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Old Thu 09-Nov-06, 03:07 PM   #3 (permalink)
gfell
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Join Date: May 2005
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Re: Preparing for Challenges?

Rabindro Nath Roy, if you look at Wasim's location flag, you will notice he is in fact in Australia and is preparing to head overseas. He is asking for advice on culture shock when going to teach in a new country.

The classrooms of the west are different to the classrooms of the east. Just take a look at some of the photos at ESL Classroom to get an idea of the atmosphere.

In China you have those HUGE class sizes and possibly with the aid of a Chinese teacher in your class. In Taiwan, there are local teachers assisting native teachers in the same class. In Japan, typically you will be in the class by yourself, however the class sizes are smaller. Unless of course you participate in an ALT program. ALT standing for Assistant Language Teacher, where you would have the assistance of a Japanese native teacher in your class.

As to study hours, many students will spend long hours at "after school classes". Instead of heading home to play a round of cricket or kick a football, many students in Asia will head to a cram school / bushiban / hagwon or equivalent where they study study study into the late evening.

Don't expect your work day to be 9 to 5 as is in the West. You will get home late and possibly have split shifts - a few hours off during the day. I'm trying to paint a realistic picture for you here. Of course, there will always be better and of course worse jobs around.

See Culture Shock for more of an insight.
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