Here's how it works.

1. Divide your class into pairs and move all desks (if you can) to the sides of the room so there is 'running room' in the middle.

2. Place a short reading exercise on the board. Here is one I use:

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On Sunday, Frank gets up at 10:00 o’clock. Then he reads his newspaper in the kitchen. He has breakfast at 11.30 and then he telephones his mother in Canada.

In the afternoon, at 1.00, Frank plays tennis with his sister and after that, they eat dinner in a restaurant. At 6.00, Frank swims for one hour and then he goes by bike to his brother’s house. They talk and listen to music.

Frank watches television in the evening and drinks a glass of red wine. He goes to bed at 11.30.

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3. One student from each pair is the designated reader while the other is designated writer. I give each pair one sheet of lined paper.

4. I like to give each pair a team name. It helps to increase competitiveness.

5. The designated reader goes up to the board, reads part of the script and then goes back and tells his/her partner what s/he read. The reader must be as accurate as possible, ensuring s/he remembers capitals, punctuation, new paragraphs, and single/plural agreements.

6. The reader can go up to the board as many times as needed until s/he has dictated the full script to his/her partner. (Students will often start back and forget what the read, adding to the fun).

7. The activity is supposed to be a race but I don't bother too much with the time. I declare the winner as the team with the fewest mistakes. However, I do set a time limit. The activity can take up to half an hour depending on the comprehension level of your class so be sure to allow the time.

8. The reader is not allowed to shout from the board, nor use the native language – only English.

If you have an odd number of students, you can either assign the odd one to a team as 'assistant writer (one of the weaker teams) or designate the student as language monitor…listening to ensure the native language is not used.

Everyone has a good time with this activity. To ensure each student has both an opportunity to read and speak and to listen and write, I do the same activity the following lesson, keeping the same teams but changing who runs and who writes.

For more sample scripts, Email me!

New Overseas Teaching Positions!

Here are the latest open teaching positions around the world as of May 13, 2013!

Current Database Status (country/jobs):
Austria[1], Bulgaria[1], Cambodia[1], China[45], Czech Republic[3], France[2], Germany[1], Greece[2], Honduras[1], Hong Kong[3], Indonesia[9], Italy[10], Japan[1], Kazakhstan[3], Latvia[1], Libya[4], Malaysia[3], Oman[1], Peru[1], Poland[2], Romania[1], Russian Federation[11], Saudi Arabia[29], Slovakia[2], South Korea[5], Spain[33], Taiwan[2], Thailand[3], Tunisia[1], Turkey[8], Ukraine[1], United Kingdom[157], Vietnam[7], Worldwide[29]

As always, I want to let you know that these represent only a tiny portion of the jobs that are available out there. Wherever you want to go, teaching jobs are likely available but it is harder to get hired in some places. Western Europe is a tough nut to crack. Eastern Europe has many opportunities as does South America. Still atop the list of areas that desperately need a huge number of English teachers is Asia.  It is tougher to get a teaching job in Hong Kong and Japan but South Korea, Thailand, China and Indonesia offer many opportunities. Be flexible and prepared to go where the jobs are to gain experience.

All it takes is a degree and a TESOL certificate. Your degree does not have to be in education. Most schools will accept a degree in any discipline. They may even reimburse your airfare! WAIT! No degree? Contact us through our web site! We can help you!

There couldn't be a better time to get started than right now! You could be teaching in one of these countries within a few weeks. Some of our students are hired even before they complete their TESOL course and we are delighted to forward their certificate to their new school!

Go to our web site and get started today on a course that will change your life very quickly! Jobs are tough to get at home. Not so overseas. All you need is a willingness to accept other cultures, a degree in any discipline and our TESOL certificate.  Then you’ll be ready to start the New Year off with a new career!

Click here now to start on a whole new adventure and life experience!