How to Teach English As a Second Language Worldwide

Are you considering an overseas job? Do you like to travel but can't afford the expense? Do you want to spend more time exploring foreign cultures than is possible on a short vacation? Do you like to teach? If so, why not explore teaching English in a foreign country?

Steps

1. Become qualified. No matter what your college major, you can pick up an internationally recognized ESL teaching certificate in as little as 5 weeks. Some programs combine study with teaching so that you can hit the ground running. Some certificates can be completed by distance learning.
2. Consider enrolling in an evening/weekend or distance learning Masters degree program while you work. Several such programs are available in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) or Applied Linguistics. You will command higher pay and easier access to the best jobs with a Master's degree. However, an M.A. or M.Ed. is usually not necessary to teach at private language schools and some public schools as well, depending on country and need.
3. Digitize your credentials. Foreign ESL employers almost always require you to email a resume, copies of your degrees and other qualifications, the photo page from your passport, and sometimes your transcripts, a criminal records check and/or a health certificate. Often employment recommendations or contact information of references are also requested. Have everything scanned digitally so that you can respond to job notices quickly and effortlessly.
4. Research available jobs and/or training programs. Check eslcafe.com and tefl.com for certification programs and worldwide job postings. Korean ESL positions are often posted on US job sites such as monster.com and careerbuilder.com.
5. Use due diligence. Before you accept a position, get the contract in writing, ask questions, and scan the ESL teacher forums for the experiences and opinions of other ESL teachers (e.g., the forum on eslcafe.com) and to check the reputation of the school.
6. Obtain necessary visas and work permits prior to arrival if possible, and update your passport with a "good" photograph. (Employment decisions from a distance are based on appearance more than is commonly acknowledged!) Some types of visas and especially work permits, are often handled by the school after arrival, but sometimes long-term visas cannot be obtained in-country and must be applied for prior to arrival.
7. Take care of domestic administrative matters before you leave. Consider renting a mailbox and mail-forwarding service such as available at The UPS Store. Set up online banking and automatic bill payments for bills that must be paid while you are away. Ensure that your ATM and credit cards are cleared to work abroad and accept foreign charges. Check the fees for foreign transactions, which sometimes incur a surcharge. Learn the procedures and fees for foreign currency wire transfers from abroad to your home account.

Tips

• Invest in a professional photograph depicting you in business attire. Schools in many Asian countries, especially, often require a current photograph to consider you for employment and to base a decision on, despite it being illegal in the US and justifiably reprehensible to many. The reality of ESL teaching, especially in private language schools, is that it is part entertainment and part business as well as education. Language schools compete with each other to attract and retain students, often young people, who can place undue emphasis on appearance instead of skills or qualifications.
• Update your wardrobe before you leave. Foreign countries often use different sizing and tailoring. In addition, clothing is sometimes more expensive abroad and choice can be limited. An exception would be some Asian countries, such as Thailand and China, where bargains on custom-tailored clothing can be found.
• Bring photographs of your home country, family, friends, and pets. They will do much to humanize you, the strange teacher, to others and are a great way to stimulate conversation among foreign colleagues and new acquaintances.
• Bring 'realia' from your home country. English-language scraps that we take for granted make great teaching tools and introduce English language students to a variety of everyday-but-important vocabulary, idioms, and genres. Examples include junk mail, restaurant menus and placemats, receipts, brochures and pamphlets, advertisements, supermarket coupons, shopping catalogs, complaint letters, spam emails, business cards, and to-do lists, etc., not usually found in formal textbooks. Recordings and videos of people you come in contact with are fun and provide your students with examples of English in everyday use.
• Check the "contact hours" that you will be required to teach before accepting any job. The higher the number of contact hours, the less preparation time and recharging time you will have. Typically, universities require 12 to 16 contact hours per week, while private language schools can require up to 25 or more and keep you on your feet most of the day.
• It is very difficult for ESL teachers with a US passport to work legally in EU countries. Therefore, it is usually best for Americans to restrict their job search to non-EU countries.

Warnings

• Beware that as a foreigner you will be at a disadvantage when grievances occur. It is sometimes necessary to complain with your feet. Almost everyone who makes a career of this has had to abandon plans at one time or another in the face of unfulfilled contracts or promises, or unacceptable policies or practices. Don't take it personally. Democratic values, fairness, and common decency are not yet universal. Do as much research as possible before accepting a job, but accept that you can never prepare completely for what you may find.
• ESL teachers abroad can tend to be overly ingratiating, politically correct and prone to rationalize and apologize for practices that would clearly be unacceptable at home. Know this and be prepared to accept, adjust, or challenge the status quo as you see fit.
• Students will often attempt to elicit free English lessons by inviting you out for coffee, meals, and other activities. Guard your free time and learn to say 'No.' Speaking very slowly and repeating everything again and again for long periods can be tiresome and draining.
• Students will often seek to ingratiate themselves with you -- the new, naive foreign teacher -- to elicit favorable grades in ways they would never attempt with their native teachers. Do not accept tickets, gifts, or favors no matter how trivial unless your students understand that they will in no way influence their grades.
• Beware of employment agencies that specialize in foreign employment and which require payment by the job seeker. They are almost always unnecessary and sometimes nefarious. Be especially aware of websites that promise foreign jobs yet display no street address or phone number.
• Grade inflation is endemic in many countries. Sometimes students from privileged families in poor countries, especially, have been rescued from failure since grade school and possess a sense of entitlement to top grades despite poor performance. This is always a difficult call for the foreign teacher. My advice -- use your conscience despite the consequences. Ultimately, you must be able to live with yourself.
• Salaries are usually much lower in most foreign countries for teachers, however, often free or subsidized housing and utilities are provided as well as other benefits. Usually incomes are sufficient to live a comfortable life in the local economy and still send at least some money home each month. Americans living abroad also usually qualify for the IRS Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and are not required to pay US income tax.

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