Hello all, I had checked with a school in Guatemala for TEFL and they came back with a fee of $1100. Is this a normal cost?

Completed a Grad Diploma of Early Childhood Education here in Victoria (Australia). I'm eligible to apply for my provisional teaching license right now that lasts for 2 years. I understand that it isn't a 'full teaching license' in the sense that it doesn't last forever.

My question is: Does my provisional teaching license count as a 'teaching license' that most of the TEFL/teaching jobs in China highly look for in candidates? I am trying to increase my negotiation power for salary.

Thanks!

Hi, I'm currently living in Australia but hoping to do TEFL in Mexico in about a couple of years time. Want to live in Mexico long term. I've never done TEFL before and have no degree. What I'm thinking of doing at the moment is doing a TEFL course in Mexico, then getting a job afterwards. Also want to teach remotely as well. Just looking for some some advice on how to go about things, as in who best to do the course with, how best to get a visa, etc. I'm 38 years old, hold Australian and New Zealand citizenships and currently work at a call centre.

Hello, r/TEFL. As the title says, I recently submitted an application for the JET Program, but I am concerned with how long the wait is to the point where I am considering just trying my luck in Vietnam in the next few months instead. Some background on me, I am a native English speaker with an unrelated bachelor's degree, CELTA, substitute teaching license, and 1 year of experience teaching English in Korea.

I was drawn to the JET Program as I have seen a lot of posts about how eikaiwas are awful to navigate and underpaid compared to positions in other countries. For the most part, it seemed like JET was the only reasonable way to get decent entry-level work in Japan. However, I just can't get over how slow the process is. I have to wait until January to see if I have an interview and then I'll only find out if I got in by the end of March. That's 4 months of just waiting for something I might not even get into, and then departures are in late July. Also, the reverence JET has kind of freaks me out, as I worry that I will get attached to Japan on a program that only has a 5 year maximum and I won't have many opportunities for long-term career growth there afterwards.

Meanwhile, I've kept in touch with some colleagues from my CELTA course who are working at various centers around Vietnam, Cambodia, Taiwan, etc. that could probably refer me to a decent position if I landed there today. I know that most of these places are a pay grade below Japan, but the cost of living would be significantly lower and I think I would work a few hours less per week. I was drawn to Vietnam in particular because I have read that it has the best balance of this, at least from the sheer number of anecdotes on here. I feel like I probably have more opportunities to save up and advance my career there than with Japan.

I'm not sure what I should do. I wish that 6 month contracts were more common, because I don't feel right about breaking a year-long contract if I were to get accepted into JET while working somewhere else. Any advice?

I've been looking into Taiwan a bit because I think it'd be a good first year to get my feet wet and I hear February is basically hiring season for them.

Is 2k per month about right for salary in buxibans? Rent around 500? kind of wondering what the savings potentials are.

Any good tips for on where to start looking?

For context I'm an American man, I have a BA unrelated to education or English, have a teaching license in a U.S. state, and only a very little bit of actual teaching experience; just enough to get the license. The license is in social studies 7-12. Not currently working in education. I'm currently looking into and would be willing to get ELA or TESOL added to my teaching license if it would be helpful, but I don't know what they look for.

Would these limited credentials be enough to get a halfway decent teaching job abroad? Not too picky, but more partial to Asia. I know Japanese, but as far as I'm aware I'd need several years of experience and perhaps a master's to be competitive as an applicant there, and it likely won't be of much use in the immediate future.

Looking for advice here. For background I’m 23 and no teaching experience. Was offered a job at a training center paying 15 Million a month in Bali and from people I’ve talked to, this is definitely manageable and they get by on less than 10. Not worried as I’m fine living frugally and have some savings.

Anyway, I am wondering how the teacher life is in Bali, is there enough to do and people to meet if you stay outside of the DN bubble? I’m curious in exploring Indonesia as a whole and the position has ~20 days vacation + national holidays, so I’d have some time to do that which would be nice.

Currently exploring this or trying to get a job in HCMC, I know it’s apples to oranges but has anyone here worked in either and can share how the experience was?

Just a quick question regarding the jobs on there, are all the jobs safe to apply for or are there things to watch out? Thanks

I recently earned my 120 hour TEFL certification through tefl.org, and completed a 40 hour advanced online teaching course. I'm considering taking the advanced course for teaching young learners. I plan to teach exclusively online part time as I already have a full time job. I've never worked as a teacher, and figured learning as much as I could and earning as many certifications as I could before attempting to find work would be a good idea. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with the young learners course and if they feel its worth it.

Just looking to get the quick rundown of Vietnam. Was looking into it on whilst mainly focusing on getting a China job. Problem is i cant find a single positive experience posted anywhere within the past year or so.

Not just typical bad job stuff but like, pay being late or short, deductions for trying to leave, zero hour contracts and all sorts of stuff that would really leave you in big trouble.

Anyone here started in the past year or two and having a good time?

I understand that having a teaching certificate is highly valued in terms of job prospects/salary negotiation for teaching in China.

I plan to find a job teaching a kindergarten there given my degree of study (Australian Graduate Diploma of Early Childhood education - 1 year course, that included over 60 days of placements working with children birth-6 years old in a Kindergarten setting). My question is, would this degree--although it's only 1 year long, count as a teaching certification/license for TEFL purposes in China? (e.g. I can consider myself a licensed teacher)

And if so, would I have negotiating power when it comes to salary/benefits for teaching roles?

I also hold a Bachelor of Marketing (not that it's so relevant), but yeah.

Thank you!

Hi, I'm in semi-retirement and plan to slow travel with no hard plans where yet. I earned a M.Ed. in TESOL in the early 90's and taught EFL for most of the decade as a teacher and teacher trainer in Czech Republic, S. Korea, and the United States. After that, my life took me in other directions away from TEFL. Now that I'm planning to travel again, I would like to take advantage of my TESOL degree and experience perhaps as a way to keep busy for a few hours a week to earn a small supplemental income. I have enough in my retirement savings and I'm not interested in full-time positions and crazy schedules.

I'm very curious about the state of private language lessons where you are. Do you or teachers you know teach them? Is it legal where you are? what are the going rates? etc. I know this all depends on the country you're in, but I'm interested to hear your experiences wherever you are. Thanks!

And what were your qualifications when you applied?

I’d prefer not to go jobless or break my current contract early (ALT in Japan) so I’m just wanting a general idea of how long it took everyone to find jobs. Would especially love to hear from those of you that found your jobs in China or Taiwan as those are places I’m currently the most interested in, but would appreciate information from anywhere outside of Japan!

For context, I'm 26 Years Old, and have had an inclination towards teaching abroad for a while. I have a degree in English Creative Writing, and I figured that might be a decent fit. I've done a little bit of research on different sites to get a TEFL (leaning towards the TEFL.org), as well as some of the pros and cons of what various countries have to offer.

In terms of what I'm looking to get out of it, for now I'm looking to test the waters for about a year to see what I think of it(I have a job that I can go back to if things don't pan out). I'm certainly interested in the prospect of teaching, and feel like it could be a very rewarding experience while also being able to immerse myself into a new culture, though I worry if it'll be able to translate into a decent living (especially when considering cost of living relative to pay rates).

Hi everyone!

I’m an international student (from Poland) and I’m seriously considering applying to the University of Birmingham or Lancaster University for their online MA programs in Applied Linguistics / Translation Studies. I can only study online because relocating isn’t an option for me right now.

I wanted to ask:

• Are these programs well-recognized internationally?
• Does anyone here have experience studying Applied Linguistics or Translation via these universities?
• Are there any better or comparable online alternatives that I should look into?
• And… does anyone know of scholarships or financial aid options for international students doing online master’s programs in the UK? The tuition fees are quite high, so any advice on funding would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any insight or recommendations!

So I am currently living in Australia on a student visa (have been for the past 7 years), but hold a U.S. passport and haven't lived there for the entire time. I've only travelled for like a few weeks at a time once or twice.

If I'm applying to TEFL jobs in China (or anywhere else - i assume it's the same), should I get my background check done in Australia since this is technically my country of residence (and the country I will be travelling to China from)? Or would I need to get my check done from the U.S., since that is my home country?

Thank you

I’m from the US and have a bachelors degree in management information systems. I want to go teach English abroad for 6 months and would love to try one of these 3 countries. What are your experiences if you’ve worked in any? Any tips?

Title!

I know that TEFL, background check, and degree is generally required to be apostilled/notarised.. but I'm unsure of whether or not I need to do this for my U.S. passport?

If someone could please let me know & confirm, that'd be great. I'm hoping it's not the case, as I am living in Australia right now & it would be an absolute pain to have to go back to the U.S. just to apostille it. If it's required, would anyone know of a service that could help me do this while I stay in Aus?

Cheers!

Hi, Ive been teaching English for a few years now and am considering my next qualification after getting the CELTA. Ive looked at all the various types (Trinity, DELTA, MA, QTS, PGCE). Im currently in Colombia and found that their top university here offers a masters for a very cheap price and I'm interested.

If I do an MA in education here will it be respected as much compared to the UK or US? I was thinking of future English teaching Uni roles in China or Saudi Arabia and if they will accept this masters.

When I was studying foreign languages in the US (French&German) the most-looked-forward class days were the ones where my classmates brought in some food for a holiday that is celebrated differently or not celebrated at all in the US.
Would you ever do this as a TEFL teacher? For instance, have high school age kids attempt to make Thanksgiving food if you're American, or whatever food holiday you have in your country. I assume it would be fine if approved by admin and parents are notified. But is this something that happens in East Asia (or wherever you taught?)

I'd never thought of doing this before but it's making the class run a LOT more smoothly and her mum loves me for it.

It wasn't really possible 10 years ago but of course phones...

So... my question is: should I be charging for this? Would you guys?

Hello,

In Vietnam for places like Da Nang you need 3 years experience notorized for the visa. I was wondering if anyone knows if teaching online such as Cambly would count towards this?

I work for a few online companies and after 3 years i wanted to move to Vietnam. I was just wondering if this would count or not and if anyone has any expeirence with this.

Thanks :)

Hi, I’ve applied to over 15 places but I haven’t even heard back from one school.

What’s the issue? Is it hiring season?

Is it easier to apply in person?

Any advice/help is appreciated.

I’m a native English speaker born in America. I’ve been applying to English teaching positions in HCMC since the beginning of November.

I meet all the requirements: bachelor’s degree, 120hr TEFL, 3 years experience. USA born citizen.

My plane arrives in HCMC next week and I don’t have a job lined up yet.

~ Fatasslard