Guide: How To Be An English Teacher Abroad

If you are fluent in English, you have a gift that is not available to everyone. Abroad, English is considered the most important language to learn as it is the key to professional success. Did you know that you have the opportunity to teach English abroad and make money from it?

You must have a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) or a TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) degree to teach English in another nation. However, before you begin the process of obtaining your certification to teach English overseas, you will need to conduct some study and preparation.

Find out where you want to teach

Where do you want to be based if you want to teach English? This is a significant factor in your decision to teach English. You will be committed to this area for a year, so do your research and consider alternatives. Each nation appreciates and treats English instructors differently, so here are some things to consider when deciding where you want to teach English since this may affect how you obtain your TEFL certification.

Work Permit

If you have a certain place or country in mind, the first thing you will need to determine is if your nationality is legally authorized to work there. Would you require a visa to work? What options do you have for getting one? Is it expensive, or does it take too long?

If it appears to be nearly hard to operate lawfully where you want, do some research on the “flexibility” of these restrictions. Although I do not legally support living or working anyplace, there are many countries across the world where individuals do. Just because other people could beat the system doesn’t guarantee you can.

The availability of English teaching jobs and the average income

Popular English teacher locations, such as Rome and London, frequently have a surplus of English instructors looking for work and not enough work to go around. If you’re conducting research, being flexible may mean considerably greater compensation, working hours, and a more relaxed experience having a career if you’re not fixed on a single destination.

However, if you sign a year-long contract with them, governments and schools in need of English instructors may occasionally pay for your travel, accommodation, and other expenses. Some of these countries don’t even need you to acquire a certificate to teach English overseas, but there’s a catch: they’re still “less desirable” locations throughout the world. Being adaptable has significant benefits.

Keep in mind what fields you might wish to work in

A TEFL or TESOL certification is comprehensive, allowing you to teach English on a broad scale. Choosing a specialism can help you separate from other candidates and earn more money in certain situations.

Working with children is not simple, but you will have many more opportunities to teach English if you understand how to do it well.

Business English courses are highly regarded in many world regions, owing to the increased need for English-speaking positions. Although it may not be as enjoyable as working with children, large sums of money may be brought in.

You can also specialize in coaching for the TOEFL exam, which overseas students must enter college in the United States or the United Kingdom. If you understand how the test works, you may charge a premium hourly fee for English tutoring in another country.

Choose how you wish to obtain your credential to teach English in another country

There are two options for obtaining certification to teach English in another country.

You may complete your certification course online if you want to work at your own pace and get certified while still working or going to school. You’ll need to be self-motivated for this choice because it’s exactly like attending an online class, and you’ll have projects and tests to do on your own.

The disadvantage is that you will not gain classroom experience. However, some online courses will send you recordings of example lessons conducted by experienced instructors in various regions of the world. This allows you to look at actual classes. It is also a good idea to attempt to obtain some in-class experience on your own by volunteering to teach in your community, perhaps at a YMCA or local school.

You do not need to complete 20 hours of actual teaching or observation to obtain TEFL certification, but it will make you more marketable when searching for jobs.

If you already have teaching experience, becoming certified online is certainly the finest and most cost-effective option.

If you want to study in a classroom, you may either abroad or in a large city close to home. The advantage of acquiring your certificate overseas is that it will allow you to engage with language schools that will hire you once you have completed your studies. However, it is far more expensive than doing it at home because you will need to pay for flights, lodging, and other expenses. Both programs can give classroom teaching experience.

Choosing a recognized organization to teach English in another country

There are several certification organizations to choose from, but several factors to consider when deciding which one to utilize.

Types of Certification

What level of certification and training are you looking for? This will be determined by how you want to apply your knowledge. Some courses, for example, provide introductory courses that are appropriate for someone who (clearly) wants an introduction to English teaching or who wants to utilize their expertise for charity causes. Alternatively, you may enroll in a more advanced course that will take at least 120 hours to complete but will provide you with a certificate in most countries to teach English overseas.

Services for post-certification job placement

Numerous TEFL businesses will assist you with job placement if you’ve completed your course, but their services are limited. Contact the job placement staff and ask as many questions as you can until you commit to a program. Let them know if you have a certain destination in mind and know who their hiring partners are in that region. Pick their brains for the peak job season for these partners to determine if it meets your desired TEFL certification dates.

Does the training address your area of expertise?

Can you recall what you wanted to specialize in when brainstorming? When selecting a course, make sure it includes your specialization, but if it doesn’t, see if there is the possibility of adding module, such as a specialized certificate in Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL).

Grading and assistance

What amount of assistance does the course provide? Will you be left to your own devices to complete assignments with a pass/fail grading system after each module, or will you be assigned a mentor who will carefully grade each of your projects and tests and provide suggestions on improving? Because you are not sitting face-to-face with your professors in a classroom, this might be advantageous for an online course.

Previous students’ testimonials

There are testimonial sites for many organizations, but if you ask, you might be able to contact a previous student to learn about their course experience and get a job afterward. Google the program you’re interested in to see if you can locate any students to contact that way.

Many English teachers blog these days, so you might be able to find someone that way. Some organizations will provide you with previous students’ contact information if you ask for it and try to find someone individually to obtain an honest reaction. They will inform you if this organization is a decent place to get certified to teach English overseas.

Once you’ve decided on the organization that will provide you with your certification, be prepared to put in a lot of effort. When English is your first language, it’s easy, but teaching English is a whole different story!

Do you have any questions regarding how to obtain your English teaching certification in another country? Fill out the form below, and we’ll get back to you.