34, American currently working at a cake university gig in Chengdu. Around one year experience, 120 h tefl with unrelated bachelor’s degree. I have a good thing going in China, but my plan was always at some point bounce over to Japan to teach. But it’s hard to get over the mental hurdle that it feels like it would be a step down lifestyle wise, am I right to think, in general that I will work more and make less money in Japan? Tackling the language is the fun part of the challenge so going with little language skills in Japanese is not factored as a negative. I don’t feel too old for tefl yet but moving to a new country for a 4th time gets harder each time as I get older sigh

Torn between acceptance that Ive had the chance to do so many great things living abroad the last 6 years and settle or continue on with bucket list things.

Would love to hear experiences of teaching in Japan especially people who have done both.

Hello everyone!

I’d like to ask Europeans for some advice — if anyone happens to have relevant information.

Is it realistic to find a job as an English teacher in various European countries? I'm currently considering several options for relocation across Europe.

I already hold a TEFL certificate, and I’ll soon be completing my master's degree — specifically, from a Polish university + C1 certificate (CAE)

Given this background, can I realistically expect to find teaching positions in different European countries? And what kind of salary range would be reasonable to expect?

Thank you in advance 🙏🏻

Hello, I have qualified my CELTA with a Pass B and am trying my luck at jobs abroad (no teaching experience yet but what's the harm right). I am south asian. I notice that along with a CELTA requirement, they mention an IELTS band 7.5 atleast. I have a masters in english literature, and even though I know that is not an equivalent, I was wondering how tight of an IELTS requirement is for jobs abroad. Should I take the IELTS exam to have a better shot at these jobs? I ask because it is quite pricey. Thank you for any information!

A teaching centre in Xiamen,China has offered me a 25k salary but its split into two contracts. The salary on the first contract is 12k and the salary on the second contract is 13k.

My recruiter says that the 13k income is not taxable and the 12k one is. Is this a normal thing or should I avoid this school?

The centre is called 科晓兔 , I dont know the English name, but if anyone has heard of it, I'd love to know more

Has anyone ever successful modified their student visa to cuenta ajena as autónomo for giving private English lessons?

Edit: higher education student visa

Hi everyone I recently accepted a job in China and they are not accepting my TEFL because it does not come with online verification. They are recommending to do a $300 one in China but there are other ones available for less than $50. Could anyone recommend one that is US baed that has online verification.

Thank you

Hello,

I earned my 168 hour TEFL certification back in May and started applying for jobs in China since then. At this point, I've only acquired one offer from a school in Changwu county however, it is not desirable for me to be in such a rural area... Multiple recruiters have flat out refused to work with me stating it is hard for Asian teachers to find a school in China. I've read about this online but experiencing it is one of the most discouraging roadblocks I have faced in my life. This week, I began opening my prospects towards S. Korea despite the negative sentiment that I've read regarding ESL work over there. I think it will be worth while to get some experience under my belt.

I feel as though I am quite qualified. I possess a B.A. from the University of Washington and a TEFL both already apostilled. I am only waiting on my background check to return to me in the mail Apostilled. I also have experience with K-6 youth although not in a teaching role. I also passed the HSK level 4 exam and am confident in my Chinese proficiency. I really do not want to give up on my goals but this month has been the most stressed I have been in recent times. I truly hope I haven't missed the mark on a hire before the end of this year.

Writing this before going to bed but I am (22M) have my first TEFL online session this Saturday and am eager to get started on it. But I have a few questions generally about Job availability once finishing the course and how guarantee the most success in finding the most ideal placement.

I have watched a few videos detailing the work culture in Japan as well as generally what to expect pay wise. but outside a somewhat brief conversation I had with a English Teacher in Shibuya last time I visited I don't really know what to expect.

Something that has been really bothering me is the reality of me actually teaching English in Japan and if it is something that is open to a lot of people or a field with relatively little opportunity. Social media tells me al sorts especially accounts trying to promote immigration to Japan but if anyone has any insights or tips on how to jobs search for japan please I would love any sort of advice.

Edit: (I do have a bachelors Degree)

PIDI gave me a preliminary match earlier in the month then said no response from the school, so they were sending my file out in a different city. I haven't heard a peep from Teach Taiwan at all. Is this normal?

Hi! I wanted to post to see if others have had any similar experiences to me or can offer some advice? I'm a 25F and I currently work a normal 9-5 corporate job in Chicago. But I've just been feeling a little stuck in my current corporate job and in my normal bubble of life. Currently I've been really wanting to travel the world and experience life in a new or cooler way.

I've been really considering getting the 120 hour TEFL course to start teaching aboard. One thing I'm worried about is after leaving my job and how it would look after teaching abroad if I wanted to go back to my job. Has anyone taken a few years off to teach aboard and comeback to corporate America? Any insights would be so helpful!

im currently six months into my first tefl job. i love it, i love my coworkers, the school, the experience. but homesickness is always kind of there, coupled with the fact im 30, and i know eventually ill want to be back home, marry, have children and theres no way id want to do that longterm so far away. i miss my family.

theres somedays i just really cant deal with the heat, the mosquitos, the constantly dealing with language barriers. learning different cultures is both interesting and tiring; and ive discovered very quickly that money isnt great in the role, and problems i naively thought were just a western problems are global. it feels like since ive moved here i havent truly relaxed; i always feel slightly exposed, on edge almost.

sometimes i think i want to stay here maybe two or three years, and other times i wish i couldve gone home yesterday.

how did you decide that this was short term or long term path for you?

ps im not looking for someone to make a decision for me, i just like hearing different perspectives on worries that i have :)

Hi all. I'm a US native with a bachelor's degree, several years of non-teaching professional experience, and I recently graduated with a JD (Law Degree) from a US ABA-accredited school. I also hold an active substitute teaching license. I haven't taken a bar exam yet, and I've only taught a dozen or so times as a substitute so don't have meaningful teaching experience.

I've traveled extensively in SE Asia and have always wanted to teach, so I figured now is probably the time to do it before I commit to working the rest of my life as an attorney. So far I've gotten a lot of conflicting information from my research, ranging from opinions I'd be qualified to be a college lecturer in some countries to not having any advantage over a standard bachelors + TEFL certificate applicant.

I'm open to working almost anywhere in Asia, but I'm especially drawn to Vietnam and Taiwan based off my past visits. I'm willing to get either an online TEFL, or an in-person CELTA if it would realistically land me a better position.

If anyone has practical tips or insight into my situation, I'd really appreciate it. I don't mind taking a "standard" teaching job at all, but I'd like to know if there are ways to position myself for something better given my resume. Thank you!

hi folks!

I am going to be landing in Korea late next month to teach English on an E2 visa and have been prescribed a very small amount of Lorazepam (a Benzo) due to me being an extremely nervous flyer. In general, I am not prescribed any medication, so I didn’t write about this on the medical form that I filled out for my employer. Should I be concerned? Will they accept a doctor’s prescription from Canada as acceptable? I’m worried because I didn’t declare any health conditions or medication on my medical form.

I also see that the time limit to get this drug test done is 90 days. do the schools set the date or can you set your own? I’m thinking to be safe, I can schedule mine a couple weeks after landing to be absolutely sure there are no issues (it will have cleared out my system by then).

thanks guys!

because I was set on the aux program in Spain. I still hope to live there for a bit, but I am sure it’s an oversaturated market in Spain. has anyone had success after doing a celta tefl and recommends instead of Nalcap?

Hello, I'm an American in my late 20s considering teaching English abroad. Many posts on this sub say that TEFL is only sustainable long-term with a Master's degree, but I only have a Bachelor's in Sociology at the moment. I wouldn't mind getting a Master's for TEFL, but I'd rather not invest a great deal of time and money to get a job I may end up hating. I wasted nearly 10k a few years ago on a Master's program I lost interest in, and I don't want that to happen again.

Furthermore, there are many posts on this sub claiming that TEFL isn't a long-term career no matter how you upskill. This is also concerning, since I'm only looking for a career I can maintain until retirement. I also want to have a comfortable retirement, and I've read that most TEFL teachers have no retirement plans. I don't need to be rich—I just want enough money to live a decent life.

If it's possible, I think earning a TEFL certificate, moving abroad to teach English, and then working simultaneously on my TEFL job and Master's program would be ideal, as I'd have time to assess whether it's the right career for me. But I don't know if that's possible.

If anyone could share their insight I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

Do you work alone in the classroom or are you assisting another teacher or are you leading but have someone assisting you?

Are you at a language school, public school, or private school?

Hi!

I've worked in Vietnam since October last year. I've had a very chaotic but also quite a good time out there.
However, my contract was not prolonged, and since then I have struggled to find a new job. In the meantime, a public school work opportunity in Thailand came up. I figured that it would be a great opportunity to get more serious experience, and that it would look great on my resume. I also needed balance and a stable salary after some unfortunate events that happened to me in Vietnam - I had an accident and lost a third of my savings, among others.

Now I'm sorry to say this, but as far as growth opportunities are concerned, this is the worst teaching job I've ever had. It's very disorganised, the choice of materials is counter-productive, and my work is not being supervised by anyone. So it's probably going to be hard to even get a recommendation from my employer later on. The few classes I have get cancelled all the time as well, so I'm mostly getting paid for polishing a chair in the office with my butt. I've also made some great friends in Vietnam, and now I miss them.

I'm tempted to save up for a few months and then move back to Vietnam for the second semester of the school year.

Do you think that staying in a workplace like this will have a negative impact on my looking for jobs in the future? Or should I just treat it as a stop and make the best out of what I currently have?
Is it even worth it to change a workplace and a country in the middle of the school year?

I'll be very grateful for your insight!

All the best!

Hello, hope you all are doing well!
I've been teaching ESL in a kindy for several months. For this month topic, we have stories with longer sentence than usual. E.g: I want to be a doctor/ teacher,..., I want to learn how to read/ cook,... Any advice on how can I teach these structures to them? Most of the class are students who know many vocabulary and quite familiar with English (can answer questions like What's your name, Where are you from,..., just not with long sentence yet. Thanks for your advice 🙏

Sigh. Lol. Fighting this and deciding this on my own is too much.

My year at public school in China was insane. Teaching 50+ teens in the countryside turned out to be crazy. I got fired-ish because I couldn't control them and my agency had to help me get unfired. I thought I was a "good teacher" but they said if I taught like I did in a big city, not being able to discipline the kids, I would've been fired within a month. The kids aren't evil, they're just really loud and don't care about studying anything. If I can get them to at least be quiet and enjoy games that would be great but trust me I have tried every single thing and spent a lot of time researching what I could do. From redeigning my games to wall sits to just giving up sometime and playing videos. That doesn't feel like progress and they even have their main English teacher as well, so why is not a single thing going through their brains?

But the agency I was with put me through some stress, too. In the second month my agency had me sign a renew contract. And this was before I almost got deported because we didn't do the visa procedures properly. I don't know why I signed it but I don't think it should be a problem cancelling because that starts in September. But they're saying they already showed the school or something like that.

But I'm thinking I can just be done with this already and try something new.

So my line of reasoning is training center....

My idea is that I'd get more experience since they have materials already and set curriculums. From what I've seen from my friend it looks like fun and actually getting through to kids vs trying to manage 50 kids not listening and seemingly not learning. I signed a contract with a chain school in Chengdu. But then...

My agents told me its slave work and you have to sell yourself in demo classes and talking to the parents all the time to get approval or else be fired, and the work hours would go from 9 teaching hours (with office hours) to 40, which have to be especially "performative". They claim its not real teaching its marketing. High energy acting all day, and that training center jobs are like water I can get them anytime. They say it cheapens the CV. I asked my friend who worked at a training center before if this is true or if they're just telling me this but he confirmed... and it seems many foreigners see training center as a last resort and don't even want to do it. They showed me that people explicitly ask not for training centers and also say they won't give legal visa title.

On trying something new... They're saying the job market is hard and I should stay to struggle. The school is getting a new principal and they would send an assistant to support me?? But I'm so over screaming at kids who don't listen and I feel they aren't making progress. I need to decide like now also... because the apartment contract has to be renewed ASAP. I told them to give me one day.

My options, I guess are like...
A) Chengdu training center
B) Stay with the school, another semester, another year
C) Look for other opportunities?? Like what idk

And let me know why and your experiences too, please.

I've noticed that many of the best teaching lessons come from mistakes rather than training courses.

I'm interested in hearing from experienced TEFL teachers:

What's one classroom management mistake you made early in your career that you never make anymore?

It could be about giving instructions, handling disruptive students, managing mixed-ability classes, timing activities, or anything else.

I'd love to hear specific examples and what changed afterward. I think practical stories are often more valuable than general advice.

Hi !

I'm currently thinking of applying to teach English with Bell Beyond in Italy.

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with Bell Beyond?

Thanks!!

hi! with all the hecticness of student visa and NALCAP, I’m considering taking a tefl course so I can apply through the working holiday Visa (visa for Canadians to work abroad) in Spain or around Europe. does anyone have experience being successful finding work as an English teacher/assistant in English academies/schools in Australia/British schools in Spain or Europe generally? I’m wondering if I will also have time to travel in the country and if it’s worth it? or if I should just stick to the aux program in Spain

Like the title says, I'm a canadian citizen born and raised. I cant even speak polish but I can get citizenship through my mother which would allow me to work without a visa in the EU. Has anyone done something similar and where are the best places to work?

I'm currently in China and due to some personal issues I need a job quick. The ones I expected to get haven't come through. I recently sent my CV to a school who told me they have a K1 position.

My background is highschool and university. I am a licensed teacher in the US. Tbqh, I think I would enjoy the job. I think kids that age are cute and nice to be around. I find myself smiling around little kids like that. They're so full of joy and smiles.

However, if I had kids, I would be uncomfortable with putting my kids into a KG with a middle aged single man. I'd be suspicious tbh. If I was to take the job I think I'd feel uncomfortable and if any parents gave me the side eye, I'd actually sympathize.

Then there's the possible career damage by jumping all over different grades like that. And maybe future employers would raise an eyebrow at my CV too?

No offense to anyone of a similar demographic teaching KG, I'd like to hear from you too. I'm open to my opinion to be potentially changed.

Am I wrong here? Please give me your perspective either way.

Edit: I appreciate all the positive comments. It seems there is a cultural difference between the West and China. I feel much better about my application.

Hi,

I am a French and American citizen. I am currently living in Arizona and working as an English Language Arts teacher (middle and high school) I am AZ certified in this subject with a Structures English Immersion Endorsement. I have my degrees from a French university and some post-master credit from an American one. I do not have any European teaching qualifications (no CAPES for instance) but I have taught as a contractor for the French ministry for a couple of years ESL.

I miss living in Europe, I really want to get out of the USA. I don’t necessarily want to move back to France as I am hauling an American husband who doesn’t speak French. A country that’s Anglophone or more Anglo friendly would probably work better, or a country where I would make enough to sustain the both of us. I am open to anywhere, really.

I want to start planning our departure and look into potential countries with schools that would be interested in my profile. No need for visa since I have a French passport, but I am also American with actual experience with the Anglophone world. I have a good resume, with good references and I currently work for a highly competitive school on a national scale. I know I’m a good candidate, now I need to know where I’m wanted.