Griffith's book is a very valuable resource for British or Britain-based teachers. However, it is not really very useful for Americans and other non-Brits. because a lot of the information is irrelevant or even misleading to non-EU citizens. For example, the book devotes too much space to jobs in Western Europe and not enough to areas where non-EU citizens can work legally, such as Latin America. It also concentrates on recruitment organizations and school groups which insist on teachers being interviewed in England. So I think Americans and Canadians should look for books which more directly address their job needs. One possibility is Jeff Mohammed's "Teaching English Overseas." It's shorter, partly because it has fewer ads and anecdotes, but it has more relevant information. There may be other similar book also.

I always recommend this book to people who tell me they are thinking of getting into teaching English as a foreign language. I think it provides a fabulous overview of the industry, and the pros and cons of teaching abroad. The book helped me to narrow down what was most important to me in an overseas teaching position. I found the personal anecdotes to be illuminating, and they were one of many factors that eventually steered me away from teaching in Asia or the Middle East. ...

Although the book does have a slant towards a British audience, this book is NOT only useful to Brits. I am an American, and it helped me to get my first job teaching in Europe. It also helped me decide where to get my TESL certificate. I sent away for more information from many of the TESL certification schools listed in this book, and eventually decided to do a Trinity College certification course in London rather than an equally expensive but non-Trinity, non-Cambridge course in the US. I have never regretted this decision for a minute, and in fact it led to an excellent job with excellent perks in Bratislava, Slovakia. (Yes, like most of us unlucky Americans, I eventually had to face reality and give up the dream of working in an EU country!)

It is true that Griffith could spend more time focusing on job opportunities in non-EU countries, especially Latin America. Hence, only 4 stars out of 5. However, this book is an excellent starting point for those considering teaching English abroad. Naturally, no single book can cover all bases. It goes without saying that your experiences in a foreign country will be as unique as you are, and may differ wildly from the teachers quoted in the book. But for my money, this is the best introduction to teaching abroad in one single publication. Read and enjoy, and if you end up in a scrape in some dicey teaching position abroad, don't say that Susan didn't warn you!

This book is a great general resource, with complete listings of schools for gaining TESL/TEFL certification and education, as well as potential jobs at schools around the world. The info is very realistic, and talks about the general benefits and pitfalls of teaching abroad, with many amusing first-hand accounts. All the info is pretty up to date, (this edition is in 1999) however the author is British and all references for North Americans are secondary, while info for those in the UK is a bit more comprehensive. Also, the author promotes 2 major schools which are located in the UK. All around a worthwhile investment, though.

"Abriendo Puertas" just edges out "Mi Tierra" as Gloria's best album to date. (Both of those albums would be on my very short list of the best albums anybody released in the 1990s.) "Abriendo Puertas" ("Opening Doors") fuses a variety of Latin and Caribbean styles into something new, positive, and exciting. It is an outstanding concept album, greater as a whole than the sum of its parts. Gloria's singing is terrific here. Her greatest strength as a vocalist is her ability to effortlessly dance her voice through complicated rhythms that would stop other divas with greater range and purer voices cold. What also makes this album so special are the highly creative, challenging, energetic charts by Kike Santander, the just-right and seamless production of Emilio Estefan and Kike Santander and sound achieved by recording engineer Eric Schilling, and... wow... the searing performances by Gloria's band and backup singers. Everything is firing on all cylinders here. Don't shy away from this album just because you don't speak Spanish. (I don't.) You don't need to speak Spanish to understand and appreciate the vibrant energy and positive message of this CD.

In Part II, on page 344, in the section on Middle East, under the heading Saudi Arabia, Philip Dray is quoted:

"I decided against Saudi Arabia. The money was most appealing, but I could not think myself into a situation where there was no nightlife, limited conact with women and no culture or history. A year may seem short when you say it fast, but you could get very depressed in a situation like that. Money is nearly everything but it can't buy you peace of mind. So I opted for a job at a school for boys in the U.A.E. which, from the description, sounds sociable, inviting and accessible."

Griffith elaborates on Dray's quote above, "After Philip's arrival at the Oasis Residence in Dubai, he was well pleased with his decision, since living conditions in his luxury apartment complex complete with pool, steam room, squash court and gym, were just as lavish as he would have been given in Saudi. High salaries can also be earned in the United Arab Emirates."

That is all the author has to say about the U.A.E. She goes into great detail describing how to get a job in Saudi Arabia and many other countries, while warning that you'll probably hate it. She has a separate section for each such country. Then she says under the Saudi Arabia section that the best option is definitely the U.A.E. And yet she made no section for it, and gave no contacts, as she did with the others.

That is not a funny joke played on the earnest reader.

Also, the author agrees with another source I have concerning Poland. Griffith says on page 293, first sentence under the section on Poland, "Prospects for English teachers in Poland, western Poland in particular, remain MORE PROMISING THAN ALMOST ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD."

However, she does not mention how much a teacher can save per month on average (as she does with most other countries). And from the looks of the numbers that ARE quoted, it doesn't seem like you could save anything, compared with the $1000 to $1500 per month you could save in the Middle East or Japan, or the $1000 you could save in Korea, etc.

The author does give some seemingly useful tips, but it's difficult to trust the author who gives you all the information you could ever want on the countries you'd never want to visit, and none of the info you really want on the countries you want to visit.

By the way, I am an American, but I have no gripe against the book being geared toward Brits, and I hardly think it could be more useful to either. The author does a fine job making it accessible to anyone with half a brain.