The Easy to Follow Guide To International Schools For Teachers Seeking Overseas Employment #2

English Speaking ‘International’ Schools

Some schools do not do a very good job of being an "international" school, instead they should be called English Speaking Schools. In fact, many schools springing up in the Middle East do call themselves just that because most of the students are local.

The student body of a genuine international school usually comes from outside the school’s host country. If the majority of the student body is local to the host country, then surely that negates it being an ‘international’ school? Simply on the grounds that it's practically a mono-cultural school.

Many international schools put a limit on the proportion of students that can come from the host country. These international schools often have a waiting list for local students.

The good, the bad and the ugly of English Speaking ‘International’ Schools…

The Good is that once again, there are a lot of them around, all looking for international teachers.

The Bad is that instead of enjoying a multi-cultural classroom with students that are enthusiastic and all have different experiences to bring to class discussions. You will be teaching wealthy children who possibly have no concept of what it is like to have to do things like chores and who may not have any concept of the real world.

The Ugly is that you will be teaching a class full of students who will share a common language that you don’t understand, mono-lingual classes being taught subject specific content in a language that isn’t their own can be a real struggle. You are not going into international teaching to work harder than you do at home!

English Speaking International Schools