Thinking About Teaching English Overseas? Some Primary Considerations Before Taking the Plunge

While it’s true that many native English speakers have done this successfully in conjunction with their jobs as English language teachers, it’s by far not an easy and cut-and-dried process. If you’re thinking about going overseas and becoming one of the hundreds of thousands who are in the Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) or Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) or Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) field, you should consider a few things first.

Why do you want to teach English in another country?

Individual people have different reasons for wanting to teach abroad, but it seems that the majority of persons who have done so have at least this in common: they want to experience a life that’s totally different from the one they’ve had for years. All kinds of people have entered the TEFL profession: employees wanting to escape the rat race, retirees who still want to work but in another professional capacity, new graduates who want to hone their teaching skills, backpackers who want to earn some pocket money to enable them to go on with their travels. Do you really want to teach English to non-native speakers in their own country, or will you be using it as a means to fund your travels? Identifying your reason for going abroad to teach is an important part of the planning process.

Can you get a job teaching English as a second language anytime, anywhere?

It’s true that if you’re a native English speaker, it will be easier for you to find a teaching job in some countries where the majority of the population does not speak English. There are stories that go something along the lines of just appearing in a certain country and getting an English teaching job in a local school within a week, even with minimal qualifications – sometimes not even that. This is why TEFL is such a popular fallback for American and British backpackers who need to earn some additional money.
But times are changing. Just because you speak English doesn’t mean you can teach it! These days, getting a good ELT job at a local school in another country requires that you have at least a TEFL certification. There are many websites that offer TEFL courses online, but it would be better to take classroom-based courses since these would actually have you standing in front of people and teaching. You can’t get this kind of practical experience from an Internet-based TESL or TEFL course. Once you are officially certified to teach English, the door to getting a good ESL job opens a bit wider.

It all boils down to doing a good job. Remember that it’s about being a good and efficient English teacher. It doesn’t matter whether you teach in your own country or abroad; each student is entitled to receive the education he or she pays for. It’s okay if you’re going to teach abroad to supplement your travel income, just make sure you do a good job of it. English teachers are held in high regard in many non-English-speaking countries, whether they are teaching in Vietnam, Czechoslovakia, or Colombia, and TESL teachers who do slipshod jobs not only do a great disservice to their students, they tarnish the reputations of other foreign English teachers who are doing their work well.

Teaching English overseas can be a rewarding and enriching experience, but it doesn’t happen to everyone. Examining your motives, doing your research meticulously on TEFL requirements, and keeping up-to-date on happenings in the ESL profession will help prevent unfortunate events that could happen if you just rush blindly into it.