Teach Abroad Blog
Teaching abroad
7 Unexpected Benefits of Teaching Abroad
There are many benefits of teaching abroad; some are more foreseeable than others. Everyone who wants to live in a foreign country knows that they will have a lot of adventure and excitement, but you might not fully grasp all the perks that go along with it. Here are some of the benefits you didn’t know you could experience:
Is it TEFL or TESOL?
To be perfectly honest, they mean the exact same thing! The two major differences between these terms are 1. The name and 2. the geographic region where the English learners live. Let me explain.
How to Teach English
Let’s face it: China is expanding on a global front and fast. China is a big-time player in the world’s economy and the amount of millionaires surfacing here is shooting through the roof. Even though the Chinese are dominating the scene, the likelihood that the rest of the world will jump up and learn Chinese is not that high, however, the Chinese already started years ago sending their children to boarding schools in the US and UK to master the world’s lingua franca.
Living Abroad
Watching the World Cup in Shanghai
Yes it’s finally that time, the event football (that’s soccer for you sodden Americans out there) fans around the world eagerly wait for is finally here….the FIFA World Cup. Every four years a nation is united and collectively holds its breathe in anticipation, giving the chance for players to carve themselves a reputation amongst the games immortal heroes, or collapse under the relentless pressure of an expecting nation on the biggest of world stages.
Reverse Culture Shock
One difficult part of life as a foreign teacher in China that unfortunately is often overlooked is the ‘reverse culture shock’ experienced when a teacher returns to their home country. In general, the global experience is often highly stimulating and exciting. The foreign teacher is often in a position of higher power and autonomy, and also enjoys a higher standard of life with higher levels of disposable income as the cost of living in China is relatively low. However, when returning home it is often assumed that the teacher will merely slot back perfectly into the home country and company just as it was previously.
As crazy as it sounds when talking about your home country, usually, the repatriate has to relearn an old culture again, but it is often viewed from a different and less understanding perspective then when first experiencing a completely new culture. Frequently the returning teacher is shown little to no sympathy by their peers and friends, as from their viewpoint the teacher has been incredibly lucky to have the opportunity of such an amazing experience and all the other benefits that come with the role, and they are now merely complaining as they have to come back down to ‘reality’. All of this can potentially lead to feelings of being underappreciated and sometimes a loss of direction in life. Unless a person has experienced repatriation themselves they simply cannot relate to the individual, and this lack of understanding can prove to be very frustrating for the repatriate as they find it difficult to relate the value of their international experience to their family, friends, and colleagues.
5 ways to save money while living in China
Moving to China is a fantastic and life altering experience, particularly for someone who has never lived abroad before. Seeing the world through the lens of another society, one with a radically different culture and history and a vastly different center of focus inevitably changes how you view the world and your own society back home. This makes teaching in China rewarding in and of itself. However for most of us rewarding cultural experiences don’t pay off student loans. So for those of us without the benefit of a well-padded bank vault here are some tips for saving money will living in the middle kingdom.
