There is no shortcut to success in life. We have all heard this all through our life struggling to get a promotion or a salary increase. But what about turning your work into something which will provide you with money as well as vacation-like life? This is what English teachers can achieve by going global. If you want to take your English teaching career to the next step by going abroad, Thailand is the place to go since it is the best place to teach English in Asia!
It is the most classical step to follow by going to the doors of schools or tuition schools (at first because then, with experience, you find + or - without having to look too much). Do not forget that, good or not, the salary will be at the Thai living standard. An important aspect is the Work Permit, which is theoretically mandatory. Do not dream, even if some schools promise you, you will not get it, at least maybe because you do not have a teacher's diploma but also because schools rarely keep their promises on this specific subject.
I advise you not to work for periods of + 2 months. It will be much less problematic at the visa level but keeping in mind that the job will be done in black. Another reason is that doing 2 months teacher when it is not his real job is already long. The main point is that a foreign teacher to learn English, it is a plus for Thai. Another important info: a teacher is a model in Thailand. You'll realize it right away. If you have inadequate behaviour, including outside school, they will know and you will be fired. All in all Thailand still remains the best place to teach English in Asia, just for its beauty!
Easy money is always on everyone’s mind and there indeed are various legal ways to earn money just by being English speaker. The opportunities to teach English exist all around the world and most of the time you do not even need a diploma or certificate. You just need English as your mother tongue. Look at the site eslcafe.com, send a few applications to South Korea, Japan, Thailand or a dozen other countries and you will be surprised how many talks you will receive. A special mention though is that English teaching jobs in Thailand are really well paid!
Teaching a foreign language
English is not the only language people want to learn. You speak French, Spanish, German, Italian, Mandarin, Arabic, or any other language? Find a teacher job or place an ad in popular schools and cafes to set up your own language course. There are many English teaching jobs in Thailand which are well paid and the added bonus is the breathtaking countryside.
Diving Prof
Scuba Diving Do you have a scuba diving certificate? If you have it there are dozens of great destinations for scuba diving around the world - Egypt, Mexico, Thailand, Australia, Hawaii - where you can find work. The best example I have discovered is a young woman in Thailand who has mounted her work model in 6 months. She went from a seaside resort to a seaside resort, contacted the tourist offices (who often offered diving excursions) and offered them an agreement. In exchange for bringing in customers, she would pocket money. Every day she went to the youth hostels and trendy cafes to promote the activities for which she worked. She was doing really well. So think a little, find ideas and do not be afraid to be original and creative!
You will have an important impact on the lives of many children and adults on taking English teaching jobs in Asia. You do not need to be a teacher to teach in Asia. TEFL or TESOL certifications are the prerequisites to participate in this international teaching experience. Knowledge of the local language is not compulsory no more. English teaching jobs in Asia is open to those who possess TEFL or TESOL whether you are on a sabbatical, student, teacher or retired.
You will be warmly welcomed by your students in Asia. Whether you are interested in teaching English or French, or even teaching computer science, several openings are currently available in urban, rural and semi-rural areas in Cambodia, China, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. You will be able to teach children of all ages and levels, in primary and secondary school, and sometimes even adults. Many often work alongside local teachers and collaborate in teaching.
Teaching in Asia - How is it?
You will notice that schools in Asia often lack personnel and material and financial resources. Some schools are relatively well equipped with teaching materials, while others are largely lacking. Class sizes can be very large, sometimes with up to 50 children per class. No matter your environment and resources available, you will see that your best resource and teaching tool is yourself. Students will want to know more about you, who you are and what country you come from. They will want to know why you have chosen Asia to teach and give your time.
No matter your skills or talents, teaching in Asia is a unique opportunity to combine an experience of a new, fascinating and changing adventure that will certainly make you grow both personally and professionally.
There are so many destinations where you can teach English in Asia. Almost the whole Far East region doesn't speak great English, with the notable exception of the Philippines. And this region is coming up as the next big force in the world economy. Thus, they must speak great English to communicate with the world. To do that, they are spending a lot on learning better English. Some of the popular destinations in this part of the world would be Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China but Thailand would simply beat the rest of the countries as the best place to teach English in Asia. We would tell you why.
All these countries pay really well but when you take the purchasing power parity into consideration, Thailand stands out. It means, for the same amount of money, you can purchase more products and services in Thailand. In other words, you can lead a better life in Thailand with equal amount of money.
Thailand has the best in the class salaries from the international schools but even if you are working with the language institutes, you would get enough to lead a decent life in the country. This is because accommodation, food, transport, services, leisure and pleasure all cost much less in Thailand. If that is not all, often many of these are included in the salary, like accommodation and the transport. With the natural beauty of Thailand being one of the best, you can't ignore the quality of life either.
Searching for a job abroad is often tricky. First of all, you might know very little about the country and even less about the potential employer. You can always take help of the recruitment agencies but then again, you don't know who to trust. The best situation would be to go there and look for a job. Then again, with no surety of getting a job, the whole time and money might get wasted.
These reasons don't work for TEFL teaching jobs in Thailand. Let us explain. If you are a native English speaker, from countries like UK, USA or Australia, and you have a bachelor’s degree, you can come to Thailand. Here, you can join a TEFL or TESOL training institute as a student and pass the certification. These institutes arrange for multiple job interviews for all their students. You can crack any of those and get the job.
These institutes have their own job network and they keep on adding the latest English teaching jobs in Thailand to this list regularly. These jobs are exclusively for their students. Thus, if you do your TEFL in your home country, you will never come across these vacancies. This is another advantage of doing your TEFL in the country itself.
Most of these institutes have great training teams who have the experience and the expertise to teach you not only the grammar of English but also the tricks and tips of scoring big in the test.
Thailand is blessed with numbers of leading institutes offering TEFL course. The country also has the best international schools and some really good government schools. Then there are the universities, the best in Thailand, again. Combining everything this place is great landing spot for foreign bachelor degree holders who want to start a teaching career in Thailand.
To teach in Thailand, you need to be a native speaker of English. If you are, and you hold a bachelor degree, all you need is a TEFL certificate to qualify as a teacher. Many foreigners come to Thailand without a TEFL or TESOL certificate and they do it here. There are so many institutes to choose from and each of these institutes, at least the ones who worth the course fee, have so well planned TEFL guidance courses. They employ foreign trainers who are experienced and know all the tricks of scoring high in the test. They keep the batch size small so these trainers can pay personal attention to each student. If you don't like to attend classes or can’t attend those, they offer online training as well. All in all, there is no reason for not doing your TEFL in Thailand.
And the best part? These institutes also arrange for job interviews for every successful student. The jobs in this city are well paid, have great perks and have great growth potential as well.
For a first international experience, it may be wise to try something other than the job. There are indeed other solutions to go abroad, solutions often more accessible, more advantageous and more formative. Before leaving for work abroad, you can start by doing an internship (even outside your university course) or a voluntary service. This will enrich your CV, reassure your future employer on your adaptability and fluency in a professional or quasi-professional context, and will give you the benefit of a first non-native experience for teaching in Thailand.
Go on the spot
Can you find a job abroad while staying in UK? Yes, undeniably. However, you will naturally increase your chances of finding the offer of your dreams by visiting the site. Teaching in Thailand is really a challenging job but once you try your foothold there, the environment will give you an idea of what to expect so that you can prepare yourself accordingly. It is probably easier to find a job (very) qualified from UK than a summer job, a student job or a job that does not require any special qualification. Indeed, by definition, these jobs are accessible to the greatest number and an employer will only have to make an announcement to receive hundreds of applications. So why would he bother and take the risk of bringing someone from abroad when he already has everything he needs at hand?
To cope with the competition, it may be useful to visit the country especially if you choose a European country bordering France. This certainly requires an initial investment to pay for transportation and housing for a while, but, whatever happens, if you want to work abroad, you will have to travel at some point. With active research, if you have the right qualities, you should find your happiness more quickly than sitting behind your office in England.
How to find a job abroad? Once you have your project in mind, you need to know where to look for job opportunities. If you are looking for a job for the summer, you can consult the section summer job abroad, where new offers are regularly given to you. If you are looking for a job that does not require a specific qualification (babysitter, bartender, waiter, customer advisor and English operator abroad etc ...), you can consult the job postings abroad online.
If you are looking for a skilled job in Asia, you can look for the teach English in Thailand program. If you are looking for a qualified job in any part of the world, you can visit JobTrotter for example. The ads are aimed at people from a wide range of backgrounds. A first significant experiment is often requested by employers. If you are looking for a qualified job related to your training, you will increase your chances of hiring by carrying out a professional recognition of your diplomas (this can take several forms: equivalence, attestation of comparability, assimilation, homologation ...) .To do so, contact the ENRIC-NARIC centre of the country you are interested in. The list of ENRIC-NARIC centres is available online. This procedure pays off and the procedures vary from one country to another.
If the CVs you already had for English employers did not suit them, then imagine what it will be for a foreign employer! Writing a resume for the search for an international job must be done according to the rules of the country.
Do you have a wondering soul and crave to travel a lot? But due to your profession, you find it hard to move as much as you want. What if there is a possibility for you to travel while earning money? This is what teaching English jobs in Asia have in store for you!
Teaching is a very demanding job since you will need to prepare well in advance your course and also following up on the progress of each student is not given! Add to that the pressure of making sure your class doesn’t go below the passing rate allowed by the establishment, your life might seem just borderline hectic. If you are an English teacher, there’s good news for you. You can indeed take up teaching English jobs in Asia and fulfil both your dream of travelling as well as earning while doing what you know best! Asia has seen an increase in demand for English teachers and the reasons remain unclear but many claim it is due to the fact that more and more transactions are international and most agreements and deals are in English.
The Asian continent is the new flagship destination for young Europeans. The solutions to go to work in Asia when you are under 30 years are increasing. And if you are interested in teaching English jobs in Asia, you will be impressed by the keenness of the students. They work hard and are high achievers which will make your effort all the more rewarding!
For an English, a French, a Belgian or a Swiss, Thailand seems like paradise on earth. But between going to spend holidays and finding work there, there is a world of difference. For example, do not imagine finding a job in the construction industry. The building trades are very low paid and are reserved for the locals. But many industries are looking for English teachers to help them better communicate across borders.
Cities where to work
For a UK expatriate or from another country, there are cities in Thailand where foreigners are more likely to find work, even when they are without a diploma. Thailand might be one of the best place to teach English in Asia!
Phuket
It is an island, the largest in the country. You can easily get around, the roads are good. From it, it is possible to visit a string of small islands, all more enchanting than the others. On the temperature side, it turns all the year around 30 ° C, even if the rainy season does some damage.
It is here that people have the most chance to find a job when as cook or pizzaiolo. It must be said that many tourists come to spend their holidays there and stay there for a few years. Moreover, one fifth of the population is of foreign origin.
Pattaya
Another popular place for tourism in Thailand is Pattaya but, not always for the good reasons. People come here to have fun, to celebrate, day and night. Its Beach Road is one of the most famous in the world. If you are looking for a job, we recommend local classifieds, but know that the average salary is not very high compared to what can offer Europe.
Being a teacher in Thailand means having 20 to 25 hours of classes a week (usually in the morning), but having to stay all day in the school. The work of preparation and correction that an English teacher makes at home, here it must be done in the premises of the establishment. This time at school can be used to perform overtime teaching in order to increase one’s salary. This is the best way that teaching jobs in Thailand can be lucrative!
Teachers' salaries
Although by law a Westerner must receive a minimum wage of 50 000 Baht per month, there is derogation for that of the teachers. You will find many job offers between 15 000 and 35 000 Baht. On the other hand, international schools pay between 50,000 and 80,000 Baht, and more particularly those preparing for the International certification.
Accommodation, a good surprise
Many schools offer, in addition to the salary, a housing allowance or an accommodation of function (Which teachers may have had the same advantage in UK?). I even saw an American international school imposing function housing in school for the first two years. At the end of this period, they provided an allowance for housing outside the campus. With regard to this housing allowance, it makes it easy to cover the costs of renting in the provinces, but will often prove insufficient for Bangkok or Phuket.
You will have a significant impact on the lives of many children and adults if you want to teach English in Asia programs. Knowledge of the local language is not compulsory anymore. You will be warmly welcomed by students in Asia. Whether you are interested in teaching English or French, or even teaching computer science, several missions are currently available in urban, rural and semi-rural areas in Cambodia, China, India, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Volunteers teach children of all ages and levels, in primary and secondary school, and sometimes even adults. Volunteers often work alongside local teachers and collaborate in teaching.
How is teaching in Asia?
You will notice that schools in Asia often lack personnel and material and financial resources. Some schools are relatively well equipped with teaching materials, while others are largely lacking. Class sizes can be very large, sometimes with up to 50 children per class. No matter your environment and resources available, you will see that your best resource and teaching tool is yourself. Students will want to know more about you, who you are and what country you come from. They will want to know why you have chosen Asia to teach and give of your time.
No matter your skills or talents, teaching in Asia is a unique opportunity to combine a new, fascinating and changing adventure experience that will surely make you grow both personally and professionally. Not to forget the rich experience you will be acquiring in a new environment filled with culture.
English teaching is a highly rewarding career and it is even more rewarding in Asia where the sincerity to learn English is more. But is that the only reason? Why the native speakers of English are accepting teaching English jobs in Asia? There are several different reasons which combined make Asia the best destination for English teachers.
Great salary is obviously the first reason. With the rise of China, India, Japan and other Asian countries, the Asian economy is on the rise. The schools can now afford to pay better and even match the pay scales of international schools. Working in these schools is very rewarding in monetary terms.
Secondly, Asian economies are opening up and they are trading with the whole world. The language of international business is English and thus they must speak English to prosper in their business. Obviously, the sincerity in learning English is the highest in the Asians. Now, any teacher would love students who are eager and sincere.
Thirdly, Asian culture is completely different from that of the US or England. The teachers who are coming from those locations get to taste the unique and amazing Asian hospitality, culture, religion and religious practices, Asian spirituality, festivals of different communities and more. If the teacher wanted to experience different culture and the needed a job of teaching English abroad for that purpose, nothing can beat Asia.
Finally, there are so many different tourist attractions in Asia which can be toured free of cost if the candidate is working in that country.
We all know that to teach English in Thailand, the candidates need a TEFL certificate. Moreover, to work in Thailand as English teacher, the candidate would need a teaching license in Thailand and finally, he or she would also need a work visa for Thailand. While passing the TEFL test is the candidate’s prerogative exclusively, the employer often manages to obtain the other two permits for the candidates. However, all these are hard, cold paperwork. What about those little, soft skills which differentiate the average teacher from the great ones?
These qualities vary, depending on the location, the demography of the students, the subject being taught and other factors. In Thailand, for teaching English, the first thing you need is to be gentle. Teachers are revered figures in Thailand and Thai people are sensitive. They wouldn’t handle well if this revered figure suddenly becomes harsh or rude. For example, Thai students are not very comfortable when asked to speak English and they might repeatedly slip back into Thai language. Don't lose your patience. That's the key.
Secondly, Thai people tend to become bored very easily and thus, your lessons should be entertaining and interactive. You need to think of and formulate newer ways of incorporating lessons of English into fun activities. Dry lectures wouldn’t take you far in this. You need to think of real life situations and ask them to take part. Or you might think of little games which can strengthen their English.
Teaching English is a nice profession especially if you want to be a teacher and if you are a native speaker of the language. A decently educated native speaker wouldn’t need any special education to speak the language and if you always wanted to be a teacher, this is your dream profession.
However, do you know these two qualities can easily get you a job abroad? In fact, many Asian counties are eagerly waiting for candidates like you. You can earn handsomely, even more than what you can earn inn a European country and more importantly, you get to experience a totally new culture. Asian hospitality is the best in the world.
Thailand is probably the best destination in Asia. Not only because it has Phuket and those heavenly beaches, but because they are in bad need of TEFL certified teachers and they are ready to pay well. There are three types of school where you can teach English, public or government school, language schools and privately owned international schools. You can choose your target students and apply to any of these schools. However, applying directly is not always fruitful. You should go through one of those agencies and check out their “teach English in Thailand program”. These programs are aimed to finding the best job for the best candidate, getting all the paperwork done including work visa and teacher’s license and also provide the TEFL certification which every candidate would need to secure a job.