islamabad

Is Teaching Abroad for You?
Am I qualified to teach abroad?
If you have a passion to teach and are open to new cultures, teaching abroad may be for you. There are teaching positions in many disciplines and languages around the world and if you are flexible you will surely find one that suits your interests and qualifications. The majority of teaching positions available are for native English speakers willing to teach English as a foreign language.

Do I need a degree? Or would a TEFL certificate be sufficient? Is teaching experience required?
The qualifications required by employers vary widely depending upon the demand and availability of teachers and work visa requirements in your country of interest.

In many countries, a bachelor's degree is required to be able to work legally. The majority of full time teaching positions require a bachelors' degree, though not necessarily in education. Some English teaching schools do not require a college degree as long as you are a native speaker.

There are schools that employ native English speakers who do not have a TEFL certificate, but many competitive employers require a TEFL certificate. Regardless, you can be sure that any certificate will help you develop your skills and prepare you for the classroom experience. A TEFL certificate is a must if you are serious and you want to be a better teacher. While native speakers are often preferred for English teaching positions, a non-native speaker with a TEFL certificate may also qualify. In general, most certificate programs assist with job placement.

In most cases, English teach abroad programs do not require teaching experience but your chances of getting hired will be greater if you have it.

If you have a degree in teaching English as a foreign language there are no limits to your destination options. The US, UK, Australia and many other destinations have highly paid teaching jobs for qualified professional teachers.

Does age matter? Are teaching positions available for both young and older teachers?
Age might be an issue in other countries due to working permit and visa requirements. In some cases particularly in Korea as well as other Asian and middle-eastern destinations age may be a factor in hiring. Many of these schools require photos and more important than age is often a well-groomed appearance.

Aside from teaching positions in a university or a language school, there are also 'volunteer' teaching positions open to any age; there are even some open to high school students. Many volunteer teaching placements exist in developing countries. Often these jobs are better than locally paid positions. The in-country pay may be so low that the volunteer placements, with its perks, may be worth more than what you would get on the open market. Volunteer teaching placements also provide a chance to meet unique students. Teaching in an orphanage or in an eco tourism project to eager local students may be more rewarding than a bushi ban full of well-off and not so eager young boys.

Can I teach with my partner?
Schools seek stability from their internationally recruited staff members.

If the school takes care of the travel, housing, medical, insurance and visa application expenses, then most likely single teachers are preferred. They are highly appealing if they are open to shared housing. Some schools opt for single teachers because they are mobile.

Other schools prefer to hire teaching couples because they can be hired together and share a single living accommodation. Also, couples who have no children and share accommodation may be more stable. In most countries there is zero tolerance for dating local students. This is obviously less of a risk with teacher couples. In many places the demand is so high that a couple just means more students, more classes and more income for the school owner.

Not all destinations are gay friendly. Prospective teachers concerned about destinations should check out Rainbow SIG.

Do I need to speak the local language?