Having taught in Kenya, Saudi, Egypt, Romania, Qatar and the UAE, I would say YES, of course it is perfectly normal to get nerves, butterflies, stage fright or whatever you want to call it. "Are we doing the right thing? Are we being irresponsible? What about medical care? Our pensions?" Yes, all of those questions pop up whenever my wife and I move to a new school. But we still love teaching in international schools and it is so much more exciting than staying in the boring, cold, expensive UK, paying lots of taxes, watching the rain and listening to colleagues talking about the Brits losing at football, cricket, tennis and every other game we have invented but are no good at.

Yes, the American School of Doha has a good reputation. I have seen some of the facilities there for myself and they are pretty amazing! The school has managed to get some hefty coporate sponsorship and the benefits are there for all to see. The fees are fairly horrendous, it has to be said, but then again I am just an underpaid Brit, so of course "American" salaries always look huge to me.

I regularly post things on the [i]Times Educational Supplement [/i]website for teaching overseas. It is annoying to see posts deleted because they have mentioned specific schools or particular individuals. Some teachers try to get round this by referring to a school by a nickname or some other cryptic clue, but still threads get deleted.

I am glad that the ISR does give us the opportunity to "name and shame" schools that really are pretty awful, but at the same time it seems to me that too many reviews a unbalanced and negative. If the school really was as awful as you claim, then why didn't you relize that before you went there? Surely we have a responsibility to try to be fair and to write banced reviews, giving accurate information (the bad and the good) and allowing the reader to make up his or her own mind.

Having taught in Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Romania, Qatar and now the UAE, I would say that the pattern for hiring "local" and "expat" teachers is pretty much the same wherever you go. Even if you are already in the country, you will most probably be hired as an "expat" or "foreign" teacher and therefore you will receive the same benefits as other expat teachers. In the ME, there can sometimes be a bit of haggling and maybe some schools might try to get away with paying you local rates, but you just have to be firm and make sure you get what you want. Of course it would be really helpful if you could tell us where exactly you will be. The Middle East is a big place!

BC stands for "British Curriculum", I assume?

As there has not been anything about NIS recently, would I be right in thinking that it has improved and now the teachers are a lot happier? It would be interesting to hear from some teachers who are currently teaching at D Ring, West Bay or the "British" branch.

Why do so many people write on the "teaching overseas" section of the TES website? The TES moderators are forever deleting posts that mention specific schools. The forum is a lot better, so it is a pity that so few teachers actually write anything on it!

I have not lived or worked in Oman. My wife and I have been there several times on holiday, so maybe this is helpful.

Prices in Oman are a bit higher than in the UAE (where we are at the moment). There is a sales tax [u]and[/u] a tourist tax on some things, so you are hit twice. Salaries tend to be lower, I think, so it is not a place to go if you want to make loads of money. Friends of mine who have taught in Oman say that Omani students are absolutely delightful.

The issue of salaries and being able to save for retirement is a big and complex one. This is made even more difficult when you are trying to save for your retirement and at the same time you have financial commitments back home (e.g. a mortgage or your children's university fees).

My first international teaching job was at the Banda School in Kenya. A few months ago, [i]The Times Educational Supplement [/i]asked me to write an article about teaching in Kenya and you can still find it on the TES website. The salary was pretty awful, but it was a great experience.

Yes, I would definitely agree with a point made in several previous postings: resources can be few and organization lacking in some international schools.

A friend of mine has just resigned from a Secondary Science teaching post at a school in the UAE. He said that he was "swamped" with job offers and had no problems getting another job.

What is an "international" school? It seems to be a pretty flexible expression. If most of the students come from the host country, then is it accurate and sensible to call the school "international"? Probably not.

When I was teaching at the British School of Bucharest, only a small proportion of my students were Romanian. It was like teaching the United Nations. We had lots of French and Germans, a sprinkling of Chinese (the school was round the corner from the Chinese Embassy) and lots of other odd nationalities: Greeks, Italians, Americans, Russians and even a few Brits!

When I was teaching in Egypt and in Qatar, it was a very different story: 90% locals, with some other Arabic-speaking children from different parts of the Middle East. This caused a lot of problems. The school, the teachers and the curriculum were going in one direction, while the children and their parents were going in another direction. It is not just a matter of language, although in a primary school I would say that, to a large extent, language IS the curriculum. Even Maths and Science lessons are really English lessons, but the students cannot access the curriculum if their language skills are just not up to it. In Bucharest, this was not such a problem because French and German and Romanian are a lot closer to English than Arabic. Also it was natural and easy for the children in Bucharest to learn English because they wanted to speak to their new friends and English was the common language. In Qatar and in Egypt, Arabic dominated the playground.

When I was teaching in Bucharest, we did what was "internationally" acceptable or else we followed current practice in the UK. You cannot do this if you are tleaching in a school in the Middle East where most of the students are Muslim. Christmas decorations? Definitely not. Comparative Religions? No way. Once the principal has been on the receiving end of a few angry phone calls from parents, most teachers become very cautious. This has a restricting and deadening effect on your teaching, because you are always looking over your shoulder and worried that you might find yourself in big trouble. (And "Mohammed" is not a good name for your class's teddy bear.)

Abu Dhabi and Sharjah are both big cities, in the same country. (Well, Sharjah is really more or less a suburb of Dubai.) They have a lot of similarities and both of them have some pleasant features. Therefore your future lifestyle and happiness really it depends on which school you are working for.

I would definitely advise against working at a school that does not have "western" administration. State-run schools will be very much under the thumb of the Emirati Ministry of Education, whereas independent schools are, at least in theory, a bit more independent! There are some great schools in the UAE, but unfortunately there are also plenty ofschools that are horrible places to work at. Try to do your homework really thoroughly. Ask some awkward questions and if the principal of this or that school does not give you a straight answer, cross that school off your list. Of course the ISR reviews are helpful, but there is nothing to stop you doing a bit more research on the TES website as well.

I am currently teaching in the UAE, in Ras Al Khaimah. (I have also taught in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.) Send me an e-mail if I can be of any further help.My address is simon_hill81@hotmail.com and I will domy bst to answer any questions you may have.

I used to teach at Newton International School (West Bay). If I can be of any help, send me an e-mail. My address is simon_hill81@hotmail.com and I will do my best to answer any questions you may have.

Funlovin', my wife and I were teaching in Jeddah for a year. E-mail me at simon_hill81@hotmail.com and I will do my best to answer any questions you may have.