Seeking English Teacher JobWhat type of job are you looking for? I am looking to teach English to groups of any age range, preferably children above 8 or adults. What nationality are you? I'm an American. What languages do you speak (and at what level)? English (native) Chinese, Mandarin (semi-fluent) What country or area are you looking to work in and why? I would like to work in Shiraz, since it is a wonderful city and is actually my father's hometown. What countries have you worked in? USA, South Korea, Taiwan, China. What countries do you have a visa to work in? China What field do you currently work in? I teach English What fields have you worked in before? I've done just about everything. I've worked in many lines of work, various forms of labor, and was even an infantryman in the US Army at one point. I've been mostly teaching English since University. What qualifications do you hold? I've completed four years of study in college, but have still yet one more semester before completing a BA in philosophy. The reason I didn't yet finish that last semester is that I accepted a scholarship to study Chinese in Taiwan for a year, and I have since that time decided to stay on and work as an English teacher in China for a while. I did receive an AA in philosophy, a two-year degree. I have a great deal of experience teaching English in the last two years both in Taiwan and in China. Which do you consider more valuable? Formal education or skills and why? Formal education is only useful if it teaches a person how to acquire knowledge on their own as well as how to apply it to become a success. That isn't always what you get from someone with a degree. When someone has genuine skills, however, it is known what they can really do. Skills trump book knoweledge every time. On the other hand again it is good when someone has learned as much as books have to teach, and they have much to teach to those who are truly able to learn. Describe the benefits of working with others. We learn how to cooperate to achieve a result that we could not have achieved alone, and that shows us how to get beyond our own egos and to move into a more successful world beyond petty conflicts. This is real achievement. When things go well it is like being in an exteneded family of sorts. Describe the benefits of working alone When you are able to control all parts of a process from start to finish you create more than a product, for then it can be a work of art. When I work alone I am able to put all of myself into something and take full credit for the success, yet also receive a great chance to learn about myself through my mistakes. What was your worst working experience? I once worked as sorter of candies in a large candy factory. It was an unpleasant experience working in that industrial warehouse/production plant. Still, I learned how "candy" is made. What is the most important lesson you have learned throughout your career? I've learned to be patient with setbacks, and yet to see things through to the goal. What unique skills do you have? I'm very good at helping someone else understand something, anything. I can take the mind of someone who wants to learn something and make them know it as well as I do. I can teach someone how to bring out the best in themselves and try beyond what they thought they could do. I have a good analytical mind for solving problems of just about any sort, and this combines with an intuitive mind that can synthesize a guiding vision in a creative way. I can take charge of a situation and make the most of it. What would you consider as your 'dream job'? I'd love to teach English to Iranians in Shiraz. That would be a dream job for me. What are the most interesting aspects of your field? Grammar is the most interesting. Seeing the way grammar unfolds meaning is incredible, since while we all learn to use it, very few of us really understand what we are doing when we use it! Yet there is a very clear logic inside grammar just as if someone sat down and planned every bit of it. How did language arise? Yet sometimes the syntax is not really necessarily the way it is, and could be different even though we have a habit of using syntax according to our individual language processes. Yet this is what makes it possible for us to share understanding through translation or through learning each others' languages. Meaning is a content which transcends form, yet manifests through specific forms so that it can be expressed. I find this fascinating, and I always enjoy finding new ways to teach the grammar of English while secretly learning so much myself in the process. What are the least interesting aspects of your field? Setting up the material objects to be used is really sort of a drag compared to just teaching it, but it has to be done... Why would you like to teach English in Iran (especially Shiraz)? My father was Persian, from Shiraz. I always wanted to see his part of the world. Having grown up with my mom after their divorce when I was only about one year old I didn't get to see that part of the world, and therefore missed that part of myself as well. I'd like to explore that now that I have a chance. Besides, I would love to see Iran anyway, and who wouldn't? Plus I love Persian food! I'd also like to see certain historical places, such as old temples or cities. Even beyond this, I've always been an explorer and traveler, and since I'm apparently finding myself trotting all over the world, I may as well go to Iran, a place I've always wanted to go. How can potential employers contact you? Please just contact me with this email: anfesjhaitn@hotmail.com | 
