Country info and advice - Mongolia
The following comments are from teachers who have taught, or are currently teaching, in Mongolia. If you are a teacher and have some advice to share, please add it here.
There are lots of schools in
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital city, unfortunately not many of them advertise
on the Internet. The best way to find work in Mongolia, which I've learned
through experience is to get a tourist visa, for Brits you can get a 30 day
tourist visa (ENTRY EXIT), for US you can get a 90 day visa free. If you find a
job, the school organize the visa for you - this is advice I was given by a few
ex-pats living in Mongolia and it worked out fine. They had a good time working
and teaching in Ulaanbaatar. The schools are screaming out for English teachers
and they will welcome you with open arms.
BEWARE of schools that offer you employment and send you a LETTER OF INVITATION
for your visa, these schools often only provide you with a one-way entry only
visa and because you travelled on their invitation you can't leave the country
again without their permission, which means possible hefty fees, that shouldn't
exist. Or they ask for money you don't need to part with.
The English Pub which you can find in the Lonely Planet is a good place
to ask about teaching jobs and Dave the owner is generally quite helpful and if
he doesn't know of any jobs, he'll definitely know someone who does!
Some schools:
No. 3 Joint Russian Mongolian School (state school) recommended by most people
that have taught there, most of whom stay so jobs can be tough to get. $1000.
Success School of English - a new private school, the director is very friendly
and helpful and can offer part time positions. Varies according to hours.
The American school of Ulaanbaatar (Canadian Curriculum!) - good and bad reviews
regarding hours of work. $2000.
Hartford Institute (from Singapore) - same as above $2000.
Santis - I was warned about by a lot of people, Brits, Americans and Canadians,
as the hours are not dissimilar to Hartford if more but pays less than half as
much.
It's a bit of a culture shock and even though it is a 'developing country' it is
non the less Third World.
Be aware that Ulan Bator is
the most impatient city in the world! Mongolians have no hesitation in jumping
queues, will sound their car horns incessantly if their way is blocked (they
don't brake for pedestrians even on a zebra crossing), and will push you in a
crowd if it isn't moving fast enough. They will also just rush onto a bus
without waiting for disembarking passengers to get off. Hazards include open
manholes (where on earth do the covers go?), drunks, drunks, drunks, stray dogs,
pickpockets and muggers. Many of the pickpockets are surprisingly well-dressed.
Don't stroll alone at night. Perhaps the nomadic history of the people has
resulted in a culture that seems unaware of pollution by trash - rubbish is just
thrown outside, the city streams are sewers, and vodka bottles litter the
countryside even. There are no gardens as other countries know them, and trees
are regarded as almost a nuisance. I lived here half a year and never saw a
flower. Indoors, Mongolians are hospitable, kind, and friendly - just don't
expect smiles and courtesy in public places.
I am currently living and
teaching English in Mongolia, but not in Ulaanbaatar. Ulaanbaatar is not the
place to work in Mongolia - it has all of the usual big city problems - lack of
safety and 100% pollution. Just 3 or 4 days in this city will affect anyone's
eyes, sinuses, breathing etc. However, other cities and even small towns in
Mongolia desperately need English teachers, and these towns are safe, friendly
and although not clean, they are tolerable. I currently teach in the second
largest city and it is totally safe. The people are friendly, and although third
world, I am able to find most of what I need here.
Most English teachers need a
visa renewal after 6 months, and this requires a few days in Ulaanbaatar with
this sh**** foreign office. What do they think - there's no social insurance to
rip off. Ulaanbaatar is terrible in the winter, people seem to burn rubber from
car tyres and rubbish... The best place to stay and teach seems to be Suhbataar,
or even Darhan. Erdenet has some open-earth copper mines, and a lot of dirt from
mining. Deep in the west, Khovd is a nice city to stay - green and rather clean.
Bayan Olgii is also nice, mostly a marketplace and as cold as Lhasa.
More English schools in
Mongolia have websites now. I work for Talk Talk English
(http://www.talktalkenglish.mn) now and I've been very happy working here--but
your mileage may vary. I think talk talk is a good compromise between schedule
and salary. The American school is probably the best employer if you're only
interested in how much you can save. They provide a pretty good salary and
accommodation.
If you come to Mongolia, teach
outside Ulaanbaatar. You won't make as much money but you will spend much less
and have a better time seeing what Mongolia is really about.
I was in UB last winter for a
week and the air pollution was the worst i have seen anywhere and i woke up
every morning with a sore throat. But since my girlfriend lives just north
across the border in Russia, i wanted to give it a try. I met a Mongolian on the
plane who recommended Selenge, Mongolia but i can't even find it on the map. Can
anyone recommend a better place to live and teach English in Mongolia than in
UB? It has to be large enough to have a vegan restaurant. Thanks!
I am currently working in
Mongolia. I have been in THREE different schools and you must know that coming
to TEACH here is mainly wasting your time.
Mongolia is a very corrupted country. Students DON'T attend classes at the
university, but if they pay the fees they'll get a diploma (although they are
not fluent, they will be "English Teachers", so you can imagine the English they
are going to teach...) In the schools, children will not do any work (except,
like in every place, a minority) but by the end of each term they will literally
bore you with "teacher (sic), give me extra-points", or "what can I do for
getting extra-points?". When the answer is: "Study harder for the next term",
they will go to the principal/director etc. and he/she will come to you to say
that you cannot give any F, because parents, prestige of the school etc. Finally
they will receive a nice diploma saying that they have graduated with 98%
(although they cannot say in which country Rome is)
Classes are kind of HELL. Children do not respect foreign teachers (although not
violent, Mongolians are very racist and extremely nationalistic), -you just have
to compare your class with those of the Mongolian teachers. It is impossible to
have them in silence. When you tell them to sit down, they'll ask "why?", when
you say that class is not over they'll ask "why?", when you say that 'because
it's 10:20' they'll ask "why?", if they ask you: "where do you come from" and
you answer "from Europe", what is the next question? Yes, believe it or not:
"Why?" (it looks that is the only word they all know, however don't expect them
to listen to your explanation. They just want to speak.
So, if you receive any offer from Mongolia, this is what you are going to find.
Don't say that you didn't know ;-)
Everyone's right about
avoiding UB if you can. I love Darkhan, and there are plenty of schools here. I
taught at one private school for two terms, and now at an English language
training center. Taking a break for a bit, but learned a lot and look forward to
teaching more. There are some people who've posted here who seem to have very
narrow views of life here. The key in Mongolia is to accept every day, expect
things to be out of your hands and learn from the experience of letting go and
opening up to a culture that at its core, is about selflessness.
If you can handle the
pollution UB is not that bad. I worked at about half a dozen schools and and
enjoyed working there. Also, it was interesting that almost all these schools
surprised me with T.V. cameras while I was teaching and put me on T.V..
Furthermore, some of these commercials were still running there a year after I
left in 2010!!! Finally, I am sure I will be back there teaching again since my
wife is Mongolian and so are my children.
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