myTEFL

Guest post by Ashley Matthews from Trek to Teach

​This time last year we were in the midst of rebuilding a Nepali school that had been destroyed in the 2015 earthquake. Our partnered school in Kliyu became unrecognizable, with a fallen building and large boulder rocks piled high where there used to be an outdoor play area. 

​With the generous help of MyTefl, we raised funds to finish building a multi – purpose hall used by both the local community and students alike. It’s been a blessing over the past three months to partner with the headmaster’s to use the schools as the host site for food and hygiene kit distributions for students. With understandable travel restrictions during the pandemic, certain food items have been limited for remote regions in Nepal. It’s also been difficult for our student’s families to find work which has affected their regular income during the pandemic. While we recognize that our efforts are a single, small action in the larger scope of the difficulties Nepali communities are currently facing, we hope that the meals will give families the space they need to continue focusing on maintaining their livelihood during the global pandemic. 

Our operations director, Sarala Shrestha coordinated with a vendor in Pokhara and Nayapol, near the beginning of the Poon Hill trek in order to transport food and hygiene supplies up to the mountain schools. We also hired donkeys to transport the goods to the village of Chrommong, a mere two days from Annapurna Base Camp.

So far we’ve donated kits to 181 families which includes the following:

Trek to Teach Kits
Rice- 15kg
Sugar – 1kg
Lentils – 2 kg
Potato- 2.5kg
Onion – 1kg
Salt- 1pac.of half kg
Beaten rice – 2kg
Soyabeans – 2kg
Oil-1ltr
Soap – 1pcs 
Toothbrush – 4pk
Toothpaste – 1pk

While we’ve been strategizing with the headmasters on approaches to curb the digital divide for our public school students, most of our schools have been operating on an odd / even schedule where students switch off attendance each day to have smaller focus groups. We’ve supplied school administration with jugs of hand sanitizer and face masks which have been used upon entry to the schools, along with mandatory temperature checks. With food and safety supplies now distributed amongst our highest need children, we are rolling up our sleeves to assist our public schools with keeping students engaged in their learning amidst the growing divide between private and public schools. 

Guest post by Brooke Amen from Trek to Teach.

Brooke taught with Trek to Teach in 2018 in the small village of Tolka, Nepal. She continues to share the beauty and her love of the Himalayas and the Nepali people while managing the Trek to Teach Instagram page.

“What are you running from?” Out of context, it sounds like a line out of a cheesy rom-com or a horror movie. Add the image of an American girl going for a jog through a small village in the Himalayas and it begins to make sense. I never thought that working out could qualify as a cultural exchange, but I quickly learned that burning calories intentionally was not a part of the norm in Tolka, Nepal. 

When I traveled to Nepal, I knew I was going to be living a very different lifestyle than the one that I had come to love at home in the USA. I usually spent most of my free time in Wyoming fly fishing and skiing obsessively. Turns out, there isn’t a ski lift or fly shop to be found in the Annapurna region, so I had to make some adjustments. I had to figure out what I loved so much about the hobbies I was obsessed with and discover how to reap the same benefits in a very different environment. I found that I primarily loved fly fishing for the peace of mind that it gave me and skiing for the muscle-building and cardiovascular health that it provided. These hobbies quickly translated into journaling and running/hiking. 

A Time for Reflection

Every day, I would sit on a wall at my guesthouse that had a perfect view of Annapurna South and write. I mostly wrote about my experiences, but more importantly, I wrote about what I learned from them. This habit helped me to notice trends in my thinking and track my personal growth during my time in Nepal. Often times, my students or guesthouse family members would come and watch me write. However, as soon as I was finished they would grab my hand and take me on an adventure. 

Boredom is for Boring People

The best part about getting bored in a small village was that you were never bored for long. Creativity is universal and the children of Tolka had simple entertainment down to a science. Some of my favorite afternoons were spent flying handmade kites into hydropower lines, retrieving frisbees off of rooftops, and chasing monkeys through the caterpillar-filled jungles. In the evenings I would sit around a fire with my host family. We would play guitar and laugh and sing songs in Nepali and English. As it turns out, dancing is a universal form of communication and was one that we relied on frequently. I quickly learned that only boring people get bored and that entertainment was usually close by if I went looking for it. 

Forrest Gump Friendships

Whenever I am asked what my favorite memory is from Nepal, there is one that stands out above all the others. My afternoon runs quickly became conventional and my sweaty, breathless appearance became a part of the village’s daily existence. One day, a couple of children emerged from their houses as I ran past. They were too young to speak much English, but they started running alongside me. I appreciated the company and when we returned back to the village, they took me inside their house where their mother handed me her smallest child and a cup of tea. We only communicated in smiles, but I couldn’t have been more content. The trend spread and little Nepali boys and girls would flood from their houses as I ran through the village and join in the adventure. We would play in the river and share Coconut Biscuits until everyone was completely exhausted. The older kids would help me carry the little ones back up the hill to the village where everyone would disperse for dinner. During these runs, very few words were spoken, but I made friends that I will treasure for a lifetime. 

Free time is a precious gift and there is an excess of it in small Himalayan villages. For some, this can lead to boredom and homesickness, but for me, it led to a path of friendship, healthy habits, and self-discovery. Today I continue to make time to journal, run, and reminisce on the adventures that changed my life in Nepal. I hope that others are able to experience the true serenity that comes from creating a lifestyle at the base of the greatest mountain range on earth. 

Guest post by Allie Cavallaro from Trek to Teach

Allie is a 2016 Trek to Teach alumna who has a true passion for the program and for helping others find their paths to meaningful adventures. She currently is a jack-of-all-trades, and master of none, on Trek to Teach’s North American team and lives in San Francisco

A glimpse into the logistics of teaching in the Nepali Himalayas

After a directionless beginning, in 2015 I realized that despite everything my parents, peers, counselors, and teachers had told me, I wasn’t ready for college. I’d worked hard to get to college. Then, standing on the threshold of another academic journey after high school, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my life. 

A long series of events and some soul searching led me to leave college at the end of my first year. I knew I needed a change, a hard reset, and you know what? I was right. One thing led to another, and by springtime I was teaching in the mountains of Nepal with Trek to Teach. 

 If you too are considering the hard reset and have ended up on this page, I commend you. It’s not an easy thing to start thinking about the ways you can most tactfully uproot your life to begin a new journey, and while I don’t think there are many wrong ways to begin anew I certainly think that teaching abroad can be one of them. 

So what is there to consider, when deciding whether or not to leave the comforts of home behind and give your time and energy elsewhere? Beyond the tactical what-to-pack lists, there’s a lot of larger scale questions I suggest asking yourself, not just about why you want to teach abroad but also how you’re going to manage it. 

With a whole wide world out there, it’s hard to choose where to go, and from there the floodgates open into hundreds of programs all vying for your attention. So, after you’ve chosen what part of the would you want to be in (you seem to have a slant toward mountains…) what’s next?

Support networks in the mountains

One of the most vital things, I think, that you should consider when weighing the pros and cons of different opportunities for teaching in rural or mountainous regions is what your support network looks like. This goes beyond the support network of your hometown doctor, or your crowdfunding page — this is about who it is you’ll be interacting with on-the-ground in your destination country. Who is going to have your back if things go south? 

Who is on your team?

Putting a good amount of research into the programs you’re considering is vital, but something I didn’t appreciate until I arrived in Nepal with Trek to Teach was that having an amazing local team makes a huge difference. While through Trek to Teach my village placement for teaching was solo, the availability of the local team in Kathmandu was a game-changing resource. As a first-time solo traveller, having amazing people who could help me with everything from buying slippers to overcoming sickness was absolutely invaluable. Basic logistics, translation needs, and just general cultural adjustment was so much easier having someone to ask questions to. Beyond the essential logistics of first arriving in Nepal, I was really grateful for local program coordinators who could help me navigate the inevitably confusing situations which cropped up during my time teaching in the mountains– the random school closures, announcements made in Nepali that slipped by me, and much more. 

Whatever programs you look at, I encourage you to look into the team that’d be supporting you– what experiences do they bring to the organization? What can they offer you? What evidence or testimonies ensure that you can depend on them during your time teaching? Do they have specific cultural knowledge? An educational background? How long have they been with the program and how have their roles changed over the years? 

Beyond the core program members, it’s also helpful to consider your fellow volunteers. Whatever program you’re looking at, consider who your cohort is likely to be. Who have other teachers been? What are their backgrounds? What experiences have past teachers shared? Do they seem to get along with each other? See if you can find some on social media — what kinds of experiences do they share? How do they present themselves? Do they share photos of other people in their cohort? Do you think you could be friends?

Planning for the worst

In addition to everyday concerns, considering emergency situations is a must when spending an extended amount of time abroad, especially while doing something like teaching in the mountains in rural Nepal. 

Considering and managing health risks

I think the first step of this is to be realistic about your health. Are you fit or do you like to believe you’re fit? Who or what are your points of comparison? Do you have a lot of pre-existing conditions that tend to need attention?

Something a lot of people fail to talk about is that small issues (like dental problems, for example) become big issues when access to medical care is very limited. If you’re considering teaching in a remote region like the Himalayas, it’s vital to get all your ducks in a row healthwise. This goes beyond your routine vaccinations. Wherever you’re going, be sure to visit a local travel clinic  or the CDC’s website (or, ideally, both!) so that you can prepare yourself for any health risks you might encounter in your destination country. Additionally, discussing your health with your primary care doctor is really important. 

After telling my doctor about my trip, he and I were able to discuss different medications to bring with me in case I got sick while I was away. I knew that the village I was teaching in was remote, and that I’d be a long way from even the health posts, the Nepali equivalent of walk-in clinics and the only ways to access any sort of healthcare, in neighboring communities. We were able to talk through the emergency medications he sent me with and make plans for what I’d use when, even if I was outside the range of cell phone service. Having the antidiarrheals and antibiotics he sent me with was truly a lifesaver when I did get sick. Without this planning, I would have had to walk three hours to the nearest health post. 

The bottom line? Know what sicknesses you might come up against in your destination country. Be realistic about illnesses you frequently battle (colds, allergies, asthma, UTIs, dietary restrictions) and know how you can prepare for them, if you can.

Travel insurance

For what you can’t prepare for, have travel insurance. Travel insurance is for more than just trip cancellation. If you’re going to be spending a significant amount of time teaching abroad, and especially if you’re going to be teaching in the mountains or somewhere else remote like the Himalayas, travel insurance is a must. 

Let me say that I am a very frugal traveller. If I chose to spend money, I want that to be on food, drinks, and museums (typically in that order). I fly budget airlines, and I have more than once flown to Europe from the United States with only a small green backpack. I once packed 15 hours worth of water in filtration bags so that I didn’t have to spend $4 for a liter on the plane. I get it. But if something goes awry, I’d so much rather have spent $120 on travel insurance than $15k on a helicopter ride back to the nearest city. In less extreme situations, what travel insurance basically does is help you navigate a different healthcare system. 

While setting such a thing up may seem intimidating, most travel insurance companies try to be straightforward with what they offer. Price-comparing across a few options, I’ve found that it’s pretty easy to select a plan that covers my needs, which certainly change from trip to trip. If I’m going to sit on a beach in Tulum, my travel insurance needs are much different than when I was teaching in Nepal. You can select for these differences, of course, and the pricing will change accordingly. 

One thing to note: if you are teaching in the mountains, be sure to check the altitude of helicopter rescues and of your teaching destination. If your village is at 2000m and your insurance won’t pick you up at anywhere above 1000m, well, that won’t be a fun trek downhill with a broken leg. I really dig World Nomads for the more adventurous stuff– trekking in the mountains, even after my time teaching, it made me feel comforted knowing that if something did go wrong, I could get the help I needed. 

Program Choice

Mission, impact, & more…

Beyond having a great team to work with as I mentioned above, I think that in choosing a program, it’s important to consider not just the program’s mission, but also how they go about achieving their goals. 

There are lots of programs out there, all over the world, doing great things. But there are also programs which, frankly, are not. Look for numbers, look at impact, and talk to past volunteers about their experiences teaching in that program and see if the website’s portrayal of the program aligns with others’ experiences. 

For comparisons there are also great websites, external from program-specific sites, like VolunteerMatch, Go Overseas, and IE3 Global which allow you to quickly page through programs that meet your specifications. A lot of these allow you to filter by cost, requirements, and country, so it’s easy to find a program that fits your needs. This can be a great, tailored resource which gives you less garbly-gook than your standard web-browser– not only are these programs vetted by the above organizations, but many include reviews directly from past participants so you can easily get an idea of what the experience of living in that culture was like for someone else. 

Additionally, how does the program work? What about its logistics set it apart? What about it specifically is compelling? Does it offer educational credit? Is it tax deductible? What are you looking for, specifically, and what does the program have to offer?

Being the change

Speaking of impact, this is perhaps the time to consider your reasons for considering teaching in the mountains. 

I think one of the mountain-specific reasons I chose teaching in the Himalayas was the challenge of it. I loved the idea of being at altitude, of being isolated, and I loved that my students’ school being isolated meant that they were less likely to receive the English education that some of their peers in less-isolated places received. 

But teaching in the mountains was not without its challenges. A lack of roads limited access to my village and meant that after a certain point, anything and everything that anyone needed in the village had to be carried in on the backs of people or donkeys. 

Because of these logistical challenges, my students’ school was perpetually undersupplied and understaffed. Teachers motivated to teach motivated students but placed there by the government to fill quotas, were constantly applying for transfer to less isolated locations, often to live closer to their families. The turnover was intense. Children who didn’t have an instructor roamed in and out of my classroom as I was teaching. 

While living and teaching in a place like this that was so drastically different from where I’d grown up was a truly amazing experience, I want to caution anyone considering a long stint teaching in an isolated region, especially teaching in the Himalayas, to consider their own motivations and strengths. 

De-romanticizing 

Are you, realistically, truly, deeply, fine with the isolation of it all? With being disconnected? With being undersupplied? With living somewhere in basic accommodations, and not a lot of food variety? While the experience itself was truly one of the most impactful things I’ve ever done, I caution those considering teaching in Nepal or isolated regions elsewhere to do an evaluation of your motivations. This is not a “trip” or a “vacation,” though it is certainly an experience. 

I would not recommend it for the faint of heart. Trekking to my village was grueling for me (someone who’d grossly overestimated her own fitness). As I mentioned before, many relatively isolated regions lack healthcare posts. I washed all my laundry by hand for three months; electricity was intermittent at best. The superficial glamour of such experiences tends to fade when a few weeks into your time teaching you’ve got to decide how to wash travelers’ diarrhea out of your clothes on a rock in front of your host family. 

But most importantly, consider the ways you’d be impacting the local community you’d be serving. What say have they had in this program you’re applying to? Are you qualified, or trained for your efforts? Does the community want your help? Are you swooping in and disappearing after two weeks or are you a part of a long term, much needed change? There are a lot of great resources out there about avoiding voluntourism, and it’s important to realistically evaluate your program choices and your own motivations before stepping in to solve a problem you’re ill-suited to solve. 

Some programs, like Trek to Teach, are TEFL- certifying both its own teachers prior to their placement teaching in Nepal, and local Nepali English teachers so that there is a shared dialogue between the communities and both are more empowered to provide the best education they can to their students.  This is an effort put forth by many programs to hold volunteers to a higher standard, and enrich the toolset of partner communities as well, making the impact a longer term change that just a three-month placement. There’s still work to be done here, of course, but I think this, and encouraging teachers to stay longer in the villages, is a step in the right direction. 

My Experience in the Mountains with Trek to Teach

As I mentioned above, the world is abound with teaching opportunities. My particular program  choice, Trek to Teach, gave me all I could have wanted and more from my experience teaching in the Himalayas. 

The people and the place were, simply enough, really the two things that made the program amazing. As I mentioned above, our team in Nepal was amazing, my fellow teachers, my host family, my students, all of them made the program an amazing experience. 

The People

I still think of cooking with my Ama in the stone kitchen over woodfire, each time I make dal bhat at home in San Francisco. We toast the coriander seeds and I’m taken right back to sitting on a pillow sipping tea in that stone kitchen. 

Beyond the people I met and got to know from all over the world, I also had a lot of extra time to spend by myself, and this was a really important component of my experience as well– getting to know and trust myself, my feelings and choices when I was so far separated from my usual support networks. 

The Mountains

Beyond the amazing people and peaceful alone time, the mountains were utterly unbeatable. Even years later, I still miss seeing the reflection of Annapurna in the mirror behind me as I brush my teeth each morning. There’s something indescribable about being so close to something so massive, to existing in the shadow of something so beautiful. Sometimes, the hills here are damp and the dirt paths I run each evening remind me of my walk to school with my students, their small hands pressed into mine as they drag me up the hillsides through patches of potato fields, and past yawning buffalo. All these years later, my three months in Nepal are still very much a part of me. 

So whatever adventure you’re seeking, whatever impact you’re dreaming to have, do your due diligence, and then, just do it. It was the best thing I’ve ever done.

Questions about Trek to Teach or trekking or teaching abroad in general? Questions about teaching in the Himalayas, or teaching in the mountains in general? Feel free to email us, drop us a line! We love to hear from fellow adventurers. Inspired to join the team? Apply to Trek to Teach today!

Guest post by Darian Finley-Garcia from Trek to Teach.

Darian linked up with to Trek to Teach in 2015 as a volunteer teacher for 3 months in the Village of Chomrong while in college.  After graduating from the University of Denver with a Master’s Degree in Social Work, he came to Portland Oregon and started working with youth and families throughout the community. He currently manages our study abroad partnerships and assists with SEO. 

“The world is round and continues to spin. Because it is a circle with no ending, we are bound to see each other again.” This little adage was shared with me by my host brother on my last day teaching in Nepal and it has been engraved in my brain ever since. But then again, Nepal had a way of doing that: taking seemingly simple concepts and turning them into robust beautiful life lessons. 

It has been almost 6 years since I stepped out of my village of Chhomrong, Nepal. It’s been almost 2200 days, and I am just now feeling able to slightly articulate what the experience did for my life. For the first half of my senior year in college, I decided to pursue an internship abroad through Trek to Teach. The internship sent me to Nepal, into a rural Himalayan community for almost 4 months. My purpose while I was there was to teach English and serve as a cultural bridge for primary school students (grades K-6) in a beautiful mountain community. My living arrangements were in a family-run guesthouse, where I was expected to take on household responsibilities such as cleaning, cooking, and keeping up after guests.

Between teaching 3-6 classes per day, housework, and doing my best to dive headfirst into the Nepali culture, I rarely had a second to reflect on the experience I was having. I knew what I was doing was going to profoundly effect my life and mindset, I just didn’t quite understand how yet.

Reflecting on this experience has proven to be extremely challenging for me simply because my time in Nepal was so overwhelming (in a good way). There was so much for my mind, body, and soul to process through: from living joyfully to questioning if I actually made a difference in these kid’s lives. Even six years removed from the adventure, I still find myself debriefing and gaining insight into ways the trip changed me for the better.

Being able to connect two totally different worlds, with the joint purpose of bettering the lives and educational outcomes of youth, is something that cannot be seen, but rather must be felt. It is nourishment for the soul. About halfway through my time in Nepal I found myself in an internal struggle. Was I actually doing things to help these kids and was I actually making a difference in these lives? Here I was, a privileged white individual, dropped into their world for a 4-month snapshot of time, just so I could garner experience and complete an internship. This presents troubling possibilities if not addressed mindfully. I understood quickly that I was just a piece in a puzzle much bigger than myself and that it was up to me to decide what sort of impact I wanted to leave once my four months were done. I was there to teach English but I was not there just to teach English. I was there to inspire, to give these bright youth an opportunity to learn through a different perspective and world lens. I was there to provide a creative approach to meeting educational outcome goals. I was there to help in whatever ways I was able. But most of all, I was there to be the person that each individual youth needed me to be day in and day out.

Trekking and teaching don’t appear to have a lot in common on the surface. It takes 4 months of trial and error in the classroom and almost 6 years of growth and reflection to understand the nuanced connection between the two. But if you get the chance to trek and teach, you too will understand the life-changing and meaningful experience that can come from mixing the two.

The experience that Nepal and the Nepali people gave me has and will continue to guide my worldview. Taking the life lessons that my host family and my students taught me through my time there, and applying them to my everyday life even half a decade later is a blessing that I will forever hold close to my heart. ​

Guest post by Regina Rudder from Trek to Teach  

Regina Rudder first went to Nepal in 2018 with Trek to Teach. She was a volunteer teacher in Kliu, and loved every minute of life in the Himalayas. After returning from Nepal, she completed her Bachelor’s in English and earned her TESOL Certification. She then returned to Nepal in 2019 with the U.S. Peace Corps and taught English in Dhading. Currently, she is teaching at a Montessori school in America. In the future, Regina hopes to pursue a graduate degree and continue traveling, teaching, and coaching.

I’ve been super lucky to have experienced many Nepali festivals throughout my time teaching in Nepal, and I can honestly say that every festival is unique and meaningful. Here is a little bit about some of the major Nepali holidays, along with a few of my personal experiences!

The first festival falls in mid-April and is called Naya Barsha, the Nepali New Year. It’s based on Nepal’s lunar calendar, so years are recorded differently than by our Western calendar. Currently, it’s 2077 in Nepal! In major cities, Naya Barsha is celebrated primarily with parades, feasts, and dancing. I celebrated the 2076 New Year at a parade in Kathmandu and found myself completely covered in festive orange powder. It was a really fun experience!

The next major festival is Teej, which is in August. Teej is known as the ‘women’s festival’ and is 3 days long. The festival celebrates a woman’s devotion to her husband. More traditional Hindus still observe this holiday with a feast on the first day, fasting and prayer on the second day, and ritual bathing on the third day. However, many young women celebrate with dances and in-school celebrations. I really enjoyed dressing up in a sari and dancing with my students during this time. 

October kicks off with the most important Hindu festival, Dashain. This is the longest festival of the year, about 10 days in length, and honors the goddess Durga. There are countless poojas (worship ceremonies) and goat sacrifices. Living with a Nepali host family really deepened this experience for me. It’s tradition to receive new clothes during Dashain, so my family (treating me like their own daughter) bought me a new kurta-suruwal. We spent the holiday sacrificing and eating goats, receiving tikka blessings (red powder mixed with rice) on our foreheads, and spending time with family. My host siblings and I also played on giant hand-built swings, otherwise known as pings. 

A few weeks later, at the end of October, is another important holiday called Tihar (also known as Diwali). Tihar is a 5-day long holiday, which is incredibly fun for children. Children play Deusi, a game where they go around the village singing songs to collect money and sweets. Children also decorate rangoli (a special pattern) with colorful powder to welcome the goddess of money and wealth, Laxmi, into their homes. This festival culminates in “Bai-Tikka” or brother blessings. Sisters give gifts to their brothers and place a multi-colored tikka on their foreheads. In return, brothers give money to their sisters and place marigold garlands around their neck. This is my favorite holiday in Nepal, and the one I look forward to the most each year. 

Last comes Holi. Celebrated at the end of February, Holi is a light-hearted festival celebrating the victory of good over evil and is one day in length. On this day, people play with colored powder and water. I’ve celebrated this festival 3 times and each year, it’s incredibly fun. My fondest Holi memory was with my students in Kliu, playing with colored powder at the school and washing off in the river. 

Beyond these major festivals, Nepal has many other minor festivals such as Pondrha Assad, Loshar, and Shiva Ratri. No matter what time of year you travel to Nepal, you’ll be able to experience unique celebrations and make life-long memories!

Guest post by 51Talk

The Internet, along with other technological advancements, has opened the doors for innovation and endless possibilities for business, entertainment, and education. Moreover, it enables people to find, access, and use the information they need in an instant, no matter where they are. 

Individuals also use it primarily as a means of communication. People across the globe can now connect in real-time via messaging and video call applications.

Because of this increasing connectivity that the Internet brings to homes and workplaces, it is now also used as an avenue to support and innovate education. Virtual learning makes it possible for educators, especially online English teachers, to teach in the comfort of their home. This modality of learning is also helpful to learners of all ages, as proved by recent research by Gallup showing that 63% of high school students and 64% of middle school students in the U.S. use digital learning tools daily.

Schools and learning institutions are venturing into virtual learning as an excellent alternative to classroom-based learning, especially in the current situation wherein large physical gatherings are discouraged. 

With the ongoing pandemic, virtual classes have become prevalent and mandatory in such a short time, and both learners and educational institutions are encouraged to further explore this option to continue education. 

As a result, virtual learning is expected to continue to gain predominance in the education sector. Forbes projected that the global eLearning market will gain a total of $325 billion worth of market value by 2025.

This is good news for teachers as well as English language instructors who are looking for opportunities despite this seemingly bleak period. English schools and online platforms are leveraging the Internet to teach online continuously.

Holding online lessons will definitely be different from the usual physical instruction you are used to, but there are amazing benefits you can enjoy with being a home-based English teacher, such as the following:

#1: You are in control of your time.

When you teach English from home, you can choose the time slots you want to open for booking during the peak hours specified by the platform you are teaching with. You can also determine how many classes you want to give in a day, as long as you will be able to meet the required teaching hours.

This flexibility enables you to create a healthy work-life balance. You won’t have to deal with long hours of a commute to and from work, and you can use these precious hours to bond with your family instead. Additionally, you can earn income at home at the same time so you won’t have to expose yourself during this outbreak, nor would you have to leave your family or loved ones who need you the most. 

#2: You can hone your abilities online.

If you don’t have a background in English teaching or are simply looking for ways to improve your skill set, several websites and platforms offer training programs to refine your TEFL or TESL skills. However, take note that most certification programs you will find online require a fee to enroll.

Moreover, there are language institutions and online platforms that provide their teachers with online training programs and free certifications to help them grow in their career. All you have to do is to grab these opportunities!  

With all of these readily available resources, you can start your teaching career online while easily sharpening your skills.

#3: You interact with learners from different cultures and backgrounds without the expense of traveling.

Some people may not have the privilege to travel around the globe due to financial constraints. Some, on the other hand, prefer a way to see the world without having to leave their family. It is because of these considerations that online English teaching becomes a convenient option for many English educators. Additionally, teaching online is the safer option today given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

When you teach ESL online, you still get to communicate and interact with learners from different backgrounds without leaving your home. Being a home-based online teacher allows you to help learners from across the world master the English language while still having time for your family and loved ones. On the other hand, it also grants you the chance to learn more about the culture of your students through your daily lessons. Isn’t that the best of both worlds?

#4: You can get started conveniently and with no complications.

Applying for online teaching platforms is fast and convenient. Since everything will be done online, there is no need to travel for an interview or to process your application.

Besides the usual application requirements needed such as your résumé, some schools or learning centers may require you to present your English teaching certificate. However, don’t worry if you don’t have this yet; some companies are willing to accept and train beginner-level English teachers as long as they pass the interview and screening process. During this stage, you will usually undergo a series of interviews plus give a teaching demonstration. 

Aside from the paperwork, you must also have a high-speed computer or laptop, a stable Internet connection, and a well-functioning noise-cancelling headset with mic. These are standard requirements for online English teaching.

Due to the high demand for online teachers today, you can expect to start working relatively quickly, provided that your application process goes well.

Lead an exciting and fulfilling home-based career

From balancing work and life to growing your career, being a home-based English teacher guarantees an exciting and fulfilling experience. Furthermore, teaching for established TEFL/TESL institutions can get your career off to a solid start. For example, in 51Talk, online teaching is made convenient yet still exciting through their well-prepared lesson materials and an engaging teacher training system.  

If you value flexibility and look forward to teaching learners from different backgrounds and cultures, starting your career as a home-based English teacher may be well worth it!

Guest post by Dariece from Goats On The Road

I’ll never forget the day. The day when complete panic came over me as I realized that my life as a traveller might have to come to an end.

I was on a beach in the Philippines after having travelled around parts of Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. My savings were running low. I’d probably have to return to Canada and start working at a 9-5 office job again.

Nick and I had been on the road for 14 months by this point and had planned to spend 18 months travelling around the world.

After a bit of a meltdown on the beach, I brushed myself off and Nick assured me that we’d figure something out. Going back to our lives in Canada simply wasn’t an option. We needed to be on the road.

About a month later, we left the Philippines and were backpacking around China. Over a beer one evening in the historical town of Tunxi, we were reminiscing about the time we volunteered teaching English to children in a rural village in Myanmar. 

That week-long experience was one of the best of our lives. 

As we chatted some more, we started to think about the travellers we had come across over the year. In particular, one who mentioned that there was a huge demand for English teachers in China. 

It was as if a lightbulb went off that evening. 

We were already in China, so surely that would help with getting hired.

The following day we saw a posting on our hostel bulletin board: “English Teacher Wanted”. We called the number and sent off our details by email. They got back almost right away — the school wanted to hire us! 

We couldn’t believe it.

However, what they were offering wasn’t exactly what we were looking for, so we declined. But, it gave us the motivation we needed to pursue a job teaching in China. 

On Saturday, we sent off numerous resumes to different schools around China and by Monday, our email inbox was full of offers. 

We ended up finding a school that was perfect for us in the city of Yangzhou, and we would start our new jobs and lives in China in just one month.

Signing a contract and knowing what we were going to be doing for the next year (and how we were going to earn an income) was a huge relief.

After finishing up our travels in China, followed by a quick trip home to Canada to visit with friends and family, we moved to Yangzhou to spend a year teaching English. 

Living and working in China is a time in our lives that we’ll never forget. Being fully immersed in Chinese culture, making new friends (both local and foreign), and teaching our cute little students each day was incredible. 

I mostly taught kindergarteners, which required a lot of energy, but their smiling faces and seeing the progress they made with speaking English made it all worthwhile.

Nick mostly taught students around age 10, so he was able to have conversations with them and interact a bit more than me — which both Nick and his students appreciated.

During that year in China, Nick and I decided we wanted to start a travel blog. We had read an article that said you could make a few thousand dollars from blogging. We couldn’t believe it. We could write about what we love, take photos, share our message with the world, and get paid!  

We were sold on the idea and got our website Goats On The Road up and running.

We worked as teachers 20 hours per week, and in our free time learned all that we could about running a website — we were complete newbies and knew nothing about coding, WordPress, or anything related to the online world.

All that we knew was we wanted to share our travel knowledge, stories, and photography with anyone who was interested.

We created content, networked with others in our niche, and marketed ourselves online. 

Since we started our website in 2012, it’s grown to be one of the top travel and lifestyle blogs online. Never in our wildest dreams did we think this would happen. 

More than that, however, it has allowed us to continue living this nomadic, freedom-filled lifestyle. We’re able to work from anywhere that has a solid wifi signal and comfortable accommodation.

We’ve enjoyed temporary homes in Malta, Argentina, Barbados, Mexico, and Guatemala. And recently we actually decided to create a bit of a home base for ourselves on the Caribbean island of Grenada. We spend a couple of months there, then a couple of months on the road.

These days, on top of blogging about our travels and sharing interesting destinations with our readers, we now teach others how to earn money online, and abroad.

That year of teaching in China was so rewarding. On Goats On The Road we promote this career to many of our followers who are looking for a change in lifestyle. 

Becoming an English teacher online or abroad is one of the top ways to make money remotely while helping change the lives of your students.

When we taught in China, we were able to get our TEFL and training through the school when we arrived. These days, things are more strict and you will almost always need to have a teaching certification (you can take an online TEFL course) in order to get hired — for a brick and mortar classroom, or a virtual one.

Plus, having a TEFL will increase your hiring potential, make your profile and resume stand out, and help you better understand the workings of a classroom. 

It’s surreal to think back to that fateful day 8 years ago on the beach in the Philippines.

We went from being budget backpackers who almost ran out of money and didn’t know what to do with our lives, to English teachers abroad, and now, full-time bloggers living and travelling around the world.

Nick and I believe that when we’re doing what we’re meant to be, everything will work out. And so far, it has.

I’m so grateful for the opportunities, experiences, and confidence that teaching in China gave me. And if it wasn’t for the change in career to being full-time travel bloggers, we’d happily be English teachers. 

If you’re considering getting your certification and teaching abroad or online, go for it. It may end up being one of the best experiences of your life. 

Guest post by Ashley Mathews, Executive Director of Trek to Teach.

Food security was an issue in Nepal before the Coronavirus outbreak. Now, the impact of COVID-19 has halted the harvesting season and will escalate the need for food quickly. With schools being closed, our focus at Trek to Teach has shifted, once again. Five years ago Nepal was struck with a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that shattered road access to remote regions, making it impossible for food and medical supplies to get distributed. The country has been on national lockdown since March 24th, and we are feeling a sense of Deja Vu with all movement on the roads, by vehicle and on foot, strictly prohibited with very limited exceptions.

The Nepali government took important precautions, closing their borders early which has resulted in less than 2,000 confirmed COVID cases nationwide. While extreme restrictions on movement within the country has stopped the spread, it’s simultaneously limited the opportunity to work. Work from home isn’t an option for most Nepali’s. Those who are most vulnerable to food insecurity are the daily wage workers who have been out of work for over 45 days. According to the World Food Programme, 25% of Nepal’s population lives on less than .50 cents a day and now, many have no income.

In 2015, after the earthquake we had to rethink and expand our mission to provide safe buildings for students to learn. Now, again, we must adapt. We believe education is a basic need and right, but first students and their families need bellies full of Dal Bhat and soap to stay clean. We are raising money to supply food and hygiene kits to those in need. Our goal is always to empower Nepali students, right now this means supporting the basic need of food security so that when schools reopen hungry stomachs won’t be a distraction. 

Please support our efforts to supply the food banks in Nepal: Funds for Food Kits.

<3 Trek to Teach Team

Guest post by Laura Shaw

Laura is a former high school teacher and coach from Canada who went to Nepal with Trek to Teach in 2019 and now volunteers with the organization to train future teachers.

In Nepal, volleyball is much more than just a game; it’s a community and a way of life. ​As you trek through the rural villages of the Annapurna Region in Nepal, you would be hard pressed not to come across a makeshift volleyball court or two somewhere along the way. Most of these courts have lines hand carved with a stick and the nets are often tangled messes of string, supported by wood posts hammered into the uneven ground. Some courts barely fit on the terraced fields, but are clearly spaces dedicated to the game. They might not look like much, yet with the backdrop of the Himalayas, these courts suggest there’s a lot more than just a game played here. ​

If you are lucky enough to walk by at just the right time, you will see locals arriving from all directions, converging at the court. There is no posted time, Facebook event, or text message invite; they just know when and where to show up. Life in Nepal is like that. Some of the boys walk straight from school in their uniforms, men arrive carrying doko baskets filled with grass for their buffalo, while others show up on pedal or motor bikes. However, they all have one thing in common: they’re from the same community. One of the regulars brings a ball or they stop in at the house next to the court where a family keeps their game ball safe. Once enough players have arrived, warmed up or not, it’s game on (after a few rupees are exchanged in a friendly bet, of course). Regardless of whether you think they look as though they’re about to play volleyball, considering the slip-on sandals, school uniforms, or blue jeans they’re wearing, rest assured that they’re always ready. Before you know it, the games are dominated by spin serves, diving saves in the dirt, and powerful hits. The expectations are high; a shanked pass, poor set, or hit out of bounds is generally followed by some bickering between teammates, all the while still calling each other “brother.“ The level of competition is likely far beyond what you would expect, but that’s only part of what makes the whole situation extraordinary.

From my perspective, volleyball has always been a sport played in a gym, with very specific rules, dimensions, and expectations. We have access to gyms with storage rooms full of equipment and play with shoes and gear specially made for volleyball. However, that’s not the case in rural Nepal. The locals learn to play on their makeshift courts, without knee pads or court shoes, carded officials or electronic scoreboards. As much as we might believe that those material items are part of the game, they really don’t mean a whole lot unless you have the skills to back it up. Most of the players in Nepal have better passing, hitting, and setting form than I do. They call positions by different names and have different passing rotations than I am used to. However, being able to play on an uneven surface instead of a gym floor, in shoes not meant for sport, on a net much higher than regulation, and outside at dusk or with the sun glaring in your eyes, creates a more competitive, resilient game; one that is void of excuses. In the end, the games still start at 0 and end at 25. But in Nepal, there isn’t a ref to blow the whistle signaling the end of the game, so they continue playing just for fun, until the sun goes down and they can no longer see the ball. They play until they can’t anymore because they truly love the game. For many, those games and that court are a commune, a brotherhood, and an escape, as sport has been for me so many times before as well.

When I eventually joined afternoon games at the community volleyball ground in my village, I was held to the same standards and expectations as the locals, despite the fact that I was the only female and non-Nepali person on the court. Even though I did not speak their language and understood the game in a different way, the purpose of the game remained the same. The game brought people together and perpetuated the greater sense of community that the Nepali people share. I felt accepted into part of their community and family because I shared the same love for the game as they did. All of a sudden, it became so much more than just a game. It’s a shared passion, way of life, learning opportunity, and meeting point place for a community. I was beyond grateful to find this in my home away from home, which has forever changed my vision of the game and life in Nepal. And so, I think if I ever had to choose where to play, I would pick the makeshift court overlooking terraced fields with a view of the Himalayas, every single time.  ​

Guest post by Ashley Mathews from Trek To Teach

The clouds were gray but the weather couldn’t hide the students excitement for the opening of their new multi purpose school building. Manish Chaudhry, the leader of the Kliyu rebuilding project, traveled to Kliyu on his eleventh bus ride from Kathmandu to Pokhara to wrap up the final touches of the building before the ribbon cutting ceremony.

He met with the construction committee to discuss the remaining tasks of plastering the floor, painting the inside and outside of the building and securing the plaque of recognition for the funding of the project. The plaque was created in Pokhara out of marble stone and carried up to Kliyu, a four hour bumpy jeep ride into the mountains. Manish armed the plaque with care so that it wouldn’t break during travel on the unpaved road.

The construction committee, along with the help of Zoe, our Trek to Teacher placed in Kliyu, finished installing railings and painting the inside and outside of the multi-purpose hall at the school.

While one team worked on finishing the building, another team of students was assembled to dress up the building to prepare for the opening. Grade 9 and 10 students came together with the teachers to make all necessary arrangements and get the school ready for the day ahead.

Once everyone arrived, the ceremony began with lighting a butter lamp and offering a flower garland to Goddesses Saraswati to have good blessings brought upon the school, a common tradition in Nepal when opening a new space. On stage was the headmaster: Deepak Cheetri, Chairperson of Ward 10 of Annapurna Rural Municipality representing the official of Nepal government: Kumar Gurung the construction committee, the chairperson of the school management committee: Dambar B.K., the chief guest: Taimur representing myTefl, six Trek to Teach Nepali board members, and our four fall teachers. Everyone was welcomed with flower garlands and a Khata (scarf) before the program began. At 10:15 am the vice principal of the school gave a welcome speech. There were a couple of addresses from all the stakeholders involved and a song written and performed by students to welcome guests and give thanks and blessings for the hall.

Respects were paid to the founder of the school, students performed a dance, followed by the headmaster of school thanking myTefl and Trek to Teach. Kumar Gurung gave words of gratitude for our organizations working together for a quick turnaround on this construction project.

The plaque was revealed and Taimur cut the ribbon opening the hall. The hall was decorated with balloons and banners along with the word “welcome” written in flowers. The school gave letters of appreciation to both parties as a token of love. Manish, Taimur and Zoe all shared thanks and appreciation which brought the program to a close.

Stay tuned to hear about how the community uses their new space!