How to become an English teacher in one week and travel the world!
You probably wonder what you are doing working in an office in the middle of November when it's gray, cold and raining outside and it takes you 2 hours to commute everyday? If only there was a way to move far away and enjoy a better lifestyle in a warm country, work only 30 hours a week and spend the rest of your time scuba diving, hiking in the jungle or discovering old ruins on the other side of the globe! Well, surprisingly, it is possible. Let me explain.
Being a native English speaker, or fluent in this language is a very valuable skill in some parts of the world. In Asia, where the economy is still booming and English is becoming indispensable if you want to get a good job, you can become an English teacher relatively easily.
There are different kind of certifications that you need. In general, a TEFL is required, you should opt for the 120 hours version (since the lowest versions might not be enough for some schools). You can get yours from the "i to i love TEFL" for around 280 dollars. You have an online course with some quizzes along the way to help you memorize the content. At the end, you have a long quiz, you also have to create a lesson plan based on a given situation as well as a written document explaining your strategy. You need 75% for each exercise. If you study seriously the course, you should pass. You can do it in less than a week.
With a degree and this certification, you can teach anywhere in the world, from Thailand to Japan or Cambodia. The school might also ask you to have a little bit of teaching experience, but if you have done some tutoring when you were a student and taught children a few hours a week, that will suffice.
And the salaries are quite good especially when you take into account the low cost of living in Thailand or China for example. You will be able to travel and save money. Here is an overview of the salaries you can expect per country.
You don't even have to be a native speaker to get a teaching job, as long as you are fluent.
Finally, you can get a job in just a few days, the demand is really high especially in Asia.
So what are you waiting for?
The other advantage is that you can learn the local language quite fast since you will be completely immersed. It's also a great way to spend a gap year before university.
HI, have you done this yourself and where? I am very interested in your experiences if you have.
I've though about doing this for a while now but don't know how exactly to go about it. I am not a native english speaker but was in a bilingual school all my life, I can speak/read/write it perfectly.
Hi, yes I passed the exam in just one week recently, I'm not a native speaker either (but perfectly fluent) and I got a score of 95%. It is pretty easy to then apply for jobs in Asia since the demand is really high and they are pretty desperate to find English teachers.
Great job, I never thought of this
I'm currently preparing the TKT Module 1 since I have no experience as a teacher but once I'm done with the TKT series, consider taking the TEFL test. Do you have any idea how much is the pay? Thank you for the information!