UWT hosts Teaching English Abroad Workshop

On May 22 from 3 to 4 p.m., UW Tacoma will host the Teaching Eng­lish Abroad Workshop in CP 303. This workshop will allow interested students to learn about various op­portunities to help teach abroad. The workshop, which will cover all the details regarding the requirements and expectations, is sponsored by the Office of Global Affairs and Career Development & Education.

Cindy Schaarschmidt, director of Student Fellowships and Study Abroad, initiated these workshops in 2016 to help students who will be teaching in other countries after graduation. Schaarschmidt has been at UWT for the past three years, fo­cusing on fellowships and other global learning opportunities.

“A lot of these English teaching abroad opportunities are fellowship programs or are similar to fellowship programs,” Schaarschmidt said. “I was the one who created the work­shop, offering it twice every quarter to spread awareness amongst students for opportunities.”

Students are sent abroad on differ­ent programs in countries such as China, Thailand and South Korea. All the programs have their own set of expectations of the students, facilities that they can offer, and salary and cost that they will be able to cover.

Schaarschmidt stated that both lo­cal and international students can apply for these positions to avail these opportunities. However, internation­al students will need to verify their command of the English language and prove their fluency in writing, speak­ing and reading to be eligible.

“International students are wel­come to attend and apply for these positions, however these programs require applicants to speak English at the native level,” Schaarschmidt said. “So, if we are talking about in­ternational students from countries where English is an official language then there should be no problem.”

Applicants might also be required to be familiar with the host countries culture and language, to an extent. It isn’t a mandatory requirement, but it is something that would enable stu­dents to elevate their experience and allow them to perform better.

“This is a great opportunity for students to truly live in a country for a longer period to understand how countries function,” Schaarschmidt said. “Having this experience outside of college really helps as it polishes one’s skill sets and provides deep un­derstanding of diverse cultures.”

For more information, visit
tacoma.uw.edu/study-abroadinternational-programs/events#/?i=1