5 Reasons to Teach Abroad

Teaching abroad has been around for years, but recently it has become more and more popular. Now more than ever University students are spending their summers or initial post-graduate years teaching english in Europe, Asia, etc. Regardless if you're an education major, communications major (comme moi), biology major, or art history major, teaching english abroad is something you can do, because guess what...you are a native english speaker.

Teaching your native language abroad is more about conversation and using your native accent than actually knowing how to handle a classroom and create lesson plans (& trust me, you get the hang of it). While it is becoming more common, there are still a lot of unanswered questions people have in regards to the process and whether or not it is worth it. Many people are scared it will ruin their CV/Resume and chances at a career later. or that it will look like a gap year. Contrary to popular belief, this year was the furthest thing from a gap year. As cheesy at it may sound, this year was more of a learning experience for me and the other assistants than it was for the kids (though their english has improved greatly).

I recently wrote a blog post about possible programs in France and mentioned some others throughout Europe and across the world as well. I mentioned that the experience was worth it and that it was nothing but rewarding, for both myself and my resume. There are many positive benefits that HR personnel and companies will see when they realize you picked up and moved across the ocean to a foreign country with a foreign language and did something completely new. However, aside from how companies and others will perceive you, I have a plethora of reasons you should teach abroad...and I am giving you 5.

1. Exudes Confidence
This is probably the most true of all 5 reasons, and it was one that I didn't even comprehend until other people told me. But you are physically taking yourself out of a comfortable situation and putting yourself into something completely new and unknown. You truly need a lot of confidence to do that. You need the confidence in yourself to move somewhere foreign by yourself without knowing anyone; the confidence to speak and learn another language; the confidence to do all administrative work (apartment searching, opening a bank account, a phone line, buying insurance, etc) by yourself, and the list goes on. You can prove to yourself and others that you are confident enough to adapt to new and foreign situations and will make the best of it.

2. Shows Independence
This is a given...you're leaving your friends, family, dogs, to go move to a place where you know absolutely no one. I hadn't even heard of Angers before I moved here. I have a cousin in Barcelona but that requires an hour plane ride. Regardless, you are moving somewhere by yourself and taking care of everything by yourself. No matter how much you prefer the comfort of other people, this experience shows you than you accomplish so many things independently.

3. Language skills
If you're living in a country that lives and breathes another language than you're use to, you will pick it up. Even when I studied abroad in Florence, Italy, I picked up some Italian without ever studying it before and not needing it in Florence because everyone speaks english. In Angers, the story was a bit different. People do not speak english in Angers, nor are they required to. It is not enough of a touristy city that they will need to accommodate Americans traveling through. Because of this, my french went from barely useable to extremely proficient and passable in almost every situation (even getting my haircut!). I personally LOVE having another language under my belt and prefer speaking French a lot of the time. This also is an obvious resume booster and can qualify you for many things that other people would not be able to do.

4. International Experience
Aside from the fact I read a lot of job descriptions that say, "international experience required/preferred", this is just a personal benefit. It took me 20 years before I left the country and there was so much I was completely ignorant about. I never really experienced other cultures, languages, or people, and boy was I missing out. One of the things that draws me back to Europe time and time again is that I can just walk down my street and experience Italy, or go the other direction and find myself in a Spanish neighborhood, or in a Turkish area, etc. I am constantly surrounded by other cultures and continuously learning more and more. I personally love when I am walking down the street and hear French, Spanish, German, Italian, Czech, English, Japanese, or any other language you can imagine.

5. Personal Experience
You're going to look back on the experience forever and cherish every second. If you're even remotely thinking about doing this I extremely encourage it or just at least really encourage you to think deeply about following through. I know for sure that if I turned down this opportunity I would have regretted it for the rest of my life.

I could go on and on about this experience and I'm sure if you know me and will see me, I will go on and on about it. There is just something about the other side of the world that really gets to me and I love sharing that with other people as well. I was happy to finally share the places and the cultures I love with my family last month, and I think it helped them understand my passion a little but more. Personally, I believe this is such a fulfilling and rewarding experience both personally and professionally. These are just a few of the things you gain while you're here, and I hope I encouraged more of you to think harder about this opportunity.

À bientot,
Libby