Oops, just realized that I hadn't really answered your question.

I have noticed when I've looked through some staff webpages of different international school websites that some teachers were trained in a different country from their own. For example: I've seen some American and Canadians with Australian Master of Teaching degrees.

You don't have to do your teacher training in your own country. But you do need to make sure that your state/ province will recognize the qualification if you choose to return home and teach. I know someone who did his pgde in Scotland and then returned to Ontario to teach after he finished his program.

I understand where you are coming from as I have taught both in Asia and in Canada. I recommend that you finish your B.Ed. It will open up a lot of doors. I gather from your post that you need to re-do a practicum to complete your B.Ed. I'd suggest that you ask the practicum placement advisor at your university to find you a new school. Many people have had practicums that have not worked out and have gone on to successfully completing a practicum in a new school.

Good luck and I hope everything works out for you.

You need to have a bachelors degree to get an E-2 visa. That visa is for EFL positions but some international schools use that visa too for their teachers.

An E-7 visa is supposed to be the one for certified teachers and other professionals. You need a teaching diploma for that one but I'm not sure whether you need a bachelors too. Check with the Korean Embassy nearest you to see if you need one.

Ichiro- Good idea about opening a third forum devoted to trailing spouses's issue. Perhaps in the meantime we can start a thread devoted to the subject.

Kfssbjj- You are right. One year contracts do have their advantages. I had no problems signing a one year contract when I worked in EFL. The year end bonus and flight money were always nice to get.

Many thanks to all of you for your advice. I will definitely heed it. I'm nit that young and I do have a family. Looks like I am going go have to be patient and apply for positions that start in August.

It is too bad that the pm button does not work on this forum. Goinggoinggone, I did manage to find out about two of the schools from past and present teachers. I think I will give them a miss.

Hi all,

I'm almost finished my B.Ed and will have my k-12 certification in science in January. I've been applying for jobs and have started to get some offers. I'm trying to get a job that starts in January or February. So far, I've had some interest from a couple of international schools in South Korea that are offering 1 year contracts. Is it a good idea to accept a job at an international school that is offering only 1 year contracts and not all the benefits that other international schools offer? I really want to get my foot in the door international school job market but I don't want to sell myself short. Any realistic advice on getting into a good school with no teaching experience besides my practicums in a western curriculum school would be much appreciated.

[quote="markholmes"]A westcoaster who's living in a province? Just finishing up his B.Ed.? Sounds like an SFU person to me.

Have you tried Maple Leaf in China? They pay quite well and only hire Canadians, mostly newly qualified or recently retired.
----://www.mapleleafschools.com/mainpage_english.html[/quote]

Hi Markholmes,

You've got the right province but the wrong uni. I'm attending a university on the big island.

I've been in touch with Maple Leaf Schools already so it is definitely a possibility. Thanks again for mentioning it.

ichiro- Thanks for the reply. Yes, that's right. I will only have my practicum teaching experience but I do have two years of EFL experience. I will be a certified science teacher in my home province. Also, I already have a B.Sc.

I'm more like "early 30 something" with a family in tow which I am beginning to see as a deterrent by prospective employers.

I've sent out a bunch of letters of interest to various international schools in Korea. I plan to follow up these letters with more emails when I have completed my B.Ed. I know that I won't be able to get into a top tier school and am willing to work in lower tier school to get some experience.

If I can't find anything, I'll try to get a teaching job at home and get that valuable home country experience that a lot of good schools want.

From my research as someone with no experience beyond student teaching, I think it is totally possible for you to find a position at an international school. There are schools out there that actually prefer to hire new teachers. The pay and package may not be as good but it is a foot in the door. Start reading the reviews on the pay side of this site. I know that American International School in Hong Kong tend to hire younger teachers. I am sure that there are other schools out there like that too.

Plus, when you apply to various jobs, make sure that you write about your experience as a fitness instructor. You could offer to set up a fitness class or club.

Good luck with your job search. I'm sure you will be able to find a teaching position abroad.

I'm almost finished my B.Ed program and have started my job search. I have signed up with both tieonline and joyjobs. But now I am wondering whether I should also sign up with Search Associates as well to improve my chances. The thing is I want to get an international school job in Korea but will consider other Asian countries. I also don't think I will be able to attend any fairs. Is it still worth it to join Search if I don't plan on going to Any of their fairs? Any advice would be much appreciated.

I've been told that Korean kindergarten within an elementary school is highly structured. I'm not sure about how their behaviour compares to western children of the same age. What I can tell you is what I saw in Korea. I've been in bars where there have been young children running around the bar at midnight. I used to hear children playing outside my apartment after dark. But I cannot say for sure exactly how much freedom Korean children are allowed to have. I'd recommend posting your query on Dave's esl cafe. There are lots of expat parents on that board that actually have their children in the public school system and some in international schools. I think you may get a better answer there.

As for why people hated working at Korean Kindys- They had to change a lot of diapers and clean up accidents, snotty noses etc...

Are you talking about teaching kindy at a hagwon or at an international school? If you are talking about a hagwon, you could end up teaching preschoolers at a low wage. In Korea, you may be told that you are teaching a group of 5 year olds (Korean age) but in reality they are between the western ages of 3 and 4 depending on the time of the year that they were born at. I never taught in a Korean kindy but have had friends that did. Some love it and some hate it. I think Korean kindy is more a preschool and kindy all rolled in one. Sorry, I can't be more of a help.

Markholmes- Thanks for replying. I suspected that only the schools desperate for teachers would contact teachers through the resume bank. Thanks for confirming what I thought.

I'm curious whether anyone has been offered a job after posting their resume on tieonline?