Teaching Abroad

Let’s face it: China is expanding on a global front and fast. China is a big-time player in the world’s economy and the amount of millionaires surfacing here is shooting through the roof. Even though the Chinese are dominating the scene, the likelihood that the rest of the world will jump up and learn Chinese is not that high, however, the Chinese already started years ago sending their children to boarding schools in the US and UK to master the world’s lingua franca.

Hello my name is Emanuel Ruiz and I currently live and work in Shanghai in China.  As most teachers in America know, budget cuts and test results can take the passion out of the teaching profession. I felt overworked and unappreciated.  The lack of job security loomed over me and I was expected to work over 40 hours a week with no compensation.  Finding new employment was a struggle because the US job market was and has been in decline.

So you are contemplating an EFL teaching job or even better, have been offered one!  For many of us 21st century people, the next step is to research your school and where better to look than online forums.  Unfortunately, there’s a lot of negativity out there!  So, here’s where I want to caution you on what I call the Web MD effect: diagnosing an illness based on apparent symptoms.  What could I possibly know about any of this?  Well, I have been a teacher for many years including U.S. public school, and so my … gibberish … detector is pretty strong.  So read on, to see the true, the false, and the meaning of it all.