ninemsn

You have one of the world’s most desired skills and you didn’t even know it: you can speak English. Outside of the handful of native-English speaking countries on this planet, you’ll find that people are mad about learning English, and they’re willing to pay you money for it.

For travellers on an extended stay overseas, teaching English may be the ideal solution to the stack of bills adventures abroad amass. Many teaching jobs will not only sponsor hard-to-come-by visas, and provide a decent salary, they often throw in health insurance and free accommodation to boot. Alexis Drevikovsky, who taught in Puebla, Mexico, says her pay at an elite private school was “amazing”, and points out, “the Mexican staff at my school, working the same hours, earn half the foreigners’ salary.” Skye Morrison, a school boarding house assistant in Southern China, was put up in a fully furnished and paid-for apartment during her contract.

That expat lifestyle allows for a level of luxury that you would perhaps otherwise not be able to afford at home. In fact, Samuel Cowell says it’s for this reason that China is one of the world’s best places to teach English. “The salary you’ll receive here, in comparison to living costs, is incredible. I’ve discussed this with another English teacher who has taught in South Africa, across Europe, and in South America. He said hands down China offers the highest salaries in comparison to living costs, which means you can really live it up here.”

Teaching English is a great way to experience an extended stay in a country, and more often than not you won’t be working full-time. Three day weekends and long school breaks mean plenty of time to experience the culture you’re living in and travel. For Catherine Mah, an English teaching assistant in Logrono, Spain, “being so close to the rest of Europe and being able to travel” were the top perks of the job. That, and meeting her future husband — a local Spaniard.

Catherine also gives a word of advice: “decide before you start whether you’d rather teach kids, teenagers or adults,” and warns “working with kids can be very draining.” Samuel outright confesses he can’t stand kids anymore, while on the other hand Alexis nominates kids as the best part of her job. “I was working with year one and two of primary school and they adored me as much as I loved them. They were funny, respectful and asked questions that forced me to rethink what I knew about the English language and Australian culture.”

The question of whether teaching experience and qualifications matter varies from country to country. It almost definitely matters if you’re hoping to work for a bigger, more established school, such as an international school, or as part of a government program. And it’s with these that you’ll most likely receive the best conditions. Miriam Tyra Massen says that in Bali having a certificate in “TEFL, TESL or Celta course will increase your salary.” But in many countries the majority of schools will require little more than a passport proving you’re a native-English speaker.

And Samuel says that in China, not even that’s necessary. Just having a “white face” is qualification enough. But on the down side it means that non-white Australians should expect some level of discrimination. While a white-skinned German, Israeli or South African with a heavy accent can walk in and score a job with no problem, a Chinese Australian with perfect English may find themselves being knocked back, or at the very least forced to accept lower pay than their fairer complexion counterparts.

And while you will spend your working hours speaking English, being a teacher can actually prove to be an excellent opportunity to access a culture that other tourists are not afforded. Alexis comments, “Kids’ candid responses are a wonderful way to learn about a culture and a language.” And Christine Lee, who taught in Tokyo, Japan, also nominates “meeting the students” as a highlight of the job, “and hearing their strange and wonderful stories.”

Students and other teaching staff often become the first “local friends” of any foreign teacher. So while it may be tempting to stick to the comfortable expat bubble of your city, Catherine argues against it. “If you do that it’ll take you a lot longer to learn the language and you won’t get a true idea of the culture.” And she adds for those teaching in Spain, “try to get invited to a Christmas or New Year’s dinner at a traditional Spanish home. It’s one of the best times you’ll ever have.”

Choosing which country to teach English in is, of course, highly dependent on your interests and background. Professional teachers with experience and qualifications will receive more highly paid jobs, with better benefits, in more reputable institutions and with more stable working conditions. Whereas “casual teachers” often work cash-in-hand, technically illegally, with hours that vary week to week. On the upside being a casual teacher may mean more flexibility to start and quit as you like, and often the work is “easy”, with little outside of class preparation required.

Below we’ve listed a few of the top overseas destinations with established industries for teaching English as a foreign language:

Japan

While wages have been steadily decreasing for English teachers in Japan, the country remains popular for adventure-seeking Aussies. Warning: the “McDonalds” style working conditions of the major schools which Christine claims, “churn out lessons for mass consumption” may not be to everyone’s taste. The Japanese government initiative JET is one of the most popular ways to land a job, and other big schools include AEON and ECC. There are also many recruiters for private conversation schools.

South Korea

South Korea is often proving a more attractive alternative when compared to the expensive living costs of nearby Japan. The perpetually unmet demand for English teachers in South Korea has led to high wages and great benefits, with fun, cosmopolitan cities just some of the draw-cards. But like Japan, get set to endure some cold winters. Miriam, who taught at the Andong National University in 2006 gives some suggestions for travellers hoping to teach English in South Korea: “research the schools very carefully. There are many, so ask lots of questions before committing.”

China

With China’s economy on a rocket-like rise, so too is the nation’s thirst to speak English. The quality of teaching environments varies greatly here: from first class international schools to dodgy private institutions that write up fake bios for their teachers. Head to the job sections of expat sites like City Weekend, or The Beijinger for listings of literally thousands of teaching jobs available across the country. Wall Street English and English First are the two most reputable schools.

Mexico

As the second-largest Latin American country (Brazil is the largest) and neighbouring country to the United States, it’s not surprising to hear that Mexico has a huge demand for English teachers. However, on the whole Mexico does not offer the kind of high wages one can expect in Asia, and it’s also difficult to land a job pre-arrival. That said, with more and more Australians making long trips through Latin America, facing dwindling bank accounts, it may be your only alternative. Argentina and Brazil are also popular destinations in the region to teach English.

Middle East

Teaching jobs in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates offer salaries that are unrivalled — although, like Japan, they peaked a few years ago. Teaching packages often include accommodation and sometimes even annual return flights to your home country. That said, applicants are expected to come armed with experience and qualifications. Start your job search at TeachMideast.

Russia

Europe is not the easiest place for Australians to find English teaching jobs. Many schools will give preference to a British applicant in order to avoid the red tape of visa sponsorship. So in order to teach in Europe it may be necessary to head East — way East — into the land of snowfields, potatoes and vodka: Russia. BKC International and English First are two of the bigger schools in the country.

ninemsn, June 2011.

Image (cc) yewenyi