On paper, teaching English abroad is a pretty sweet option – exploring new cultures, getting paid to travel, notching up awesome stories to tell your mates back home.
But thinking you’re going to do it, and actually, properly getting on that plane are two very different things. So what holds people back? Fear that’s what! Teaching abroad may be great, but leaving everything you’ve ever known (including gravy, Radio 4 and Jaffa Cakes) behind can be a tad daunting. So, to help you turn feeling scared into feeling excited about the opportunities offered by TEFL, here are people’s most common TEFL fears and how to face them:
Fear 1: My students will eat me alive
Some ferocious looking students
Kids. A lot of the time they’re cute and well-behaved, but sometimes it feels like the spawn of Satan is sat at the desk in front of you. Lovely Astrid for instance recently had one kid sitting in class systematically breaking pencils in half. Not nice. Adults aren’t an easy option either – while they probably won’t smash up your stationery they can undermine your authority and start taking over your show.
Solution: Be assertive and take a stand, as students (of all ages) can smell fear, seriously. You’ll also feel much more confident about situations, and know how to cope with them better, if you do a TEFL course before you head out.
Fear 2: My school will treat me like dirt
The optimistic part of you is hoping for golden sands, friendly locals and lots of spare time to explore. The less optimistic part of you is imagining a dungeon-esque classroom which you’re locked into 7-days a week and forced to run English corners for the rest of eternity.
Solution: Research! Make sure you chat to people on forums and do a few Google searches of your school before you sign your name of the dotted line. You also need to negotiate with your employer to make sure that your expectations are going to be delivered. Ultimately though, take things you read online with a pinch of salt, as if everyone took everything the read on the internet seriously we’d never leave our houses. Also, if your school isn’t what you hoped it would be, there will be other options while you’re in-country. And if you do feel you need that extra support, a supported internship program like these might be the thing for you
Fear 3: I’ll be alone
All together now... 'All by myself, don't wanna be...'
What use is experiencing all these amazing new things if you don’t have anyone to share them with? You could be in the most incredible place in the world, but if you’re sat in a crummy apartment eating instant noodles and watching TV shows you can’t understand you won’t be having the best time in the world.
Solution: Get out there! There are loads of ways to make friends whenever you’re in a new country – start with the people directly around you (other teachers at your school, students) and branch out from there. Emma Foers has some great advice for making friends when you’re new in town. Alternatively, sign up to a supported programme, like the Teach in China internship, where you’ll get a chance to meet lots of other people who are in the same boat as you.
Fear 4: I won’t like the food
Tasty Chinese food
It’s a fact of life – some people just aren’t that adventurous when it comes to food. In fact I had one ex-boyfriend whose entire diet consisted of beige food: cheese, bread, chicken, more cheese. I think he made an exception for bacon. Buut – it has a happy ending folks – he went out to Japan to teach English after uni and is having such a great time that he’s still out there. So I figure if he can get over his irrational fear of tomatoes to fulfil his travel dreams, anyone can.
Solution: Wherever you are in the world you will have a choice about what you eat. It won’t be like some constant bush-tucker trial* filled with fried locusts and sheep testicles. Yes there will be exotic food, and yes I did eat something in China that made me gag once. But weigh that up against the amazing new food you’ll taste and it seems pretty low-risk. Plus, wherever you are in the world these days, there’s never a McDonalds far away.
Fear 5: I’ll be unemployable when I get home
You’re clued up, you’ve got a five year plan, but how does TEFL fit into it? Won’t employers see your swanning off around the world to teach English as rather indulgent? I mean, shouldn’t you have been back at home chained to a desk like they were at your age?!
Solution: Quite the opposite to harming your long-term career prospects, TEFL can actually help them. By making that leap to teach English abroad you’re proving you’ve got gumption (aka balls) and that’s before you factor in the leadership, communication and organisational skills you’ll develop during your time in the classroom.
Got more TEFL fears? Click here to request a free consultation with an i-to-i TEFL expert to chat through them.
*For the uninitiated: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHDMZEw5f7Q
What are your TEFL fears? And how did you get over them?
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Total votes
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What Scares You Most About Teaching Abroad?
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| Vote My students will eat me alive | |
| Vote My school will treat me like dirt | |
| Vote I'll be alone | |
| Vote I won't like the food | |
| You must vote to see the resuts. | |
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Fear 5 is a big myth- not only does TEFL give you all sorts of great skills, it also gives you LOADS of really interesting stuff to talk about in interviews!
www.chinaenglish.co.uk
i chose my school will treat me like dirt, but then again not really because i wouldn't allow it, plus i'm pretty head strong and patient. I don't expect too much about the places we might teach in. If we don't have high expectations then we won't be too dissapointed...plus we're looking at the experience and the limits we can push ourselves. but i guess i do wonder how we would be treated if it'll be negative or positive...either way it wouldn't really dither us.
I've had a lot of fears about going BUT as you've put, if you believe everything on the net then you wont do anything. I also took the logic that if i dont go/try/do then I will probably regret it later in life. Also, if it was so bad then way would people still be there or others going year after year.
Just like with everything in life you will have bad times/experiences and things will go wrong from time to time BUT along with these things you will have awesome experiences (things that will make your friends and family jealous), you will achieve so much, make so many friends and open so many other doors.
Also don't forget, even if you go to a country, sign a contract, start teaching etc you can always go back home. Give it at least 6months to get over the initial shock, home sickness etc and then see how things are. Yes if you leave mid contract schools wont be happy but at the same time they wont really want someone who is only half heartedly doing a lesson. If you do return home, you are not a failure because you tried it, that more then what others have done.
A lot of the time to over come fears is to confront them, ask people what there jobs were like (ask about good and bad things), read books, forums, internet. If possible talk to schools and companies because they might be able to put your mind at ease. Most of the time the fear is not knowing but sometimes you wont know until you get there.
My fear is the language barrier, not being able to have a proper full conversation in my native tongue...think of the frustration BUT thats where the net comes in, keep in touch with friends and family, use skype.
Good luck and go for it!!!
definately man eating pupils! i've seen supply teachers leave classes and refuse to go back in, teachers being locked in cupboards, teachers sitting in cupboards in tears and had a table and 2 chairs thrown at me and much much more and thats just in England. The table was pretty impressive i have to admit but im petrified about the types of kids i'll be teaching.
I've thought about it and I think in the end I'm more scared of other people who I'm not teaching than the students! I think I'm most worried by the idea that I find myself totally alone, miles away from any one with no support if things start to go bad. Good advice though!
Best piece of advice I got on my first day as a teacher (way back in '97) was "show no fear!" To be honest, I've only had to put it into practice twice in my career but on both occasions it was an invaluable approach and stopped problems escalating. Teaching is the most fantastic job in the world. Mind you, I may say something different when I actually start teaching children rather than adults ;o)
My vote is for the students. Teaching is something I've never done before and the other 3 can be dealt with by an personal attitude change ;)
Interesting that the vote results are 50/50 for "my students will eat me alive" and "my school will treat me like dirt". So nobody is afraid of loneliness and bad food. Shows that most of us are positive enough :-)
Thanks for the encouraging.
Very good advice Honor! I always tell people who are having second thoughts to just do it! Any experience good or bad can be rewarding just depends on how you view the proverbial glass...half full or half empty???
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