By Spencer Anderson

When the class of 2002 entered college in 1998, the economy was the best in our nation’s history. They danced when the Dow hit 8000, gasped at 9000, and laughed at the possibility of 10,000. Today all this has changed. With a slow economy has come higher unemployment, especially among recently graduated college students.

The situation is better understood through the example of Prakash. A graduate of Rice University, a straight A student, trilingual, and a Rhodes Scholar candidate, Prakash interviewed everywhere for a summer internship during his entire junior year but to little avail. Finally, he received an offer from Merrill Lynch, but it was after months of hollow promises, flat out denials, and the anguish of job hunting. Four years ago elite firms like JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs would have been happy to add Prakash to their roster. He says, “ Back then they took anyone with a pulse. And why wouldn’t they? You couldn’t lose in that market.” Despite being so overwhelmingly qualified, Prakash is one of the lucky ones.

So if Prakash is on the lucky side, what about the other graduates? Hundreds returned home to find summer jobs or anything that would bring in money. Expensive college educations weren’t being fully utilized through jobs in restaurants and day camps.

Yet some students are now finding a way to gain great experience through their most basic of abilities: the English language. While demand in financial and corporate enterprises has declined, demand for native English speakers in foreign countries has gone through the roof and shows no signs of slowing down. Schools in Southeast Asia, South America, and Europe are desperate for Anglophiles to enhance their classrooms.

Alex, a graduate of Kenyon College with a degree in English, found little opportunity in the job market of his native San Francisco. He looked abroad and quickly found a job teaching English in China. Teaching college students, he felt slightly awkward at first, but as time passed he eased into his position and began learning to speak some Chinese. After one year abroad, he returned to California with an even stronger resume and quickly landed a solid job in finance.

Like Alex, I found a job with relative ease teaching English in France. The program, which is through the French Ministry of Education, takes people from all over the world to teach their native languages. I was assigned to a high school near the Gulf of Saint Tropez along with two girls: one from Italy and the other from Mexico. We all get along well and none of us can believe our luck at being placed here.

While living in a foreign country and adjusting to the culture is a great experience, the most rewarding moments come in the classroom. My students are the equivalent of high school freshmen and sophomores. Their eyes light up when I tell them stories of places like New York and Los Angeles. The boys always ask if I’m related to Pamela Anderson, and the girls keep asking if I still have a girlfriend. Classes go by incredibly fast, and we usually go past the bell, making the kids late for their next class and getting me in trouble with other teachers.

While the job won’t augment our bank accounts much, the intangible experience of living and working in a foreign country is something more people should do. Places like China, Thailand, Brazil, Costa Rica, and France are begging people to bring their English skills to their country, no matter what your age or experience.