Welcome to ESLpedia.com!
Your one-stop source for information on ESL teaching locations world-wide
The goal of this page is to make life a little easier for people who have decided to work overseas teaching English. I am currently living and working with my wife in Cheongju, South Korea, and one of the biggest challenges involved in our choosing the right contract for us was trying to learn more about the city we'd be living in.
Our options were limited to asking people that we knew who had done this sort of thing before (a very limited demographic), and searching online for forums where we could ask questions. The problem we found with the former was that (surprisingly enough) there are more cities in the world than people that we know who have taught ESL abroad. The problem with the latter was that while we usually got feedback eventually, the results depended on waiting for people to eventually check the messages, and if they had lived and worked in the applicable city, waiting for them to respond, which they usually did in a helpful way, but sometimes even then the reports we got weren't entirely helpful.
That was when I got the idea for this site. I want to make this a place where people can come and look up their city and instantly get access to first-hand accounts of what life is like as a foreigner and an English teacher. Everything from transportation information, night life, the level of culture shock and "sticking out like a sore thumb"ness that you can expect, and anything else that anyone would find helpful. For now, the links to the left go nowhere, but eventually, they'll lead to a wealth of invaluable information on your future home.
There is, however, a catch. All of this depends on reaching people, and getting them to submit their reports. This is where you (and your friends, and their friends, etc) come in. I want you to imagine that a friend of yours has just asked you about what life is like in a city where you have lived as a foreigner. Think of all the information that you'd give them and type that up in a e-mail to me, specifying the city, region and country you're talking about. If it's a larger city (Seoul for instance) it would be helpful if you could narrow it down a bit more by giving me the specific area within the city. For example, you may want to talk about any of the following:
- How much of a language barrier is there? What languages should you either know or be prepared to learn?
- What is the foreigner community like (if there is one)?
- What kind of local attitudes toward foreigners are most prevalent?
- How safe is it? Is it the kind of place where you can wander around alone at 3am or should you be in bed by dusk?
- Anything else you can think of, just BE SPECIFIC!
Also, be sure to include your name (you can let me know if you want to remain anonymous), when you lived in your city, and how long you stayed.
Eventually, I'd like to have links to the individual cities' websites, as well as a picture gallery for each country (and possibly city if things take off), but that all depends on how many people actually use this site, and that all depends on how useful it is, and that all depends on you! So, if you've ever lived abroad, and you have some experience to share, please use the link on the left, and e-mail me your story. I'll look over it, and organize all the e-mails I receive and once I get a few, I'll start putting them up for the whole world to see.
Thank you for all your help!