Stanford Tesol

Singapore is the world’s only island city-state and is located on the tip of the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia. The city was founded as a British trading post by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819 and continues to be an important center or global trade and investment today and it is one of the original “Asian Tigers” alongside Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan. A population of over five and a half million people lives side-by-side on an area of 277 square miles and sixty-three islands. Although the city is highly urbanized, with the majority of people living in high-rise apartment buildings, the government’s “Garden City” policy has created beautiful tree-lined street and there are plenty of green spaces to enjoy. Singapore has a long history of immigration, with the British...  [Read more]

South Asia contains a contrasting array of different countries and different cultures. The incredibly wealthy state of Brunei stands in stark contrast to the poverty of Bangladesh and Pakistan. India, Sri Lanka and Nepal offer stunning natural beauty unsurpassed in the region. In all of these countries English is the de facto second language, and in countries like India it is the medium of instruction in many schools. Again contrast is the keynote here. Brunei requires that prospective teachers wishing to teach in state or private schools have a TESOL certificate, a PGCE and an undergraduate degree, and two years’ teaching experience. With all of the other countries a TESOL certificate alone will do fine. With language institutes you can, in the main, expect to find yourself teaching...  [Read more]

With a landmass of Germany, France and Italy combined this country, on the highest plateau in the world has exercised a fascination in travellers for centuries. It is only since 1986 that the country has been officially ‘open’, and indeed Beijing still holds sway over what, in China, is officially known as the Xizang province. Buddhism is the major religion practiced in the region. The population is a little over two millions, making this one of the most sparsely populated regions on earth - about one person for every 2.3 kilometres. Teaching here is more for those seeking a life experience than great financial reward. It is very difficult to get a work permit for Tibet, and notoriously difficult to get visa extensions. Hence many people go in on the look to voluntary organisation to...  [Read more]

This region, encompassing Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam offers a wealth of different experiences. Highly developed Malaysia and Singapore, stand in stark contrast to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, whom only relatively recently normalised their relationships with the US. You can expect Islam and Buddhism, communism and capitalism. It really is a fascinating region where you have to learn to expect the unexpected! The market for teachers is both phenomenal and varied in nature. Malays seek to send their children to university in English-speaking countries; in Singapore, English is the lingua franca of commerce, and dexterity is seen as a must. In Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam there is huge demand for TESOL teachers due to the inrush of western development capital, and the...  [Read more]

Indonesia has placed the turmoil of the nineties firmly in the past. The currency has now stabilized, and once again Indonesia is a hot destination for TESOL teachers. The archipelago is a world of contrast. Rapidly evolving big cities, stand in stark contrast to the seldom travelled, unspoilt, tropical wilderness. Home to a wealth of cultures, the colors, smells, and the people all make for a kaleidoscope experience. A population of two-hundred and thirty four millions fit into a landmass of seven-hundred and forty thousand square miles. Indonesian is the official language, with Javanese, Sudanese and English spoken by a minority, though one shouldn’t expect English to be widely spoken outside of the big cities. It is a predominantly Muslim country, with a minority of Hindi devotees,...  [Read more]

China is not so much a country as a huge world in its own right. The ambition of the nation is to be the world’s largest economy, and most educated observers expect that it is only a matter of time before this aspiration is met. But it is not simply the economic dynamism and the strange contrast of cultures that draws the traveler. Thousands of years of history, philosophy and culture are clearly evident, and in a sense all of the political events of the 20th century, are merely a grain of sand on the beach of Chinese history. Cantonese and Mandarin are the official languages; however, in a country of around one point three billion spread over nearly four million square miles, there is a cornucopia of different dialects and idioms. The reality is that Cantonese will serve you well in...  [Read more]

Japan can present the traveller with a bewildering combination of culture, manners, beauty, architecture and personalities. Whether one goes to Fuji San - mount Fuji, to admire it’s serene beauty, or one parties all night long in Roppongi - the nightclub district of Tokyo, one is constantly taken aback and presented with the unexpected. At times a shade frustrating, such as when you are on a train so crowded that you go three stops past the one you wanted because you cannot move. Hence, the ‘gaijin’, or foreigner learns to laugh about these things and accepts them as a part of life. A population of one-hundred and twenty seven millions is jammed into a landmass of one-hundred and forty five square miles. Indeed, the population density in the big cities is amazing. The official...  [Read more]