Teaching English in Chile
Chile is a good place for English language teachers to gain teaching experience, while enjoying interesting cultural and sightseeing activities. The English language is in demand in Chile, and so are good English language teachers. If you are interested in teaching overseas, you might want to consider Chile.
Life in Chile
Snuggling the west coast of South America, the Republic of Chile is perhaps most notable for it's vast frontiers. Although this skinny country has an area of only 748,800 sq km, it stretches over more than half the length of South America.
Chile is rich in diversity, with geysers, mountains, beaches, forests and volcanoes. It is a paradise for anyone interested in adventure sports.
Chile is said to have the most European community in South America. Indigenous traditions, however, persist in the Andean foothills and in the southern plains.
History of Chile
A three-year-old Marxist government was overthrown in 1973 by a dictatorial military regime led by Augusto PINOCHET, who ruled until a freely elected president was installed in 1990. Sound economic policies, first implemented by the PINOCHET dictatorship, led to unprecedented growth in 1991-97 and have helped secure the country's commitment to democratic and representative government.
Economy of Chile
Chile has a market-oriented economy characterized by a high level of foreign trade. During the early 1990s, Chile's reputation as a role model for economic reform was strengthened when the democratic government of Patricio AYLWIN - which took over from the military in 1990 - deepened the economic reform initiated by the military government.
Growth in real GDP averaged 8% during 1991-97, but fell to half that level in 1998 because of tight monetary policies implemented to keep the current account deficit in check and because of lower export earnings - the latter a product of the global financial crisis. A severe drought exacerbated the recession in 1999, reducing crop yields and causing hydroelectric shortfalls and electricity rationing, and Chile experienced negative economic growth for the first time in more than 15 years.
Despite the effects of the recession, Chile maintained its reputation for strong financial institutions and sound policy that have given it the strongest sovereign bond rating in South America. By the end of 1999, exports and economic activity had begun to recover, and growth rebounded to 4.4% in 2000. Growth fell back to 2.8% in 2001 and 1.8% in 2002, largely due to lackluster global growth and the devaluation of the Argentine peso. Unemployment remains stubbornly high, putting pressure on President LAGOS to improve living standards. One bright spot was the signing of a free trade agreement with the US, which will take effect on 1 January 2004.
Teaching English Overseas
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Spanish & TEFL
