Tefl.NET Forums

I've heard good things about ILA in Vietnam. I almost went to work for them myself once a few years ago, although ended up staying in the US and not relocating at the time.

The bottom line I'm afraid is that you'll be hard pressed to save a significant amount while living in China. You can live well, and you can save, but I'm not sure it's the best location to drum up a bank roll for further travels. If that's your main goal, you might want to check out Korea or Taiwan...

You might want to try investigating some of the smaller countries in SE Asia such as Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos.

I have worked with non-native teachers in the past and the good ones are just as effective as native teachers. I think you'll find that it all boils down to supply and demand. If you're flexible in where you want to work, you'll probably have more options, but even if you focus on the higher profile...

I agree. Professionals with solid credentials and experience such as yourself shouldn't have much of an issue finding legal employment.

My knowledge on Egypt is a bit dated, but I had a friend that taught in Cairo a number of years ago. He worked at one of the international high schools and had teacher credentials from the US. When I asked him about the local job market he told me that private language schools are always looking for...

I'm not sure how this would work in London, but in the US there are a lot of organizations such as local schools or libraries or even churches that like to offer ESL instruction for their communities. If just getting some experience under your belt without being overly concerned about pay is your co...

I think I might be inclined to just apply for the jobs and see where it gets you. Most schools have a pretty hard time filling all of their native teacher openings, and if you look professional I'd be willing to bet you have a good chance of getting hired.

Good luck! :)

Burn out is a very natural phenomenon, and not just in the field of ESL. I read an article a week or so ago that said one of the causes is when your expectations exceed your results. Seems like there isn't anything in particular that would "fix" the issue. All you can try to do is try to v...

As seems to frequently be the case, I'm in agreement with Peter. :) I've met a number of non-native English teachers in various parts of the world that are doing quite well. The key seems to be that they were all working in areas that where the demand was very high and the supply of teachers was com...

Top spots for saving money (meaning factoring in cost of living and amount of pay) are Korea, Taiwan and pretty much any of the countries around Saudi Arabia.

There are places that pay more, but have higher costs of living, and so your net savings won't be as high.

There are far more jobs in China than native speakers to take them. Competition for you will be strong. As with all things, be cautious when arranging overseas work if you don't have a referral from someone you know and trust. I would much rather just go and look for work once I'm there than trustin...

Just replied to your other post. :)

I can't speak for Japan, but it's dead easy to get work in China and Korea. If you're presentable and don't come off as a "backpacker" you'll probably have no problem finding something in a few days. I would start with the major cities, pick up a copy of the local English newspaper, and st...

Teaching English per se could be tough, as there are tons and tons of native folks in India teaching English, for very small sums of money. The real money in India is in the wonderfully termed "accent neutralization" classes that all of the call center companies need. I talked to a few peo...

I find myself agreeing with Peter a lot. :) At the end of the day, it's the classroom experience that keeps students coming back, especially to classes that they don't have to attend. You can probably survive with a dull method in a mandatory high school class, but in private lessons to adults, your...

Just to chime in and reinforce Peter's point, the TEFL is a good primer for native speakers looking to get a start in the field. I've seen many non-native teachers doing well in other parts of the world, provided they have a reasonable accent, present themselves well, and deliver a meaningful classr...

I have some experience in online teaching. Hubert is right, PayPal is the most popular way to pay teachers Some of the bigger schools (Global English, Englishtown, etc.) use stored value cards, which are essentially ATM/credit/debit cards. Every payday, they load your salary onto the card, and then ...

Hubert makes a very good point.

Even if a country doesn't require a degree for a work visa, doing at least a 4 week TEFL training course can make a huge difference in how confidently you interview, as well as how competently you teach.

Sometimes taking a firm stand and making an example of the worst performer can send a very, very clear message about your expectations. :)