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English Language Teaching and Learning

Living in Asia

Jobs and Work in Asia: What to expect

There'll be problems, including in English Teaching, but how you handle it, determines how big of an issue it becomes

There's a few possible reasons for problems

• Different cultural expectations

• (Mis)communication problems

• Homesickness / Culture shock

Different cultural expectations:

• No slackers: They employed us to just work, and work as hard as we can.

• No half-arsed efforts: We usually earn twice more than they do. In Taiwan and Japan, foreign teachers can earn twice what the branch manager does; so expect a little friction if you don't pull your weight.

• Work place culture: Especially for those fresh out of university, we might have been loaded with cultural baggage about 'the ideal world', which isn't realistic, and only applies to your university professor's idea of what Western cultural workplaces should be like.

• Wherever you are in Asia, you can't change the entire country to suit your image of the 'ideal workplace', just do the best job you can, make yourself indispensable and irreplaceable, and they'll listen to you more often.

• Especially for teachers, students expect you to be perky and energetic; no whiners, complainers, or manic-depressives.

Communication problems, usually it's both sides that are somehow at fault. It's difficult for most Asian countries to learn English, and so what seems like a request to us, might actually be a softened demand. For instance, a manager might ask, 'Can you teach pronunciation?' Double check what he or she means, is it compulsory or an enquiry, is it about a planned pronunciation class, for a particular student, for all classes, or something else. Get specific information, come up with your own ideas, and run these across your manager before implementing, so he or she can correct any misunderstanding.

The other thing is, because of Confucianism, they are not confrontationists. That is, don't go looking for arguments or fights, as you'll be seen as having lost control and your demand for regaining control would be permanently lost. If you already have, just apologise, and get back to work. Don't create or maintain an atmosphere of hostility, as it will polarise staff and local teachers against you, and you'll have no supporters.

Stress, be like a goldfish, have a three second memory on things that bother you; like water off a ducks back, don't let things bother you. Otherwise, before you know it, you're pissed off because someone stood in your way, or someone bought the last soy sauce bottle or something.

Homesickness and culture shock, click on the link.

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