On International Women’s Day, I was a panelist at the Teaching English Abroad program at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Career Services sponsored this talk. In honor of International Women’s Day, the two male speakers asked me to go first. My fellow panelists included Dieter Bruhn, President One World Training, LLC, and Adam H. Lisbon, a board member for JET (The Japan Exchange and Teaching Program) alumni in the Rocky Mountain region and the Japanese Studies and Korean Studies Librarian at the University of Colorado-Boulder.
Dieter talked about a few of his international teaching experiences. He also described the plethora of services that his company provides for prospective international teaching candidates. Adam’s presentation centered on his Japanese teaching experience with JET and important facts about the program. He also included information about being a JET alumni.
I was delighted to share a slide presentation that included pictures from my international teaching position in Bangalore, India. I also talked about a few of my expat experiences. Some of the pictures were included in my award-winning memoir, May This Be the Best Year of Your Life, while others I only share at presentations.
The audience was able to see different aspects of day-to-day life on the school’s campus. Additionally, I talked about the steps that I took to find a teaching position without the help of any organizations or government entities. My adventure was different than most who seek the aid and protection from an established international teaching program.
I offered helpful tips for the interview process and shared appropriate Internet resources for prospective international teachers. Moreover, I addressed some of the pertinent issues that should be considered before signing a contract.
During the last segment, the audience asked the panelists a wide variety of questions.
If you’re contemplating teaching English abroad— don’t hesitate to contact me. I encourage anyone who is the least bit interested to check out all of the available options and talk with as many people as possible.
Related Blogs
10 Responses to My Teaching Abroad
Precautions When Traveling to Third World Countries
8 Tips: Signing an International Teacher Contract
What If Everyone Had the Opportunity to be Literate
An Expat Teaching Moment- Sharing Traditions
Agendas and Multicultural Literature
Sandra’s Bio
Sandra Bornstein is the author of MAY THIS BE THE BEST YEAR OF YOUR LIFE. It is available on Amazon. Sandra’s memoir highlights her living and teaching adventure in Bangalore, India. She is a licensed Colorado teacher who has taught K-12 students in the United States and abroad as well as college level courses. Sandra is married and has four adult sons.
The memoir was a finalist in the Travel category for the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, the 2013 International Book Awards, the 2013 National Indie Book Excellence Awards, the 2013 USA Best Book Awards, and received an Honorable Mention award in the Multicultural Non-Fiction category for the 2013 Global ebook Awards.
If you’re interested in travel, follow Sandra’s latest adventures on Examiner.com.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.