Oxford Seminars Blog 
I spent 12 years teaching ESL in East Africa – and I didn’t even know what I was doing was called ESL! That sounds crazy but it’s true. My story started when my family and I went to teach at an adult education college in Uganda and found out that what I thought I had signed up for and ...
Sawasdee kah! Or should I say, "hello" from Thailand, the "land of smiles". I’ve been living here for awhile now and each day is a totally eye-opening experience. I’m located in Kabinburi which is a rough, 3 hour cramped mini-van ride to Bangkok and about two hours west of the Cambodian border. It’s a small town where everyone knows ...
The Japanese have come to be known for sharing both a fascinating cultural heritage that spans thousands of years as well as a modern love for technology, gadgets, anime and pop culture. For individuals embarking on a career teaching English abroad in Japan, this dichotomy often shows up in weekend outings and days off spent exploring all that this ...
From chopsticks and sushi in Japan to kimchi and rice in South Korea, I was able to travel around the world while teaching English. My journey started as a volunteer English tutor for a Vietnamese woman who wanted to pass the U.S. citizenship test. She insisted on cooking dinner for me twice a week for the year that I ...
China, the world's most populous country with over 1 billion people, is an intriguing mix of ancient and new cultures that commands respect and awareness for their way of life. Whether you're thinking of just visiting or are headed over to be an ESL teacher in China, here are some culture tips and guidelines to smooth your way: [caption ...
While going to a new place is exciting, it can also be challenging. We’ve talked about it before, but culture is an area that sometimes takes the most adjustment for a newcomer to a country. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, culture is defined as: The beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time; a particular ...
Italy is synonymous with good food and family. This could be because in Italy, food simply tastes better when the dinner table is piled high with home-cooked food and family is heartily digging in around you. In fact, when most thinking of countries they want to visit simply to sample the food, images of eating pasta and sipping wine ...
From the moment I first arrived in Busan, South Korea on a June day in 1996, I knew I was in for a unique experience. The sights, sounds, bustling streets and heat of an early summer all reminded me I was truly a long way from home. But it was a positive sense of culture shock I experienced as ...
Many people grow up in a relatively closed-in environment. Sure, there may be family vacations to the beach or to the mountains, depending on where you live. But, most families have certain routines. While there’s nothing wrong with these routines, it can create an urge in certain people to experience more outside their boxes. And, for some, this means ...
France has an incredibly rich history that starts with cave drawings in Lascaux to the southwest, goes through cathedrals and the Louvre in Paris, continues on with famous World War battlefields and leads beyond to today, all helping to shape this country into the rooted and culturally deep landscape it is today. If you like ancient Roman structures, ...
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