Online forums are definitely a great way to get useful information about teaching English abroad from people who have been through it already. There are many great ones out there like Dave’s ESL Cafe, Waygook.org, and Koreabridge. I particularly like Koreabridge because it allows people to link their personal blogs (after being approved) to the site. This is a great tool because it will give a vivid picture of life for an ESL teacher as they experience it and how they experience it. I almost think it is as valuable as an internet forum, if not more.
The one thing to keep in mind when going into these sites is that you don’t really know who the people on the forum are. You will also probably never meet them in person. Most of the people there are using the forum correctly and fairly, but you will occasionally find those that don’t have the best perspectives on teaching English abroad. They may have had a bad experience in their own life, and therefore find that forums are a good place to air their dirty laundry about it. Don’t let these people hijack your experience before you even get started. Take all comments and recommendations you see on a forum with a grain of salt. So much of it is useful – take the good ones to heart. Leave the questionable ones alone. If you find people actually arguing on a forum, I would recommend just running for the hills! The whole concept of openly arguing with a virtual person online is just a humorous one to me. Try to never get caught in one even if you know you have valid comments.
Make your experience your own and just use forums as a way to get some useful information. You may connect with some new friends there as well. If you do, more power to you. Just stay away from the negativity. Your time abroad will be a challenging and growing experience filled with unique ups and downs. Don’t let a random virtual comment derail you in any way.
All the best wherever you end up!
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