LLT Reflection

I’ve been envisioning lately what type of school setting I would like to work in when I graduate.  I hear from a lot of people that going to Japan or an Asian country would be a good idea because there is a large demand for English teachers and the pay is reasonable.  I’ve also heard of options within America, where you teach in an area that is heavily populated with international students that do not know how to speak English well.  I think initially I would love to go overseas and teach because of the wide range of opportunities and to experience a new culture.  I wouldn’t really mind where I went, but I would love to go somewhere in Europe.  I would even travel to Africa if an opportunity arose.  

I do, however, have some apprehension about teaching English as a second language.  First off, what if I’m a bad teacher?  What if I know all the material back to front but am lousy at conveying the points to the students?  We have all had bad language teachers, but we’ve also all had good ones.  I think it will be important, once I’m in the teaching field, to look back on the teachers that I had and reflect on what teaching strategies worked best and worst in the classroom.  I am also apprehensive about cultural differences.  Moving to Japan to teach English would be a much greater culture shock than moving to England or somewhere else in the United States.  Not only would I be adjusting to teaching for the first time, but I would be adjusting to a whole new way of life.  That would be super cool, but also scary.  Along with cultural differences come differences in the classroom.  My cousin teaches English in Bahrain and she finds that men do not respect her as a teacher because they do not respect women in that position in their culture.  How do you deal with these cultural differences while trying to exceed at your job as well?  I think it would be an interesting, but intellectual challenge that I’m excited to experience.