Teaching English in Phnom Penh

Hi every one,
I've recently become interested in teaching English in Cambodia and from what I understand there are a lot of volunteer opportunities. A useful purpose while taking in a new culture and learning the language sounds really exciting so I guess I'm here to feel things out from the forum.
Glad to be here :)

Hi sixfiveleo,

Welcome to Expat.com :)

Are you actually looking for work in this sector as in teaching English please ?

Thank you

Maximilien
Expat-blog Team

Thank you very much sir,
I might like that very much but I have no real qualifications.
I may pursue a teaching certificate in the future but for now I am only thinking of volunteering for things.
I would love to hear anything you might be able to share about it there. Ive never been there before.
Thank you again!

Hi do you know any school that needs an Enlish teacher/its either in the preparatory or elementary level.thank you.

Hi Sixfiveleo, I understand that your intentions are good, but do you feel that volunteering to teach English to non-English speakers, with no qualifications or experience is a good idea? Would you want your children taught by someone with no prior experience or skills?

I'm not trying to be nasty, but I would suggest you at least get some form of training/qualifications (ie. TEFL or CELTA) before moving to a foreign country to teach English. This would also help you to find paid work if you wanted/needed to.

I realise I sound harsh but "voluntourism" is rampant in Cambodia and is often not about what you can offer but what you can get from the experience (peoples need for warm fuzzies)


If you get qualifications and can offer a decent amount of time -go for it - contact the Ponheary Ly Foundation www.theplf.org and see where that takes you.

I would say do not volunteer. Simply obtain an English teaching position that pays.

Why do I say this?

1. Why teach and not be paid for it.
2. It is easy to obtain the teaching position in Cambodia without qualifications.
3. If you volunteer, you may well be teaching along side paid teachers and this may not work well with you or the other teachers, you may after a time feel uneasy about this.
4. Why not buy a TESOL course online and then have the certificate you may need.

There are pros and cons to volunteering here. I volunteered when I first came here and loved it. I didn't know if I wanted to be a teacher and volunteering made me realize it was something I could be good at and wanted to pursue. On the other hand, yeah it kinda sucks for the kids to have a constant revolving door of people coming and going. On the other hand of the other hand (???...it made sense in my head) some of the poorer kids wouldn't have any access to English learning without volunteers. I'm currently getting my TEFL/TESOL cert. here. After 3 years of living in here I know I want to stay permanently. While it's not necessary to be degreed and/or certified to teach in Cambodia, I agree with the above post that the kids deserve better in a teacher, especially one whose asking to be paid! You can send me a message if you want to know more. Good luck!

Hello, I am nathan, nice to meet you. I have gained my tefl certificate of 60 hours and would be interested to find out of any work available at the moment or next year in Cambodia. I have looked online and nothing comes up on Cambodia. Please help if you can :)

Hi nathanpils,

Please feel free to post an advert in the section teaching jobs in Cambodia which might be helpful.

Can you please also give us more details about any work experience?

Thank you,

Hasnaa
Expat.com Team

Hi

I have no work experience as such as only completed my course recently, i went to Spain to look for work to try and gain some experience but had no success due to the economic crisis in those parts. I am willing to learn and would prefer to start off at lower level teaching and progress from there. I look forward to hearing of any opportunities you may have and would be happy to receive training also.

Thanks

Nathan

Hello teacher. i want to study english .
How can i study with  you?

Hello there,

Jobs are scarce. There are many gap year Brits who come to PP.
So the market is saturated from what I've seen and heard.
Volunteers are extremely RESENTED by the local EXpats who are trying to make a living out of ESL. So, if you do come maybe try to be employed.
I hope this helps,
Davidseattle