Happier Abroad Forum Community

I think he's happier in Thailand.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9ZCPdVCMKc[/youtube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9ZCPdVCMKc

I teach English in Brazil. I like what I do and I love the work environment. It pays me enough to support myself and my wife. I think I think I'm just lucky to have found a good school to teach at. The first school that initially hired me sucked. Teaching English has its pros and cons. It depends on many different things.

Well having done my CELTA last year I am now working in a language school in the UK...

Oh the irony!!!

I'm not a teacher though, I'm not even working for them - they just have some office space I'm using.

My general feeling is that I just don't fit in with other teachers. I was more at home in my last job (working for a law firm).

Ryan Boundless compares living in Japan to living in Thailand.
Dreamcrusher: When Your Sick Sense of "Normal" Gets This Bad . . .

He seems especially bitter about Japan. However, he is the one who chose to live in a country he didn't like for 16 years and do a job he didn't like for 16 years.

Teaching is like being in the army, you are either suited to it or you aren't, you know pretty quickly 'on the job' whether you are suited to it or you aren't.

There are tons of opportunities if you are ambitious and are willing to invest in further qualifications. Get a teaching license - you don't have to go back
to your home country - you can get one in Hong Kong or Singapore for a good price, get a masters degree. You can work for the British Council, there are more and more joint venture universities popping up by the year.

If you stick at teaching (long term) though you hate it - then you are an idiot.

If you sit on a BA in xyz then complain when you are replaced after 10 years by some blond cute lady with big tits who has just graduated from university in a degree in BA xyz then you are an idiot.

You can make a decent living out of it, but you have to invest in yourself.

If you try it out and find it isn't for you - then go and find something else, but the Far East has enough brain surgeons, plumbers, electricians and chefs of their own, they do actually need English teachers.

Word of warning. English teaching is one of those jobs that is highly vulnerable to replacement by computers.

The good news is that globalization is continuing and international arbitrage will continue to offer opportunities for another century at least. Business thinking is one of the last things that will be automated, because it involves so much human creativity. We don't even know how to define it, much less program a computer to do it. So those of you currently teaching English, take advantage of being overseas to make connections and look for ways to get into business of some sort eventually.

retiredfrank wrote:Word of warning. English teaching is one of those jobs that is highly vulnerable to replacement by computers.

The good news is that globalization is continuing and international arbitrage will continue to offer opportunities for another century at least. Business thinking is one of the last things that will be automated, because it involves so much human creativity. We don't even know how to define it, much less program a computer to do it. So those of you currently teaching English, take advantage of being overseas to make connections and look for ways to get into business of some sort eventually.

It is a good point, well done Frank!

Technology has made great inroads into language learning as it is, I am learning Chinese and learning characters has been far more effective on a computer than it would be with a real teacher in front of me, to learn what characters I have learned with a computer would have took probably six to seven months with a Chinese teacher, sure, there are books where you can learn characters but with technology, it is far easier and of course far more accessible than carrying around lumpy books all day. I use 'Memrise' and it is brilliant.

There is no real excuse NOT to learn a language, a lot of material out there is free, especially if you have an internet connection and there is so much material and free courses that you can make great inroads.

I think teachers (obviously) have a role to play - especially in advanced learning of a language. But for sure, can technology put actual teachers to the kerb and the answer is of course 'yes' but that could be said for most subjects such as maths, physics, history, geography. It isn't confined to just language learning.

yick wrote:

retiredfrank wrote:Word of warning. English teaching is one of those jobs that is highly vulnerable to replacement by computers.

The good news is that globalization is continuing and international arbitrage will continue to offer opportunities for another century at least. Business thinking is one of the last things that will be automated, because it involves so much human creativity. We don't even know how to define it, much less program a computer to do it. So those of you currently teaching English, take advantage of being overseas to make connections and look for ways to get into business of some sort eventually.

It is a good point, well done Frank!

Technology has made great inroads into language learning as it is, I am learning Chinese and learning characters has been far more effective on a computer than it would be with a real teacher in front of me, to learn what characters I have learned with a computer would have took probably six to seven months with a Chinese teacher, sure, there are books where you can learn characters but with technology, it is far easier and of course far more accessible than carrying around lumpy books all day. I use 'Memrise' and it is brilliant.

There is no real excuse NOT to learn a language, a lot of material out there is free, especially if you have an internet connection and there is so much material and free courses that you can make great inroads.

I think teachers (obviously) have a role to play - especially in advanced learning of a language. But for sure, can technology put actual teachers to the kerb and the answer is of course 'yes' but that could be said for most subjects such as maths, physics, history, geography. It isn't confined to just language learning.

Even though you're going at my companyero Tapatio89 a bit, I will concur with you about how people don't take advantage of learning a f***ing new idioma. Me vuelvo loco!!!! Notice how people stopped calling the Internet the "Information superhighway" for a few years now. U.S. people are so dumbed-down now that they use it for social media more than a learning tool. If it weren't for the Internet, I'd be lost in life. This website saved my life as well as AWS and Nice Guy MGTOW. Okay now back to la guerra, you mariconanzo you. Jajajajajajaa