This blog shares my experience of teaching abroad and gives advice to teachers finishing their probation year as well as those who have more experience who would like information about what it’s like to go abroad to teach.
My Story
I did my probation year over 2009-10. It was a time of real uncertainty as many probationers from previous years hadn’t managed to secure permanent employment. I felt like every time I met up with teacher friends there was a murmuring of panic and desperation as we swapped stories of colleagues who had been familiar faces on the supply list for years. I tried to concentrate on passing my probation year, thinking ‘I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.’
The year went on and my long-term relationship came to an end. Soon after this, I began seeing a fellow teacher who I’d trained with. After we had been together for a few weeks, he told me that he had something to tell me. Not quite sure where this was going, I replied ‘Go on…’. He went on to say that he’d been offered a job in Dubai. I remember sputtering ‘But what about me?!’ ‘Come too!’ was his immediate response. Now, had I come across a friend who had been seeing someone for a matter of weeks and decided to move halfway around the world with him, I know exactly what I would have said, but my decision was made in seconds. I would go too.
I spent the next few months combing through advertisements for many different schools. I had interviews in London and over Skype. I got up at 5am because of the time difference. I talked to agencies. I was offered various positions and was rejected from others because I was ‘too Scottish’. Eventually, I landed a job at the same school as my boyfriend after they decided to expand. In late May, it was official: we were moving to Dubai!
Things to Consider
There are many things that you have to consider before making the move abroad. I could list countless pieces of advice, but will keep it to five main points.
- Recruitment
Many schools begin recruiting staff what may seem absurdly early, in November or December, for the following academic year. If you are interested in applying, have a look before Christmas to see what’s out there. Most recruitment will be done in early January and February. Senior leadership teams sometimes travel to meet prospective staff but with the rise in popularity of Zoom and Google Meets, interviews are likely to be conducted online. Don’t panic, however, if you feel you’ve left it too late. Some schools, for many reasons, may still be looking for staff in May and June for September. Because of the nature of these jobs, people may decide not to take up posts or existing staff at the school may have to leave without much notice, so the school has to do recruitment later.
It is also worth noting that in the Southern Hemisphere, the school term runs from January or February to December, which is very different from what we are used to in Scotland.
Something that I was concerned about was the fact that most schools that I applied to followed the National Curriculum of England and Wales, something that I had no experience with. However, having trained in the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence meant that flexibility was ingrained in me! Our head teacher confessed to a group of Scots in our school that he loved how Scottish teachers were trained and always found that they had no problem switching to teaching the National Curriculum whatsoever. I also know Scottish trained teachers who happily changed over to the International Baccalaureate, Australian and even American curriculums.
- Type of School
Do consider the type of school you’d like to work in. Schools come in all different shapes and sizes. There are a plethora of private schools, each with their own unique qualities. There are for-profit and non-for-profit schools, which can make a huge difference. Some schools may have a religious focus. Which curriculum would you like to teach? Think about the facilities in the school and how you fit in. Are you particularly sporty or can you offer a language? Look at school websites and think about what you could offer them.
I worked in the same school as my other half, which is something you may want to consider. Is your partner in education too? Will they be able to find suitable employment in their field if you make the move? I appreciate for some, the thought of working closely beside their partner or spouse may sound claustrophobic but given that the school we worked in had 2500 children, we rarely saw one another during the school day! Teaching couples are an attractive prospect for international schools, so remember you can make a joint application. Another important thing to note is that often unmarried couples cannot legally live together and same-sex relationships may be illegal in some countries. Research your destination and thoroughly check what is and is not acceptable to find somewhere you will be comfortable living.
- The Package
When you work abroad, schools often provide you with accommodation or give you an allowance for you to find your own. Check whether you will be housed with a flatmate or alone. How far is the accommodation from the school and amenities? Will you drive or take public transport? Depending on where you live, you may be able to rely on local transport but in other places, a car may be less a luxury and more a necessity.
You may also be offered money towards bills, flights to your home country once or twice a year and if you have children, you may be entitled to subsidised or even free tuition fees for them. Check if your package includes medical insurance. Different countries have different approaches to medical care and although there can be government hospitals, you may still have to pay to use them.
Research how much you’ll have to earn to have a decent standard of living. I turned down one job as after going through the interview process, the contract stated that it paid half the salary of what other schools were offering. Having done my research, I knew I would have struggled to live on it. Depending on where you are, the cost of living can be very expensive. Although I got my accommodation paid for in the UAE, I paid £100 for a mobile phone contract per month, a box of cereal could easily be £6 and clothes from British high street stores would be double the price in pounds on the tag, so it can quickly add up.
- Don’t Expect It to Be the Same
I think this was something that took me quite a while to grasp. Yes, children are children no matter where you are in the world and skills and qualities can easily be transferred between schools, but you have to remember that things are different abroad.
I arrived in the UAE during Ramadan and was woefully unprepared for it. Not only was it 45 degrees in the shade, but it was illegal to drink water in public before sunset. Eid was called when the moon was sighted and just like that, everyone was on holiday!
I’ll never forget the first few days with my Year 1 class. While reading a book, the children were baffled by one particular picture. It wasn’t until a girl put up her hand and said ‘That’s a radiator. My granny has one in her house in Aberdeen,’ that they could begin to understand what it was. Another child had been to the Maldives for the weekend on his family’s private plane. It was quite a learning curve. I did love how the children embraced their differences and relished talking to one another about their own traditions and culture. One young girl asked to do a class presentation about why she had recently chosen to start wearing a hijab and I had another learner keep us up to date weekly on his progress towards his first Holy Communion. Our Indian community organised Diwali celebrations for the school. One of my favourite memories was looking out into the playground and watching around ten local mums in abayas singing Christmas songs as they decorated trees. The diversity was incredible.
In my school, we had around 90 nationalities and about 50 languages spoken. It is not uncommon for a child to speak a different language with each parent, English at school and in public and then be learning an additional two languages in school too. Having come from very typical Scottish state schools, I found it a complete shock how involved some parents were with their child’s education. In the beginning, I had parents at my door from 7:15am and for up to 45 minutes at pick-up time too. I sometimes felt that their questions were endless and it was incredibly overwhelming trying to keep everyone happy. This eventually died down and on the whole, parents were incredibly supportive and appreciative of teachers.
- Reverse Culture Shock is Real
It’s an incredibly odd feeling to return to your home country and feel like everything and nothing has changed. Life has gone on but you have changed so much. You notice things about home that previously you wouldn’t even have given a second thought to before. I remember a friend sharing with me that she flew back into Glasgow Airport and looked out of the window on the approach and immediately was struck by how green the grass was. Before she knew what was happening, tears were pouring down her face! Driving a manual car on the left, seeing people buying alcohol in a supermarket, seeing gambling adverts on television and the cold of winter were all examples of things that I experienced reverse culture shock with. I left Dubai in the middle of Ramadan one summer and remember how jarring it was for me seeing people eating and drinking during the day once I returned home. I’ve been home for four years and I still cannot bring myself to wear anything to school that doesn’t cover my shoulders and knees.
It’s An Adventure
On my first night in the UAE, I was dropped off at my new apartment at 2 a.m. I rushed outside to my balcony and stood in the humid night air, too excited to even think about sleeping. Thousands of lights glittered all around and I could see the world’s tallest building stretching impossibly tall on the skyline. This was it, the adventure had begun!
I spent my time abroad embracing every opportunity to have a new experience. My advice to anyone thinking of teaching abroad is, if you can, do it. You’ll never regret having that opportunity, even if it’s just for a year or two. It can only enhance your life experience, which in turn will benefit your learners, no matter where you are! Living in a different culture, learning about other people’s way of life is a truly enriching experience.
Be warned though, I now live by this quote:
You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place. – Miriam Adenay
Twinkl Will Travel With You
If you do decide to make the move, remember that Twinkl is here for you wherever you may venture.
Your learners will be fascinated by your accent, where you come from and tales from your homeland. Use this fantastic PowerPoint to show them what Scotland is like!
https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/lets-learn-about-scotland-powerpoint-cfe-ss-383
One of the most fun days of the year in schools abroad is International Day. One of the main reasons for this is being able to taste food from all over the world. Show off what Scotland has to offer with this colourful PowerPoint. It’s very helpful if you’re not able to track down haggis or Irn Bru in your host country!
https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/lets-learn-about-scottish-food-and-drink-powerpoint-cfe-ss-385
One of my learners’ favourite things was learning Scottish words. It always made me smile from ear to ear when I would teach them a colloquial word and hear it repeated in dozens of different accents! Show them how much fun a blether can be while getting to know one another!
There are a huge number of bilingual resources available for your learners to help support those who have English as an additional language in your class or to support children learning the language of their host country.
scoteducation.wordpress.com 