Teaching Overseas
Please note: A link to resources on this website should not be construed as an endorsement by Career Advancement or the University of Chicago. Students and alumni are encouraged to use caution and judgment when evaluating services related to work abroad and consult Career Advancement advisers with any questions or concerns related to the advice and resources provided here.
With so many options for teaching English, a good place to start is with some self-examination as to what sort of experience you are seeking overseas.
Here are a few questions to think about as you start to think about what kind of experience you want to have abroad.
What skills and experiences do you hope to gain?
Are you more interested in a cross-cultural experience or teaching?
Do you need to make money?
How important to you is it that you get to pick your location (country, city, rural/urban, etc.)?
To help you think through which countries you may be interested in, you may reference the Travel Advisories issued by the Department of State.
What type of setting would you like to live in?
Do you want to work in a region where you speak the language fluently?
Do you have preferences for the demographic background of the students you’d like to teach?
The ideal time to start to think through these questions is approximately a year before you hope to take up your position overseas. Many teaching programs have deadlines in the fall for departure the following summer.
As you search for a job and prepare for departure, you may consider getting some experience working with students and language learners by obtaining your TEFL certification or volunteering.
You can Google or search for an employer on EFL forums like Dave’s ESL Cafe but make sure to regard any reviews you find with a healthy dose of skepticism: one person’s experience may not be indicative of an entire school or program. Look for patterns of bad reviews, rather than single assessments.
Check the name of the program or school with the Better Business Bureau, if it is a U.S.-based organization.
Make an appointment with a Career Advancement advisor to discuss your plans to work abroad and your communication with the program or employer.
Consider getting a CELTA/TEFL certificate or traveling to your destination before taking up employment. This will allow you to acclimate, interview in person, and meet other employees who work for the school.
International Schools
Most international schools will only hire teachers with a U.S. teaching credential (and usually one to two years of experience), but some will hire recent graduates with completed undergraduate degrees. It is also possible to do student teaching as part of an education program overseas.
International Schools Placement Services/Fairs
Placement services offer databases of open positions to certified teachers. They sometimes charge a user fee for access.
University-Level Positions
In some countries, it is possible to teach English at the university level without an MA or PhD. See the teaching without certification section below.
Public Schools
The public-school systems of the following English-speaking countries will hire U.S.-certified teachers.
Placement Programs
The below programs offer positions to U.S. certified teachers (typically with one to two years of experience)
Introduction
There are many teaching positions available, all over the world, that do not require U.S. teaching certification. Most are English language teaching positions for which the only requirements are a bachelor's degree and native English fluency (often the proxy for this is citizenship from either the U.S., UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, or South Africa). Increasingly, however, employers are starting to require Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) or Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA) certifications.
Where, how many, at what level and how well these positions are compensated depends on a number of factors, including but not limited to the perceived necessity of learning English, the perceived necessity of learning it from a native speaker instead of a fluent local, and whether or not English is taught in the public schools, and if so, by native speakers.
In relatively affluent East Asian locations with a large number of teaching positions available (Japan, South Korea, mainland China and to a lesser degree Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) earnings can be equivalent to a non-profit starting salary in the US and depending on your lifestyle, may allow for savings. In most other locations EFL teachers earn enough to support themselves while they are abroad, but may end up spending some money when the (not insignificant) costs of airfare and setting up a home are factored in. Some volunteer-type teaching positions may qualify for loan deferment.
Application Strategies
Teachers seeking to go abroad have two application strategies they can pursue—participate in a placement program or pursue an independent job search.
Placement programs, whether non-profit, government or fee-for-service have the benefit of taking care of some of the many difficulties that result from relocating internationally: searching for a place to live, finding a job, securing a visa, obtaining health insurance, even airport pickup. Programs can be a good choice for applicants who lack experience in the country of their destination, do not speak the language and/or who have limited experience abroad.
It is only true of a few programs, however, that this service is provided for free. Placement programs often also mean being willing to be placed where the program has need, which can sometimes be very rural or isolated areas.
Before giving any money or paperwork to any program be sure to carefully vet the program by asking specific and detailed questions of program administrators and (ideally) former participants. Make sure you know the exact fees charged, the amount of salary (if any) you will earn, and what kind of purchasing power that will offer you. Be clear on whether you are guaranteed job placement, who will secure your work permit, what kind of, and how much, health insurance you will be provided, whether you are provided housing, teacher training and/or materials, whether there is an orientation, and level of on-site support you will receive.
Non-profit Placement Programs
Government-Sponsored Placement Programs
Teachers without certification seeking to go overseas also obtain positions by directly contacting the schools they wish to work for without going through a placement organization. This offers more control over the location, type of school, and age of students. It can also save the overhead costs of a placement organization, but often requires much more work on the part of the applicant. Direct hire positions are often better for those with in-country experience, language skills, and/or TEFL certification.
When investigating a potential employer, ensure that you use caution and carefully investigate the work situation, contract, and housing by asking specific and detailed questions of the hiring contact and (ideally) former participants. Make sure you know the amount of salary, how and in which currency payment will be made to you, and what kind of purchasing power that will offer you. Be clear on who will secure your work permit—do not take a position that will not provide you with the proper visa. Also determine what kind of, and how much, health insurance you will be provided—this should not be something you go abroad without. You will also want to determine whether you are provided housing, teacher training, and/or materials. If a job posting seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Questions to keep in mind when organizing your job search, include:
Will health insurance be included? What kind of coverage will you have?
Who is responsible for housing? If the program is, what will that look like and what will you be responsible for in the space in terms of utilities?
Who is securing your work permit? How can you ensure that you are receiving the proper visa?
How will you be trained, particularly if the posting does not require a TEFL certification?
Who is responsible for providing various materials to do the job?
How much is your compensation in relation to the cost of living? Will you be paid enough to purchase airfare home as needed? If not, have you saved up enough to do so?
Are there any previous participants you can speak to? Are there patterns to any negative reviews or online criticisms?
What is the quality of life for those who do not speak (at all or fluently) the native language in that country?
Is the country safe for and welcoming to all of your social identities?
How familiar are you with the cultural nuances of your destination and how professionalism differs from the US?
For assistance navigating these concerns, make an appointment with a Career Advancement advisor.
Teaching English Certifications
While there are many countries where it is still common for teachers to be hired with no experience teaching English as an additional language and no formal training, this is becoming less and less the rule. Obtaining TEAL/TEFL/TESOL certification can be a good way to get some experience and ease into the job market. Whether you do it in the US or overseas, however, choosing the right certificate program is important in order to get the most value for your tuition.
Certification Basics
TEAL/TEFL/TESOL courses are typically a month long, although the courses may be stretched out over several months if part-time.
The professional standards for courses are below, although each TEFL program has variant times for training:
120 classroom hours
Six practice teaching hours: this teaching practice should be on real EAL learners, not your TEFL classmates
Some form of verification or accreditation of the course by an outside body, to ensure consistency of the trainers
A TEFL course to this standard will likely cost between $2,000-3,000 in the United States.
Common TEFL Courses
A handful of “brand names” have emerged in the TEFL certificate business in recent years: the CELTA, the Trinity certTESOL, and the SIT TESOL certificate. Below are the most common and well-known of the TEFL certificates, in some cases required by employers by name. These certificates are offered in many countries all over the world, including many of the most popular teaching destinations.
Things to Consider
As is the case with most brands, the “brand name” courses may sometimes cost more than other TEFL courses
For many employers, any certificate will do.
The benefit of a brand-name course is that an employer knows exactly what sort of training you have had—the reputation of the course speaks for itself. A non-brand-name course may require the employer to do research on your course that they may or may not be willing to do.
Many employers willing to accept a course not up to professional standards (an online course, for example) will be willing to hire teachers without a certificate. If you plan to stay in the industry, it may not be worth the money you save to do an online course if you will have to re-train in the classroom again at a later point for an employer who is more stringent about qualifications.
It is possible to somewhat mitigate the cost of a TEFL course by taking the course where you hope to teach (especially if the cost of living is lower there). Many institutes that offer TEFL courses also hire teachers. This gives you the benefit of acclimating to the location before you begin teaching, the ability to interview in person and verify the reputation of the employer in the larger EFL community. It is important to balance this, however, with the likelihood that you will be able to find a job.
Some employers will also offer discounted rates to teachers who take their TEFL course.
Online Resources
Selecting Reputable TEFL Schools Abroad, from Transitions Abroad magazine
Things to Watch Out for Before Taking a TEFL Job Overseas, from Transitions Abroad magazine
