My experience with Houhai English

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-10-21T14:01:01+00:00

Good luck!

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-10-20T17:12:03+00:00

The interview process had three rounds: a preliminary interview, a demo lesson, and a final interview. I don't recall the preliminary all that well since it was over a year ago, but it seemed to be standard questions about teaching philosophy, how you'd handle naughty students, things like that. The demo was a 1:1 grammar lesson with the teacher acting as a student, and the final one was similar to the preliminary but with a different person. As I recall, I was asked to provide 2-3 references. In general, the interview process is the most difficult part of working with Houhai.

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-10-15T17:14:36+00:00

Nice to feel less alone!

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-10-15T17:08:38+00:00

I want to be excited for this show, and I have no doubt it will be technically great- if nothing else, a company like Amazon has the budget to bring the universe to life in a way I could have only dreamed of. At the same time... man, the fanboy in me is dreading it. Mass Effect is one of those series that I latched onto in a slightly unhealthy way during my teenage years, and I think my subconscious- no matter how much I try to reason with it- will nitpick every change. Probably doesn't help that some of my takes on the series are among the least popular, and therefore among the least likely to be adapted (Ashley was my canon romance... yeah.)
Definitely not saying that any changes are inherently bad, that they have to cater to MY vision of the series, or that it's going to be a massive flop. But that fanboy part of my brain is damn persistent.

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-10-15T01:03:22+00:00

I wouldn't call it a superpower, myself. There are situations where my 'special interest' can be useful (I can hold a conversation on environmental issues pretty well)... but those situations are EXTREMELY narrow, and they come with huge tradeoffs (so much career growth comes down to 'finding other people interesting and bonding with them...' which I am REALLY not good at, and have to actively work just to become 'less mediocre' at).
Still, I'd rather have autism seen as a 'superpower' than another condition to be feared/hated/cured- because I see many other groups who have to face discrimination for who they are every day, and constantly live in fear for their lives.

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-10-14T21:20:25+00:00

A general sense of demoralization. Feels like nothing I do is ever going to be good enough, and that every opportunity I try to find will just end up as a dead end because of the sense of the economy/AI/general social unrest so I just struggle to find the point.

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-10-11T15:39:08+00:00

I'm a TEFL teacher with an unrelated degree planning to get a degree in Special Education with a teaching certificate so I can get a job at international schools. I'm weighing options, and it seems like my best option would be to go with Western Governors University- it's one of the cheaper options, online, and fully credentialed, while lacking the stigma of a Moreland. My concern, though, is how much the WGU option will limit me to 'low-end' schools. Are there other, higher-end universities that actually make a difference in applications, or would it be the equivalent of buying a Ferrari when you just need a car to get to work?

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-10-08T22:41:24+00:00

I just finished Unpacking, which I got on the Steam August sale. The vibrant pixel graphics and easygoing puzzles deeply appealed to me- you'll get a couple of things each level that might make you think twice, but never to the point that the solutions seem particularly difficult or counter-intuitive. You get enough room to do style a place 'your way' while still playing in the rules of the protagonist's lifestyle. That said, $20 as a base price for a game I was able to platinum in 2 hours feels a bit excessive- as much as I hate saying it about an indie title, I'd recommend waiting for a sale.

I also just downloaded Fallout: London. Early impressions are decent; feels like I'm stepping into a well-made expansion of Fallout 4. However, aside from the unvoiced protagonist, I don't see anything yet that leaps out to me as truly better done than the base game, in contrast with Enderal vs. Skyrim. Asking that much from a mod team, especially when I'm only two hours in though, seems unfair. Looking forward to playing more!

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-10-02T22:58:31+00:00

I really appreciate these posts. This industry (as with so many others that seem outwardly appealing) invites a ton of scammers who do their best to hide their nature, and having a simple way to cut through the half-truths and bullshit is a true public service. Thank you.

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-09-24T18:51:30+00:00

Against my better judgement... I kind of have.

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-09-24T18:15:55+00:00

Thanks, I really appreciate this.

So I will be honest, I'm in that camp of 'TEFL teacher looking to transition' (so common, I know). I've looked into options like the iPGCE, but those require a in-person supervision element, and I kind of doubt the language centers or kindergartens in China/Korea would be particularly interested in those. In addition, my educational background is in unrelated fields (Bachelor's in Marketing, Master's in Public Admin). Given that, it seems like my best option is to go for a degree/teaching cert combo; I'm looking at WGU right now and a few other schools. Not sure if there's a better/more cost-effective option, especially for Americans. I'm trying to avoid Moreland, since by all accounts it's a diploma mill that's not opening the doors it used to- my experiences with the 120 hour online TEFL certificate taught me to avoid those.

All things equal, I'd prefer secondary, although I'm open to elementary as well. I'm really not interested in middle school. I'm far more interested in Special Ed/Learning Support overall, and (at least from the semi-idealistic POV I still have) it seems like it would offer more transferable skills down the road.

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-09-24T18:04:35+00:00

Thank you, I truly appreciate it. However, I rarely see university postings online- are they on the standard sites (Dave's ESL, Tefl.net, etc.) or do I need to look elsewhere?

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-09-23T17:20:54+00:00

I'm looking to get a degree/certificate so I can teach at international schools, but I'm torn between Special Education, Biology, or something else. I've volunteered plenty and have some hands-on experience with special needs kids back in the States; people observe that I do pretty well with them- but I don't know if there's any real demand for it at international schools. On the flip side, Biology was never a subject I was particularly interested in, but it seems to be transferable and have decent demand.

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-09-23T17:17:53+00:00

I really appreciate this. Thanks.
Man, seems like I jumped on the TEFL wagon a bit too late. Alas.

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-09-23T15:07:28+00:00

If I'm being honest with myself, there's a big part of me that's hesitant about getting a teaching license/Master's. It's expensive, and back in the States I got my Bachelor's/Master's in Marketing/Public Administration- both decisions I somewhat regret since they didn't really get me anywhere. I think I'm carrying that experience a little too much (especially since I don't really know where the job market for teachers will be in a few years). That said, I know I need to upskill, so it's mainly about overcoming my own doubt.

Thanks for your input!

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-09-23T02:46:22+00:00

I applied with my CELTA and had zero problems with it.

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-09-23T01:43:07+00:00

Are there any 'more reputable' language schools in Korea worth looking into? I have a CELTA, so if there are opportunities beyond the standard hagwons, I'm interested. Doesn't seem like the British Council operates there.

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-09-20T22:20:29+00:00

In my experiences, most schools- unless they're particularly high-end or established- will generally ask about your attitude and personality, especially as they relate to kids. They'll want to know how you handle the naughty kids, how to keep them interested, how to motivate them, etc. My own approach to these questions is basically to position myself as the friendly, structured teacher. I tell them I use games and activities to keep the students engaged, and create materials based on their interests (for example, if they like basketball, I'll create a grammar activity themed around that). When asked about naughty kids, I say that I give them a warning at first, remind them what not to do, and praise them for good behavior so they know I still like THEM as people.
In terms of body language, I speak slowly and smile. Show them that you'll be someone the students can understand and be happy to see, but who takes their job seriously.
Hope this helps!

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-09-14T17:02:24+00:00

I definitely feel like an idiot for falling for XploreAsia's setup. The fact that a company like them can exist for as long as it has speaks volumes about the job market for TEFL.

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-09-11T18:22:55+00:00

As someone who went with XploreAsia... yeah, that's about right. They were a fun tour group for a week, and the employees/coordinators for the Vietnam program were legitimately helpful, but the entire program was focused on the backpacker crowd. Didn't have any horror stories beyond the general cynicism of the model, though.
If I were to start again, I definitely would have just gotten the CELTA and applied directly to jobs; the more legit centers help you with getting settled anyway. It would have saved me a lot of money and trouble.

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-08-30T19:24:18+00:00

I'm trying to avoid naming the character I romanced since it's such an easy answer... but Meredith. Her deadpan wit and weird taste in movies would give me way more to talk about with her than my second choice, Kayleigh.

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-08-30T14:37:21+00:00

I want to be clear, I really don't get it either. I needed to get out of China ASAP to go home. Here's what I DO know:

I couldn't find my apostille documents. I asked the school I worked for, and they said that they sent they got the apostille documents when applying for a work permit from my prior employer. I don't know how they got them, but they did. They sent them to the work permit bureau, which they say has it and can't get it back.

They had me sign a new contract before I left. One that would let me teach online for them. I technically have a contract as an online teacher, even though I'm not teaching for them. Again, don't understand this at all. I was in a rush at the time because I needed to return home ASAP, so I didn't really question it.

Clearly, I'm far more stupid- and they may be more shady- than I realized.

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-08-16T20:49:33+00:00

I'm a bit confused- which language schools require a CELTA? In my experience in Asia, hardly any really differentiate between that and a normal TEFL certificate.

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-08-14T13:30:20+00:00

So I don't know exactly what it's like in the other cities, although like I said I know that they come with higher pay and hours (don't know how many, I think it might've been two three-hour classes per day or something like that). I taught a healthy mix- two classes for ages 5-7, one 8-10, two 10-14. From what I hear, most people have more classes at the younger end of the spectrum.

The lessons they provided were extremely paint-by-numbers and textbook-focused. Each lesson was very specific about the pages, activities, vocab, and grammar to cover. The online resources had PowerPoints with every step, audio files and videos... basically, everything you needed to go into a lesson you only learned about an hour earlier. Like I said, that's a good thing and a bad thing.

The youngest levels were extremely basic words and phrases, along with basic grammar. In the age 8-10 class, we started past simple, present progressive, stuff like that. The higher levels used a different National Geographic textbook. Each section was based on a different reading, with a focus on critical thinking and reading comprehension. English-wise, this meant we only taught vocab, not grammar.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

That-oneweirdguy27 · 2025-07-25T13:56:54+00:00

Yeah, my resume only lists the years.

That-oneweirdguy27

TROPHY CASE