I first got interested in teaching English overseas when I got sick of my 9-5 job in Australia, and wanted something more from life. I didn't want to waste away behind a desk doing stuff which didn't feel meaningful at all. I did some research and found a good, cheap online TEFL school.
(If you want to skip my adventures and get straight to the info about how to teach English abroad, scroll straight to the bottom of the article)
After that I set off into the Middle East, with my first stop being Egypt. Although Egypt had some amazing ancient artifacts, Cairo was the ugliest, most stressful city I had (and still now 3 years later) ever been to. The only nice part of the city were the pyramids. Overall it is worth going to Egypt and you can check out the cheap but good quality accommodation options for Egypt here (check out the ratings on the left)
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| Flickr: Ed Yourdon |
After Egypt I crossed the port to Jordan - which was slightly nicer looking but had truly amazing people - in fact the people I met there and Syria I have considered the most warmest unbelievably selfless people I have ever met. If you are in the region I truly recommend visiting Petra - it's one of the most amazing, most preserved Ancient Cities that exist - it's not just the
photo below - it's much more - it really is an entire city still preserved (by the way, I recommend keeping away from a Hostel called Valentine's Inn - the owners are slightly/completely insane).
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| Flikr betta design |
It is also in Jordan (in the capital Amman) where I stayed for a month and taught English to Palestinian and Iraqi refugee children (who had to leave their homes and families in Iraq due to the American military's invasion and later occupation for oil). It was amazing how well behaved and eager to learn these kids were - despite having lost so much.
After that I traveled through Syria, Israel, and beautiful Turkey - Istanbul - which is still my favourite city (along with Belgrade). It's quiet easy to get a job in Istanbul as a native English speaker - there are many language schools. Make sure you have your copy of your TEFL certificate and don't go for the first offer, see which one pays best - know that the schools charge the students a small fortune to have lessons with you (a native English speaker "wow") - so make sure you are getting your fair share of it. The schools will also help you get your visa for working. By the way, if you are enjoying the article, why not join us on facebook and be kept up to date with all the new posts?
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| Flickr modenadude |
Belgrade:
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| Flickr yovanson |
I love the people, I love the culture - most of all I love the city. So amazing, this photo doesn't do it justice.
After Istanbul I tried my luck teaching English in Greece - my dream was to teach an beautiful Greek Island - to wake up each morning to this - the Godly Greek Island of Zakynthos:
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| Flickr tswestendorp |
Cheap accommodation options for Zakynthos can be found here.
Unfortunately I couldn't stay long enough to check out my options because I had to fly to Germany to meet a very good friend of mine. Arriving in Berlin, I found yet another city I fell in love with - similar to my home city of Melbourne - but less uptight and more liberal - a lot more.
I found out that it would be easy to teach English in Germany - especially to business people - and this interested me a lot, but I still had more exploring to do and wasn't yet ready to settle. After meeting my friend, we drove to Amsterdam (below) where I got stoned beyond what anyone should. Silly tourist. Also went to the beautiful Czech Republic (the castle below) and some village in Poland.
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| Flickr Cleonx |
After that I went to Copenhagen for a meditation retreat which was nice and the city is nice - as in - it's well planned and every one rides a bicycle so the air is incredibly clean for a city - but what it's missing is a sense of life. I really felt like it had a sense of deadness - nothing really happening in that place. If for some reason you decide you want to stay and teach English there - I have found out that it's not super hard - you don't need to be a qualified English teacher like in many Western European countries - you just need a TEFL certificate and university degree. The pay is excellent - one of the highest rates in the world. But the culture feels kind of cold, robotic, and dead. A place that is over-civilised - within an inch of its existence. If you are just interested in making some cash, it's a good option.
After Copenhagen I went to Cologne for something called the Path of Love (a spiritual retreat) which was a really nice city, and then back to Istanbul, before working in a hostel for 6 months in Varna (Bulgaria) before settling in Sofia where I taught English for a few years.
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| Flickr sashomasho |
Varna and Golden Sands - party / sin cities - full of young Western Europeans drinking loads of cheap alcohol and going crazy - especially at this crazy shagfest of a hostel where I worked for 6 months. If you make it there I can personally recommend the wildest hostel in the region.
I have also been to Beijing twice (after the trip outlined above) and I know of foreigners there who teach English to extremely rich business people for 45 euros per hour - truly enough to live like a King.By the way I recommend the Drum Tower Hostel if you are planning on staying in Beijing - it's amazing.
TEFL Instructions
If you are thinking about teaching English abroad I really recommend it. I couldn't recommend it more highly. You learn so much not just about the culture but about yourself also. It's also an amazing option if you want to travel and live long term and I wouldn't be able to live overseas without it.
As you can see there are many options for where you can teach English.The possibilities are nearly endless - but make sure you get your TEFL certificate first. There are many schools you can choose from, but I choose one called i-to-i because I could do it online and it was affordable. They also offer placements where they can find jobs for you if you don't want to do it yourself.
As you can see there are many options for where you can teach English.The possibilities are nearly endless - but make sure you get your TEFL certificate first. There are many schools you can choose from, but I choose one called i-to-i because I could do it online and it was affordable. They also offer placements where they can find jobs for you if you don't want to do it yourself.
You should search around for the best TEFL course for yourself, but for me, I was grateful to find this link Earn money teaching English abroad - i-to-i paid teaching jobs
.
Also, I wanted to mention that occasionally I send out a
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