Thanks again for sharing your views about the ESL component of my training.

I am struggling with the idea of Elementary as well, though I do feel comfortable with the 4-6 grade range, I worked in a resource room for an extended amount of time while subbing with that age group, and while in England teaching at a regular UK school I had students who were the age of 6th graders because of the difference in labeling groups (year 7 which I taught is the equivalent of 6th grade). I do hope to be able to speak to some teachers currently at the school to get an idea of what is in place, and my lack of experience as a main ESL teacher makes me want to focus on Language Arts and hopefully build the skills while abroad due to the exposure to more ESL students.

Those of you with ESL certification, did you do a certificate program through a university or an intensive course by a company? My course is university based, but a friend who did a 6 week program said it was much more focused in terms of planning, while my certificate is very academic in that the courses are around the subject, but not wholly focused on it practically in a way the other types of certification seem to be.

The high number of Language Arts jobs is nice - I'm hoping to find something in an area I want to live in, but know in order to get some experience I might need to head farther afield. Thanks again everyone :)

Well that is good to hear - I really can't afford a fair at all this year due to some set backs and needing to have savings in case I have to move, I'm not putting anything on credit cards anymore. I hope to hear back from some of the schools I've sent information to. Though I've only gotten back about 4, thanks for your e-mail we will keep you in consideration out of those.

Good luck everyone else :)

Thanks for the input, I really appreciate it! I am nervous to have my first year of TESOL experience be overseas, but hopefully I'd join a strong department with some curriculum in place.

I may stretch and even apply for Elementary positions since the certificate is K-12.

Hi there - I had a question on everyone's perceptions of the ESL roles within schools. I am certified as a high school English teacher and have been one for the past 4 years. I am working on a TESOL certificate (master's program) that I will finish in May. There seem to be more openings in schools I am interested in for ESL than English Language Arts, with no experience in my area, but experience as an English teacher do you think it is wise to apply for these positions or should I stick with positions in English Language Arts?

I know there is no one "right" answer, but your perceptions about the role of ESL teachers in international schools would be really beneficial.

Thanks!

I know this is quite an old thread, but I was curious if anyone had information on the American International School of Muscat. I'm tentatively trying to figure out if I can handle living and working in the Middle East as a single woman and have been hearing good things about Oman.

Hi Nicole - pets will depend on the country and what they want you to do to prove your pet isn't ill. Most will need a certificate from the vet and some may need to sit in quarantine in the new country for a while, each place is different. I'm not sure about what housing in foreign countries may be like or their rules on pets, I know in England having a pet while renting was almost impossible in many cases.

I know many are closed because of not wanting their administrators, students and parents to see. I just wondered if anyone knew of open ones where the author's never gave out enough info to be identified or were just general enough to slide through without much notice. I have one or two, but a lot are either very focused on the educational aspect (which I don't read for unless its in my subject area or general) or are primary teachers (I teach secondary).

Thanks for responding!

Does anyone have any suggestions for blogs of international teachers to read? I've tried searching a few times and only come up with about 2 that are updated with any regularity.

I mean just an average teacher describing their experience finding the job, settling in and then teaching. When I was moving to England I was lucky to find a few bloggers who were writing about their experiences and it was really helpful and they gave a lot of good advice.

Thanks in advance :)

This is really interesting and I'm glad to hear from someone who has experience. I'd consider it because I am not under contract at the school I currently work for and could leave if I needed to rather quickly. How much notice do they say you usually get? I'm guessing pretty significant since visa's always take a little while. I'm putting it in a "maybe" folder to consider if I don't find anything for a September start in 2011.

puka that is a great idea! I always forget a lot of places allow leaves if you've been there long enough.

Hi martijem, I understand your worries, but I think making preparations is good, just not taking them so far that if it doesn't work out that you will be stuck in a bad situation.

It always makes me feel very fortunate that I am single with no house, dependents, etc. and parents who are willing to let me leave all my junk with them.

Planning ahead never hurts and the more you know the easier it is to make decisions if they come at the last minute. The first time I moved abroad I had only about one month's notice, but because I had researched so much before the move I felt much better than if I hadn't been slowly preparing physically (weeding out things I wouldn't need/want after a year or two) and mentally for a move.

Good luck!

Thanks for sharing all the courses you teach marlow, do you teach one section of each or multiple sections?

I'm glad to know you can start off with someone else who knows all the ins and outs of the club, I don't mind learning and then taking over, but I've never run a extra curricular before so that would make me feel much better!

That is very encouraging to hear marlow! It is so much fun planning for groups that really want to work because you know your efforts aren't in vain and you won't waste most of the class in trying to get everyone on task. Did you find you taught the same class, say 10th grade English or was there a mix?

I see that most schools want you to sponsor something, are their many oppurtunities to co-sponsor if you don't feel you know enough to be in charge?

Thanks ichiro - I wasn't sure if there was a sort of specialty international school approach to scheduling in a particular way.

Anyone else have a different type of schedule than already mentioned?

I had been wondering about this as well so I thank you for the info.

goingoingone - could I ask where you hosted your webpage? I don't mind paying a little to do this but wasn't sure of a reputable company to go with