Category: TEACHERS ABROAD BLOG

Introducing our latest teacher interview. This time we interviewed Alexander Lewandowski, an American teacher hailing from Illinois who took the right steps to teach English abroad in Taipei, Taiwan.

The best kind of teachers are the ones that can recognize their mistakes and grow from them. After all, teaching is a huge learning curve, even the most experienced teacher can be presented with a new situation in which to grow from. Getting feedback from students is the best way to see where you are going wrong, but gaining that feedback isn’t always easy especially in a country like South Korea where challenging authority is often culturally inappropriate.

In some students’ minds, “substitute teacher” is synonymous with “blow-off class.” We all remember having those substitute teachers who would turn on a video and retreat to the back of the classroom. Don’t let that be the case if you find yourself subbing.

China is definitely high on the list of places where you will experience culture shock. Here are nine moments of culture shock I experienced in China when I first got here.

Taking a deep breath, I instantly recognized the salty undertones of the scent of a port city. The ocean has a certain calming effect, even when we can’t see it, and Busan is a city under its spell.

It wasn’t too long ago that I, like many others, trembled at the thought of standing in front of a crowd of strangers. Now I do it for a living. Not only that, but half the time, those strangers are kids.

If there’s one thing that all teachers abroad eventually learn it’s that kids will be kids no matter the country. Most people have this idea that children in Asia are kind, smart, and never, ever cause a lick of trouble. I’ll give you one good guess which of these qualities isn’t always true.

Teaching private lessons is a great way to make some supplemental income, and it’s a lot of fun – but if you’ve mostly taught in a classroom, you’ll find that there’s a big difference when it comes to keeping a one-on-one lesson interesting and engaging – not to mention managing your time and payment.