| [smart moves] |
[Apr. 9th, 2008|08:12 pm] |
Monday night I went to the information seminar to learn more about teaching English overseas. It was at Suffolk University and the address was wrong on the website. So, I got lost and ran into a bunch of other lost people and finally we figured out we were in the wrong building! We were barely late, but somehow I felt like I missed something, and I wonder how the people that wandered in after us felt. (The lateness was on top of my supervisor giving me the run around about leaving a half an hour early to make sure I could make it. I was pissed off, because I came in early to make up for it and I stayed late last Thursday when I was sick. I don't owe her any favors and I certainly don't ask to be let out early everyday!)
Anyways, I was turned off by the overall business-y attitude the woman had about the whole thing. I wouldn't be in this to make money, but she was someone that was doing this for a living and in her own words, "I'm a single woman that enjoys being single..." which kind of turned me off too. There was an overly ambitious middle-aged woman that wouldn't stop asking questions and she was getting on my nerves and it was awkward sitting in this classroom with all of these people and feeling like the odd one out. Although, I know I wasn't the only one because the woman giving the seminar kept talking about how Americans are in need and that American English is the language of business. And the woman next to me was from Brazil and I knew she felt like she wouldn't be able to do the courses, but her English was perfect! Basically, the seminar was about taking courses that prepare you to teach English overseas, you even make your own lesson plan and teach a day in class. Once you have a certificate, you can take an add-on course that specializes in either Business, Grammar, TESOL or Children, but by no means is that a requirement. They have a placement program and they work with schools/businesses all around the world. It sounds like these teachers are really in need or at least that's what she led me to understand. I wish going to Japan wasn't so trendy, because I feel like that's where I'd love to go. I'd be familiar with the culture, but that is certainly not a requirement. In fact, it seems to be frowned upon if you are proficient in the language of the country of where you'll be teaching, because if you use it in the classroom your students will never learn English.
It sounds like a great opportunity but possibly not something for me. I really wanted to be into this and it could have just been the woman giving the information. She told us a lot about her teaching experiences -- Germany, Czech Republic, Finland and even France -- but I always felt like her business-y approach was going over my head. She was friendly though, so *shrug*, maybe I'm just weird. I really need to research more to figure out if it's something I want do in the future. |
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