Teaching English in Singapore

The following comments are from teachers who have taught, or are currently teaching, in Singapore. If you are a teacher and have some advice to share, please add it here.

Julie on 20 February 2007

quote Singapore is a very westernised place and the most developed among all SE Asian countries. You can find almost every nationality in the world here. The problem with most westerners is that they think that they should go to certain places which are safe and they miss out on a lot and pay through the nose by living in certain 'westerner' places but they do not have to as most places are safe and affordable. All food courts are clean and inexpensive - a safe place to go even after midnight, definitely no drugs. I think Singapore pays top dollar to language teachers... at the right places.

Gerold on 28 February 2007

quote Singapore is a very efficient, clean country open to anybody that wants to contribute. It is a great and fun place to live and work as it is very diverse in its offering, very modern and compact and above all English is understood and spoken virtually anywhere. Still teaching there is a big emphasis on speaking proper English as at home most people speak their local Chinese dialects/Malay/Tamil. So speaking proper English is seen as an essential ingredient of a successful education and career here. A lot of emphasis is placed from Singapore authorities to allow only well qualified and at the same time experienced teachers to teach in their country. So in our experience the minimum requirement to be allowed to teach in Singapore is to have at least a year of working experience and at least a bachelor's degree from a reputable university (a diploma is not sufficient). Still there are as always exceptions e.g. long teaching experience etc. So I can only recommend to give it a try to live and work here - have not regretted it yet!

Heartpower Management Training on 4 October 2007

quote ESL teaching in Singapore is experiencing a boom. And in 2008 it is expected to be even bigger with most international and business schools expanding their operations. Some even opening new campuses. Teaching ESL for students requires a minimum basic degree and an ESL certificate. Teaching ESL to corporations has no such criteria. The boom is caused by 2 factors. More overseas students being enrolled IN Singapore and more expats coming into Singapore. Salary ranges from $30/hr to $60/hr.