# ESL Teacher Abroad?



## Fleetfoot (May 9, 2011)

Has anyone ever had the experience of becoming an ESL teacher in a foreign country? I'm curious to see if anyone here has done so, or is interested in traveling abroad and teaching English for a year or two. It's something I'm looking into doing after I graduate, as it seems to be a more authentic and cheaper traveling experience (Hell, I think you get paid more to do it a lot of times).


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## .17485 (Jan 12, 2011)

Tawanda said:


> Has anyone ever had the experience of becoming an ESL teacher in a foreign country? I'm curious to see if anyone here has done so, or is interested in traveling abroad and teaching English for a year or two. It's something I'm looking into doing after I graduate, as it seems to be a more authentic and cheaper traveling experience (Hell, I think you get paid more to do it a lot of times).


I was thinking of been ESL teacher in south korea or japan. I've graduated now for a year. I want to do for travelling. I want to travel around the world. Lol not sure if I be good at teaching. Never taught before. South Korea might be a good country to go to. You get free flight depends on the agency. Always get free accommodation so you only paid for bills. I read people can saved a lot of money from it. Some people stay more than one year. You can teach in public school or hagwon. Public school 20-22 students and hagwon 10-12. Travelling would be nice. It is close to Japan, thailand, vietnam. To teach in south korea you don't need a specific degree. 30 hours a week, 6 hours of teaching in a day. You teach kids like reading, pronouncions and you have co korean teacher. Thought the distance is too far and the possibilty of north korea bombing them. I don't think I'm sociable or outgoing to be a ESL teacher


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## sriracha (Sep 19, 2010)

Tawanda said:


> Has anyone ever had the experience of becoming an ESL teacher in a foreign country? I'm curious to see if anyone here has done so, or is interested in traveling abroad and teaching English for a year or two. It's something I'm looking into doing after I graduate, as it seems to be a more authentic and cheaper traveling experience (Hell, I think you get paid more to do it a lot of times).


Heck yeah, I'm going to do it after I graduate which is not going to be until at least a few years...  I have plans for this, and when the time rolls around, hopefully things won't be much different. I'm interested in this thread.


For those who are replying, I want to know where you've been. If you've been to more than one place, compare those places. I hear things about certain countries, which kind of discourages me to go....


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## farfaraway (Feb 15, 2013)

I taught in Germany for a year, and it was good. There are a lot of English schools here, you don't officially need any qualification to teach adults. So if you know someone who can get you into a job, you can start right away. I taught mostly adults, and after awhile I was given the opportunity to teach advanced conversation courses where there was no set curriculum. I earned 13 Euros per 45 minutes. That's considered pretty lousy, but I thought it was fine. I know people who charge 25 an hour for private lessons at the student's house. 

I stopped teaching because I found a job in my chosen field. But I miss it and I have considered going back to it part time. I didn't come to Germany to teach English, I came because I married a German. But I was lucky that my native language is a skill that people are willing to pay for. I was glad to have an income while I was learning German instead of being dependent on my husband.


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## milti (Feb 8, 2012)

@Diphenhydramine this is something you can answer!


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## jessnic (May 13, 2013)

Oooo I'll be lurking this thread! I'm considering it too. :happy:


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## Diphenhydramine (Apr 9, 2010)

I am a TEFL teacher. Any specific questions?


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## Fleetfoot (May 9, 2011)

Diphenhydramine said:


> I am a TEFL teacher. Any specific questions?


1. ) What are some requirements to become a TEFL teacher (degrees, certificates, etc.)? Do they vary by what country you would decide to teach in?

2.) Do you have a choice as to what country you would like to teach in? If so, what did you choose and why?

3.) Describe your experiences being a TEFL teacher. Were there a lot of great experiences mixed in with some bad ones? Did you experience a great deal of culture shock?

4.) Share the best aspect of becoming a TEFL teacher and why it means so much to you?


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## Diphenhydramine (Apr 9, 2010)

Tawanda said:


> 1. ) What are some requirements to become a TEFL teacher (degrees, certificates, etc.)? Do they vary by what country you would decide to teach in?
> 
> 2.) Do you have a choice as to what country you would like to teach in? If so, what did you choose and why?
> 
> ...


What do I think of TEFL overall? Well, it's basically the modern day equivalent of the adventurers of old. It's as close as you'll come to the whole "chart the uncharted." But it doesn't guarantee you a good life. People think that because things are cheap in the developing world you can live like a King - you won't. You will live like a middle-middle class citizen of that country and will often have to put up with things you might not like at home - shit internet, powercuts, dangerous traffic, corrupt police, cold showers. But it can be rewarding, especially if you get the right kind of job. 

1. There are basically three tiers of TEFL:
a ) Top tier - Japan, Saudi. You need a PGCE and a masters degree, and a TEFL qualification, but these jobs are paid as well as actual white collar professionals in the West. It's a COMPLETELY different barrel of fish to any other kind of TEFL teaching.

b. ) Mid tier - China, Thailand, Vietnam, parts of Latin America, Eastern Europe You need EITHER a degree or a TEFL certificate (I have CELTA, I would recommend it) but a degree is usually enough; a TEFL cert on its own is a bit more difficult. The pay in these countries is scarcely good by Western standards; you will earn more than the average citizen of that country but you will be lacking the familial support base to help you.

c. ) Low tier - Anyone who wants to come can get a job - Indonesia, Russia 
Go. Get paid a shit amount of money. Good for travelling, not good for anything else. Unless you're in a good school, or a university.

2. Oh, yes. You can teach anywhere in the world where English is not a first language and you can even teach in countries where English IS a first language. There's actually a big TEFL market in Britain itself - but not for Americans to work in, lol. I worked in Thailand because thats where my mother was working at the time, but it didn't work out - I ended up applying to jobs in Indonesia and Burma and I got a good position in Beijing but visa issues prevented me from going, so I just ended up coming to Malaysia instead. I don't regret it. 

Now, the thing is that there are some countries where you can just turn up and find a job very quickly, but which do not advertise on the internet widely. Cambodia is an example of this - it's extremely easy to get a TEFL job in Cambodia, so I hear, but finding vacancies on the internet is difficult. Some countries have expat job search sites if they have a high enough volume of Western expats - I know Thailand has one - and they're usually good.

For countries like China you can pick up a job very easily just by searching on the internet. 

3. That depends on you as a person. If you are naive about the world outside your state or county and have never traveled, well, I wouldn't advise moving country. I would advise traveling a bit first. Wikitravel is a good research base, I have found. You must be very very receptive to learning about foreign cultures - as an example, it's a heinous offence in Thailand to touch somebody on the top of the head. It's normal for us as westerners to ruffle the hair of a child but that isn't something I'd advise in Thailand. 

The best advice I'd give anyone is STOP AND THINK. HOW is your action likely to be received? 

As for _me_ as a person, I have been flying around the world since before I could walk and have lived in three countries so culture shock wasn't an issue for me.

There were a lot of bad experiences but that was mostly to do with a particular school I worked with that was a visa-extension front, operating as a language school in disguise. And I have had some amazing experiences. 

4. The best aspect for ME is the pay and the opportunity. I am a dropout so I don't have much chance at home. I happen to have got in on something good out here and I'm being well paid for my qualifications. I'm grateful that they employed me because it means I can live with my family here and especially my brother, but I don't want to stay at it forever. It doesn't mean anything to me as a thing; it can be fun, sometimes, but it isn't my career.

*If anyone here wants to work in China and has the appropriate qualifications to do so, I can give you the email of one of my friends in a TEFL recruitment agency, but I can't make any guarantee on the quality of the life or employment you'll get there.*


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