Want To Teach English Abroad? 5 Things To Know

So you’ve decided to get out of the rat race (or maybe not even join it at all) in your home country in order to live the fascinating life of an English as Second Language (ESL) teacher abroad. You’re preparing to dust off your resume and apply for those ESL gigs of your dreams. Well, as a seasoned ESL teacher trotting the globe abroad from South Korea to currently residing in Oman, let me give you a few tips of what you need to know about applying for and interviewing for ESL jobs around the globe.Certification1) For many ESL teacher positions around the world, you do not need a teaching certificate in your home country. In order to teach in places such as South Korea and China, you only need a BA degree and possibly a TESOL certificate (which you can obtain before applying for your dream job abroad). Most University positions require you have a TESOL/TEFL of 100 hours completed in Class and not online. There are various opportunities to get a Teaching English as a Foreign Language certificate, but do your due diligence to make sure it is a reputable company. If there is a groupon for it, it may not be the best option to do.Recruiters, Recruiters2) Some ESL recruiting companies are cut throat! Buyer beware, the ESL teaching job arena can be tough. It is imperative to do your research ahead of time on various recruiting companies when you get ready to apply. Some companies are here one day and gone tomorrow. Therefore, ask questions, network in social media groups that have many ESL teachers already such as iluv2globetrot and others online. I can highly recommend Footprints Recruiting, TeachAway and SeriousTeachers.com to name a few.Lesson Planning3) Start researching how to do a lesson plan if you have never completed one before. If you have never taught in your home country or abroad, it is imperative to learn how to do a lesson plan before you trot to your new country to work abroad. This may sound simple, but you’d be surprised how many new teachers have no idea what the purpose of a lesson plan even is. There are a ton of useful resources online to help you get the ball rolling on fun and interactive lessons for teaching with either adults or children such as Boggles World and ESL Flow.Embassy Jobs4) If you have English language teaching experience already in your home country, consider applying for teaching jobs with your countries Embassy in locations abroad. You’d be surprised just how many opportunities are out there around the globe with embassies, Department of Defense (DoD) and even military colleges. Again, research, research, research.Use your Language Experience5) If you have language experience other than English, you can look into applying for opportunities that require language skills in your native language of English and your foreign language that you studied in school. The teaching assistant program in France is a great example of this option. You get the best of both worlds, teaching others English, while at the same time practicing the language you studied before going abroad.Are their any additional tips that you would give to future globe-trotters interested in teaching abroad? If so, please feel free to share in the comments section below! Thanks, kamsahaminda, shukran, merci, danke ;-).Reposted from Nicole's travel destination, iLuv2globetrot.com