ESL Teaching Guide - Pakistan
Nausheen Ahmed - July 2004
I am from the United States and currently teaching in Pakistan.
The positive aspects of your current teaching job: Opened a Learning Center therefore I can develop my own courses and syllabus. The negative aspects are the marketing to continuously have a steady stream of students!
I earn roughly $50 per child per month ; all materials included (at the moment since I've just started this) and this is for 1.5 hrs each day Monday thru Friday.
I hire an assistant if student enrollment is over 10 for a class and pay about $60-$75/month.
She is there for about 2-2.5 hrs each day Monday thru Friday.
Curriculum: currently I have a reading program using literature circles. I plan to start a writing course, grammar course, and understanding Shakespeare course in the near future.
Since this is an optional program, student motivation is fairly good for those students who come.
Accommodation and cost of living is relatively cheap if you are earning in dollars. The standard of living can be very high if you are earning in dollars. This place has some issues which may make it hard to live here. This is a poor, Third World country. There are issues with electricity, water, etc. They can be taken care of through the use of a generator and purchasing of mineral water, but you must remember that the poverty level is pretty high here so the quality of life isn't that great for anything long term. However, I do feel that as an educator I can make a difference here. I have a few goals set for myself and I feel that it will be a good learning experience for me. I plan to return home in a couple of years though!!!!
There is an International School of Karachi which charges on average $10,000 per student and pays the staff in dollars. In this case, the children enrolled are from EXTREMELY well to do families and the cost/standard of living works out to a very high advantage for staff. I do plan on applying to the International School of Karachi for a teaching position in the near future before I return to the States.
Insight Guide Pakistan (Insight Guides)
Pakistan Handbook (Footprint Pakistan Handbook)
Louise Nicholson's India Companio: With a Section on Pakistan
Frommer's Adventure Guides: India, Pakistan, and the Himalayas
Lonely Planet Pakistan & the Karakoram Highway (Lonely Planet Pakistan)
