Everything you need to know about teaching English online

Everything you need to know about teaching English online

 We are experts in the field of helping place tefl online pro graduates into high-paying online teaching (from home) employment, through our extensive research of online language schools, and our international contacts. You can earn up to US$40 per hour, teaching English online, but starting salaries are usually in the US$20+ per hour range.

Teaching English online became extremely popular when many of us were binge-watching Netflix and rediscovering the joys of couch life during the pandemic, and it has continued to be a go-to method of teaching ever since.

This article looks at the specifics of getting started as an English teacher online, and in the article we will cover everything you need to know regarding teaching English from home.

The four most popular teaching online platforms are Google Hangouts, Skype, WizIQ, and Zoom. The feedback that we have received from tefl online pro graduates, teaching English classes online, is that they prefer using either Skype or Zoom.

The advantage of using Skype is that it is undeniably the most known platform internationally, so your students are bound to know about it and will know how to use it without needing explanation. It is easy to set up and connect with your students, it is super easy to use, and the free version will cover pretty much all of your needs regarding video calling with students. There is a Premium option available (currently US$9.99 per month) and this will enable you to set up group video calls and screen sharing. We find though, that the vast majority of English classes taught online require just the two webcams and this works perfectly fine for one-on-one and small group classes – the typical online teaching options you will most likely encounter.

The only real negative of using Skype is that sometimes the connection can freeze, or even crash, but these technical issues are rare and Skype remains the number one choice for both students and teachers.

The second most popular platform for teachers and students of English online, is Zoom. As with Skype, Zoom also comes as a free service. It is known for its excellent connectivity and the basic package also comes free. With Zoom, you can embed videos, kick people out of the meeting (disruptive children, for example) and you can host HD video and audio lessons.

The main negative feature of Zoom, besides not being so well-known internationally, is that the free version only allows group lessons for a maximum of 40 minutes. This can be solved by signing up for their Premium option (currently US$9.99 per month) and then you can enjoy unlimited group lesson time.

Overall, the majority of our graduates teaching English online use Skype. The teachers that use Zoom tend to be the online teachers who are teaching large classes, and who like the added features that Zoom provides.

The requirements for being qualified to teach English online

 

The most important requirement that online schools request as being mandatory for the application process is that you have an internationally recognized TEFL/TESOL certificate, from a reputable Online TEFL/TESOL certification course program. You can still find work with an In-Class (Onsite) TEFL/TESOL certificate, but online language schools do tend to favor applicants who have taken their TEFL/TESOL certification online. All three tefl online pro international TEFL/TESOL certification courses are fully recognized by online English language schools.

Having a college degree (in any subject) is a requirement of some online English language schools, but definitely not all of them. So it is possible to teach English online just with the Online TEFL/TESOL certificate as your main qualification.

Regarding nationalities, we do find that some online English language schools will prefer a teacher from a particular country, whilst other schools have an open policy regarding the nationality of the applicants they employ.

Native English speakers will always be at the front of the queue when it comes to being accepted for teaching English online work. In the world of English teaching, a native English speaker means someone holding a passport from one of the following countries:

Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, UK, USA.

But such is the huge demand for online English tuition, there are also teaching English online opportunities for non-native English speakers too. The essential requirement in this case is that you are able to demonstrate spoken fluency in the English language.

One of the advantages of taking your international TEFL/TESOL certification online (or through the Hybrid combined TEFL/TESOL certification course) with tefl online pro, is that all graduates gain free access to our International Job Guidance Team and we assist with job hunting support both after graduating from your course and also whenever you require support in the future.

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Who will I be teaching English to?

The students that you find yourself teaching online will be similar student types as if you were teaching in a classroom. You can choose whether to teach children (young learners to teenagers) or to teach adults. The obvious difficulties with teaching children online is classroom management. Sometimes there will be a person supervising the group of students, but more often than not they will be unsupervised and your initial, primary objective will be to lay down the ground rules in terms of what is and what isn’t considered appropriate learner behavior. You may find yourself teaching a large group of children, or a small group. And of course, there will be options to teach a child one-on-one. The benefits of teaching children online is that young learners are almost always fixated with technology, and you will have the opportunity to engage them with blogs, YouTube videos, and online ESL language apps and games. 

Teaching adults almost always involves either teaching one-on-one, or teaching small groups, and this form of teaching English online requires far less focus on classroom management. Your typical student will be like a typical one-on-one student that you would teach in a classroom setting – normally either a professional, or a student.

It’s possible to teach English to students from around the world, but the main source of demand currently is in the Middle East and Asia. Yes, it can be a very comfortable lifestyle teaching English online, but you do need to weigh i the different timezones and how that will possibly affect your sleeping pattern.

And finally, there isn’t a set time for the duration of classes. Some online English language schools offer 30-minutes teaching slots, some offer 45 minutes, and some provide teachers with a full 60-minute teaching class. The feedback that we receive from our graduates though is that the standard is to teach a 60 minute class and this simply makes more sense both time-wise and financially.

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Where do I look for teaching jobs, and how will I be paid?

At tefl online pro, we have been in the business of recommending online English language schools to our graduates for some years now. The benefit of this is that we have a pretty good overview of the industry as a whole and we know which schools have good reputations, and which schools have not so good reputations. So if you are a tefl online pro graduate, please get in touch with us for help and support in choosing the right school(s) to teach online for.  

It’s important to note that online teaching platforms often have a rating system. This basically means that if your students think you are great, they will rate you accordingly. And this often means earning more money per hour, and of course being more in demand.

Some online English language schools pay by the minute, and some pay by the hour – or for however long the duration of the class is.

Schools will often ask you to sign a contract and ask you to commit to a certain amount of teaching hours per week. A contract is very important, as it clearly illustrates what is required from you and what is required by the school. It’s extremely important to thoroughly read through any contract before signing up. You should also try and negotiate the contract if you feel that there are details that should be improved on – such as, for example, requesting that you still get paid in full if a student cancels last minute.

Online English langue schools tend to pay through Paypal, or through direct bank transfer. We recommend the Paypal option because the payment will arrive on your Paypal account immediately. International bank transfers often incur hefty transfer costs and it can take days for you to receive your money.

Depending on the online English language school you have chosen to teach for, they might pay weekly or by the end of each month. In many cases, especially when a school pays weekly, they may hold the first week’s salary as their insurance policy that you won’t suddenly change schools if offered a better deal elsewhere. This is also normal protocol when teaching at brick and mortar language schools. If a school wants to hold onto your first month’s salary though, we recommend negotiating it down to one week’s salary. You will then receive this when you have completed your teaching contractual obligations.

It can be a bit of a mine field regarding which school(s) to choose to teach for. We can’t stress enough that it is so important to take your international Online TEFL/TESOL certification course through a company that provides substantial post-course support. This will ensure that you won’t find yourself in a situation where you might have taught for a few months and have begun asking your online English school when in God’s name you are going to get paid.

Once again, we would like to point out that we are experts in the field of helping place tefl online pro graduates into high-paying online teaching (from home) employment, through our extensive research of online language schools, and our international contacts.

By taking your Online TEFL/TESOL certification with tefl online pro, you will enjoy the best of both worlds: an excellent course experience and excellent post-course employment support. 

Enroll today to begin your teaching English online career from the comfort of your home.

Read more Teaching English Abroad Country Specifics articles on the tefl online pro Blog

tefl online pro run three internationally recognized TEFL courses:
The Fast-Track 60-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Professional 120-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Hybrid 140-Hour International Online/Onsite TEFL Certification Course

TEFL Online Pro is a fully accredited, award-winning provider of international Online TEFL/TESOL certification courses.

We have won the prestigious Teachers’ Choice Award four years in a row (2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022).

You can read verified TEFL Online Pro customer reviews on the leading independent TEFL reviews website, Trusted TEFL Reviews:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-online-pro-teachers-choice-award-winner-2022/

TEFL Online Pro video testimonials can be viewed on the Reviews page of our school website:

https://teflonlinepro.com/tefl-online-pro-reviews/

Our customers have also left verified reviews on the TEFL Online Pro official Facebook page, where we are currently rated 5 out of 5:

https://www.facebook.com/teflonlinepro/reviews

Teach English online!

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 Posted on July 7, 2022 by

 Teaching English abroad country specifics

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Everything you need to know about teaching English in South Korea

Everything you need to know about teaching English in South Korea

South Korea has long been a favorite teaching English abroad destination. The South Korean government’s export-oriented economic strategy places high importance on education – South Koreans spend US$15.8 billion per year on English language training.

The South Korean economy is bullish and stable, and seemingly able to withstand global economic crises. This is a country where work and study most definitely come first, but it is also a nation of plum brandy and fermented cabbage drink and food lovers and this combination of work hard/party hard makes for an addictive pace of life with the possibility of reaping considerably high financial rewards.

This article looks at the specifics of getting started as an English teacher in South Korea, and in the article we also look at five recommended teaching English destinations.

Where is South Korea?

South Korea maintains its neon-lit position on the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, and shares only one land border with the country that stubbornly remains to this day a doublespeak, Orwellian cliché in progress. But despite the ever constant threat of nuclear armageddon from the north, South Korea refuses to play out its destiny to the drumming of fear and has transformed itself since the end of the Korean War into a peaceful and progressive, internationally-minded nation.

As is similar in Japan, South Korea is one of the teaching English destinations where you will need to jump through quite a few hoops to land a teaching job, and it is also in South Korea where native English speakers are definitely preferred. It is possible to land a job here if you are a non-native English speaker, but it will be a tall order and we do recommend non-natives to consider other alternative locations if they don’t have the patience of a saint/want to work legally, as most schools do prefer native speakers.

The vast majority of teachers who teach legally in South Korea do so by working under the E2 teaching visa. To successfully apply for this visa, you must be a passport holder from one of these countries: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States.

In addition, you will be required to submit the following documents as part of the application process:

  1. A notarized and apostilled copy of your bachelor’s degree – awarded in any subject. You don’t need to have studied an education-related university degree course.
  2. Three sealed university transcripts.
  3. A clear criminal background check.
  4. Passport photocopy.
  5. CV/Resume.
  6. A copy of your TEFL certificate from a reputable school. Please note here that this is not a requirement of the work visa, but by having a TEFL certificate you can expect to be starting off in a higher paid teaching position.
  7. A signed copy of the school teaching contract.
  8. Four passport-sized photos.
  9. Two letters of recommendation. Please also note here that all tefl online pro graduates receive an official letter of recommendation from us after course completion, so you will only need to find one other letter of recommendation for this work visa process.

Teaching in Seoul

Roughly ten million people call this huge metropolis home, and to the country of course it is the beating heart of the nation. When we last visited the capital two years ago, we were really surprised at how affordable the city was in comparison to our business trip over to Japan. Seoul also came over as being a very friendly city and it is here where the largest concentration of teaching work can be found. As the capital city, it is slightly more expensive than other destinations, but not so noticeably.

Schools almost always recruit from abroad; meaning it just isn’t viable to turn up without a firm job offer and start looking for work while once on the ground.

There are many recruitment agencies that like to peddle their wares and that will claim it isn’t possible to find work in South Korea unless you specifically go through them, but ideally you want to be avoiding these companies as they will not only usually charge their recruitment fee but will often also take a commission from your monthly salary.

The two main types of teaching jobs available in South Korea are either teaching at a public school, or teaching at a hagwon (private school.) While it is possible to draw the short end of the straw and end up teaching at a poorly run public school, this would tend to be the exception and not the rule. Hagwons, on the other hand, tend to be very touch and go and whether you end up teaching for a good school or not really depends largely on the scope of your research and on a lot of luck. There are seemingly endless horror stories floating around the net regarding experiences teaching at hagwons, and much fewer of said such stories regarding public schools. We definitely recommend teaching at a public school so as to avoid any potential pitfalls or complications which may arise from teaching at a hagwon.

The good news is that each area of South Korea has its own education body which looks over, among many other facets, the process of employing foreign teachers of English. The most known are:

  1. EPIK – English Program In Korea – the largest employer, covering the majority of the country.
  2. GEPIK – Gyeonggi English Program In Korea – covers the Gyeonggi area outside of Seoul.
  3. SMOE – Seoul Metropolitan Office Of Education – covers the public schools in the capital.

It is important to note here that public schools tend to pay slightly less than hagwons, but will expect you to work less hours and will offer you more paid holidays.

Teaching in Busan

Busan – known for its beaches, mountains, and temples – is a large port city in the south of the country, and is a hugely popular go-to destination for English teachers drawn to the coastline and away from (what seems like in comparison) the concrete jungle of the capital. The weather is also somewhat more favorable here than in other parts of the country (although not significantly so) and teachers do enjoy the slightly warm winter temperatures here, as well as the solid expat support networks.

So what are the salaries like in South Korea?

As with all teaching English overseas destinations, newly arrived teachers should expect to be earning a bit less than teachers who have been around for longer and who are more established. As a general guideline, teaching for a public school will reward you with approx. 1.9 to two million Korean Won per month, with more established teachers averaging between two to three million Korean Won.

There is also the possibility of teaching at a university in South Korea and earning up to 3.5 million Korean Won per month, but realistically these jobs are just so difficult to land and pretty much out of reach unless you are here for the long haul.

It’s also good to note that it is very common for schools to pay for your flight over (flights back home are not usually paid,) and many schools also provide free accommodation. On top of this, you can expect to receive free health insurance, and you can also expect to receive a completion bonus – equaling one month’s salary – upon completion of the school year.

So given these additional perks, you can easily fathom why South Korea is such a popular teaching location and how it is perfectly feasible to be putting away US$1,000 in savings every month.

It is often stated online that teachers can earn much more teaching English in Seoul, but from the reports we have received from our graduates teaching there, it seems that while you can expect to be paid more, the difference in pay is really negligible. Yes, Seoul is a more expensive location, but there isn’t a significant difference in costs when compared to the rest of the country. 

Teaching in Incheon

People often assume that Incheon is a district of the capital, and Seoul’s subway map does imply this. Actually, it is separate from Seoul and has its own local government and offices of education. The main draw for people choosing to settle down in Incheon is that it doesn’t wear you down so much as the intense city center life of the capital can. Here you can almost have your cake and eat it; enjoying a less congested city experience with that hugely convenient spot on the subway system.

There are though some downsides to teaching English in South Korea, which recruiters and under-the-radar affiliate promoters of TEFL/TESOL courses don’t seem to mention in their appraisals of teaching English in South Korea.

Over the years, we have helped a lot of our graduates find teaching work in South Korea, and we have also heard a lot of feedback on the virtual grapevine from various sources, and it’s pretty apparent that you are either going to love teaching here, or hate it. The feedback really has been as polarized as that.

The main issue teachers have of course is regarding (privately-run) hagwon schools, where you could find yourself at the mercy of a poorly-run school and an employer who will either underpay you or try not paying you at all. And this is predominantly why we only recommend that our graduates teach at public schools. Of course, it is completely up to you where you teach, but please bear in mind that while some hagwons are very professionally run a generous number of bad apples openly operate with impunity.

The most common complaint though is the work ethic. Teaching English in South Korea definitely offers up incredible financial benefits, but you seriously have to work for them. It’s hard work and while you will have time to go traveling around the region in your holidays, don’t necessarily assume that you will always have the freedom of weekend travel too. As a new teacher you should expect to be spending a substantial amount of your time at the beginning planning classes.

On the other hand though, there are not many teaching English destinations where you can simply opt to travel by taxi everywhere because you can afford it and don’t fancy hanging around for the next bus, or where you can pop to the ATM pretty much (within reason of course) whenever you need to and have enough money to go out for dinner multiple nights a week.

We just want you to be aware that yes, the benefits of teaching English in South Korea are excellent. And yes, you will definitely be working very hard for your money/lifestyle.

Teaching in Daegu

If you were to ask us to nail down our number one preferred teaching English destination in South Korea, the mid-sized city of Daegu would be our choice of teaching location. Daegu simply oozes small-city charm, despite being South Korea’s fourth largest city, and is salt and peppered with gorgeous mountains and temples. It’s also in a great location as far as reaching Busan: just a 40-minute ride on the train will take you to South Korea’s second largest city and to its coastal ambience.

As we mentioned earlier, it is definitely recommended to apply for a South Korea teaching English position before you make the trip over. One of the reasons for this is because of the time it can take for the application process to run its due course.

Public schools hire from three to all the way up to nine months before the start of each new semester, so you should definitely bear this in mind when choosing when to take your TEFL course and when you would like to begin teaching in South Korea.

The first semester kicks off around September 1st, and the second semester begins around March 1st. This therefore means that you can technically apply for a September start as early as January, and for a March start as early as June.

Teaching English positions are always allocated on a first come first served basis, so it is really important to get all your ducks lined up in a row early if wanting to teach for a particular school. 

It is also worth noting here that schools follow the general rule regarding your arrival in that they almost always expect you to arrive to South Korea at least ten days before you are due to begin teaching. The reason for this is that it will provide you with enough time to get over your jet lag , and allow you the space and time to become familiar with your new surroundings and with the new culture.

Another reason for wanting you to arrive early is because there will be orientation/training days, which your school should pay you a settling-in allowance for attending. This settling-in allowance given to you for your pre-teaching orientation/training usually runs at between US$200 to US$400. 

Teaching in Jeju City

Teaching in Jeju City will provide you with the perfect opportunity of enjoying the heavenly combination of (relatively) warm weather and (substantial) island bliss. Jeju island is the smallest province in South Korea and Jeju City only has a population of around 400,000 People. Naturally, there aren’t as many teaching opportunities here as on the mainland, but if you can snag a job here then it is here where you will have the opportunity of deeply connecting with people on a regular basis. 

Read more Teaching English Abroad Country Specifics articles on the tefl online pro Blog

tefl online pro run three internationally recognized TEFL courses:
The Fast-Track 60-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Professional 120-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Hybrid 140-Hour International Online/Onsite TEFL Certification Course

TEFL Online Pro is a fully accredited, award-winning provider of international Online TEFL/TESOL certification courses.

We have won the prestigious Teachers’ Choice Award four years in a row (2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022).

You can read verified TEFL Online Pro customer reviews on the leading independent TEFL reviews website, Trusted TEFL Reviews:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-online-pro-teachers-choice-award-winner-2022/

TEFL Online Pro video testimonials can be viewed on the Reviews page of our school website:

https://teflonlinepro.com/tefl-online-pro-reviews/

Our customers have also left verified reviews on the TEFL Online Pro official Facebook page, where we are currently rated 5 out of 5:

https://www.facebook.com/teflonlinepro/reviews

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 Posted on June 5, 2022 by

 Teaching English abroad country specifics

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Everything you need to know about teaching English in Germany

Everything you need to know about teaching English in Germany

 

Germany is the economic powerhouse of Europe and is the world’s 4th largest economy – one place ahead of the United Kingdom and four places behind the United States. Germany also enjoys a high standard of living with its combination of generous salaries and relatively low cost of living for a Western European nation and is a sought after teaching English abroad location. This article looks at teaching English in Germany specifics and covers everything you need to know about teaching English in this land of fairytale castles.

Where is Germany?

Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) shares its borders with nine other European countries: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland. In additional to its centrally located position in Europe, the country offers up a tremendous amount of geographical diversity with its Alpine mountains in the south, sandy beaches in the north, Black Forest National Park in the east and its meandering Rhineland in its west.

Because Germany is such a popular teaching destination, it does take a bit more time and energy in order to set up shop here compared with for example wanting to teach English in the Czech Republic. It is worth the perseverance though and choosing Germany as a teaching English location will enable you to earn enough to live comfortably and be able to afford regular trips around the European continent.

Teaching salaries typically range anywhere from €1,000 to €3,000 per month, and if you snag a university teaching job then this figure can rise to the equivalent of approx. US$40,000 per year.

The main requirement for teaching English in Germany is that you hold an international TEFL certificate from a reputable school. A college degree will also give you an edge on the competition – although not a mandatory requirement, and applicants with German-speaking skills will enjoy having an additional advantage.

Please also note that when applying for teaching English positions, we definitely recommend submitting your CV/Resume in both English and German. It isn’t mandatory to understand German fluently to land a teaching English position in Germany, but unlike other countries in the region, Germany is definitely a nation that expects at least a basic working knowledge of its language in order to get yourself started.

Teaching in Berlin

Berlin is the capital and Germany’s largest city, and is the most popular place in Germany to teach English. Because of this, competition is fierce, but there are just so many teaching positions available that if you put your mind to it then you won’t find any issues with landing a job here. Surprisingly, Berlin is one of the cheapest capital cities in Western Europe, and its high number of foreign residents makes for a culturally-rich city experience with a thriving and diverse arts scene.

There are many different types of English teaching positions available in Germany. As we have already mentioned, if you can snag a job at a university then that option will pay you the most, but most teachers find themselves either teaching at a language school, public school, an international school, international corporation, or teaching students privately.

Language schools can be found in all the main cities and in most large towns and recruit teachers throughout the year, depending on how many teachers they have available at hand and on when new contracts for new teaching clients come in. As with all of these types of teaching options, the absolute best time to look for work is in September, when the new school year starts, and with January being the second best time in the year to land a job. Please note that there are also summer camp teaching positions offered by language schools, so this is also an option and a great way to get your foot in the door before the new school year begins.

The main benefit of teaching at a public school is the long, paid holidays which come hand-in-hand with this type of teaching position and some public schools might also be able to throw in free accommodation too. However, for this teaching option you will need to demonstrate at least an Upper-intermediate level of German language knowledge, and a college degree (preferably in languages) will also be mandatory.

With so many international companies having chosen Germany as their main headquarters, there is a high demand for qualified teachers to teach at international schools. As with teaching at public schools, you will be expected to hold a degree and be fluent or semi-fluent in German. While it is rare for international schools to provide accommodation, they do often help out with the visa application and many also provide settlement allowances.

If you have a background in business, you might want to enquire at international corporations whether they are currently hiring. The main advantage of going this route is that all your classes will be held under one roof and corporations will assist with the visa process.

Most teachers at some stage in their time living in Germany find themselves teaching English privately and the main advantage of this type of teaching is that you can charge as much as the student is willing to pay. For 45 minutes (one standard teaching hour in Germany) you can expect to earn anywhere up to €40 for private English tuition.

Teaching in Hamburg

Hamburg is Germany’s second-largest city and is connected to the North Sea by the Elbe River. Sometimes referred to as being the ‘Venice of the north’, the city is criss-crossed by hundreds of canals and these waterways also give the city an almost ‘Amsterdam’ feel to it. Hamburg is also a much more liberal city when compared with Munich for example, and this liberal-mindedness of its locals shows itself in the relaxedness in social gatherings and a general ‘anything-goes’ attitude towards life.

If you are an EU citizen, you won’t face any visa complications in coming over and getting your teaching English career started here. If you are from outside the EU then the process is a lot more complicated, but with a ‘can do’ attitude you can also make it happen for you too.

For non-EU citizens, we recommend coming over and arriving on your 3-month tourist visa. This will be sufficient time to acclimatize and get yourself acquainted with this new culture and also provide you with more than enough time to locate a teaching English position.

Please note here that the vast majority of teaching English positions in Germany are advertised locally and schools don’t usually recruit from abroad. This means that you will need to be on the ground when conducting your job search.

Once you have located work, you will need to apply for your permanent residence visa and work permit and the following are required for this purpose: a guaranteed contract from your place of employment, proof of residency and address, proof of opening a bank account, filing for a tax number, your passport and a passport photo. Please note that you will also need proof of eligible health insurance.

A college degree isn’t mandatory for receiving your employment contract, but an internationally recognized TEFL certificate is. Germany is also a much stricter country when it comes to having some knowledge of the local language and having at least a basic working knowledge of German will (as we mentioned above) place you higher up the ladder in the eyes of any potential employer.

The place where you process your documentation is at the immigration office (‘ausländerbehörde’) and it is here that you will probably first be introduced to the legend that is German bureaucracy. If you are registering in a major city, you shouldn’t have too many issues and your paperwork should be processed smoothly, but if you are registered in a small town then the process can be a bit of a nightmare at times. 

And lastly, it is also possible to apply instead for a freelance teaching visa and this is processed in the same way as the employment visa with the exception that you won’t be required to provide a copy of an employment contract. There are restrictions on who can successfully apply for a freelance visa, so you should check beforehand to see whether you are eligible for this type of visa. If you re successful in applying for this visa, you are pretty much in control of your own teaching and miss out the school middleman completely.

At tefl online pro we help all of our graduates with visa-related info, so if you are a graduate of our international TEFL certification program and need more information on getting your German permanent residence visa and work permit then you know that you are very welcome to reach out to us and we will help you through the process. 

Teaching in Munich

Munich, the capital of Bavaria, is known by many people because of its annual Oktoberfest, when the entire rest of the world seems to descend on this city of spires and orders overpriced beer in ridiculously large Maß from hospitable men and women dressed in traditional Lederhosen/dirndl. Salaries here are among the highest in Germany, but with higher salaries come higher costs and Munich definitely isn’t an affordable city to live in. There is also a dire shortage of accommodation too, which pushes prices even higher.

The typical teaching English working week in Germany consists of between 15-20 hours and for this amount of hours you can expect to live a reasonably comfortable existence.

15-20 hours per week may not seem like a lot, but you do need to factor into this amount the number of lesson planning hours which you won’t be paid for. As a newly-graduated teacher of English you should expect to begin starting off by spending around 1 hour planning for every lesson taught, but over time this amount of time spent on planning lessons will dramatically decrease as you gain more experience and find yourself needing to spend less time on preparing your class lessons.

You should also factor travel times into the equation too as you might have an early morning class in 1 part of the city you are teaching in and then your next class could be on the opposite side. Germany does have a bit of a reputation for being a highly punctual country and for the most part it is, but public transport isn’t completely free of delays or cancellations and this factor can sometimes frustrate teachers when crossing town in order to meet a limited time window to get to their next class.

In general, German students tend to be respectful of teachers and despite sometimes coming over as being a little too conservative they are largely a hospitable bunch and very much internationally-minded too. It does take a bit more time to make friends here than in other countries in the region, but once you do you’ll invariably have a friend for life.

Teaching in Frankfurt

Frankfurt (am Main) sits firm on the river Main and is a major financial hub of the continent – home to Europe’s fourth-largest airport. It was also the birthplace of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and we definitely recommend any literature buffs heading to Frankfurt to check out the (excellent) Goethe House Museum, located within the Innenstadt district of the city. Frankfurt is an excellent choice of city to teach English in as there isn’t as much competition as there is in cities such as Berlin or Munich.

In this section, we want to speak a little bit more about the work visa process with regards to proof of residency and address.

Most teachers find a place to live pretty quickly and whilst this is great and all, it might not necessarily be how it pans out for you at the beginning. If you are finding it difficult to locate longer term accommodation for the work visa process (finding available accommodation in Munich for example can be a real headache) then there is a second option of going down the ‘zwischenmiete’ route. 

This option provides the possibility of renting an apartment or room temporarily and is often utilized by locals who find themselves traveling for long periods of time and who choose to rent out their apartment or room while they are away. This is a perfectly acceptable option for acquiring an accommodation address for your visa paperwork and it is a commonly used accommodation system in Germany.

When you have moved into your flat or room, you’ll then need to officially register as a resident of your new address at the registration office (‘bürgeramt’) and it is here that they will issue your confirmation of residence (‘anmeldung’.)  

Teaching in Regensburg

Regensburg is located in south-east Germany – an approx. 2-hour car drive from Munich – and is often referred to as ‘Germany’s medieval miracle’. This smaller city sits quietly on the Danube River and exudes a perfectly charming atmosphere. There isn’t as much work available here as in the larger cities, but there are nonetheless varied options for teaching English here and the main advantage of choosing this delightful city is that because of its size, you won’t find yourself spending so much time traveling between classes.

Read more Teaching English Abroad Country Specifics articles on the tefl online pro Blog

tefl online pro run three internationally recognized TEFL courses:
The Fast-Track 60-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Professional 120-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Hybrid 140-Hour International Online/Onsite TEFL Certification Course

TEFL Online Pro is a fully accredited, award-winning provider of international Online TEFL/TESOL certification courses.

We have won the prestigious Teachers’ Choice Award four years in a row (2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022).

You can read verified TEFL Online Pro customer reviews on the leading independent TEFL reviews website, Trusted TEFL Reviews:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-online-pro-teachers-choice-award-winner-2022/

TEFL Online Pro video testimonials can be viewed on the Reviews page of our school website:

https://teflonlinepro.com/tefl-online-pro-reviews/

Our customers have also left verified reviews on the TEFL Online Pro official Facebook page, where we are currently rated 5 out of 5:

https://www.facebook.com/teflonlinepro/reviews

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 Posted on June 5, 2022 by

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Everything you need to know about teaching English in Brazil

Brazilian couple kissing during football match

Everything you need to know about teaching English in Brazil

 

Brazil is an energetic country boasting outstanding natural beauty, delicious cuisine, sublime music and a dynamic teaching English industry. This article looks at what it’s like to teach English in five of the major urban hubs of Brazil.

Flag of Brazil

Where is Brazil?

Brazil is the largest country in South America with most of its population living in built-up urban areas. It’s the only country on the continent where the main language spoken is Portuguese and it shares its border with 10 other countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela. Brazilians are football fanatics and Brazil is the only country to have played in every single world cup tournament and has won the world cup more than any other country: five times to date.   

Brazil (Brasil in Brazilian Portuguese) is one of the most expensive countries to live in South America, but also pays some of the best teaching English salaries on the continent; meaning that English teachers here can earn enough to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. 

Teachers starting out fresh can realistically expect to be earning between R$20-40 an hour, and the vast majority of work in Brazil is teaching at privately-run language schools. For teachers who are settled and have developed solid contacts, this hourly rate can rise to between R$40-60 per teaching hour. 

At the time this article was published (14th April, 2019) you could exchange 4 Brazilian Real for 1 United States Dollar. It might not sound like a lot but despite being one of South America’s most expensive countries, costs are generally quite low when compared to most European countries and it represents very good value for money in comparison.

Teaching in Rio de Janeiro

The coastal city of Rio de Janeiro is perhaps most famous for its beaches, and in particular the ones of Copacabana and Ipanema. Rio literally mirrors the contour of the coastline with mountains elevated up behind it, and the city vistas are dominated by the views of Sugarloaf Mountain and by the Christ the Redeemer statue on top of Mount Corcovado. Rio does have its fair share of violence but as long as you don’t go flaunting valuables about, you shouldn’t have any issues and Rio is an amazing city to teach English in.

Sugar Loaf Mountain and Rio de Janeiro bay

It’s a pretty painless experience getting yourself set up to teach English abroad in Brazil. 

Many schools do recruit from abroad, but our tip is to contact as many schools as you can before making the trip over – to set up interviews – and then to take the trip either down or over to then interview on the ground and where you will receive the best job offers. You can accept a job from abroad but you do run the risk of ending up in a so-so school with a so-so salary. 

Please remember that at tefl online pro we assist our graduates with ongoing job support, help and advice, so if you are a tefl online pro graduate and requiring this job assistance then feel free to reach out and contact us.

Main road in Sao Paulo

Teaching in Sao Paulo

There are approximately 15 million people living in the financial hub of Brazil, in the city of Sao Paulo, and it is the city where you will find the most teaching English opportunities. It’s also the most expensive city to live in Brazil but salaries here are among the best in the country. This is the city to teach English in if you want to save money, but the downside of settling down here is the sheer size of the city; meaning the need to travel long distances between classes if your students are not taught only in one location.

The good news is that while it is preferred, a college degree isn’t mandatory for employment as a Teacher of English as a Foreign Language in Brazil. An internationally recognized TEFL certificate is mandatory though and must have been awarded from a reputable TEFL school. 

The whole work visa process though is not so clear and we have received numerous reports from tefl online pro graduates who have made the move to the Land of Samba that the majority of schools try to dissuade teachers from going through the lengthy, bureaucratic process of applying for one. It seems that when a teacher does decide to apply for a work visa that the language school is required to jump through so many bureaucratic, expensive hoops that it just isn’t worth their time and energy doing so. The result of this is that many teachers choose, or are convinced, to teach on a tourist visa. 

We never recommend teaching illegally, but if you do choose to then it is worth noting that citizens of Argentina, the EU, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia and Turkey can receive a tourist visa on arrival to Brazil which is valid for up to 90 days. Citizens of the US and other countries will need to apply for a visa before arrival and for this process we recommend applying for the evisa. The application for the evisa can be completed online and will grant you the same 90-day limit. 

However, please note that whereas EU nationals and other nationals who can travel to Brazil and receive a visa on arrival can theoretically travel in and out of the country indefinitely, US nationals and other nationals who need to apply for the evisa can only enter Brazil once in any given year. This means that if you do need to apply for the evisa before traveling out to Brazil then we strongly recommend you research schools beforehand that will guarantee they will help you through the process of applying for a work permit.   

Teaching in Brasilia

Brasilia is a planned city and was inaugurated as Brazil’s capital back in 1960. It was primarily designed and planned by Oscar Niemeyer and Lucio Costa, and the philosophy behind the design was to make Brasilia a high-functioning utopian solution to urban disorder and chaos. Despite the feeling that it was built for the government to function more smoothly and not for the benefit of its population, Brasilia remains a popular teaching destination and salaries here are comparable to teaching English in Rio. 

Church in Brasilia

Brazilian students tend to be confident, enthusiastic, gregarious and generally full of beans, and you won’t find any issue here in trying to get your students to speak. 

Classes are typically taught either before students go to work or after they have finished up work, with late mornings and early afternoons free to spend your time how you like. This scheduling presents the benefit of being able to lounge around on the beach or spending time in a café in between classes, but also comes with the drawback of having to teach very early morning and very late evening classes. Many language schools can also provide lessons during the slow times of the day though and how your schedule ends up looking will largely depend on how you choose to organize your day. 

Another point to note here is that Brazilians do tend to live up to the stereotype of being creative with their timekeeping and students routinely turn up late for classes, or cancel a class at the last moment. The upside though is that most schools will still pay you if a student cancels less than 24 hours before a class, so even if you find yourself sitting alone for your early morning class you will still be paid for your time.

Main street in Salvador Brazil

Teaching in Salvador

Salvador is a charming, colonial city and is the capital of Brazil’s northeastern state of Bahia. It’s sometimes referred to as being the ‘Rainbow City’ or the ‘Capital of Joy’ due to its colorful buildings and its carnival obsession. Bahia is also on the coast and definitely likes to celebrate its African roots, and this can be clearly seen in the heavy African influence on its cuisine, dance and music. Salaries here are again comparable with Rio and there are many options for teaching English; meaning you won’t find it difficult to find work here.

We definitely recommend learning some Portuguese before making the journey to Brazil as not so many people speak English and you will need some language skills to negotiate day-to-day tasks. Plus, by learning some of the language it will mean that you won’t feel so chained to local expat communities and you will be able to socialize with locals who will show you the authentic side to living in Brazil.

 Brazilian Portuguese is very similar, but not identical to European Portuguese, and some spoken differences are that Brazilian Portuguese is considered more phonetically pleasing to the ear with its open vowels, has the habit of turning some nouns into verbs, doesn’t tend to follow the same rules regarding formal and informal speech, and of course quite naturally there are some words which are completely different in both languages. 

If you choose to start off learning the basics of European Portuguese first then it will provide you with a solid foundation and then you can always continue with Brazilian Portuguese once you’re on the ground. 

Teaching in Belo Horizonte

Famous for its Mineirão Stadium and surrounded by mountains, Belo Horizonte is the capital city of southeastern Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. It isn’t an overly popular city to teach in because it doesn’t have the big name reputation that other cities on this list do, but what we like about Belo Horizonte is that it is one of the most affordable cities in Brazil to live in and while it’s true that salaries are slightly lower than in cities such as Rio, the difference is negligible and the city feels more green and leafy than other destinations.

Church in Belo Horizonte

Read more Teaching English Abroad Country Specifics articles on the tefl online pro Blog

tefl online pro run three internationally recognized TEFL courses:
The Fast-Track 60-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Professional 120-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Hybrid 140-Hour International Online/Onsite TEFL Certification Course

TEFL Online Pro is a fully accredited, award-winning provider of international Online TEFL/TESOL certification courses.

We have won the prestigious Teachers’ Choice Award four years in a row (2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022).

You can read verified TEFL Online Pro customer reviews on the leading independent TEFL reviews website, Trusted TEFL Reviews:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-online-pro-teachers-choice-award-winner-2022/

TEFL Online Pro video testimonials can be viewed on the Reviews page of our school website:

https://teflonlinepro.com/tefl-online-pro-reviews/

Our customers have also left verified reviews on the TEFL Online Pro official Facebook page, where we are currently rated 5 out of 5:

https://www.facebook.com/teflonlinepro/reviews

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 Posted on June 5, 2022 by

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Everything you need to know about teaching English in Costa Rica

Everything you need to know about teaching English in Costa Rica

 
Costa Rica is a lush, tropical country and is famed for its hospitable locals and remarkable biodiversity. It is also one of the only countries where a photo of a beach applies to teaching English, as once you are outside of the capital San Jose, chances are that you will be teaching very close to a beach. Most of the teaching work is located in the larger cities of Costa Rica, such as in Alajuela, Cartago, and Heredia, but this article will look predominantly at alternative destinations which outshine city life in almost every way. 
 

Where is Costa Rica?

Costa Rica is wedged in between Nicaragua and Panama and has two coastlines looking onto two formidable bodies of water: the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean. This Central American nation has long been a favorite for North Americans wanting to head somewhere south in search of a rainforest/beach paradise and remains to this day a hugely popular destination for tourists and teachers of English, who flock to this safe, tropical gem located in an otherwise turbulent region of the world.

Costa Rica is quite a laid back country when it comes to requirements for teaching. All that is officially required is that you have an international TEFL certificate from a reputable school. Complications can arise due to the popularity of the country as a teaching destination – meaning you will sometimes be asked for proof of university studies too if a school is overwhelmed with job applications.

Costa Rica has long been a popular destination for teachers of English and shows no signs of slowing up on its demand. Costa Ricans, otherwise known as Ticos, require English to have a competitive edge when finding work in Costa Rica or abroad, and you will generally find your students to be extremely friendly, motivated, and well-mannered.

Monthly salaries come in at around US$600 to US$1,000 per month, and while this might not sound like much it is enough to live off. You shouldn’t plan on saving any money though by teaching English here. Costa Rica is definitely one of the destinations where you earn enough money to live a comfortable local lifestyle, and get to enjoy living in a stunningly beautiful environment at the same time.

The start-up costs are also relatively affordable – especially for North Americans who can take advantage of cheap flights into Costa Rica.

We mentioned at the start of this article about safety. Apart from some areas of San Jose, you shouldn’t experience any safety-related issues in Costa Rica. It’s definitely one of the more safer countries in Central America and definitely a recommended destination compared to Mexico for example, which is no longer a destination we can recommend due to the surge of violet crime there over the past decade.

Teaching in San Jose

San Jose (San José) is the largest city in Costa Rica and is also its capital. Located in the center of the country, in the Central Valley, it is where you will find the highest concentration of teaching English jobs and is often the first place where teachers set up shop. The weather here is pleasant too, boasting a mild climate. One of the benefits of teaching in San Jose is having the ability of being able to juggle city life with beach life, and the nearest beach at Playa Jaco is only a two hour (US$5) bus drive from the capital.

As with many countries that we have written about on our school blog, it really is necessary to be on the ground, in-country when applying for teaching work: schools here rarely recruit from abroad and will want to see you in-person before offering you a teaching position.

It’s essential that you dress smartly at your interview and when you are teaching classes as Costa Ricans place high importance on appearance. Men should wear grey/black trousers and a shirt and tie, and women should wear a blouse/shirt with grey/black trousers or a skirt. The tie btw is optional when you are teaching classes but shouldn’t be overlooked for the interview process. There isn’t much else that puts a Costa Rican off so much more than a gringo looking like they just got back from the beach, so make sure to leave your beach bum look for the beach only.

Once you have interviewed and been offered a teaching position, you can expect to be teaching approx. 20-25 hours per week. This is more than enough time to leave you with opportunities for discovering the country on your days off but please bear in mind that all new teachers tend to spend a lot of time at first on planning lessons, so at the beginning you might find yourself working 10 or more extra hours a week on lesson preparation. This will naturally decrease as you gain more and more experience until you find yourself being able to come up with quality lessons more or less on the fly.

Teaching in Monteverde

Monteverde is located in the mountains, in northwestern Costa Rica, and is most famously known for its Cloud Forest Reserve; sheltering a dizzying array of wildlife species. It is also here that you can experience its biodiverse forests in the clouds, and where you can enjoy the magical freedom of using suspended bridges to walk above the forest canopy. There is a healthy amount of teaching work to be found here and we recommend basing yourself in this town if you enjoy being active and exploring nature.

There does seem to be a lot of false information on the internet regarding the legalities of teaching English in Costa Rica. Many sites will tell you that it is fine to arrive on a (90 day) tourist visa, and then to simply take visa runs every 90 days from then on to renew your tourist visa while you are teaching in Costa Rica. Although this is common practice, it isn’t legal to work in Costa Rica in this way and if you do want to become legal to teach here then it will be necessary to obtain a work permit.

It can be a little frustrating at times because many schools will try to convince you that the best option for you and them is for you to do a visa run every 90 days to either Panama or Nicaragua, and will provide teachers with long weekends every three months in order to facilitate this system.

If you interview for a school and they strongly suggest this option then you will need to weigh up the benefits of handling the visa situation this way and how much you need the job at the said particular school. If you are serious about teaching English in Costa Rica long term then we strongly suggest that you find a school which will help with your work visa; meaning you will be fully legal and will enjoy the benefits that come with this status.

You might be asked at customs about your intentions in Costa Rica. If you are asked, you shouldn’t say that you are here to teach English. Even if you have a firm job offer. The reason for this is because when you first enter Costa Rica, you will do so on a tourist visa and you won’t yet be eligible to officially gain employment in the country. Stating that you are here to work when you arrive on a tourist visa could result in finding yourself on the next plane home. So coming as a tourist and then locating a school that will help you through the work visa process is how we would recommend applying yourself when traveling here to teach English.

Teaching in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca

Puerto Viejo de Talamanca sits slumbering on the Caribbean coastline and is a surfer town located in the southeast of Costa Rica, close to the border with Panama. There is perhaps no other place in the country more in tune with the off-beats of Reggaeton than P V de T and it is here that you truly can expect to be teaching in close proximity to a beach. The only downside to this destination is the high competition for jobs in this stretch of paradise, so expect to do more door knocking on schools than in other destinations.

Housing is one of the factors which teachers find a little confusing when first arriving to Costa Rica and most teachers choose to hole up in a hostel or take the gamble on a homestay until they have secured an apartment.

We definitely recommend finding roommates to share accommodation with, or choosing to live with locals, as the costs then will work out at around US$300 per month for rent, plus all utilities. If you do choose to go it alone and find an apartment for yourself then that price can increase to anywhere from US$500 to US$800 per month.

Schools generally don’t help with providing accommodation so it’s best to do some research before making the trip to Costa Rica. Encuentra24.com is a good place to begin your search if you are looking to live alone. For shared accommodation, we recommend speaking with other teachers either at your school or at the hostel you might find yourself staying at when you first arrive. Like anywhere, the longer you remain in the country the more your local knowledge will expand and the greater your chances will be of landing your ideal apartment.

Teaching in Manuel Antonio

Manuel Antonio is most notably famous for its national park, and is a bustling town located off Costa Rica’s central Pacific coast, close to the harbor town of Quepos (internationally famed for its big-game sport fishing.) For a town of its relatively small size, Manuel Antonio packs a big punch. It also has a good beach vibe and boasts some of the most idyllic white sandy beaches in the region. While work is more difficult to find here, with persistence it is possible to find teaching possibilities and would be our number one choice of destination.

The majority of teaching English work available in Costa Rica is teaching adults or college students. It is possible to teach children but the wages tend to be significantly lower for this age group and unless you enjoy volunteer work we recommend focussing on teaching adults.

The different teaching options are to be found teaching either at academies, learning centers, or teaching private lessons. Most teachers opt to start off teaching exclusively at an academy or language center, and then tend to pick up private students as they progress through the school year. Private students tend to come in the form of university students or business professionals looking to progress in their English-speaking abilities and these classes pay anywhere between US$5 to US$15 per hour.

Once again, we do recommend finding a school that will assist you in the work visa process as then you can be rest assured of your legal status and you can also enjoy the same perks other Costa Ricans enjoy.

While it is possible to find work at any time in the year, the main hiring season is at the end of January, when the new school year begins. The school year then ends in December and this is also a strong time in the year for securing teaching work.

Important to note here is that schools will often employ a teacher last minute – mid-January until late January – and this is due to the schools often not knowing how many students will be enrolling onto a course until literally in many cases the last minute. We recommend contacting schools at the beginning of January by emailing them before your departure with your CV/resume, and then following up when you have arrived with a personal visit. This will provide you with an overall idea of which schools will be hiring when, and will provide you with the opportunity of having already made contact with a school when you make contact with them again upon your arrival. Even if a school is willing to recruit you from abroad we do recommend arriving first to check out the school to see if it is the right fit for you.

Teaching in Guanacaste

Guanacaste is a province bordering the Pacific, located in northwestern Costa Rica, and is another destination famous for its beaches and biodiversity. The region effortlessly combines tropical paradise vibes and pristine shorelines with beautiful mountain ranges and other worldly volcanoes, and is a popular destination for locals and tourists alike. The capital of this province is the economic and urban center of the city of Liberia, where there are plentiful job options to go around in this formidable rival to teaching in San Jose.

Read more Teaching English Abroad Country Specifics articles on the tefl online pro Blog

tefl online pro run three internationally recognized TEFL courses:
The Fast-Track 60-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Professional 120-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Hybrid 140-Hour International Online/Onsite TEFL Certification Course

TEFL Online Pro is a fully accredited, award-winning provider of international Online TEFL/TESOL certification courses.

We have won the prestigious Teachers’ Choice Award four years in a row (2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022).

You can read verified TEFL Online Pro customer reviews on the leading independent TEFL reviews website, Trusted TEFL Reviews:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-online-pro-teachers-choice-award-winner-2022/

TEFL Online Pro video testimonials can be viewed on the Reviews page of our school website:

https://teflonlinepro.com/tefl-online-pro-reviews/

Our customers have also left verified reviews on the TEFL Online Pro official Facebook page, where we are currently rated 5 out of 5:

https://www.facebook.com/teflonlinepro/reviews

Where will you teach English?

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 Posted on June 5, 2022 by

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Everything you need to know about teaching English in the Czech Republic

Charles Bridge in Praha

Everything you need to know about teaching English in the Czech Republic

 

There is a wide variety of work available to qualified teachers of English in the Czech Republic, teaching in either the cities or smaller towns, and this article deals primarily with what to expect if you choose to teach English in the major urban centers.

Czech Republic flag

Where is the Czech Republic?

The Czech Republic is nestled bang center in the heart of Europe and has – since its Velvet Revolution in 1989 – been a magnet for teachers of English from around the world. Known worldwide for its cultural masterpiece of a capital city, Prague, this small country is also famous for its writers and musicians, athletes and politicians, and of course for the wonderful beer which flows abundantly in this Land of Castles. Travel outside of the capital, and you’ll soon discover a countryside often feeling somewhat lost in time. 

The Czech Republic is a very teacher-friendly location and the only requirement for teaching English here is that you hold an international TEFL certificate. 

Having a college degree will of course raise your teacher profile, but for a country still obsessed with the Austro-Hungarian custom of overly giving credence to titles, the Czechs ironically don’t really seem that bothered if you are university educated or not. 

The teaching salary in the Czech Republic is pretty much the same wherever you want to teach in the country, so this article doesn’t specify the salaries or hourly rates for each of the cities listed below. The vast majority of English teachers in the Czech Republic choose either to teach for private language schools, or find private students, or a combination of the two, and you can expect to be earning between US$15 – US$20 per hour. Should you decide to take a teaching position at a state school, then expect the workload to treble and the salary to be unattractive to say the least. Things have gradually improved over the years, but an experienced state school teacher still only earns roughly US$1,200 per month. 

It is possible to earn much more than the average private language school teacher’s salary by fully going it alone and we have received reports of some astute, hard-working teachers earning up to US$50 per hour by charging each student around US$3 and accepting a maximum of 16 students onto each course. 

Work is available year-round but try to avoid coming in August, when the whole of the country seems to have fled en masse to the Croatian coastline. Czechs are very casual dressers so no dress code per se. 

Teaching in Prague

There must be as many language schools in Prague as there are church spires and it is incredibly easy to find work in the capital. On the other hand, there are just as many English teachers, so this is the main reason for the plateau in teacher’s salaries. Salaries here haven’t really budged that much in the past 10 years, but given the low cost of living – as long as you don’t frequent the overpriced tourist areas – you will do just fine. You might not get rich quick, but you’ll earn enough to live well and travel well if you put the hours in.

Prague city centre

If you are coming from another EU country, you are not required to obtain a work permit to teach English in the Czech Republic. However, we do recommend obtaining a business license – known locally as a Zivnostensky List. This license will enable you to legally set up shop here as a freelancer and means that you can freely begin teaching English to companies and individuals who will more than often want to be issued with a receipt for money paid to you for your lessons. You can teach privately without getting the license, but this means that you will be limiting your market and will essentially be working illegally. 

When teaching for a private language school, you can expect to be taxed around 15-20% on what you earn and if teaching on a business license, you only begin paying tax after a certain amount and you can also deduct costs from your earnings. 

For non-EU citizens coming to teach, the Czech Republic is a part of the Schengen group of countries and you will receive an initial 90-day tourist visa which becomes active from your first day of arrival. This is more than enough time to then find teaching work and get your work visa processed. Again, we also recommend applying for a Zivnostensky List. 

At tefl online pro we help all of our graduates with visa-related info, so if you are a graduate of our international TEFL certification program and need more information on this then you know that you are very welcome to reach out to us and we will help you through the process. 

It is also worth mentioning here that while it is possible to take an Onsite TEFL course in Prague before you start the hunt for work, we don’t recommend this path. You will need the full three months to arrange your work permit, and by taking an onsite course in the city, you eat into the first month of your 90-day limit. Yes, we do run Online and Combined international TEFL courses and yes, we are biased in the online versus onsite TEFL debate, but it logically stands to reason that in the first few months of your arrival that you will need all the free time you can lay your future teaching English hands on to get all your ducks in a row.

Brno city centre

Teaching in Brno

Brno is sometimes described as being the Manchester of the Czech Republic and very often plays second fiddle to Prague. Nonetheless, as the Czech Republic’s second largest city, it has a lot to offer and is a true student city. The capital of the Moravian region, it is located in the sunniest region of the Czech Republic and a relative stone’s throw from the ripened vineyards of the south and undulating mountains to its east. Brno has its fair share of teaching work and the bonus is the seemingly lack of English teachers around.

In the Czech Republic most teaching work involves teaching adults and this generally falls into teaching either General English or Business English, and either teaching groups or individuals. 

Czechs are quite a laidback bunch but they do have a persistent tendency to want to focus heavily on grammar. We recommend that you divide your classes up into teaching grammar and teaching conversation so that you have the opportunity of introducing games and other resources into the classroom while your students will feel confidently satisfied having had their grammar fix. 

The Czech language is notoriously difficult to master and it is a grammar minefield for anyone attempting to do so, so it’s understood why Czechs often project this difficulty onto their English language learning.

Teaching in Plzen

Plzen: home to the world famous Pilsner beer, original home of the Skoda automobile industry and a city rich in Renaissance and Romanesque architecture. Despite not having as many schools as Prague or Brno, this beautiful city in the west of the country still offers lots of opportunities for English teachers, and because of the dearth of English teachers hanging around it is a simple process of finding teaching work. This is the city on this list where you will be considered a rarity among the locals and given an extra warm welcome.

Row of beers in Plzen, Czech Republic

Compared to other countries in the region, teaching English in the Czech Republic provides you with a lot of personal freedom. Many schools may have a certain text book which they follow, but you will usually enjoy the flexibility of being able to set your own syllabus if you so choose. 

The laws of the land are quite liberal too and one good example of this is the freedom of being able to grab a sleeping bag and tent and go out into the countryside and wild camp (not in the national parks though please.) 

On another note, Czechs are sometimes dissed because people assume they are grouchy simply because they tend not to smile a lot, and while it’s true that many people don’t smile a lot, when you really get to know Czechs they are mostly fun-loving and very hospitable. 

Ostrava city centre

Teaching in Ostrava

The teaching scene in Ostrava is almost a mirror reflection of teaching in Brno: enough work for the teachers who are around, and a city where there aren’t so many teachers that it feels overrun and at the same time not making you feel like you’re the only teacher in town. Ostrava used to be the industrial heartland of the country when it was joined at the hip to Slovakia. And after years of recession, it has emerged as a city bent on reinventing itself as a cultural hotspot. The Colours of Ostrava music festival is a fine example of this.

While it is possible to apply for teaching English jobs from abroad, there is absolutely little reason to do so. There are just so many teaching opportunities in the Czech Republic that all you need to do is turn up and start your search when here. Besides, schools are often skeptical of teachers applying from abroad because they like to meet you in person and receive the assurance that you are in the country before spending their time starting the application process. 

A typical scenario in finding a teaching position is contacting the school, being invited for an interview, teaching a demo lesson and then being offered work. As with a lot of locations, you can expect to start off with just a few hours per week for the first month and then if the school and students are satisfied, you will be provided with full-time teaching hours. In fact many teachers find it difficult to say no to work and end up with crazy schedules because there is just so much work available. 

Teaching in Ceske Budejovice

In the south of the Czech region of Bohemia, there can be found the enchanting town of Cesky Krumlov and its picturesque surrounding countryside, and Ceske Budejovice is the commercial capital of this region. Similarly like Plzen, there is a healthy equation here of teacher to school ratio but unlike Plzen, Ceske Budejovice receives far more tourist numbers and this is reflected in its much more culturally diverse visitors. Plus, it’s only a 45-minute drive to the Austrian border when you have that Sacher Torte craving.

Cesky Krumlov

Read more Teaching English Abroad Country Specifics articles on the tefl online pro Blog

tefl online pro run three internationally recognized TEFL courses:
The Fast-Track 60-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Professional 120-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Hybrid 140-Hour International Online/Onsite TEFL Certification Course

TEFL Online Pro is a fully accredited, award-winning provider of international Online TEFL/TESOL certification courses.

We have won the prestigious Teachers’ Choice Award four years in a row (2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022).

You can read verified TEFL Online Pro customer reviews on the leading independent TEFL reviews website, Trusted TEFL Reviews:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-online-pro-teachers-choice-award-winner-2022/

TEFL Online Pro video testimonials can be viewed on the Reviews page of our school website:

https://teflonlinepro.com/tefl-online-pro-reviews/

Our customers have also left verified reviews on the TEFL Online Pro official Facebook page, where we are currently rated 5 out of 5:

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Everything you need to know about teaching English in Thailand

Temple in Thailand

Everything you need to know about teaching English in Thailand

 

Thailand has built up a solid name for itself in the world of TEFL as being one of the heavyweight places to teach English abroad, and we can’t see that reputation waning anytime soon. This article looks at what to expect if choosing to teach English in the Land of Smiles.

Flag of Thailand

Where is Thailand?

 
Located in Southeast Asia, Thailand shares a border with Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Myanmar. The country is incredibly diverse in regard to its landscapes, traditions, cuisines and even in the types of weather systems which descend in monsoonal formations during the year. Quite simply put, Thailand has everything; from lush mountainous rainforests to exotic tropical beaches. The scenery is breathtaking, the tropical weather harsh yet reassuring and those famous smiles are definitely genuine.

To legally teach in Thailand, you must have taken an international TEFL certification course from a reputable course provider. A college degree (in any subject) is also required for the work visa if you choose to teach legally in Thailand. 

We do receive reports of some people heading out to Thailand to teach under the table (illegally) and while it is possible to do this by leaving the country every month to renew your 30-day Tourist Visa, it isn’t really recommended as one time you might be returning from a visa run and be denied entry if the immigration officer notices too many entry and exit stamps in a row in your passport. 

If you don’t have a degree and do want to teach in the region, we definitely recommend taking a look at our Cambodia article. 

Teaching in Bangkok

As the capital, Bangkok is the major teaching English hub in Thailand. Salaries here are higher than any other part of the country, and teachers starting out can expect to be earning between 30,000 – 40,000 Baht per month. Expect this figure to increase to between 50,000 – 60,000 Baht per month once you get established. Bangkok is more expensive compared with say Chiang Mai, but for a capital city it represents amazing value for money. Our tip: take a weekend trip to Hua Hin, a 4.5-hour bus ride south of Bangkok.

Bangkok busy street view

The types of teaching English jobs in Thailand are as varied as there are ways of preparing Pad Thai, but teachers tend to start out teaching either at language schools or at state schools. Language schools definitely pay better, but at state schools you often receive additional perks such as paid holidays and free accommodation. 

We think that there isn’t really that much difference financially between the two options and that your choice of where to teach should ultimately be dependent upon the choice of where and who you want to be teaching. 

We do tend to mention this a lot, but it cannot be expressed enough that you should not expect to be teaching English on a beach. Yes, there are options to teach English in towns and cities close to the coastline, but the way some TEFL schools imply through their homepage photos that you will be full-time living it up on the beach is very misleading. Some of our graduates have found work along the coast, but this is the exception rather than the rule and most job offers are advertised for positions in the major cities, which are usually at least an hour from the sound of waves lapping the shoreline. 

There is also the option of teaching English at universities and private language teaching, and both these options usually become available once you are in the country and once you have built up a decent amount of contacts.

Elephant in Chiang Mai

Teaching in Chiang Mai

Ah, Chiang Mai! Whenever you speak with a local Thai about Chiang Mai, you often see them looking off far into the distance with a mystical longing for another trip to the city that seems to sit center in the heart of all Thais. Chiang Mai is an extremely popular expat hangout and while there are many options to teach English – expect to earn around 30,000 Baht per month – there are also so many teachers saturating the market. It is a city with a 60’s vibe and we definitely recommend taking a trip up to Pai when you are here.

While it’s true that it was much easier to set up shop here as an English teacher in the past, it is still a relatively easy place to get established and with the Thais being outrageously friendly, you won’t find it difficult to find a lot of support and advice when getting started. 

Please remember that at tefl online pro we assist our graduates with ongoing job support, help and advice, so if you are wanting Thailand teaching English advice then feel free to reach out and contact us. 

You can look for work before arrival to Thailand, but we don’t think there is any need to do this and you will easily find yourself being able to hook a much better teaching position once on the ground. Thailand is an affordable destination, assuming you avoid the main tourist hubs, and this will provide you with a lot of breathing space to settle in and find your perfect teaching English job. 

How we recommend finding a job in Thailand is to contact a bunch of schools beforehand, travel out to Thailand, receive your (free) 30-day Tourist Visa upon arrival and visit the schools and see which one you would feel most comfortable teaching in. Once you have gone through the interview process and secured the position you will need to leave the country and apply for your Non-Immigrant Visa Type B, which can be applied for and picked up at any Thai embassy abroad (in Malaysia for example.) 

Thailand has its fair share of discount airlines and AirAsia are just one of them, which we have flown and can recommend. If you have a larger budget, then either Thai or Bangkok Airways would be our recommendation. 

Once you are issued with your visa, you can then return to Thailand to arrange for your work visa to be processed, which only takes around seven days to complete. 

Teaching in Krabi

Located on southern Thailand’s west coast, Krabi Town is a busting market town set straddled close to the semi-attractive beach at Ao Nang, the picture-postcard Railay Beach and a short hop on one of the many dodgy ferries which run to some of the most beautiful islands you can find in Thailand. There isn’t a whole lot of work around in this relatively small town, but it should be noted that Krabi Town is becoming somewhat of a magnet for people teaching English online and has an excellent support base for teachers. 

Thai wooden boats on the beach in Krabi

A major advantage of making Thailand your home is the balance between “old” Thailand and “new” Thailand. 

Examples of the old are the Buddhist traditions, the rickety government busses, the wooden stool street food stalls and the crazy annual festivals which include the whole of the country taking part in the world’s largest water fight (Songkran) on the Thai New Year’s national holiday. Examples of the new exert themselves in the form of luxurious shopping malls, a clean and punctual Bangkok metro system and Sky Train and high-speed internet in built-up public places. 

Tourists tend to visit Thailand having never really come into contact with the authentic Thai way of life, but as an English teacher, you will experience Thai life on a daily basis. Many people (incorrectly) assume that Thailand is a very liberal country, but it is in fact quite a conservative one and particular rules apply for different scenarios. As an example, you should never show the soles of your feet to anyone – especially not in the direction of a Buddha statue or Buddhist temple – and it is unaccepted to touch a Thai on the head. Thais don’t generally shake hands and instead clasp their hands together at their heart’s center. There are Lèse-majesté rules, so make sure never to insult the royal family if you want to avoid a long stint in a Thai prison. 

Saying this though, Thai’s are extremely tolerant of non-Thais and they do understand that their laws are not always understood by foreigners. This is an amazing destination to look through the glass onion and experience a lifestyle completely different to the one you left back home. 

Lush paddy field vista in Isaan, Thailand

Teaching in Isaan

Isaan is located in the northeastern region of Thailand and has the rather dubious reputation of being the kingdom’s poorest region. It’s a little like what Moldova is to the rest of Europe in terms of the trend for its local population looking outwards to seek employment in other parts of the country. This is definitely a less-trodden region of Thailand and the rewards are definitely there for anyone seeking employment. Its larger towns provide solid employment options, with local wages reflecting local costs.

As with the majority of Asian countries, you will be expected to dress smartly for classes. 

When first arriving in Bangkok, we definitely recommend having a tailored suit/skirt/shirt/blouse made up by a reputable tailors, and for a fraction of the price back home you will have bespoke clothes which fit you like a glove and which will last you for a very long time. 

This is a particularly good tip for anyone conscious of airline baggage weight charges: you can purchase your clothes and footwear when you arrive to Bangkok without issue.

Teaching in Trat

Trat: the small city known for being a stopping-off point for reaching the Cambodian border or ferrying it over to Koh Chang island. Trat: the large town which is so very often ignored. It’s a shame really because this artsy town is one of the best kept secrets in Thailand. There isn’t that much work available but what is, is paid at around the same rates as you would expect in Chiang Mai and it’s super-cheap with excellent seafood and an awesome location: not only being close to Koh Chang but also to its lesser-known beaches.

Taking a selfie on the beach on Koh Chang

Read more Teaching English Abroad Country Specifics articles on the tefl online pro Blog

tefl online pro run three internationally recognized TEFL courses:
The Fast-Track 60-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Professional 120-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Hybrid 140-Hour International Online/Onsite TEFL Certification Course

TEFL Online Pro is a fully accredited, award-winning provider of international Online TEFL/TESOL certification courses.

We have won the prestigious Teachers’ Choice Award four years in a row (2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022).

You can read verified TEFL Online Pro customer reviews on the leading independent TEFL reviews website, Trusted TEFL Reviews:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-online-pro-teachers-choice-award-winner-2022/

TEFL Online Pro video testimonials can be viewed on the Reviews page of our school website:

https://teflonlinepro.com/tefl-online-pro-reviews/

Our customers have also left verified reviews on the TEFL Online Pro official Facebook page, where we are currently rated 5 out of 5:

https://www.facebook.com/teflonlinepro/reviews

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Everything you need to know about teaching English in Vietnam

Vietnamese street view.

Everything you need to know about teaching English in Vietnam

 

Vietnam is the new financial tiger powerhouse of Southeast Asia and has seen a huge increase in demand for English teachers over the last few years. When comparing to other Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam offers the best bang for your buck in terms of how much you can earn and how much your daily costs will be. This article looks at what it’s like to teach English in five of the most popular expat destinations in Vietnam, and what to expect when choosing Vietnam as your next teaching English destination.

Flag of Vietnam

Where is Vietnam?

Located in Southeast Asia, Vietnam shares a border with Cambodia, China and Laos. It also shares maritime borders with Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. New teachers arriving to Vietnam can expect to be earning up to US$1,700 per month and this means that you can realistically expect to be saving around US$500 per month, so it’s no wonder why this country with a huge coastline is fast becoming the number one choice for teachers wanting to experience ‘old school’ Asia with ‘new school’ Asian salaries.

The legal requirements for teaching English in Vietnam are often ambiguous, but the official word is that all teachers wanting to apply for the work permit must provide a criminal background check, be a native English speaker, hold a college degree (in any subject) and have an international TEFL certificate from a reputable school. 

The work permit must be applied for whilst inside the country. We recommend entering Vietnam on a 3-month tourist visa and then starting your teaching job while the work permit is being processed. Once you receive your work permit, you can then apply for a business visa, which will mean that you can then stay indefinitely within the country for as long as your work permit and business visa are valid – your work visa is valid for as long as your business visa is valid and you can extend your business visa on an annual basis. 

Because of this work visa system, schools rarely recruit from abroad and apply a 3-month probationary period on all new teachers, to cover their backs in case the work permit application is unsuccessful. However, if you have all your paperwork ducks lined up in a row then you won’t experience any issues in receiving the work permit and then being able to apply for the business visa. 

It is also worth noting here that not all schools will encourage you to apply for the work permit, and will instead recommend that you leave the country every three months to then return on a fresh 3-month tourist visa. While we never recommend teaching illegally, it is however common practice in Vietnam and this can be clearly seen by the many expats teaching in Vietnam who don’t possess a college degree and who might not necessarily be a native English speaker. 

Please remember that at tefl online pro we assist our graduates with ongoing job support, help and advice, so if you are wanting Vietnam teaching English advice then feel free to reach out and contact us. 

Teaching in Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City (also referred to as ‘Saigon’ or simply ‘HCMC’) is the business and financial center of Vietnam and gives Bangkok a good run for its money in terms of being a city with high-octane levels of energy and a seemingly disregard for sleep. It’s in HCMC where you will find the greatest concentration of jobs and some of the highest paid salaries in the country. Plus, the good news is that a furnished apartment typically runs at just US$500 per month – making for a generous, expendable income to travel/discover. 

Ho Chi Minh street scene.

Teaching in Vietnam can mean either teaching children or adults, and teaching for private language schools, international schools, state schools or universities. After a while of course, once you have built up a solid contacts base, you can begin offering private lessons too. 

It is important to note here that Vietnam can generally be divided into two sections: the north, where it can get chilly in the cold months, and the south, where you will find yourself seeking out AC whenever you can. Also, teachers do often remark on the peculiarity that students in the south of the country come over as being warmer than their northern counterparts, but when we visited the country a few years ago we weren’t aware of any of these stereotypes. But what was apparent were the differences in temperatures, so if choosing to teach in HCMC for example, bring clothes which will make you feel more comfortable in the balmy temperatures. And if choosing to teach in the north, a winter jacket is a necessity. 

As is generally true throughout the Asian continent, you will be expected to look the part when teaching and many schools in Vietnam do have a dress code. If your school has a dress code, then for women: knee-length black shirt, white blouse with long sleeves and black shoes. The same applies for men – but shirt, not blouse obviously – and you might also be required to wear a tie. We do also recommend reading our Cambodia, China and Thailand country specifics articles, as these also cover appropriate classroom attire for the region.

Woman sitting on park bench in Hanoi.

Teaching in Hanoi

Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital and second largest city, is probably known for its somewhat chaotic Old Quarter and for its French-inspired architecture. It was here during the Vietnam War that POWs could find themselves locked up in the infamous ‘Hanoi Hilton’ – such as the recently-deceased John McCain was – but today, Hanoi remains a charming, yet frenetic city with the feel of a city much smaller than it really is. There is a thriving teaching English industry here, which blends well with its coffee culture scene. 

We have covered the process of acquiring a work permit in order to teach English legally in Vietnam, and we also want to speak a little bit more now about looking for work. 

We definitely recommend researching schools before traveling to Vietnam and arranging interviews in advance, so that you utilize your time as much as possible. In many cases, you will find yourself working for a recruiter, which performs the same function as working for a language school: they will provide you with work and take a percentage of the fees paid by the client. 

Because the demand for teachers of English is so high, teaching English jobs are available at any time of the year – unless you are wanting to teach at a state/international school or university, as these have strict semester dates. And because there is such huge demand and because so many teachers are choosing Vietnam as their next destination, you won’t find it difficult at all to find teaching work. However, it is always good to have that extra element of advantage, so we recommend standing out from the crowd with a CV/Resume which will place your application at the top of the pile. 

Please remember that at tefl online pro we assist our graduates with ongoing job support, help and advice, so if you are wanting Vietnam teaching English advice – or CV/Resume tips – feel free to reach out and contact us. 

Teaching in Hue

Hue is located almost bang smack in the center of Vietnam and was the national capital from 1802 to 1945. Some people would actually prefer if it were re-established as the capital today, as in their opinion it would strike a comfortable counterbalance between north and south. While Hue doesn’t have as many teaching English opportunities as say Hanoi or HCMC, there are still plenty of jobs to go around and the wages reflect what you can realistically expect to earn in other cities as a new teacher: US$15-US$25 per hour.

Temple at Hue, Vietnam.

We would like to point out at this stage that although Vietnam is a safe country to live and travel in, there does exist the daily annoyance of being charged more for things than what a local would be charged. 

This definitely isn’t exclusive to Vietnam, neither to the region in general, but it is worth noting that the longer you stay in Vietnam, the more you get to know the local shop sellers and the more they begin to recognize you, the less likely it will be that you’ll be getting charged at a higher rate than if you just stepped off the plane. 

Try never to ask, “how much?”. Instead, observe a local buying something that you want to purchase and make a mental note of how much they paid, and then order yourself and hand over the same exact amount. The reasoning behind overcharging is often that locals think that anyone traveling from a Western country is loaded and so why not charge them a bit more? After all, they can afford it! This is the logic and we can see why people overcharge, but we of course disagree with the whole practice. On the reverse side, we have witnessed backpackers being so meagre by spending a lot of unnecessary time haggling over a few bucks for a service provided by a local who is obviously far from wealthy. If you see something for a couple of USD and can see it’s worth the price, why haggle the price down further? 

Bird's eye view of Da Nang, Vietnam.

Teaching in Da Nang

Da Nang is a beautiful coastal city, located in central Vietnam, and is one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations. Da Nang is a wonderful city to teach English in as, among other attributes, it boasts clean air and sandy beaches. The city is also the perfect location for visiting the inland Bà Nà hills, located west of the city. However, because of its attractive location, and despite having a large number of language schools, competition is fierce among teachers as this is a city that many teachers desire to teach in.

No article on Vietnam would be complete without a shout out to its food and coffee! 🙂 Vietnamese cuisine is among the world’s best, and the good news is that you don’t need to take out a second mortgage to be able to enjoy its delights on a daily basis. Phở of course is the one dish which springs to most people’s minds but others worth a mention are Bánh bột chiên, Bánh mì, Bánh xèo, Bún chả, Cha ca, Gỏi cuốn, and the list could go on and on… . Each Vietnamese dish has its own distinctive flavor, and we feel that while some Vietnamese and Thai dishes are similar, Vietnamese cuisine places less emphasis on heat so that you are able to differentiate between flavors easier. Oh, and the Vietnamese coffee? So strong and flavorful, and there are literally a zillion ways with which the Vietnamese like to serve it up. 

Teaching in Hai Phong

A major port city in northeastern Vietnam, Hai Phong lavishly reclines across from Cat Ba Island, caressed by its French colonial–era landmarks and leafy boulevards. It’s the third most populous city in the country, but has delightfully managed to retain its colonial image and has grown a name for itself for the many festivals which occur in the city, including one which involves buffalo flighting. Because of its size, teaching English work is plentiful here and it also makes for an excellent base for trips out to Halong Bay.

Hai Phong city center square.

Read more Teaching English Abroad Country Specifics articles on the tefl online pro Blog

tefl online pro run three internationally recognized TEFL courses:
The Fast-Track 60-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Professional 120-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Hybrid 140-Hour International Online/Onsite TEFL Certification Course

TEFL Online Pro is a fully accredited, award-winning provider of international Online TEFL/TESOL certification courses.

We have won the prestigious Teachers’ Choice Award four years in a row (2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022).

You can read verified TEFL Online Pro customer reviews on the leading independent TEFL reviews website, Trusted TEFL Reviews:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-online-pro-teachers-choice-award-winner-2022/

TEFL Online Pro video testimonials can be viewed on the Reviews page of our school website:

https://teflonlinepro.com/tefl-online-pro-reviews/

Our customers have also left verified reviews on the TEFL Online Pro official Facebook page, where we are currently rated 5 out of 5:

https://www.facebook.com/teflonlinepro/reviews

Where will you teach English?

Enroll Now

 Posted on June 4, 2022 by

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Everything you need to know about teaching English in Spain

Spanish coastline

Everything you need to know about teaching English in Spain

 

Spain is a vibrant country to teach English and is famous for its legendary cuisine and nightlife. It is one of Europe’s most popular countries for studying and teaching in and this article looks at what to expect when you choose to make this destination your next hub abroad. 

Spanish flag

Where is Spain?

Spain is an EU member state, positioned in the south-west of Europe and sharing its coastline with the Mediterranean Sea on its right and the Atlantic Ocean to its west. To the north, it shares a land border with France and patiently positioned to its west is the other country which makes up the Iberian Peninsula: Portugal. Spain is a country that loves to celebrate life and La Tomatina festival is an excellent example of this joie de vivre. Hemingway was here, as was Orwell. And so too can you be.

Throughout Spain, with the only real exception being Madrid, the average hourly rate for teachers of English tends to hover around the 15 – 25 Euros mark. You probably shouldn’t expect to go to Spain to save money, but while you are teaching there, you will enjoy a relatively comfortable lifestyle if you are prepared to put the hours in. 

An international TEFL certificate from a reputable school is the main prerequisite for landing a job here as a college degree isn’t mandatory, but having a college degree (in any subject) can sometimes introduce you to the better paying jobs. 

The main bulk of teaching work is centered in Madrid and other major cities, and many teachers do choose to teach English in Spain because of the opportunity to learn or further their Spanish language. 

An important point to note is that unlike some other European destinations, such as the Czech Republic, language schools will generally insist that you follow a preassigned course curriculum and you won’t have as much freedom to tweak the curriculum as in some other countries. 

Spain is a wonderful country, with so many opportunities for teaching English and is a relatively easy country to get yourself established in. It might seem daunting to you, but schools rarely employ from abroad so to get started teaching English in Spain, you will need to look for work once on the ground. 

Please remember that at tefl online pro we assist our graduates with ongoing job support, help and advice, so if you are thinking of making Spain your next teaching location, feel free to contact our International Job Guidance Team and we will ensure that the transition is a smooth one.

Teaching in Madrid

Madrid is Spain’s capital city, with roughly three million inhabitants, and the wide, elegant boulevards that crisscross the city like cosmopolitan veins of imperial sovereignty mnemonically juxtapose the country’s days of empire past with artistic and financial center present. This is where you will find the most English teaching jobs in the country, and where you can expect to be earning anywhere up to 50 Euros per hour. With the higher rates of pay though the higher local costs do match, but it still offers good value. 

Madrid city center

Teaching English positions in Spain are open to native and non-native English speakers, and also to EU and non-EU citizens. 

It must be noted here that wherever you apply for work within the EU, an EU citizen will always receive first priority for any position. And this is because it is a much simpler option for the schools with regards to the work visa process. EU citizens don’t require a work visa to teach English as a foreign language in Spain and all is required of them is to hold an internationally recognized TEFL certificate from a reputable school. 

However, there is just so much teaching work available in Spain that there is more than enough to go round and non-EU citizens also find little difficulty in securing well-paid, local teaching positions. 

We definitely recommend looking for work once you are on the ground and the affordable cost of living in Spain makes this a viable option. When you first arrive, you will be granted a 90-day Schengen visa and this will provide you with enough time to secure a teaching position and process your work visa. 

There also does seem to be a roughly 50/50 split between students wanting to learn British English and students wanting to learn other forms of the English language (such as American or Australian English for example) so you won’t face any difficulties through not holding an EU passport here. 

Gaudi architecture in Barcelona

Teaching in Barcelona

Barcelona has featured in the international news fairly recently for its insistent push to break away from the Spanish government and gain its independence. You might even have witnessed examples of violent clashes online between leavers and remainers, but the cosmopolitan capital of Spain’s Catalonia region is now stable again and is the most popular destination to teach English in Spain. Business is booming and although it is an expensive city, if you avoid the tourist areas you can expect to live comfortably.

While it isn’t necessary to have knowledge of the Spanish language to teach English in Spain, we do definitely recommend learning some basic phrases if you have no prior learning Spanish skills. 

Having a basic knowledge of the language will make things that more easier for you when it comes to day-to-day tasks and helping with classroom management. 

The good news is that Spanish is undoubtably one of the more easier languages to learn to speak and you will soon find out that by learning for just half an hour daily that you will begin to pick it up very quickly. There are regional dialects, but the differences are not so extreme (with the exception of the Basque dialect that is) and knowing at least some of the local language will definitely help open more doors for you. 

Another important tip to note regards obtaining your NIE (Número de Identificación de Extranjero) number. This is your personal and unique tax identification number and is required of you to have if wanting to legally work in Spain. With your NIE, you can also use it to rent an apartment, open a bank account, join a gym or a library, sign a mobile phone contract and basically integrate into local Spanish life.

Teaching in Valencia

Valencia, a port town on Spain’s southeastern coast, is an architect-lovers wet dream and also boasts some phenomenal beaches. It comes over as being a friendly city, with a chilled vibe about it and the possibilities for teaching English here are many. Local costs are lower than the larger cities of Barcelona and Madrid, and as an example, one of our graduates who is teaching there now pays just 430 Euros per month for his apartment and utilities and secured a teaching job within one week of arrival in the city.

Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias Valencia

Over the past 10 years or so, Spain has been experiencing economic hardships and one of the results of this is the high rate of unemployment which has driven many young Spaniards abroad in search for work. 

However, the English language industry is buoyant – teachers are still in high demand – and it seems that while people do have less money to play around with, they are nonetheless still making learning English a high priority, with a clear understanding of the benefits that come with learning English as a foreign language. 

Therefore, Spain is still an excellent location to teach English in and shows no sign of slowing up any time soon.

Street scene in Seville

Teaching in Seville

Seville, famous for its citrus industry and flamenco dancing, is the capital of Spain’s southern Andalusia region. One of the advantages of living in Seville is that everything seems to be within easy reach of distance and the public transport complements the city scape. Come here to experience the festivals of Feria and Semana Santa and to experience teaching English in a smaller city which punches well above its weight. There are over 50 language schools located in Seville, so the possibilities for you here are many.

We feel that no write-up on Spain should be without a mention of El Camino de Santiago de Compostela (The Way of Saint James.) 

The Camino is a popular pilgrimage walk – typically starting in the quaint, French town of Saint Jean Pied de Port and finishing in the northwestern, rain-drenched, Galician city of Santiago de Compostela – and leads pilgrims on a spiritual journey across the diversely-rich north of Spain. 

Thousands of pilgrims make the (approx.) 500-mile walk each year, and it is a fantastic experience where you will get to tone up your body, tune in your mind and get to meet some absolutely wonderful human beings. People walk El Camino for many reasons, so don’t think that you necessarily need to be religious to take part in this majestic, extended walk. Both young and old make their merry way along its trail – following yellow-painted arrow direction signs and forming strong bonds with fellow pilgrims, be they walking for religious reasons or otherwise. And upon completion, they then hop on a modern form of transport to comfortably teleport themselves back home again. 

But in the early times of the Camino – often navigated by the aid of the Campus Stellae – it was considered an act of penance to attempt the walk for the divine purpose of the cleansing of one’s sins, which many pilgrims never returned from, due to robbery or sickness, and the traditional starting point used to be from one’s own front door. If they were lucky to survive the long, arduous walk there – obligated to earn their food and keep through monastery chores along the way – they’d then have had the mandatory necessity of turning their backs to the setting sun and attempting that very same perilous, long-stretch back home again. At one time there were so many incidents of robbery along this and other pilgrim routes that the Knights Templar were established to protect pilgrims. But that’s another story entirely. 

There are actually many camino routes throughout Spain but the Camino Francés, being the most popular of modern camino routes, is the fashionable path of today’s smartphone app, spiritual generation on the move and there are in fact many other ancient routes crisscrossing Europe’s continent, like well-trodden, earthen Ley Lines under the map of star formations in the heavens above. Most today stop at Santiago de Compostela, while some continue the 80km route further to the end of the ancient world: Finisterre. We totally recommend the experience and also recommend that you should budget four weeks to complete the full section of the walk.

Teaching in Bilbao

Bilbao is located on Spain’s north coast – a relative short hop from Santander’s seafood capital – and is at the heart of Spain’s Basque country. It’s here that you will find yourself eating pinchos (pintxo) as opposed to the tapas found in other parts of the country. And being also relatively close to the Rioja region, the quality of wine here is legendary. There is also a healthy share of teaching work available and the lower living costs make this city – known for its Guggenheim Museum – a significant teaching English location.

Guggenheim museum in Bilbao

Read more Teaching English Abroad Country Specifics articles on the tefl online pro Blog

tefl online pro run three internationally recognized TEFL courses:
The Fast-Track 60-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Professional 120-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Hybrid 140-Hour International Online/Onsite TEFL Certification Course

TEFL Online Pro is a fully accredited, award-winning provider of international Online TEFL/TESOL certification courses.

We have won the prestigious Teachers’ Choice Award four years in a row (2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022).

You can read verified TEFL Online Pro customer reviews on the leading independent TEFL reviews website, Trusted TEFL Reviews:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-online-pro-teachers-choice-award-winner-2022/

TEFL Online Pro video testimonials can be viewed on the Reviews page of our school website:

https://teflonlinepro.com/tefl-online-pro-reviews/

Our customers have also left verified reviews on the TEFL Online Pro official Facebook page, where we are currently rated 5 out of 5:

https://www.facebook.com/teflonlinepro/reviews

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 Posted on June 4, 2022 by

 Teaching English abroad country specifics

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Everything you need to know about teaching English in Japan

Everything you need to know about teaching English in Japan

 

Japan has emerged from its years of recession with a now buoyant teaching English industry and teaching salaries here can be among the world’s best, with some teachers earning as much as US$5,000 per month. This article looks at the logistics of teaching English in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Where is Japan?

Japan is an ultra-modern, high-tech island country in the Pacific Ocean, located in East Asia. Salaries here are very high and as a new teacher, you should expect to be earning a monthly starting salary in the range of US$2,000 – US$3,000. Local costs are also very high though, making Japan a teaching location where you will be assured a relatively comfortable lifestyle but without the possibility to save all that much money if you are just starting out. Our tip is to teach at a university if wanting to earn enough to save too.

The legal requirements for teaching English in Japan are some of the strictest in the region, with only native English speakers being permitted to work here. A Bachelor’s degree (in any subject) is required, as well as holding an international TEFL certificate from a reputable school. A criminal background check is also a requirement of the work visa process and it is important to note here that schools do sometimes conduct random drug testings of their teachers.

There are two types of visas which English teachers apply for to legally teach English in Japan and these are the Instructor Visa and the Specialist in Humanities Visa. The Instructor Visa allows you to teach English in public institutions such as high schools and universities, and the Specialist in Humanities Visa grants you the ability to teach for companies or private language schools.

The first step in applying for either visa is applying for work and receiving a job offer, and your employer will then sponsor you during the process of obtaining your visa. 

It is also worth noting here that there is a third possibility of teaching English in Japan if you are thinking of teaching short-term and this is through applying for a Working Holiday Visa. Please be advised though that this visa only allows you to work legally in Japan for six months and this route isn’t recommended if wanting to teach English in Japan longer term.

It is possible to apply for your work visa whilst on the ground in Japan by heading to the Japanese Ministry of Justice’s Immigration Bureau and applying for the Certificate of Eligibility, but our graduates tell us that the process is much simpler completed from abroad and through a Japanese Embassy in your home country. If you do decide to apply for work and then get legal once you are in Japan then you should be aware that upon arrival you will be issued with a tourist visa, which is valid for 90 days, and that you will then learn about the success of your work visa application within 2-3 months of submitting your documents.

The last step in the process of applying for a work visa is receiving your visa and also your residence card: your official identification for your time in Japan which has all your information embedded on it in a chip.

Please remember that at tefl online pro we assist our graduates with ongoing job support, help and advice, so if you are wanting Japan teaching English advice then feel free to reach out and contact us.

Teaching in Tokyo

Tokyo is currently the world’s 7th largest city with an expanding population of 13.6 million, but holds the title of the largest city in the world when the entire Tokyo metro area is included – totaling more than 38 million residents! Because of its size and high cost of living, teachers do usually find themselves living quite a distance from their teaching locations and this transport factor should definitely be taken into consideration when choosing to teach in Tokyo. Nevertheless, Tokyo is a fascinating city to teach English in.

Compared with other countries in the region, accommodation in Japan is expensive and if you choose to live on your own then your accommodation costs will munch a substantial bite into your budget.

It is possible to live more cheaply though and one way of doing this is by sharing an apartment with another teacher or other teachers. Even in Tokyo – Japan’s most expensive city – if you are willing to share then you can find a semi-decent place to live for around 60,000 yen, which is approx. US$550.

Finding an apartment in Japan though is by no means a walk in the park. Many Japanese citizens themselves find it difficult to locate good accommodation and this is one of the reasons why a lot of Japanese stay living at home with their parents until they are often in their thirties. The shortage of accommodation has even created the phenomenon of net café refugees: people who live in cyber cafés and who are referred to as being ‘cyber-homeless’.

In Japan, apartments are normally rented through real estate agents (rather than landlords) and one of the biggest hurdles of landing an apartment is probably going to be your inability to speak Japanese, with landlords often being more than reticent to rent their properties to a (‘gaijin’) foreigner. This is why we recommend asking your employer for help with the process of hunting for an apartment and this appears to be the mode of choice for most newbie English teachers in Japan.

Teaching in Osaka

Osaka, a large commercial center and port city on the Japanese island of Honshu, is Japan’s third largest city (after Tokyo and Yokohama) and is known among expats for being the food capital of Japan. As with the other cities on this list there are a lot of teaching English options to be found in Osaka, but the factor which makes Osaka such an attractive city to live and work in is that living expenses are generally lower. And because Osaka is often overlooked by expats, there isn’t as much competition when job hunting.

In Japan, the average working week for a teacher of English means teaching from between 20 to 25 hours and this is enough to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. Please bear in mind though – as with all teaching English locations – that you will start out by spending a lot of time planning lessons and that this planning time can at first equate to one hour spent planning for every hour taught. Over time though you will find yourself needing to plan less and less and you will find yourself with more and more time at your disposal.

It must be noted here that there are significant differences depending on whether you are teaching for a Japanese company or a foreign one. If you find yourself working for a Japanese company, you may find that you will be expected to work more hours than is stated in your work contract and be expected to attend many more meetings than you would if you were working for a foreign-owned company.

Please bear in mind again that at tefl online pro we assist our graduates with ongoing job support, help and advice, so if you are wanting Japan teaching English jobs advice then feel free to reach out and contact us.

Teaching in Nagoya

Nagoya, the fourth most populous urban area in Japan, is a popular destination and this seems largely due to its relative close proximity to Tokyo, taking just one hour and 40 minutes on the Nozomi Shinkansen train. Nagoya is the capital of the Aichi Prefecture and is a gateway to the Kansai region, and it is also the center of the automotive industry in Japan. Another reason why Nagoya is a popular destination is because it is possible to cross the city in just over 30 minutes – cutting down on transport times between classes.

There are many different types of teaching English positions available in Japan and the main options open to you are teaching at an eikaiwa, kindergarten, international school, language school, public school, university or teaching English privately.

‘Eikaiwa’ are conversation schools, teaching either children or adults, which have sprung up all over Japan due to the general inability of the old-fashioned, Japanese education system being able to get students to effectively use the English language. At these schools it is common to be teaching students anywhere from the ages of 3-70+ years old and although schools do obviously separate children from adults, you may find that the ages of your adult groups vary considerably and this can present significant classroom challenges. Teaching hours at these schools typically run between 1 pm and 9 pm, with kindergarten and elementary students making up the first few hours of your teaching day and adults coming in later as the day progresses. The average salary when working at an eikaiwa is typically around ¥250,000 per month and it is also important to note here that you will enjoy less holiday time off than if you were working as an assistant language teacher at a public school.

Teaching at a kindergarten means teaching English to children between the ages of 2-6 and this type of teaching is frankly extremely demanding and not everyone’s cup of tea. On the other hand though, it can also be the most rewarding type of teaching position and one additional benefit of teaching at a kindergarten is the long holiday time which you can enjoy when school breaks. Kindergarten salaries are similar to those that an assistant language teacher at a public school earns with a starting salary of around ¥280,000 per month, which will increase the longer you decide to stay at the school. 

International schools are a sought-after teaching English position due to the standard holidays and the higher wages. You can find international schools throughout Japan, but most of them are located in Tokyo. At these schools you will either follow an American or British school system curriculum and most international schools require a minimum two years of teaching experience. Salaries typically come in at around 6 million yen per year and most international schools also assist with flights, insurance and relocation costs.

There are many language schools located across Japan. These are privately-run schools which will send you out to other schools and businesses to teach English and pretty much act as the middleman between yourself and their client. Salaries tend to remain firm at around the ¥250,000 per month mark and we recommend never accepting a teaching position for lower than this figure.

Teaching at a public school in Japan means teaching as an assistant language teacher, alongside the Japanese class teacher. Assistant language teacher jobs are available throughout Japan and can be found in public elementary and junior high schools. Teaching assistants at public schools typically make around ¥280,000 per month, with 60% of their school holidays paid too.

Teaching at a university is considered the ultimate teaching English position for teachers in Japan and as we have already noted, you can expect to be earning up to US$5,000 per month teaching in this type of position. Universities tend to hire in April or September and contracts are arranged on an annual basis. The only real drawback we can see with a teaching position at a university is that your class sizes might easily run to 40 students and this can present obvious classroom management issues. Still, teaching at a university is seen as a prestigious position and seems to be the dream ticket for most English teachers in Japan.

Teaching English privately is a good way to earn some extra money and get to know new Japanese people, and by teaching privately you won’t have to wear your work clothes to your classes. Perhaps the main advantage of teaching private students though is that you can charge as much as the student is willing to pay and this type of teaching can be extremely lucrative. The negative of teaching private students is that they can cancel at any time, meaning you won’t get paid for that class. We suggest taking on a few private students to add to your school schedule and then if a private student does cancel it won’t affect you so much financially.

Teaching in Kyoto

Kyoto, once the capital of Japan, sits attractively perched on the main train line between Nagoya and Osaka. Kyoto is a city of temples and shrines and is the most popular tourist destination in Japan. More importantly though, Kyoto is the academic capital of the country and it is here more than anywhere else in Japan where you stand a high chance of landing a lucrative teaching English position at a university. The only real downside to teaching in this popular city is competing with the other teachers wanting to live here too.

In this last section, we want to speak a little about the Japanese language and whether you should learn the language before heading over.

While it isn’t mandatory to know some Japanese in order to begin teaching English in Japan, it is definitely recommended to get to know at least some of the basics. Having some basic knowledge of Japanese will help you with your day-to-day interactions in Japan and will also help in the classroom when you find, for example, that it ‘s just easier to say the word in Japanese so that the student immediately understands the meaning of the target vocabulary. 

Despite being known as a difficult language to learn, Japanese is actually quite straightforward compared with other languages in the region and you will also find that there are many English loan words in Japanese. Japanese does not have masculine, feminine or neuter nouns, so the complexity of deciding which gender a particular noun belongs to doesn’t present a learning obstacle. In Japanese, there is also no need to conjugate verbs to match their respective subjects and this means that you don’t need to learn different verb forms for different pronouns. And Japanese is also easier to learn than you think due to each Japanese syllable being pronounced only one way and meaning that each of the 45 basic syllables have specific pronunciation rules (unlike in the case of English which despite having fewer letters actually contains far more sounds).

It is also important to note here that many schools do prefer the immersion method of learning a language, which means that you will be expected to only speak English in the classroom. If this is the case for you then follow the guidelines of the school and keep your Japanese language schools ready for outside of classroom teaching hours.

As a special note, there are some companies – operating out of Japan – that involve themselves in fraudulent activities. TEFL/TESOL scams do exist. Mostly though, Japan is a very safe country and scams are (thankfully) extremely rare.

Teaching in Hiroshima

Hiroshima is located on Japan’s Honshu Island and is undeniably most well-known for being the site of the dropping of the first atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. The bombing decimated the city but Hiroshima has since recovered to develop into a vibrant, modern city, and has been dubbed ‘The City of Peace’ with its international conferences regarding nuclear power. It’s difficult not to fall in love with the city and with its laidback locals and the good news is that there is a well-developed teaching English industry here.

Read more Teaching English Abroad Country Specifics articles on the tefl online pro Blog

tefl online pro run three internationally recognized TEFL courses:
The Fast-Track 60-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Professional 120-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Hybrid 140-Hour International Online/Onsite TEFL Certification Course

TEFL Online Pro is a fully accredited, award-winning provider of international Online TEFL/TESOL certification courses.

We have won the prestigious Teachers’ Choice Award four years in a row (2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022).

You can read verified TEFL Online Pro customer reviews on the leading independent TEFL reviews website, Trusted TEFL Reviews:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-online-pro-teachers-choice-award-winner-2022/

TEFL Online Pro video testimonials can be viewed on the Reviews page of our school website:

https://teflonlinepro.com/tefl-online-pro-reviews/

Our customers have also left verified reviews on the TEFL Online Pro official Facebook page, where we are currently rated 5 out of 5:

https://www.facebook.com/teflonlinepro/reviews

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 Posted on June 4, 2022 by

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Everything you need to know about teaching English in Slovakia

Tatra mountains in Slovakia

Everything you need to know about teaching English in Slovakia

 

When Czechoslovakia split, on 1st January, 1993, the amicable divorce led many wondering how the fate of Slovakia would unfold as Czechia was often viewed as the more industrially stronger of the two nations. Fast-forward 26 years, and while it’s true that the Czech Republic has made significant gains economically, it should be noted that Slovakia has too. Slovakia is currently ranked as the fastest-growing developed economy in the world and now is as good a time as ever to choose this Central European nation as your next teaching English destination.

Flag of Slovakia

Where is Slovakia?

Slovakia (officially the Slovak Republic) shares its borders with five other European nations: Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Ukraine. And with Zuzana Čaputová having recently won the presidential elections – becoming the first female Slovak president – there is optimistic hope in the air that the country’s populist and nationalist politics are now well behind them and that Slovakia’s political future is bright. Slovakia is a country with breathtaking mountains and hospitable locals. Come here now before the crowds do.

To begin to understand this relatively new nation, we need to take a look back in history to see how Slovakia got to where it is today.

 Present-day Slovakia was originally settled in the 6th century by the Slavic Slovaks, who populated mainly the lowland regions of the country where the farming was more conducive to better harvests and where the climate wasn’t so dramatic as it is in the Tatra mountains in the north of the country. After a brief period of time being politically connected with the Moravian Empire, the Magyars – today known as the Hungarians – took over and regained tight control all the way up to the time of the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 

It should also be noted here that under the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Slovaks were considered as being lowly farmers and were not able to enjoy the same full rights which Hungarian citizens enjoyed. So essentially, Hungary had aggressively annexed the Slovak lands. After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918 – following the end of World War 1 – Slovakia formed a union with the Czech lands and the nation of Czechoslovakia was formed. After the end of World War 2, when Czechoslovakia was largely liberated by the Soviet army, Slovakia was once again joined at the hip to a centralized, Czech-dominated government. 

In 1989, after nearly 42 years of Russian Communist rule, the Velvet Revolution dissolved Czechoslovakia’s iron curtain and the country waltzed into an open market economy; embracing western politics and ideals. And on January 1st, 1993, Slovakia won independence after so many centuries and proceeded to join the EU and NATO. And (more recently) adopted the Euro as their official currency. 

Slovaks today are fiercely independent, and it is clear to understand why, and I must add kudos to them for voting to leave Czechoslovakia with their Slexit. It would have been much easier to stay connected to the Czech lands, but they placed independence above economic security and as history now shows, it has worked out in their favor.  

Teaching in Bratislava

The capital of Slovakia, Bratislava, has a perfect-love relationship with the Danube river and the city is a strong arm, stone’s throw from both the Austrian and Hungarian borders. It is a wonderful city; surrounded by vineyards, with the Bratislava Castle and its UFO Tower hogging the vista limelight. There is a lot of teaching English work in the capital and the hourly rate of around 20 Euros when teaching for a language school is pretty good, considering the low cost of living here. Bratislava is also just an hour’s drive from Vienna.

Bratislava street view

While teaching work is available year-round, the optimal times for securing teaching contracts are at the start of the new school year, in September. 

The second main hiring season is in January, when schools sign up students for Spring term studies. There is also the option of teaching at summer camps and with this option, you will often find yourself teaching children and teenagers – out in the fresh air of the countryside – and earning around 200 Euros per week, with accommodation and food provided free of charge. 

The vast majority of teachers choose the option of teaching at language schools that link you up with students, provide resources for your lessons and taking a share of your hourly rate as a kind of finder’s fee. The highest wages are definitely to be found in the capital, but the salaries don’t drop off that much when you leave Bratislava and make a smaller city your teaching base. 

Most classes available are teaching adults and a typical working day will have you teaching mornings and late afternoons/early evenings, with the opportunity of enjoying fabulous long lunches 🙂 

It is important to note here that once you have become established and have built up good contacts, you can then begin acquiring private students who are often willing to pay anywhere up to 35 Euros per teaching hour. 

One last important point not to be overlooked here is that we have received some reports of language schools in Bratislava asking teachers to sign teaching contracts which forbid teachers from taking on private students – we think the logic behind this is that the school sees any private student as being their potential client – and if you are asked to sign such a contract, we recommend you politely decline or negotiate. 

Kosice street view

Teaching in Kosice

Kosice is the second largest city and sits pretty, close to the Hungarian border. It’s also not that far from Ukraine and if you do find yourself in Kosice then we do recommend making the trip over to Lviv in Ukraine, and we will cover this city in another article when we look at Ukraine teaching tips. Kosice is a student town – similar in many ways to Brno, in the Czech Republic – and there is a healthy English teaching scene happening here. Expect to earn around 15 Euros per hour and spend approx two thirds of the costs of Bratislava. 

Similarly as you would expect in other European countries, it is always best to look for work while once on the ground in Slovakia as schools rarely recruit from abroad and you will always find the best salaries and conditions when personally visiting schools. 

One of the first things you should do when touching down in Slovakia is to buy a local SIM card, which will demonstrate to the schools you apply for work with that you are indeed here and indeed serious about committing time to teaching English in the area. You can purchase a SIM card for 10 Euros and this will give you a mobile telephone number and 10 Euros worth of sms/calling credit. 

We always recommend emailing your CV/Resume with covering letter to schools and then following up with a follow-up call or personal visit. Always dress smartly and always try to negotiate the terms of any contract which you are given to sign. Contracts are usually signed for 1 year, unless you are just teaching for a few weeks at a summer camp, but can be broken with a couple of month’s notice. 

Please be honest and straight-up when stating how long you plan to be in the country for. You might feel a grudge in knowing that your school creams the top of your salary off every month to build up their business, but you must bear in mind that the school has worked hard to get to the stage where they are able to provide lessons and many schools are actually family-run. If for example you only plan to stick around for the Autumn semester then let them know in advance so they are prepared for their teacher numbers beginning at the start of the Spring semester.

Teaching in Presov

To avoid confusion, both in this article and the article we wrote about teaching english in the Czech Republic, we have chosen to omit the diacritics which form the essential characters of the Slovak language. So while we write ‘Presov’ here, it is actually written ‘Prešov’. Presov is positioned north of Kosice, in the east of Slovakia, and basks in the shadows of the High Tatra Mountains. Presov doesn’t have a huge expat scene by any means, but there is work here and the hourly rate resembles that which you find in Kosice.

Winter view of the city of Presov in Slovakia

Becoming legal to teach English in Slovakia is pretty much the exact same procedure as becoming legal to teach English in the Czech Republic, and you may feel free to read our Czech Republic article if you require that information. 

EU citizens can teach English in Slovakia without the need to apply for a work visa but if you are coming from outside the EU, you will need to jump through a few (relatively easy) hoops in order to set up shop here as a teacher. 

When you arrive, you will be provided with a 90-day Schengen visa and this will provide you with ample time to locate work, arrange your work visa and then begin teaching. Please remember that at tefl online pro we assist all our graduates with ongoing job guidance, advice and help, so if you have decided to teach in Slovakia and need support, please reach out and contact us. 

It is also worth mentioning here that while it is possible to take an Onsite TEFL course in Europe before you start the hunt for work, we don’t recommend this path. You will need the full three months to arrange your work permit, and by taking an onsite course in the country you will be teaching in, you eat into the first month of your 90-day limit. Yes, we do run Online and Combined international TEFL certification courses and yes, we are biased in the online versus onsite TEFL debate, but it logically stands to reason that in the first few months of your arrival that you will need all the free time you can lay your future teaching English hands on to get all your ducks in a row. 

Zilina castle in Slovakia

Teaching in Zilina

Zilina – Slovakia’s fourth largest city – is located in the north-west of the country, close to both the Czech Republic and Poland. It is an industrial town with a surprising amount of Neoclassical architecture and although some sections of the city were desecrated by the usual examples of Brutalesque Soviet-planned building projects, the majority of the city remains sweet-candy pleasant to the eye. Many language schools have set up shop here and the salaries are only slightly lower than what you can expect to find in the capital.

All that is required to teach English in Slovakia is an internationally recognized TEFL certificate from a reputable school. A college degree is sometimes preferred, but not mandatory. 

We definitely recommend obtaining the Trade License, which will enable you to directly invoice local companies and so provide you with the ability of being able to increase your earning potential. 

We would like to conclude this article with a note about Slovak students. Slovak students are very similar to Czech students, and if you have read our Czech Republic article, you will know that this means they are obsessed with learning grammar. This means that to keep your students happy, you should designate a portion of each lesson to grammar coverage. 

We find Slovaks to be a very warm and hospitable bunch and perhaps one of the attributes which distinguishes them most from their Czech counterparts is that this is a staunchly Catholic country and takes its religion as seriously as either Austria or Poland does. Plus of course with huge parts of the country taken up by high mountains, this has inevitably woven itself into the fabric of the Slovak psyche and if we were to compare Slovaks with another peoples, it would actually be with the Austrians.

Teaching in Nitra

Slovakia’s fifth largest city rests serenely at the foot of Zobor Mountain and nestled in the valley of the Nitra river. As with the other cities on this list, there is a healthy amount of teaching work available here and salaries resemble those you can expect to earn in Zilina. Its location in western Slovakia also makes for a great location for trips to either the mountains, or across the borders into Austria or the Czech Republic and when we visited Nitra we found the city to be full of extremely warm and welcoming locals.

View of the city of Nitra in Slovakia

Read more Teaching English Abroad Country Specifics articles on the tefl online pro Blog

tefl online pro run three internationally recognized TEFL courses:
The Fast-Track 60-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Professional 120-Hour International Online TEFL Certification Course
The Hybrid 140-Hour International Online/Onsite TEFL Certification Course

TEFL Online Pro is a fully accredited, award-winning provider of international Online TEFL/TESOL certification courses.

We have won the prestigious Teachers’ Choice Award four years in a row (2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022).

You can read verified TEFL Online Pro customer reviews on the leading independent TEFL reviews website, Trusted TEFL Reviews:

https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-online-pro-teachers-choice-award-winner-2022/

TEFL Online Pro video testimonials can be viewed on the Reviews page of our school website:

https://teflonlinepro.com/tefl-online-pro-reviews/

Our customers have also left verified reviews on the TEFL Online Pro official Facebook page, where we are currently rated 5 out of 5:

https://www.facebook.com/teflonlinepro/reviews

Where will you teach English?

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 Posted on April 19, 2019 by

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Everything you need to know about teaching English in Bolivia

Llama in Bolivian landscape

Everything you need to know about teaching English in Bolivia

 

Bolivia has been described as being akin to a beggar sitting on top of a pile of gold and teachers of English who choose to teach in Bolivia will experience a nation on the verge of getting up off that pile and possibly reaping its rewards. Bolivia often feels otherworldly and this article looks at what it is like teaching English in this often overlooked South American country.

Bolivia flag

Where is Bolivia?

Bolivia is a landlocked country in central South America with five countries tightly pressed up against its borders: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Peru. It was recently discovered that approx half the planet’s lithium deposits are locked away under Bolivia’s Uyuni salt flats and should the country decide to mine then it would catapult it to beyond its wildest, richest dreams. For now though, it remains poor but does have many options for teaching English in its cities and the experience of working here is priceless.

We found Bolivia to be the most affordable country when we backpacked South America last year in the summer holidays – Ecuador coming a close second – but it wasn’t only the low cost of living which had us raising our thumbs to Bolivia. 

The country is incredibly diverse in terms of its flora and fauna, as too are its microclimates and the uniquely different characteristics of its cities. As an example, the average August temperature in Santa Cruz (de la Sierra) is a balmy 28°C, whereas in La Paz it hovers at around 17°C only. 

Teacher’s salaries do reflect this low cost of living and the absolute maximum that we have heard any teacher earning here is just touching US$2,000 per month, working for a private international school. In reality though, as a teacher starting out, you should expect a more realistic ballpark figure of between US$500 – US$600 per month. 

At the time of writing this article, US$1 will give you 7 Bolivian Bolivianos, and for the grand total of 12 Bolivianos, you can enjoy a fried trout meal on the shores of Lake Titicaca: the highest navigable lake in the world. Incidentally, if you do make it up to the lake – bordering Peru – then we do recommend the 15km (or so) walk to where you can pay a guide to row you across the crystal clear lake to Isla de la Luna, where you can spend the night on the island the Incas believed was the birthplace of the sun. Be mindful though of the altitude and expect to feel lightheaded throughout your visit there.

Teaching in La Paz

La Paz is a good 6 or 7 hour’s rickety bus ride from Lake Titicaca and is very often the first city backpackers arrive to – coming from either Chile or Peru. It rests chaotically in a mountainous bowl and at an altitude of 3,640m above sea level takes some getting used to. As with all the cities on this list, work is there to be found and your students will more than likely be business professionals, so teaching hours will be adjusted around their work schedules. Be extra vigilant walking home late at night as robberies are not unheard of.

View of La Paz

A college degree isn’t mandatory for teaching English in Bolivia, but you must hold an internationally recognized TEFL certificate, issued by a reputable TEFL school. 

Your TEFL certificate will be required by the language schools you apply to as part of the application process as being unqualified just isn’t an option, and besides, it’s also required for the work visa process. We do understand that we are biased regarding the Online versus Onsite TEFL certification debate, but we have never heard of any school quizzing an applicant whether their TEFL certificate was earned online or onsite so we will leave it up to you to decide whether you prefer the affordability and flexibility of online study or whether you want to pay US$4,000+ for the full package onsite course experience. 

tefl online pro also run a combined international TEFL certification course btw if you feel that you would like to have the experience of having teaching practice hours as part of your TEFL training. 

Incidentally, what we felt we would love if we taught in Bolivia would be the location as being a crossroads between north and south South America, and also the unique experience of teaching in this country, which at times feels like it’s on another planet.

Santa Cruz de la Sierra main square church

Teaching in Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz has been in the international media recently as a result of its ambitious plans to be the financial center of central South America, although when we visited again since the last time we were there 10 years ago, the city was almost exactly the same and had retained its small town feel, despite being the largest city in the country. The only thing missing was the sloth lingering in the trees of the central square, which is there no longer. If you love a tropical climate and a super laidback vibe, this is the city for you to teach in.

Whilst finding teaching work isn’t a big hassle, getting legal to work can be – just as it can be in Brazil, as described in our Brazil article – and this hassle involves the procedure for when first entering the country, and then the bureaucratic hoops which both you and the school need to jump through once the wheels have been set in motion. 

Anyone wanting to teach English legally in Bolivia must enter the country on a Specific Purpose Visa. Easy right? Well, yes and no. It’s a little like a catch 22 situation. Most schools in Bolivia like to recruit from within the country; meaning they prefer to see you in person before offering you work. 

The issue with this is that to obtain the Specific Purpose Visa, you need a letter of invitation from the language school. Some of the larger schools will recruit from abroad, but before agreeing to sign up with one particular school, we recommend that you heavily research the school and working conditions. 

The Specific Purpose Visa is valid for 30 days upon entry into Bolivia and then you have within these 30 days to file all the necessary work permit papers. The way we found out some teachers get around this red tape is by entering Bolivia on a standard 30-day Tourist Visa, securing work within their allotted 30 days and then leaving across the border to Chile, where they apply for the Specific Purpose Visa at the Bolivian Consulate in Arica. US citizens though must apply for any type of Bolivian visa from their home state, so if you are coming from the USA then you will unfortunately need to arrange work in advance and apply directly for the Specific Purpose Visa before arrival. If you are from the UK however, you can just dandy yourself over to South America and everything’s chill. The third option for teaching English in Bolivia is working illegally, but we never recommend this option. 

Please remember that at tefl online pro we assist our graduates with ongoing job support, help and advice, so if you are thinking of making the move to Bolivia and need guidance then feel free to reach out and contact us.

Teaching in El Alto

El Alto, stretched out like a burgeoning waistline after a hearty lunch on the Altiplano highlands is Bolivia’s second largest city and developing fast. Home to South America’s highest airport, it used to be known as a brief stopping off point for the essential journey to La Paz, but has since begun raising its 4,000m above sea level nose up at its former older brother and is fast making a name for itself as a city to rival La Paz. There is as much work here as there is in the former and the wages and working conditions are identical.

Cable car over city of El Alto

Bolivia has had a long run of back luck in its history and is understandably jaded from these numerous experiences. 

The Spanish were among the first to invade and loot its precious metals mines, then Bolivia lost its access to the sea, and then more recently it has been international companies who have seen an easy target in this small South American country with a poor infrastructure and huge reserves of mineral deposits. 

The recent discovery of the world’s single largest concentration of lithium, under the surface of the Uyuni salt flats, has again thrown Bolivia into the spotlight, but this time the country is being coy: playing its cards close to its chest. International companies are falling over themselves to get a piece of the lithium mining action, but the current President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, is having none of it. 

The discovery of this treasure under the moon-like landscape of the salt flats has presented a political quagmire for the Bolivian government and they see three possible options: 1. Allow the international companies in to mine the lithium and risk being taken advantage of again. 2. Mine this vast recourse themselves with the limited technology they can muster up themselves. 3. Leave the lithium alone and preserve the natural beauty of the salt lake. 

Perhaps the biggest concern though should be given over to how Bolivia would deal with becoming one of the world’s wealthiest nations overnight and perhaps this is also one of the major reservations for the president. Should the lithium mining proceed, then Bolivia might just be the new China for teaching English abroad as a foreign language. 

Cochabamba city view

Teaching in Cochabamba

Cochabamba is a rough and ready city, bang smack in the middle of Bolivia and has the reputation of being the party city of Bolivia. Grouped together with La Paz and Santa Cruz, Cochabamba is a city in Bolivia where finding teaching work is somewhat of a doddle and its central location makes for a good base in the country. This is a beautiful city, with amazing views and the best viewpoint has to be from El Cristo de La Concordia, which looks out over the city in much the same way as Rio’s Christ statue does.

Besides teaching for language schools, we also recommend picking up private students when living and teaching in Bolivia as these pay on average US$10 – US$15 per hour. 

Teachers first arriving will inevitably need to begin teaching for a language school, but once you have developed contacts, you should definitely look to widening the net by teaching private students in addition to your own classes. 

We also recommend learning some Spanish before making the trip over because even though your students will speak some English, hardly anyone else does. Bolivian Spanish has its roots in Andalusian Spanish, but it also uses a lot of vocabulary and phrases which are not spoken anywhere else so prepare yourself for this upon arrival. On the other hand, Bolivians are regarded as having one of the clearest and most neutral of Spanish accents in Latin America, so this is a great country to start out in if you are concerned about understanding the locals. 

Teaching in Sucre

Sucre – termed ‘The White City’ because of its white buildings – is the constitutional capital of Bolivia and a beautiful city boasting charming, colonial architecture and immaculately manicured parks. We found Sucre to be the most expat-friendly of all the cities we visited in Bolivia and perhaps its relatively low altitude at 2,800m above sea level contributes to the general vibe of the city in that it doesn’t get too ridiculously hot or cold and this makes for a very pleasant living experience in a city with a healthy teaching industry. 

Church in Sucre, Bolivia

Read more Teaching English Abroad Country Specifics articles on the tefl online pro Blog

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 Posted on April 18, 2019 by

 Teaching English abroad country specifics

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