Feature Photo: The following will get you started on the quest for your ideal teaching job abroad.
Sometimes the sheer number of teaching jobs abroad is overwhelming. Korea? Kyrzgystan? Mexico? Lithuania?
A google search for ESL jobs will pull up a cluster of potential resources which takes time, patience and a discerning, critical eye to wade through. Some, of course, are much more trustworthy and useful than others.
In my four years of experience teaching overseas, here are the ones I’ve found most helpful.
1. Dave’s ESL Cafe.
Simply classic. Yes, you’ll find the old salts in the forums whining about anything and everything – the food, the bureaucracy, the students, the pay, the visas – so think twice before you turn down or accept a job based on what you find there. At the same time, those forums can be an excellent way to gauge the legitimacy of certain language schools and to get a sense of the average pay and visa regulations in a region.
Before I took a short-term teaching position in Japan, I consulted the forums at Dave’s and got several private messages from previous instructors telling me what to expect, which was enormously helpful in preparing materials and adjusting my expectations.
Plus, the International Job Board is much more reliable than many other online job feeds and contains a wide range of jobs all over the world. I’ve found two out of four teaching positions via the International Job Board.
2. Tefl.com
Another extremely reliable site for jobs which tend to be more professional, for teachers with a TESOL, Delta or Celta certificate and experience. There are some jobs for novices on here, including plenty in China, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia, but many of the jobs are in Europe and require certain credentials.
Photo: J.C Rojas
The site also tends to favor teachers from the UK – be careful when reading the job ads to check if the little blue “EU National Preferred” box appears at the bottom. If so, Americans, you’re going to be fighting an uphill battle for that position, and you’ll probably be in charge of dealing with visa issues.
One major perk of Tefl.com is that they allow you to apply for jobs directly through their website by uploading your information into a portfolio. They also give you the option of applying for a daily feed of jobs – which I ultimately had to unsubscribe to, because I couldn’t deal with the constant temptation to move to, say, Kazakhstan.
3. Transitions Abroad’s Teaching English Abroad Portal
This is much more than a simple job site. If you’ve ever wondered about TEFL courses in Vietnam, short-term teaching positions in Italy or the ins and outs of getting a university job in Chile, this should be your first stop. The site has an unbelievable amount of useful, detailed information about teaching abroad.
I could spend hours simply wandering dazed through the possibilities, and you probably should if you’re new to teaching and thinking about taking a job in a place you’ve never visited.
4. Esl Job Feed.
Jobs. Lots of ‘em. Straight up.
5. The University of Michigan’s sites for Teaching Abroad Without Certification and Teaching Abroad for Qualified Teachers
These sites offer an extremely well organized compilation of information not only about teaching jobs, but also about programs like Fulbright teaching assistanceships for recent graduates or graduate students. They contain extensive guides to teaching in countries on six continents (Antarctica is woefully underrepresented) as well as articles about cross-cultural exchange in the English language classroom, teaching jobs with government organizations and NGO’s, and teaching at every level from elementary to post-graduate.
There’s no reason not to do research before you take off on a teaching adventure, especially if you’re thinking of accepting a position with a gigantic language school with branches all over Asia or Latin America. If you’ve got a set idea of what you want to do and where you want to go, all it takes is persistence and research to get you there.
Community Connection
Matador offers its own set of ESL resources, including The Insider’s Guide to Teaching English In Asia, The Eight Hidden Benefits of Teaching English Abroad, Top Ten Places for Teaching English Abroad, and the classic Meet Your ESL Coworkers.
About the Author
More By This Author
- The Perils And Possibilities Of Revolutionary Tourism: A Visit With The Zapatistas (2 comments)
- Ask A Pilot Round 2: Your Questions Answered! (5 comments)
- Formula Travel (2 comments)
Related Posts
12 Comments... join the discussion!
-
-
Thanks for the links. Dave’s ESL cafe is a fave.
↵ -
I went into ‘Nam with no idea i would be there for 6 months teaching…no TEFL, no nothin. My biggest resource was my imagination and Daves ESL cafe!
But after a little while I was making up my lesson plan on the fly, listening to led zeppelin and watching episodes of sienfeld to improve our English…↵ -
Ah, Dave’s. Easy to kill an hour reading rants on their forums too.
↵ -
Thanks for the links!… I must say that I love that you included my university’s website. I used it to find my current (and first) ESL teaching job and sent it along to some friends who are looking, too. So helpful! I’m quite nervous of running into scams, so I was really glad my school had such a good website.
↵ -
Great resources. Dave’s is at the top, of course. I found 2 out of my 3 Japan jobs on it. But the article doesn’t mention one of the most important concerns today — the economy. It has affected the TEFL industry and although jobs are still widely available, there are many more applicants due to economic refugees. You also mention nothing about age issues. TEFL as an industry has a natural shelf life. Keep that in mind and know that, for most, a time will come when you must consider settling down again.
↵ -
Hi Ana,
The article is a simple overview of resources, so it’s not meant to touch on all of the issues affecting the ESL world at the moment.
Also, I disagree about ESL having a “shelf life.” The most experienced – and well paid – teachers I know are in their late thirties and forties. Teaching is their career and they do not think of it as something to fill the time between travels or as an interesting detour on their career path. By no means is ESL/EFL the domain of twenty-somethings; unless you’re referring to the kinds of jobs many people just starting out in the industry take at poorly paid language schools. The more competitive jobs actually require teachers that are older with much more experience and possibly an advanced degree in linguistics/teaching. I know international schools as well are made up of teachers of all ages.
↵ -
Thanks, that was a great post. I was actually just surfing the web for job opportunities and stumbled upon your site. I’m easily distracted. Maybe that’s why I’m unemployed.
I’ll be sure to check out more of your site.
↵ -
Hi, thanks for the article it has been helpful in my search, which is still in its initial stages however atleast i know that im on the right track.
↵ -
Dave’s ESL Cafe is an absolute joke. If you want a dead end job working for a crooked language school earning borderline poverty wages, look no further.
Furthermore, the job discussion forum is heavily censored to prevent anyone actually discussing the jobs so that Dave can profit from the cowboy schools that use his website to recruit.
Visit Dave’s ESL Cafe at your peril.
↵ -
David, I understand where you’re coming from, but I still think it’s a great resource for those of us without advanced degrees. Many of us have no choice but to stick with the eikaiwa realm.
And Sarah, I stand by what I say about TEFL’s typical shelf life. No way did I say it wasn’t a proper career. Many careers have what they consider natural shelf lives. Try working in Los Angeles. For all the industries that actually exist there, it’s basically a company town if you work in any branch of the entertainment and journalism industries there as I did. I assure you, I did excellently but having reached the wrong side of 50 no way would I be welcome today.
It’s the same in TEFL, especially abroad where age discrimination is perfectly legal and photos are required for every job (the newest craze: full-body photos to insure you’re not fat). There are whole countries whose visa rules shut out anyone over 55. That’s an official shelf life if I ever heard of one.
Schools that do want seasoned pros generally mean people in their 30s or mid-40s. Once you’re past that, you’re overseasoned — so to speak.
That wasn’t the topic of this thread, so, sorry. I was just responding. I still think Dave’s is a good resource for everyone. David, if you know of a better resource for the “better” jobs, I’m sure many out there would love to know about it.
↵ -
I’m really surprised that TESOL.ORG was not on this list. It is a professional site with great resources and job postings for ESL instructors.
↵
Leave a Comment
Jump To Category:
Explore the Community
The Radar 
Quick hits from the Matador Editors
yTravel writes about MatadorU
Brazil Day 2010 in NYC
A Pure River: Poems on Travel and Place
Osprey Packs sponsors “Packing in the Streets” contest
By popular demand, TBEX Europe: Nov 4-6, 2010
Do you hold your breath while working at the computer?
“The Two Escobars” screening in San Francisco thru 9/2
Newsflash: Westerners Don’t Think About Sharing Like the Rest of the World
Satellite photo being taken of Black Rock City (Burning Man) Sept. 2 at 11:41 am
Free text messaging services at Burning Man
Popular Stories on Matador
Editor Blogs
- David Miller
- Paul Sullivan
- Leigh Shulman
- Adam Roy
- Austin Chu
- Carlo Alcos
- Christine Garvin
- David Page
- Hal Amen
- Ian MacKenzie
- Josh Johnson
- Julie Schwietert
- Kate Sedgwick
- Lola Akinmade
- Sarah Menkedick
- Tim Patterson
- Tom Gates
- Candice Walsh
- JoAnna Haugen
