Late in the afternoon John Bacon’s students begin to get aggravated with their English teacher. But their teacher is quick to remind them that if they have a bad attitude it’s not going to be a fun class.
“Most of the days are good,” Bacon said. “The kids can be frustrating sometimes but I’m frustrating to them and we try to work around that,” he said.
The children leave at 6pm and Bacon heads home to drop off some belongings. His love for Korean food has caused him to cook less in his new home country so he opts for his favorite restaurant. While it might remind him of a good old-fashioned U.S. diner, the menu is quite different and less expensive.
“Dinners are incredibly cheap and you get a lot of food. Ill get a bowl of bibimbap, which means mixed rice with vegetables and spicy sauce, and then they’ll bring up some miso soup and some side dishes with that, for about 4,000 won which is only $3.80,” Bacon said. “So I eat out… a lot.”
Bacon seems to live the life of a young average American, and yet he is living abroad in Korea teaching young children English.
“Originally the very first reason [I left for Korea] was that I was having a lot of difficulty finding employment fresh out of college,” Bacon said.
Like many graduates, Bacon was faced with rising unemployment rates which left him jobless and forced him to find other sources of income. That search ultimately led him to teach English as a second language overseas.
“At first I was intimidated about teaching ESL but the more I read on it the more interested I got and the offer sold me,” Bacon said.
And more recent graduates are going the same route. The opportunity to live abroad, study a new culture, and most importantly make money is attracting more recent grads. The Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Institute is a school that helps young adults to get certified to teach and find a job abroad.
Established just five years ago, the TEFL Institute vows to take English worldwide. The program certifies adults to teach English abroad in foreign countries. Through online and on campus classes, the institute certifies 1500 students yearly and has over 25 locations all over the world, with their Chicago location as its headquarters.
The institute registers students all year round and currently has students ranging from ages 18 to 80. Vice President of the TEFL Institute, Bruce Jones explained that enrollment has doubled every single year since opening, and has about 125 students per month compared to only 80 last year.
“Since November of 2008 when the whole finical meltdown happened, we started getting a lot of people who were in real estate who could not sell anything,” Jones said.
Once enrolled at TEFL, students must complete 100 hours of class time as well as 20 hours of student teaching in order to become certified. The students are trained in language and teaching methodology, grammar, teaching speaking skills and many other subjects in order to be fully prepared for their job overseas.
“Basically the students eat and breath TEFL during their intensive certification course,” said Lauren Baker, a marketing specialist for TEFL and former ESL teacher.
Baker went through the TEFL program and taught in Chile for a year. She says that the benefits from teaching abroad vary from country to country, but a common thread ESL teachers have is passion for traveling.
“I went when I graduated college at 22 and was having a great time going out and traveling, while spending everything I earned” Baker said. “But you have a different mentality while abroad that you want to do as many things as you can.”
But first the new teachers need to land a job. After being certified, TEFL shows students how to interview, write cover letters, create resumes, and other skills regarding future employment that can be found through the TEFL job bank. Advisors also give students tools to have a successful experience as well as help them decide what location would be best for them.
“Our job is kind of like parents,” Jones said. “We train them to be independent, but they will always have support. The schools overseas also give them orientations which answer all of the questions they may have such as where is the closest grocery store.”
Kate Bek is a newly certified ESL teacher and published writer. She will be leaving for China this June.
“The recession in the US was a huge part of my reevaluation of career path,” Bek said. “I plan to stay for one school year – August through June, but I never know if the wind will keep me longer. I am not yet nervous – more so excited and focusing on arranging my life in accordance with leaving it all behind for a year,” she said.
Jones says that American English teachers typically teach for one year overseas before coming back to the states, as only one percent stay long term. And while the unique job opportunity offers many things to learn and see while teaching overseas, as to be expected there are some things to be missed.
“I miss my friends and my family, I don’t really miss the U.S. so much” Bacon said. “I don’t miss the scene of going out in the U.S. because it not to much different over here, but when I read about get-togethers and things it kind of hurts, because you can’t go even if you wanted to,” he said.
However while many recent graduates are waking up on their parents’ couch, Bacon is just getting to bed under Korean skies. “If you have a good attitude about it you will have a blast” Bacon said. “You can travel, experience new culture and the food is enough for me to come back to Korea.”
