There is a Berlitz Language School just down the street from where I live. It kind of surprised me when I saw it. When I think of language schools, I think of Taiwan or China, not the United States. Americans want to learn languages too, and Americans, believe it or not, want to learn English. Austin has a very large Asian and Hispanic community, and I'm sure they make up a great portion of the adults wanting to learn English.
So I began to think to myself: should I go back to teaching?
When I left Taiwan, I was a bit burned out with teaching. But a school like Berlitz is adults only, no annoying children. So I began to seriously consider it. My previous experience with Berlitz was in Hsinchu, Taiwan, and I turned down their job offer (something I wrote about more extensively on my other blog). Basically I didn't feel like I could work with the manager there. He seemed just a bit too uptight for me.
If I taught English again, the job would only be part-time in the evenings, and I'd probably have to give up my full-time hospital job. It would seem foolish to give up a full time job for a part time job, wouldn't it? Well, if I gave up the full time job, I'd be watching the kids all day, then going to work at night. If we didn't have to pay for daycare, and I worked part time at night, we would actually make more money than if I continued working full time. Crazy, isn't it? That's just how it works out. Of course, once the kids start going to public school and we don't have to pay these insane day care fees, then everything will change.
I haven't yet decided if I want to give up the hospital job. It's not a bad job, but it's not what I would call a "dream job" either. I certainly wouldn't miss waking up at 5am every morning. The big question is, though, can I handle watching these two kids all day?
(Picture: Berlitz Language School)
You may find the Berlitz method of teaching an exercise in monotony. As a teacher there, you would be required to meticulously follow a set of lesson protocols when teaching. To insure that you follow the rules, your classes will be randomly recorded and without you knowing when they are doing it. Your supervisor will then listen to it and determine if you're sticking with the game plan or not. A nitpicking boss in this scenario is a drag.
ReplyDeleteYou are probably right. That is why I turned them down the first time they offered me a job in Taiwan. I got very bad vibes from the manager there and I felt that he and I would not see eye to eye on anything.
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