What’s Hard About Returning Home Post-TEFL?

Over on Dave’s ESL Cafe, we’re discussing The End of TEFL, which is a bit of a misnomer in that the real discussion, as pops up from time to time, is what happens when you go home?

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=46308

People generally divide into two camps on this issue. One group holds that your time abroad is seen as valueless back home (a group dominated by Americans and Brits I think) and that you’ll be at a serious disadvantage in the job market.

The other group tends towards idealism, believing that multi-culturalism and the communication skills gained from working abroad in other cultures will be of great value in the job market upon returning (a group dominated by Canadians and many Americans).

I find myself somewhere in the middle of the argument. I think that if you spend your time abroad wastefully or only mildly productively, you will be at a disadvantage upon returning home. It’s not enough to passively learn another language or about another culture. You have to remain actively engaged in your personal and professional development. That means study, alongside learning language and culture. It means keeping abreast of changes back home.

In the above thread, I talked about self-confidence as a critical factor. I strongly believe that this is the fundamental lesson and skill attained in working abroad. Self-confidence is the driving force to achieve, to continue studying, and in any ultimate job interview after you’ve returned home, will be the key that demonstrates what the experience abroad gave you.

I think it defeatist and cynical to believe that the job market is all about numbers and stats. Jobs are about people and people are hiring people, not a machine. However, I think it naive and illusory to believe that simply going abroad for a stint is a benefit in and of itself. There’s no escaping the need to personally grow and cultivate the right skills. You just have to look at yourself and ask ‘how exactly am I improving?’

Thanks for your comment, Guy - I agree with a lot of what you say. (And TEFL Logue readers stay tuned for an interview with a former EFL teacher who is currently - gasp - a successful lawyer).

I think your point about self-confidence is spot on. Working abroad often opens your eyes to the fact that plenty of things that seem impossible can actually be done. I also think EFL as a job can be an “outside the box” experience, and if EFL teachers can apply this to their post-EFL job search, they stand to gain a lot.

My dose of cynicism, though, is that first impressions count a lot. As EFL experience is not uniformly, consistently valued without question (and I don’t necessarily think it should be) and is perhaps more often seen correctly or not as a time to have fun for a year, some potential employers may in fact just disregard it, especially if there are several similarly qualified candidates.

But if an EFL teacher has gained the confidence we speak of, they know to just keep their chin up and keep going. Others don’t have to ackowledge that an experience is valuable in order for it to be so.