I plan on teaching abroad in about 2027 or 2028. Please tell me everything I need to know! What should I expect? What should I prepare for? What is there to do? What should my salary expectations be? I'm currently practicing speaking English with a Ukranian learner online through ENGin, so that I can put on my resume that I have experience teaching English and they can understand that I have some experience working with people who aren't familiar with English. I'm thinking anywhere, Poland, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, China, Japan, South Korea ( a popular one), and more. Oh I also almost forget to mention I will have my CELTA, and i have about 10 months of volunteering at a daycare from October 2014 to July 2015.

I’m 20f, me and my mam got talking a few weeks ago about her friends daughter who moved to Thailand through a TEFL course and now I’m highly debating doing it myself. I’ve always wanted to travel and over the last year I’ve came to realise, i really love meeting new people.

The teaching part doesn’t scare me, I’d be more nervous about potentially teaching people English and they end up with a geordie accent 💀

So where had your favourite place been?

I’ve been looking at China, Thailand, Vietnam and Korea but I’m not too sure. I’m not set on somewhere but I am wary of the potential war breaking out. One of my friends holidays to Japan got cancelled a few weeks ago as they couldn’t layover in China

I have an offer on the table for ILA's public school program in Go Vap district HCMC. Sounds pretty standard compared to my previous experience with public schools other than teaching some math and science. I also have interview with Atlantic 5-star, who had a more stringent application process, but I can't find any information about them. Can anyone provide some insight comparing the two?

Hello everyone,

I read the wiki for this, I hope I’m not going against the rules here. I just want to know your opinion on what has helped you in your TEFL career. For context, I am an American with a bachelors degree in accounting and have been in the field for some time. I also do subbing for my school district from time to time so I do have some experience with teaching. I heard being TEFL certified is a good start but doesn’t always have stability. I want to teach in China, and I would like to teach business English or business subjects if possible, which is why I am interested in investing into either higher education or a license. Which one has helped you in your career? I appreciate any advice.

I haven't gotten my TEFL cert yet and plan to do it in one of the in-person courses that offer assistance with visas, teaching observations, etc. I think Thailand might be more fun, but I feel like I would have a greater investment in learning Mandarin than Thai. It's also my understanding that you earn a little more in Taiwan. Thoughts?

How often do you guys apply for jobs and which sites you use and actually work ?I’ve been applying but barely any responses ..

Hello, I am working on my TEFL level 3, I am almost done with it and plan to finish it by next month.

I am looking for opportunities, and I have heard of Kyrgyzstan because of its Soviet history and how known its becoming on Instagram. It is a relatively niche country.

I know its Islamic, but very different compared to the Middle East.

It has got me interested in teaching in the country, and I am willing to learn Russian to live there.

Anyone who has taught in Kyrgyzstan, I highly encourage you to comment here. All comments on this post I will reply to. Thanks, and have a great day. God Bless.

Hello!

My name is Matea and I'm an English language teacher in a primary school in Croatia.

I was thinking about a project to do with my students for our next school year (1st and 2nd grade - 6/7 years old and 7/8 years old). I got an idea to form something like a pen pal club (I need to think of a name). But, I need some schools around Europe and teachers who are willing to cooperate. For example, we can send ​each other a letter or a postcard every few months or for big holidays. ​Of course, in English.

I really have no idea where and who to ask, so I'm sorry if this is not the right place.

But if you are willing to do something like that starting September or beginning of October, please contact me :)

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(No experience. Coming from UK with a Bachelor's)

Been offered a job in Hangzhou, with "Best Learning English". A 30 minute interview consisting mostly of them talking, and then got the offer an hour later.

Language centre

Ages 3-8

40 working hours per week (Wednesday to Sunday)

20,000 RMB per month

3000 RMB housing allowance per month

1 year contract completion bonus of 10,000 RMB

2 weeks paid holiday, 2 weeks unpaid holiday. Quite low holiday, but it seems to be the norm for training centres. At least the weekly hours are 40, compared to kindergartens which seem to be 45-47.5.

This was only my second interview. My first was relatively similar pay and hours, but 6 days a week, with Aimeirui in Fushun. That interview was basically the same, except I spoke to another British employee. I also received an offer for that. The age range for that one is 3-18. They asked my preference but didn't say what ages I would be teaching.

I’m looking to start my first TEFL job in Aug/Sep this year (quick profile: M24 from the UK, 120-hour TEFL cert, unrelated BASc degree, no teaching experience). I’m in touch with loads of recruiters through eChinaCities, and I have a good idea of salary expectations and preferred cities etc.

I’m still unsure what school type is best to start with. Some recruiters looking to sign me onto their dispatch company have told me that because I’m inexperienced, they’d almost certainly send me to a training centre. (I’ve been advised against them by a friend, and having no paid school holidays kinda sucks. How else do they differ from schools?)

I wouldn’t mind a bit of singing and dancing at a kindergarten, but from videos online KG teaching seems more about entertaining the kids rather than teaching them anything. I don’t feel like my previous work experience, and what I learned on the TEFL course, is very applicable to the KG classroom. Why would you even need to be a native speaker?

In a primary school, I can make structured lesson plans and still be fun-loving enough to play games every now and then. It seems like the perfect middle ground for entry level, but my recruiters don’t seem to have many viable opportunities for me. I’d be interested to hear other stories and experiences from the start of your TEFL journeys…

Hey guys. My college, TCNJ, is offering a graduate, 21-credit program that certifies you in ESL. The office told me the cert is basically the same as TEFL, except it can also get you jobs in international schools. Apparently, it also lets you get your English & Elementary certs just by passing the praxis. There’s also a job-placement service that Princeton offers in partnership. Apparently, with three certs, I’ll be in high demand. The only downside: since the college is teaching the course, I’d have to pay college money. Best case scenario, I pay an extra ten grand. Or, I just take 5-600 dollar TEFL.

So my question is: does the potential career mobility seem worth the high price? I should add that I specifically want to teach in Nepal, but there only seems to be paid work in international schools. I was otherwise going to settle for Thailand, which seems like an okay place to teach.

Thanks.

Some background: I did the CELTA way back in 2017 with the intention of moving to Vietnam to teach. Long story short, that didn't happen and I've been living in the Netherlands for the last 7 years (I'm American).

I've gotten a bit bored here and have been thinking hard again about giving Vietnam a shot. I've traveled there twice and had a great time, but I know that visiting and living somewhere are very different experiences.

I'm in my early 30s, have a bachelor's (and master's) degree in a non-teaching subject and a CELTA, but no actual paid teaching experience.

1. What are the current 'best' language centers? I know that Apollo was highly regarded in the past, but not sure if that has changed in the last few years.
2. What is a realistic salary and teaching load for a full time teacher? I've checked Apollo, VUS, and ILA websites but it's not 100% clear how much you would actually take home.
3. What is the cost of living in Ho Chi Minh city to live well, but not over the top? Decent apartment in a nice location, eating mostly vietnamese food, and going out occasionally. Would saving ~1000USD/month be reasonable here?
4. How is the expat-scene/social life? Would also be great to meet some locals and integrate. One reason I'm considering leaving NL is that I'm just getting bored of it. Life here is structured to the point that you genuinely have to schedule meeting up with friends sometimes weeks in advance. It is insane.

One thing I'm afraid of is just being a 'dancing monkey' for a class of kids. Would be nice to actually feel like I'm making some kind of educational impact

Thanks everyone in advance!

A little background about me. I'm 47F, and I've been a technical writer for an oil and gas company for 15 years. I make decent money, but I'm beyond burned out and need a change. There's a variety of reasons for that - my career has grown stagnant, I've seen more layoffs than I can count, the workload is constantly increasing, and I don't find the work interesting anymore. I feel like I'm just spending my life hoping I don't get laid off before I die. The thought of spending the next 15 years of my life the same way that I've spent the last 15 years honestly fills me with dread.

I've been doing a lot of reading online, and I've been strongly considering teaching English abroad. For one thing, I love to travel, so the idea of being immersed in another culture is very appealing. And it seems like teaching could potentially be more fulfilling than what I'm currently doing ... I've never done any teaching before, but I like the idea of actually making an impact in someone's life. To be clear, I do NOT think this is a gateway to party time in another country - I'm way too old for that nonsense. I'm interested in teaching as an actual career. I know it would be significant change and a big challenge, but that's part of what appeals to me. I also understand that I would be making significantly less money, but as long as I can be at least somewhat comfortable - pay the bills, afford food, put a little in savings - that's fine with me. I don't need a fancy lifestyle.

One big gap right now is that I've never done any teaching, so I don't honestly have any idea if I would like. But there's a local organization where you can volunteer to teach ESL, so I think that would be a good way to gauge whether or not I actually like teaching. If so, then I would obviously start working on a TEFL certification (I already have a bachelor's degree).

I guess I'm mainly wondering if this is a totally crazy thing to do? Has anyone done it, and what was your experience?

Hello everyone, I'm 24 from Russia. I studied biotechnology here and later got an MRes in biomedical research in a prestigious London uni. I hoped to build a career as a scientist, either through academia (mostly) or pharma but after graduation I couldn't secure a job in UK/Europe so I was forced to return home last year. Initially my plan was that I find a job in my field back in Russia, get a couple more years of experience and then try applying again. However, after finally getting back into the lab, I realised I'm completely burned out and miserable and I can't stomach it anymore. Literally came to a point where I just cry every day after work.

I've had signs of burnout back in my masters but I stuck through because of sunk cost fallacy. I picked biochem when I was 13 because I was the token "gifted" kid, I had scientific interests when I was younger and STEM was pretty much the most high-achieving thing you could pick. And I did good enough, until a certain point, but now I realise that working in the lab has been the main root of my suffering all along. It's not the kind of field where you can survive simply by being "good enough". I was very naive as a teenager when I chose my path and the reality of a research career has hit me hard. Science and biotech is a dead end in Russia, almost impossible to get anywhere abroad because the market is cooked, not to mention that my citizenship isn't the best. I've lost all interest and motivation for research and I just think it doesn't let me utilise my actual strengths. I'm afraid of wasting my youth on something I hate for no good reason.

I was always really good with writing and communicating but never pursued a career in humanities because it was considered "unserious" for me. Most of all, I miss my life in London, and I think I enjoyed the idea of becoming part of an international scientific community, traveling and meeting new people from different cultures more than doing the actual science. I feel very stuck at home right now. So I've been looking into something I could do that could help me get out there, and TEFL seems very appealing to me. I've never taught before so it's quite scary, and by no means do I expect it to be all sunshine and rainbows; work is still work, it's going to be hard as hell, but the truth is that for the first time in many months I actually get excited thinking about something. So maybe that's one of the better signs.

I've been to English schools abroad as a teenager (UK/Ireland/USA), reached C2 level when I was 16. Prepared myself for IELTS in a month only with free resources available online, got band 8.5. It's expired now (got it for my masters) but I have a real chance of getting a CPE certificate this summer. I was also planning to visit London before my graduate visa expires in November, and I found a 4-week CELTA course that I would like to stay for. I have my father's financial support for this. I wonder whether all of this, combined with my experience studying and living in London, could be a good selling point.

I'm mostly worried that I'll lose the competition by being Russian or non-native in general. Is it a big hurdle? Does it largely depend on where you're applying to? If I understand correctly, China/Japan/Korea are quite hard to get to but it's not necessarily what I dream of. I'd be very interested to look into Central/South America.

I'm giving myself time to think before going through with this, I'd appreciate any advice.

My training centre wants me to be really expressive and happy all the time, especially when the parents are with their kids when they enter/leave the school.

Is this normal? They're paying me to teach but they also want me to be a clown, be happy, be really expressive during demos, etc.

I'm not sure if I can do this tbh (I feel embarrassed, especially if the parents are watching me).

Hi r/tefl,

I’m a Turkish citizen and non-native English speaker. I graduated from an English Language Teaching department in Turkiye, hold both CELTA and TESOL certificates, and have around 10 years of teaching experience.

I’m now seriously looking to move abroad for a proper TEFL job with work visa sponsorship. I’ve been researching a lot, but I keep hitting the “native speaker only” wall in many countries.

My main questions:

1- Which countries are actually realistic for someone with my profile (qualified non-native + Turkish passport)?

2- Do I have a real chance of getting sponsored, or will my citizenship kill most applications?

3- Best job boards / schools / strategies right now?

4- Is China still a good option?

I’m not looking for dream destinations, just honest opinions on where I actually have a shot.

Thanks in advance, any advice is super appreciated!

I have a student who calls me "Fish." No idea why. Doesn't sound like my name, has never come up (in class or otherwise), and I'm not even sure she knows what it means.

*from... stupid autocorrect and.lack of attention-paying skills.

I'm currently serving as an English teacher in Cambodia and still have about a year and a half left of service, that being said I have been thinking about my next move after peace corps and thought since I'm already in this part of the world that it would be a super cool experience to go to China and learn Mandarin and use my two years teaching experience to land a job. Basically I'm wondering if anyone here has done something similar and has any advice on what I should be doing now to prepare as well as how I would go about finding a job teaching English in China once I'm nearing end of service. Also Despite going through similar training with peace corps we do not receive an official TEFL, how important is it that i become officially certified.