It’s been so long since I blogged, I had to blow the dust off it.

The latest, greatest scheme of mine (it seems as if they change every few weeks) is to work at getting to teach English as a Second Language. I’m not 100% sure how this came about, but within the past few months, I started getting the idea that people who go overseas to teach English, might not necessarily know the language of the country they are teaching in. I still don’t know if that’s true or not, but from stuff I’ve read on the web, it sounds like it isn’t required. It seems counterintuitive, but some of the TESL/TESOL/TEFL jobs sites I looked at had listings that specifically said the only language the teacher had to know was English. Most of the listings required TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) certifications, but some didn’t even require that. Some schools offered their own “quickie” certification courses. The big thing they seem to want is native English speakers.
IUPUI offers has a certificate program and a MA in English with a TESOL certification, and since I’m an IU employee, I could use the Fee Courtesy benefit to work on this. I’ve been looking into it over the past week or so. It looks like the MA program would require an extra year or so, but an MA with certification pays better than a Bachelor’s degree with certification. It’s kind of a fun idea, though I don’t know how serious it will be until I start taking the classes. One of the required classes is a practicum, which I assume is actual teaching.

The idea of going to another country and living there for awhile (as opposed to a vacation) is an exciting one, though there’s a bit of trepidation, too. If you don’t know the language, it’s probably sink or swim. I’m not sure why I’m fascinated by the idea, though if I had to guess, I would probably say that it’s because the two industries I worked in that I most liked (bicycles and clothing) have many factories overseas. Maybe it would be a good way to get a shoe-in-the-door (so to speak) by already being over there. Probably not. Also, by already being over there, and hopefully learning the language, I might be able to help out with translation. I looked at the English versions of some foreign websites, and even some of the English language schools needed some help with their English.

Anyway, I don’t know how far this will go. I did find some blogs of people teaching overseas, which I will post here later. I also plan on updating this website to the current version of WordPress and changing the theme (I’m getting a bit tired of this default theme). But, I’m a slasker, so it may be a little while.