Niece says she wants to teach English overseas

[ArcticDriver]

Japan or ROK.

I have probably spoken to atleast 60 English teachers over the years in Asia/SEAsia and these are the only two countries to consider.

She won't be in Kansas anymore.

Developing Asian countries have horrible educational systems and much more concerning is an almost systemic misogynist attitude towards women in general. It may not be PC to say so but a single young woman coming home alone after a few drinks during a dinner out with friends runs a very real risk of assault and there is emergency services like we think of in developed nations. Even taxis are not safe.

Japan or ROK only. The connections made in these two first world countries can develop into positive lifetime career options.

The other countries? Just sn excuse for college grads to go party under the pretense of saving the world to the folks back home.

 

[ArcticDriver]

A clarification of my above:

Emergency Services Infrastructure like we take for granted in First World Countries does not exist outside of Japan and ROK. Calling the police in times of emergency does not result in an immediate response by Law Enforcement. There is no safety net of that sort and the best way to describe it is that when things do go wrong in these destinations then there is the likelihood they will go very wrong.

 

[PandaBear]

Junk school / diploma mills don't hire foreigners to teach English, they usually hire low end college graduates of their own for that.

Most foreign English teachers end up in higher end schools, like private school for the well offs (International schools), mainly for the accents and "cultural" part of the language (slang, for examples, are not in text books), as well as forcing the students to actually USE English in class instead of their own language for convenience.

Have a friend who taught elementary school oversea after graduating in the US. He's been there for 17 years now as a sole bread winner for a family of 5. It makes a comfortable in Asian standard, probably close enough to rural US standard of living financial wise. You won't get rich doing that, but won't starve. He was a minister on the side and use this as an opportunity for religious outreach, so he's pretty happy with how it turns out.

The real money is in tutoring, parents pay big money for the best tutoring to get their kids a competitive edge, or get around bad teachers in school.

 

[Mr Nice]

Everyone, thanks for the great info.

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: ArcticDriver
Japan or ROK.

I have probably spoken to atleast 60 English teachers over the years in Asia/SEAsia and these are the only two countries to consider.

She won't be in Kansas anymore.

... much more concerning is an almost systemic misogynist attitude towards women in general. It may not be PC to say so but a single young woman coming home alone after a few drinks during a dinner out with friends runs a very real risk of assault and there is emergency services like we think of in developed nations.




I don't think this is generally true in Taiwan, except possibly the emergency services thing, a bit. (Ambulance drivers are reputedly without paramedic training).

I don't now know any Western women here to get current confirmation of that specific perspective, but, apart from the driving, Saturday night on the street is without doubt A LOT safer than it is in any urban area where I'm from, and I'd guess where you're from too.

(I am from Scotland)

 

[ArcticDriver]

Originally Posted By: Ducked
Originally Posted By: ArcticDriver
Japan or ROK.

I have probably spoken to atleast 60 English teachers over the years in Asia/SEAsia and these are the only two countries to consider.

She won't be in Kansas anymore.

... much more concerning is an almost systemic misogynist attitude towards women in general. It may not be PC to say so but a single young woman coming home alone after a few drinks during a dinner out with friends runs a very real risk of assault and there is emergency services like we think of in developed nations.




I don't think this is generally true in Taiwan, except possibly the emergency services thing, a bit. (Ambulance drivers are reputedly without paramedic training).

I don't now know any Western women here to get current confirmation of that specific perspective, but, apart from the driving, Saturday night on the street is without doubt A LOT safer than it is in any urban area where I'm from, and I'd guess where you're from too.

(I am from Scotland)



I was not considering Taiwan as we don't have business interests there. I was thinking of the emerging economies.

Thank you for pointing that out.

OP,
Personally, I find the Japanese culture to be the best and would offer the best long term professional opportunities.

 

[ArcticDriver]

Here is a thought provoking chart on global corruption by country.

This will give you an idea of the rule of law and how much it will and won't protect you.

After all, a corrupt police force will be bribed by the assailant who robbed and harmed your loved one. I see it frequently.

https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2016

 

[PandaBear]

The chances of a woman getting mugged or worse in the "developed" part of Asia (Taiwan, S Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong) are much lower than in the US urban city.

 

[ArcticDriver]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
The chances of a woman getting mugged or worse in the "developed" part of Asia (Taiwan, S Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong) are much lower than in the US urban city.




There is a risk of comparing "apples to oranges" in your comparison since crime statistics are dependent on identical definitions of the various crimes such as Sexual Assault and also require an identical reporting system. There are even cultural differences which might make victims less inclined to report the crime compared to the US such as privacy rights and confidentiality and how families view the matter should there be a risk they find out. In many parts of Asia, sexual assault is very much under-reported.

Even US "urban city" is vague since there are various demographics within any US urban city and there are some neighborhoods with very high crime rates but other areas where such assaults would be nearly non-existent. For example, Chicago has a very high gun crime rate but you could walk throughout much of the city at night and the risk of being shot is minimal.

Lastly, how do cultural differences affect the emergency services response once a crime is reported? Is language going to be a barrier? How much is this going to prevent a timely response when minutes count? This is much less likely to occur for an English speaking American in America.

The main thing is that the family of a recent grad who has limited time spent overseas is wise to consider these risks and mitigate them as much as possible rather than assume its like back home.

If Mr Nice's niece does travel overseas to teach English, I would strongly encourage her family to purchase a medical evacuation policy such as "MedJet Assist".