Jeff Ferguson, a McMaster alumnus with an Honours BA in philosophy and English, will be leaving for Korea in October 2009 to teach English as a second language. I asked him to tell me about his experience deciding on and planning for the transition.
"How many people can say that they spent a year working abroad?"
Q. Why do you want to teach English abroad?
A. For me, I had no idea what I wanted to do long-term after graduating. I might attend grad school, but I knew that if I did, it wouldn’t be for at least two years after I graduated. I knew that I had to do something in the meantime, and a friend who was going to Korea to teach English suggested that I apply for it too. I looked into it, and it seemed like a really good idea. Travelling and working abroad has always interested me, and this was a very easy way to do it.
Q. How did you decide on Korea?
A. I know that some people do Japan, some Taiwan, etc., but I think I just chose Korea because I knew a couple of friends who were also going there. I then found out I actually have a lot of friends who are doing this too, and luckily enough, at least four in the same city as me. It’ll be really nice to know people who are undergoing the same thing.
Q. Why did you decide to teach abroad at this time in your life: do you see a benefit in doing this after having graduated, or had you not thought about it seriously before?
A. I hadn’t seriously thought about this until February when it was suggested by a friend. But yeah, I can see a lot of benefits — teaching experience is always good. It will be very good work experience, too. How many people can say that they spent a year working abroad? It’s a full-time paying job, too, so I guess it’s pretty cool that I have that guaranteed for 12 months after graduating.
Q. What certification do you need to do this? How did you obtain it?
A. Really, anyone with a post-secondary degree can do it. I have a degree in English which puts me one step above the competition — most people who have a degree in something else have to take a TESL (Teach English as a second language) course if they want to receive the same pay that someone with a degree in English will.
Q. What are some potential challenges you can foresee?
A. Where to start? Culture shock, homesickness, not knowing the Korean language… and that doesn’t even begin to cover the actual job. Teaching a group of children is always a challenge; add on the fact that I’m not fluent in their language and they’re not in mine… yeah, it’ll be tough.
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