Teaching English as a foreign language has become a popular career choice for people who enjoy traveling and immersing themselves in different cultures. There are countless destinations around the world that offer opportunities for English language teachers, but some cities stand out above the rest. In this article, we’ll take a look at five great cities to teach English in.
- Tokyo, Japan
Japan is a popular destination for English language teachers, and Tokyo is the best city to start. The demand for English language education is high in Japan, and the salaries for English teachers are relatively high as well. Tokyo is a vibrant and exciting city that offers a unique cultural experience, with a blend of traditional and modern Japanese culture. The city is home to some of the world’s best universities and private language schools, making it a great destination for teachers looking to work in a variety of settings. Check out our job placements in Japan, free for myTEFL grads.
- Prague, Czech Republic
Prague is a popular destination for English teachers due to its high demand for language education, low cost of living, and stunning architecture. The city is known for its rich history, and English teachers can immerse themselves in Czech culture while teaching students from a variety of backgrounds. Prague is also a great city for those interested in teaching business English, as many multinational corporations have offices in the city.
- Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona is a popular destination for those looking to teach English in Europe. The city is known for its beautiful architecture, stunning beaches, and vibrant nightlife. Barcelona is a great destination for those looking to teach English to adults, as there are many language schools that cater to professionals. The cost of living in Barcelona is relatively low compared to other European cities, making it an affordable destination for English teachers.
- Seoul, South Korea
Seoul is a bustling metropolis that offers an immersive cultural experience for English language teachers. The demand for English language education is high in South Korea, and salaries for English teachers are among the highest in Asia. Seoul is home to some of the best universities and language schools in the world, making it a great destination for those looking to work in education. One of our most popular destinations, myTEFL has a lot of love for this stunning city and country.
- Santiago, Chile
Santiago is a great destination for those looking to teach English in South America. The cost of living in Santiago is relatively low, and the city is known for its beautiful architecture, stunning scenery, and rich cultural heritage. Santiago is a great destination for those looking to teach young learners, as there are many language schools that cater to children.
In conclusion, teaching English as a foreign language is an exciting career choice that allows individuals to travel the world and immerse themselves in different cultures. The five cities mentioned in this article offer great opportunities for English language teachers, with high demand for education, relatively high salaries, and unique cultural experiences. Whether you’re looking to teach young learners, adults, or professionals, there is a city out there that will suit your teaching style and preferences.
If you want to live and teach in one of these great cities (or elsewhere), the first and easiest step is to complete myTEFL’s highly reviewed 120 Hour TEFL course from the comfort of your home. After that, let our team of friendly coordinators place you in a sustainable, exciting new job abroad.
Brazil is a big, boisterous, culture-rich cut-out of South America that offers electrifying megacities and wild swathes of nature. This guide gives a few insights for the budding teachers heading this way after finishing their TEFL course…
Brazil is MASSIVE
Don’t head over to the carnival-mad country expecting to see it all in a single weekend. The Federative Republic of Brazil doesn’t just have a long official name, it also has a mega-long coastline of over 4,600 miles, along with a multitude of climactic zones, from lush jungles to balmy deserts. The country is the biggest in all of South America and Latin America combined. It encompasses a formidable 26 states and ranges from the Atlantic Ocean to the Andes. To put it another way: You’ll need weeks and weeks and weeks to see all the mainstay attractions and explore the four corners!
Lunch is taken very, very seriously
If you’re used to guzzling down a soft drink and devouring a sandwich at high speed so you can get back to work ASAP, Brazil is bound to be a shock. Lunch in this part of the world is nothing short of a ritual. It’s usually a sit-down meal of multiple courses that’s enough to feed a small army of TEFL teachers, let alone just one. Lunches can last an hour or more, while it’s even common – especially in more rural areas and in smaller towns – for there to be extra break time set aside after your meal for a good old relax and a siesta. Nice, eh?
There’s no ‘one’ Brazil
We know that South Africa is the official Rainbow Nation, but that could just as well apply to Brazil. There’s such diversity in the people here that it’s almost impossible to pin down precisely what being Brazilian really means. Influences come from Europe – just check out the age-old colonial relics of places like Paraty and Olinda. There are others from the Caribbean – wait for the samba-mad processions of carnival in Rio. But there are also indigenous ethnic peoples residing up the snaking Amazon River. And then you have all sorts of minorities from Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, and others, each with their own unique traditions and cultures. Melting pot doesn’t quite do it justice!
Visa struggles are real
We won’t lie: Visas are one of the major headaches for would-be teachers of English in Brazil. There are lots of reports of teachers entering the country and working on tourist visas, which seems to have been routinely ignored by the authorities in the vast majority of cases. The reason for that is the Kafkaesque level of bureaucracy that’s needed to get a bona fide working permit. You’ll need to be sponsored by a school, but often the process is simply too demanding and expensive for many institutions to follow through with. Our advice? Contact to the Brazilian embassy where you live and ask about the proper way forward.
Adventure is easy
The cities of Rio and Sao Paulo often hit the headlines in Brazil. But it would be a shame to stick only to those on your adventures. There’s a whole wonderworld of sights and reserves and amazing places to get stuck into beyond the jazz bars of Ipanema and the boulevards of the capital. The Amazon is the obvious place to start. Travel that mighty riverway and you could spot piranha fish and jaguars, sloths and poison dart frogs. Then you’ve got the roaring Iguazu Falls and the incredible wetlands of the Pantanal. And we’re only really scratching the surface.
Are you a veteran of teaching English in Brazil? We’d love to hear if you’ve got anything to add. Just drop your comments below the line. Alternatively, if you’re ready to get TEFL qualified, head over to our courses page and enroll today…
While TEFL is often touted as a wild solo adventure that’s away from the comfort zone, hitting classrooms from Colombia to China doesn’t mean burning all your bridges. In fact, teaching English as a couple is way more common than you might think. Loads of folk plan to head off as a duo and start a life together somewhere more exiting and exotic every year.
If you’re one of them, this piece is for you. It runs through a few top tips for making it work as a pair. From the all-important job search to the simple basics of living together, it’s essential reading for any twosomes embarking on a TEFL trip around the globe…
Don’t pin your hopes on working in the same school
Demand for teachers in the most popular TEFL destinations can be fickle. Sometimes a school will need five new placements a year. Sometimes they’ll only need one. Be sure not to miss out on scoring that perfect job in Beijing or Bratislava or Bangkok just because your travel compadre couldn’t find one in exactly the same institution. In fact, you might find that having a separate workplace is better. That way, you’re free to be your creative self in your new job without the strings of a relationship attached.
Try to focus on destinations where you both can get work
It’s hardly a secret that TEFL jobs in Japan are more competitive beasts than, say, TEFL jobs in Cambodia. While one needs a BA and all sorts of experience, the other is fairly loose with requirements. If you’re hunting for positions as a couple, then you’re going to want to play to the lowest common denominator of qualifications. For example, if one of you has a degree and 10 years’ teaching under their belt, it’s safe to assume work should be easy to come by. But if the other is a non-native with no experience, you still might want to consider aiming at destinations where you both have a realistic chance of sliding into a job.
Think about online teaching
There’s been a huge boom in online teaching in recent years. For the so-called digital nomad tribe, it’s a boon; letting you earn dollar bills from pretty much anywhere on the planet (internet connection permitting, of course). For traveling couples, it’s also a gift. No longer does one half of the relationship need to convince the other that it’s the buzz of Bangkok that’s the place to be. There’s no need to wax lyrical about Colombia’s coffee towns every time you have a cuppa’. Bag a job online and you’re both free to check off the destinations you’ve always dreamt of, all while plying your TEFL trade via the web.
Keep a strict work-play divide
When two sides of a couple are involved in the very same industry, it can be easy to let work life seep into playtime. But the whole point of enjoying a TEFL adventure is that you can indulge that passion for travel and new experiences. That means it’s important to remember the reasons you’re heading abroad. Yes, a part of it is to share your knowledge of gerunds and grammar. But it’s also for you, as a couple. So, be sure to plan weekends on the glinting beaches of Thailand. Be sure to jet off to the Indonesian jungles on school holidays. Be sure to spend quality time snorkelling in Philippine reefs and tasting local Thai street food. You get the idea.
Don’t ONLY be a couple
The TEFL industry is a welcoming one. It’s a people-facing profession, which means you’ll not only be working with learners but also working alongside likeminded native speakers and travelers. Remember that when you start teaching English as a couple, because you definitely won’t want to sacrifice the important friendships and bonds that come from your business. That means nights out in Banglamphu with other teachers shouldn’t be swapped for a Netflix and chill sesh. It means work trips to the surf beaches of Bali should be made in lieu of long weekends involving just you and your other half.
Have you been teaching English as a couple? Do you have more tips to add? We’d love to hear about them in the comments below. Alternatively, if you’re ready to get qualified and head off together, check out our courses page…
The age of the office is ending; the age of the digital nomad is here. It’s something we’ve all heard from industry punters and working surveys over the last couple of years, but just how true is it? Well, with more and more co-working spaces popping up in destinations like Bali, Costa Rica and Chiang Mai, and the presence of thriving online communities who make a living as they travel, it’s fair to say it’s something that can’t really be ignored. Here are just seven reasons why it’s likely that location independent work is the future…
It’s fun
The primary reason so many people are chasing a life of living and working on the road is surely that it’s darn good fun. Just imagine: You could spend one week at the laptop in the co-working vegan cafes of Chiang Mai and the next chilling on the beaches of the Thai Gulf. Or, you could conduct your language lessons via Skype from a hotel room in Hong Kong, whiling away your evenings touring the food courts and watching the sunset from Victoria Peak. Sounds great, right?
It’s affordable
With the rise of budget accommodation aggregators and the sharing economy in recent years, along with low-cost airlines and bargain coach and train providers, it’s never been cheaper to maintain a life on the road. That’s great news for any budding location independent TEFL teachers, designers, marketers, entrepreneurs, or whatever it is you’re planning on doing. Keeping prices down with things like flights and hotels means those earnings will go just a little further.
Offices are becoming mechanized
The rise of the machines isn’t just a great Terminator flick, it’s also a reality of the modern workplace. With the advent of automation and technology, there are loads of job descriptions that would once have required a human agent but can now be completed by applications or computers. That’s having the knock-on effect of making offices more and more unnecessary, allowing people to get out there and explore while the droids do the work. (Let’s just hope they don’t revolt, eh?)
You can go location independent in a whole load of industry sectors
The good news for TEFL teachers is that there are plenty of opportunities to go location independent with that language qualification. That could mean hopping between short-term appointments or setting up as a Skype-based tutor to fund a life of work and travel. You’ll need to be good at organizing your schedule and ensure you always have a reliable internet connection if you’re conducting lessons online, but the upshot is that you can be where you want when you want. And that’s true for a whole range of other professions, too, from freelance writing to digital design.
There’s lots of work
As more and more people come around to the idea of getting their English language tuition on channels like Skype, or outsourcing projects to freelancers who have no set location, it’s hardly a surprise that there’s plenty of work around for the would-be digital nomad. Of course, it’s always important to nurture the same sort of business relationships you would if you were based out of an office. Be sensible, stick to your deadlines, and be professional at every turn – you’ll have some clients in no time!
It’s adventurous
It’s not hard to see the attraction to the location independent lifestyle. There’s real adventure and spontaneity in it. You can up sticks and flit across to the sandy beaches of Vietnam whenever you want. You can pack the backpack and head to the coffee-scented valleys of Colombia if you wish. You can tour Thailand to your heart’s content, climb Balinese volcanos on the weekend, and swim in tropical seas in the evening. Nice.
It’s now more feasible than ever
There was a time when the uber-slow connectivity of places like Southeast Asia and South America would have made being a digital nomad or location independent TEFL teacher in those parts particularly difficult. However, as web links and online infrastructure improves across the globe, it’s opening up way more destinations for those who want to conduct their professional life online. That means going location independent is now more feasible than ever before.
If you have anything to add to this list of reasons why location independent work is set to boom, we’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Or, if you’re taken by the idea of leaving behind the nine-to-five and becoming a TEFL teacher around the globe, be sure to check out our range of courses…
With the January snows hitting the Northern Hemisphere, and everywhere from the Rockies to the Alps, the Carpathian ranges to the Hohuan Shah of far-flung Taiwan dusted with fresh powder, there’s never been a better time to strap on the salopettes and enter the winter resorts. Thankfully, for teachers traveling the globe, there are also oodles of places to TEFL and ski; ones that allow you to make it straight from the classroom to the black diamond pistes in no time! Check them out…
Japan
The prodigal rise of japan as one of the top places to TEFL and ski has been almost unstoppable. Famed for the fine powder snow of Hokkaido island, the archipelago nation in the Far East benefits from a steady stream of ice-cold air rolling down from Russian Siberia each winter. That produces some seriously awesome conditions for those who love deep drifts and off-piste, especially if skiing on snow-mantled volcanic domes near Niseko, or at family-friendly Furano (great for beginners) is your sort of thing.
Taiwan
Taiwan has just one ski resort between its borders, which can be found sprawled out over the nearly 4,000-meter-high tops of the mystical Yushan peak, right in the middle of the island nation. The season is short, typically lasting just three months and starting in January. And before we get to the skiing, we were never touting this as the next British Columbia – after all, there’s just a single trial and a lone, rickety lift. Still, the novelty of skiing up under the shadow of revered Jade Mountain might just make the five-hour trip from Taipei worth it, don’t you think?
France…obviously
It’s true that most folk heading to the famous resorts of Chamonix and Les 2 Alpes for a whole season will be taking up chalet jobs or rep positions, but there’s plenty of scope to make France one of those top places to TEFL and ski this year too. It might be best to base yourself in the southern cities of Lyon or Grenoble, which have the best access to the high Alps, even though connections from Paris and the north are getting better every year. Oh, we’ve got to mention the sheer quality of the skiing – you can look forward to the legendary Three Valleys (the largest ski field in Europe), guaranteed snow in soaring places like Val Thorens, and uber-apres parties in wild Val-d’Isère.
Poland
You’ll have to head south to go skiing in Poland; to where the cobbled streets of the royal city of Krakow give way to the dagger-like peaks of the High Tatra Mountains. Just two hours from the city – which is one of the top places to TEFL in Eastern Europe if you like history and Slavic culture – is where you’ll discover the pistes around Zakopane. The skiing is nowhere near as challenging as the Alps or Pyrenees, but it is cheap, accessible, and rarely gets as busy as other European ski centers.
South Korea
South Korea is set to host the much-awaited Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in 2018. That means there’s been loads of investment in the country’s skiing infrastructure, and today resorts like High1, Phoenix Park and Muju Deukyusan can be reached in as little as two hours from the capital at Seoul. The ski season in Korea typically lasts just a couple of months, with January and February pulling in the bulk of the riders.
Italy
It’s easy to see why the outdoorsy type in search of places to TEFL and ski will love Italy. In the summer, the rugged mountains of the Sabina Hills crash into the Apennines and the Alps, making for some awesome plateau walking. In the winter, the ranges get dustings of snow, with the Dolomites and stylish resorts like Cortina d’Amprezzo in the north offering the pick of the bunch. Skiing in Italy tends to be famously laid-back compared to Austria and France, not to mention just a tad cheaper to boot!
Stay at home
Okay, so this one might not seem like the most adventurous option out there for those searching for places to TEFL and ski in tandem, but it’s an easy and accessible one for sure. With the booming growth of online EFL positions and Skype-based tutoring, it’s now really easy to build up an income stream as a remote English teacher. That’s great news if you love revealing the secrets of grammar and tenses but can’t bring yourself to leave the beautiful mountains of Whistler or the American Rockies on the doorstep!
Can you think of any more awesome places to TEFL and ski this year? Have you donned the skis and salopettes anywhere on this list? We’d love to hear all about it in the comments below…