Which European/Eurasian country should I apply to teach English in. Options

[rewells]

I'm applying for a Fulbright grant to teach English in Europe or Eurasia. Some of the countries require applicants to be fluent in the country's language, but sadly I'm only fluent in English (I know a little Spanish and a little Dutch). Based on my language skills (or lack thereof) and the chances of me getting accepted, I think I've narrowed my choices to: Norway, Czech Republic, Turkey, or Poland. Also could be open to Hungary, Bosnia, Romania, and maybe a few other eastern European countries....any suggestions? You don't have to have been to any of those places to give input - feel free to wikipedia them and sell me on them. Thanks in advance!

[Severity]

Does Germany requires you to be fluent in German? Is Germany even in there?( Sorry not a US citizen) If it is, you should seriously consider Germany, although most of the time they speak German, They do have some knowledge of English since they learned it in school. That's all I can help you for now. For any other information you could go and buy a book about Germans or something. Last question, what is Fulbright?

[X-M-O]

He's referring to a grant, here's more information on what he's referring to.

I'd recommend Poland, but that's just me. It's a beautiful place to live (haven't been to Poland since I was little, so I can't say I remember too much, but I do remember it was beautiful - I think I have pictures somewhere in my baby/child photo albums). ^^

[Severity]

After reading about Fulbright, I still stick with my choice of Germany. But that's just my opinion its your choice to choose any country you prefer.

[Sparrowsmith]

My brother taught English in Japan for a year, though he knew some Japanese before he left and was pretty fluent by the time he got back. He said it's not necessary to speak Japanese though.

However, if you speak a little dutch and spanish, it's probably best to somewhere where those languages are widely spoken. You'll probably pick up a little bit here and there and it'll improve your teaching.

[Severity]

I have to agree with Sparrowsmith with this one.

[TheCableGuy]

I'd love to go to Japan and would be willing to teach English too...... Only problem is, I'm not exactly "fluent" in English either (Hate my Florida Dialect.)

[Severity]

What is Florida Dialect? Sorry, I'm not American.

[X-M-O]

What is Florida Dialect? Sorry, I'm not American.

That's getting off topic, just PM TheCableGuy for information on that topic.


Back to topic...
If you're open, at all, to considering other locations outside of Europe/Eurasia, then Japan is nice and I've heard of a lot of people who have gone there to teach English without being able to speak Japanese. (Some learn Japanese through the experience, others don't, but an appreciation for the culture is usually always the case). ^^

[Severity]

Sorry about being off topic previously... I've heard that in some parts of Japan, they do teach English at a young age as their foreign language but I'm not too sure.

[Sparrowsmith]

In a lot of Eurasian countries they teach English, though not everyone learns it.
Anywho, back on topic.

When most people want English tutoring, it isn't to learn the details of the language, it's to learn how to have a conversation. For example, my brother's tutoring was just having a conversation with someone for an hour and answering any questions they have.
Usually the conversations would all be in English, and be stuff a native english speaker would know, but that might confuse a non-native speaker.
Sometimes stuff like insults, or exclamations of joy, don't translate well.
The dog's bollocks means something is highly regarded, but how is a non-native speaker supposed to know?
How is a non-native speaker to know if they're using their, there, or they're correctly?

So you don't need to be an excellent speaker to teach, though it certainly helps, and you'll get less clients if you're not as skilled.

[rewells]

The dog's bollocks means something is highly regarded, but how is a non-native speaker supposed to know?
How is a non-native speaker to know if they're using their, there, or they're correctly?

Dog's bullocks? I've never heard that one. Surely a Brit term :-p

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I've looked into teaching in Japan and know a couple people who have, and while I've heard great things about the country itself, I've heard horror stories about eikaiwa schools (private language schools) who treat their employees terribly, fire people frivolously and are overall more concerned with making money than helping people learn English. Also, apartments in Japan are tiny and I have a cat who I'd like to have a litte more space, and one of the medications I'm on is a narcotic in Japan (Prozac), so that further complicates things. I still plan to visit one day, though!

I have visited and loved Germany. The Fulbright website says they prefer applicants who know German, but they also have a 1 in 4 acceptance rate (about 400 people usually apply for 100 spots), so I'm assuming they take non-German-speakers as I don't think there are a ton of American's with teaching experience who are fluent in German. So now I'm leaning towards Germany...I have a year until I'd leave, so I could take some classes in the meantime and practice with my best friend who is German, and I think I'm at a slight advantage as Dutch and German are similar.

[rewells]

*Update* I'm applying to Poland for it's high acceptance rate and its proximity to Berlin, Amsterdam and Prague. Also, I know someone who studied there and liked it. Plus, they are offering university jobs, which are generally less stressful than teaching middle and high school (from my experience). Does anyone know anything about Poland that I should acknowledge in my personal statement to make them want me?

[X-M-O]

A Pole wrote this about Poles, so just an example of what you might want to prepare for.
Obviously you can't take only a single sample of data and run only on that, so I'd recommend doing some research into Poland and the Polish folk to determine a better well-rounded perspective of their culture and history. =]

[rewells]

A Pole wrote this about Poles, so just an example of what you might want to prepare for.
Obviously you can't take only a single sample of data and run only on that, so I'd recommend doing some research into Poland and the Polish folk to determine a better well-rounded perspective of their culture and history. =]

Thanks X-M-O and everyone else! I'm almost done with my essays for my application. I might as well as if anyone cares to proofread them?

[X-M-O]

Sure, I can proofread them for you. ^^