Feature photo by torres21 / Above photo by gwaar
Teaching ESL overseas has become an increasingly popular rite of passage for young North Americans. Many twenty-somethings see this experience as a great way to do a bit of traveling without breaking the bank.
If that isn’t reason enough to look into ESL work, here are eight hidden benefits to teaching English abroad.
1. The training is painless.
A TESL certificate can be attained through a 100 hour course, and most schools offer evening/weekend sessions or online courses. The fees start at about $500 USD, and many schools have services to help with the job hunt.
If you have some extra cash and want to start your travels immediately, larger ESL schools offer four week TESL training in exotic locations around Europe, Southeast Asia, or Central and South America.
2. You can be a student in your own classroom.
Regardless of age, the students you teach will be excited to see a foreigner take an interest in their culture. Most will gladly offer tips about local foods to eat, places to see, and things to try.
Young students can teach you a lot about pop culture or local slang, and simple conversations will give you insight into their family lives and customs. For just one example, check out Matador member Teresita’s blog, I Heart Our Global Pop Culture Icons.
Photo of Iraqi student by Army.mil
3. A year is a long time…
…to experience a whole calendar’s worth of festivals, holidays, cultural events, and seasonal foods. You’ll get much more insight than a single trip. Also, worldwide holidays like Chinese New Year or Christmas are a bit different in every country. You’ll get to experience a unique version of a familiar holiday.
4. It’s a crash course in cultural sensitivity.
Most expats reach the “Their society makes ZERO sense to me!” phase at some point. It’s a normal step in one’s adjustment to a new culture. Getting past this phase of culture shock means opening your mind to new and unfamiliar things. Whether the traffic laws are driving you crazy, or new acquaintances ask questions that seem invasive to you, be patient.
Photo of Korean students by watchsmart
You’ll come to appreciate the ways in which this foreign culture operates. Most often, you’ll note customs that strike you as far more practical than those in your native country.
5. You’ll get an instant network of local acquaintances.
Whether you’re teaching in a language centre or public school, you’ll be amongst colleagues who speak English. Regardless of their level of expertise, they’ll likely be keen to practice their English conversation skills with you. Not only will you have new friends, but your coworkers can help you navigate the area and its customs better than any guidebook.
6. You’ll be tapping into an excellent grapevine.
A lot of good ESL jobs, and general travel tips, are accumulated by word of mouth. By meeting other ESL teachers, you can get advice about new destinations or jobs from people who have been there, lived that.
Whether you wonder which South American country has the fewest work visa hassles, or you’re curious about how rainy Vietnam’s rainy season really is, other teacher-travelers can help.
Photo by dcJohn
7. Travel is simple with a great home base.
If you’re based in Thailand, you can visit Cambodia or Laos for under $50 USD. If you’re teaching in a European country and you’re close to an airport, a weekend in Prague or Berlin is a cheap RyanAir flight away. Once you’re set up in a foreign country, the journey to other exotic locales becomes much, much easier.
8. It’s a resume-booster, even if you don’t want to teach long-term.
You might worry that this job will look like a blip on your resume. Even if your teaching experience consisted of sing-alongs and barnyard animal flashcards, don’t underestimate the skills you developed along the way. Communicating across cultural barriers, using leadership skills to conduct classes, and picking up a new language (even just conversationally) are great assets.
COMMUNITY CONNECTION
Lots of Matador members are either teaching abroad now or have past ESL experience. Whether you want to teach in Istanbul or var ids = new Array; ids.push(51);
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27 Comments... join the discussion!
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I agree with everything on your list. Prospective English teachers should also consider that taking such a step may lead to a completely new phase of life. I planned on teaching in Prague, Czech Republic for just one year but made so many friends and got involved in the community literary scene that I ended up staying for three years. Eventually, I even married one of my former students! (don't worry, he was 32) You never know where life will take you when you immerse yourself in a new adventure.
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Blip on your resume?!! Don't even consider working anywhere, where work or travel abroad might be seen as a "blip"!
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I had a blast teaching English in Japan with the JET program. The work was easy and I saved a lot of money - well over $15,000 per year.
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If you don't have the money for the TESOL course and you'd prefer to get paid to study, work teaching all the while live abroad try: ” target=”_blank”>http://www.willexcel.com/TESOL/English/Why.htm It's what I am here in Northern China doing now and can more than recommend it. After only 5 months I am now a Senior Teacher and completing their Masters of TESOL too! I love that I am travelling and being paid to do what I am passionate about. Anna, you are right on the money! Great article!
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This is so awesome! I've been wanting to do this when I graduate college in a year, but I thought I would have had to been pursuing a teaching degree…this is perfect for the "lost souls" like me who don't have a plan yet
Thanks!
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Does one have to be a major in education to teach abroad?
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I thought of teaching English in a foreign country, but never went through with it. Teaching English is a great way to see the world, give back, and gain an understanding of another country and its people. Who knows what the future will hold for me — maybe I will teach English one day.
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Due to an easy schedule and normally few hours and longer vacations, it is easy to begin an online degree or even a masters. It also frees up time to begin a Blog, website, take up photography or write a book. It is a matter of what you choose to do in your time as an ESL/EFL teacher that can really open the doors to a future. I know too many teachers that would rather complain about the awful conditions of the school that they teach at or the problems in the country, that most opportunities slip by. Great Article!! Thanks Ann!!
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Nice! I'll blog this at Thaipulse and a couple other places. I came to Thailand at 38 yrs old and taught English for a bit. Amazing experience. Not all good - but all worth it. Funny thing is - I meet many foreigners that WISH they came in their twenties. Me included. I wish I'd come at 22 and stayed straight through. It's an amazing country and the people make it that way even more so than the natural beauty of the land. I highly recommend going overseas to teach English. Get away from the USA - the stress of daily life… and see how another group of millions of people are living their lives. It opens your eyes.
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I have nothing against teaching English in other countries, but there should be systems set up so that only qualified candidates are allowed to teach. I have seen too many so called teachers, usually fresh grads who are there to party and lifers who are there for easy money, go about it unprofessionally (They'd be lying if they say otherwise). Sure there are those who are genuine and wants to help others learn English but their efforts are often overshadowed by these unqualified candidates. Teaching English and being a native English speakers are two entirely different thing. Schools and language institutes need to figure this out. I saw it first hand in 2004 while teaching a year in Japan.
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hat type of degree would I need if I were to teach overseas?
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My 3 years teaching in Japan laid a foundation for the very well-paying job I hold now, 30 years later. Like all experiences, if you put effort into it, you'll derive tremendous benefit from it.. If you perceive it as a party that simply requires you to be present to participate, then it will impact your life in that way as well. If you like diversity, challenge, change, and growth, it is a great way to broaden your life. And it is certainly not restricted to new grads or people in their 20s. But don't expect it to be like teaching at home: it's a job and comes with its own peculiar circumstances. Nice article. Thanks.
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My friend taught English in Tokyo for a few years and loved there so much he never came back. He's been there for almost 5 years now and speaks pretty well. It's great for friends too, because they have someone they know to visit in other countries and to show them around!
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just one question– if someone wanted to teach in Japan, we'll say, wouldn't that person need to speak Japanese as well as English? Maybe I missed something, but I don't see how it would be possible to teach English in a foreign country without speaking the native language.
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As a matter of fact, the only requirement I am aware of to teach English in Asia is that you have a BA in some area of expertise; it doesn't have to be English or teaching. And from what I've read, it's helpful to know at least a little bit of the native language, but you're there to teach English and your students are there to learn English, so being fluent in the native tongue isn't necessary. Also, depending on which program you teach through, they provide you with all the materials you need to set up lessons and so forth.
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You don't need to speak Japanese to teach English in Japan. Schools that employ native speakers of English have students that read and write English fairly well, but need a lot of opportunities to practice speaking and listening skils, i.e., conversational English. If you speak Japanese, you are tempted to make the conversation "easier" by helping them. The best way to learn a language is to be immersed in it, even if only for an hour at a time, so that's how English conversation is taught. Of course there is a curriculum and materials provided, but the biggest impact you can make is to require your students to speak to you in English. I never spoke a word of Japanese in class, even when I was able to do so. Of course, living in Japan makes it desireable to speak at least a little Japanese to make daily life easier. And, it's not a difficult language to learn.
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Sounds like Lee is the only other person worried about the hoards being unleashed upon the poor and naive of the world armed with a TEFL cert that they printed off posing as teachers. The statement "Anyone can teach English" rates up there with "Anyone can perform an amputation", sure in practice anyone can do it, but can they do it well? Keep in mind that for millions, learning English is an opportunity for a better job and therefore many families pool money together so that a family member learns the language. I would hope that their teacher is someone who has a slight idea of language pedagogy and not some looking for a blip on their C.V.
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I think teaching english as a volunteer and living with a host family is a great solution to discover a culture . One of my friend did that with United Planet. He stayed in Nepal for a few weeks and he really loved it! And he was very useful for the kids because they only have one english teacher for the school and it was not enough! He had some difficulties with the language of course, but he had a training before going there, so he was not completely lost and he could learn some basic language. He seems to have a really great time and now I'm thinking about teaching english in Peru next summer!
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Tim would you mind answering a few questions about ur time in Japan via JET program…When did you do it? I'm considering doing the same in Korea. I would like to do it in Japan, but I'm thinking economically korea may be better. I hear I won't save much money in Japan at all. If you don't mind how were you able to save so much in one year? Also, Ive done a 2.5year stint with peace corps, so I'm not new to living in a new and different environment. In fact I love it. Also, were you at a public school? And what city? Thanks alot for taking the time to reply.
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Hey Tim! I'd like to ask you a few questions about ur exp with JET in Japan. I'm interested in teaching english in Korea. I was considering Japan as well. Economically, I was told I would save more money in Korea. If you don't mind, how were you able to save so much in one year? Were you in a public school? Also, how was your experience in the classroom? manageable? Thanks for your reply, sorry if I double posted this.
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You can save quite a bit of $$$ on JET, but I was especially lucky - I lived rent free in a rural area and grew some of my own food. I was in a public school. Classroom time was very manageable - I taught about 18 hours per week. You can find lots of writing from my time in Japan in the archives of ” target=”_blank”>http://www.sleepinginthemountains.blogspot.com. -Tim
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Thanks a lot. I'll def. check out ur blog Tim.
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Hey Tim. I tried to access the blog link but the link isn't showing any posts.Its just the 'blogger status' page, which says the blogger is unavailable. any ideas?
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weird - try this one - ” target=”_blank”>http://sleepinginthemountains.blogspot.com/ - or google sleeping in the mountains
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Anne- great article.
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So is it okay to do a $500 TESOL course anywhere or does one need to worry over which institute offers the best course? With so many private institutes vying with eachother to prove their TESOL certificate is the most widely recognized, I am more than confused about which one to go with?
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