Teaching English abroad is one of the most amazing travel experiences. I always recommend taking this approach into consideration when someone is pondering the idea of long-term travel. Teaching ESL allows you to connect with the local community in a way that is much different than being just a traveler. You are also able to make money for your travels while giving back, and you truly get to experience life as a local.

For a year I had the opportunity to teach Business ESL in the northern part of Chile in the coastal city of Iquique and in the Middle of the Atacama Desert. During this time, I was able to meet some of the most amazing people, and build friendships with many who I still keep in touch with today – friends who I will always consider a part of my extended family.

When I decided to move away and told my friends, family, and co-workers the questions were endless. Where are you going? Isn’t that dangerous? How long will you stay? How did you find your position? Where will you live? and the list goes on and on. Now that I have returned, I find that the questions are still endless, and many are interested in how they too can sustain their travels through teaching abroad.

Many who decide to teach English abroad partner with the numerous companies out there that specialize in placing ESL teachers with schools to organize their travels and employment. Whereas that may be the best option for many, I took a non-traditional approach. I conducted my own research, solicited my resume, contacted language institutes in the areas of my choice, negotiated my employment, and arranged all of my travel. Although the approach you take all depends on what you are comfortable with, I always like to also let hopeful teachers and travelers know that it can be done on your own as well with a little bit of planning.

Planning can seem a bit overwhelming when you are not quite sure where to begin. I had no specific plan when I first made my decision to move and teach. Oddly enough, I started answering many questions for myself that people ask me today.

How did you decide to incorporate teaching ESL during your travels?
I actually made my decision to start traveling about a year prior to my departure. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to save the amount of money some recommend you save for an around the world trip, so I started brainstorming on how I could sustain living abroad and traveling. I also knew that I wanted my own personal travel experience to be about learning and connecting with the culture where I would be living as opposed to traveling to many various places. So, at this point, I had decided that I would go on a volunteer mission or to teach English.

How did you get certified to teach ESL?
Once I decided that I would consider teaching, I thought it only appropriate for both myself and to my future students for me to ensure that I would enjoy teaching, and that I would be able to offer them the level of education that they would be paying for. Therefore, I started volunteering with my local literacy council as an English as a Second Language tutor. I then eventually started assisting with ESL classes, and because of my volunteer service with them, they provided my training for my ESL certification. I continued volunteering with them as a certified ESL teacher until my departure to teach ESL in Chile.

How did you decide where to teach?
One of my personal goals for my trip was to become fluent in another language. Being from Texas, the most beneficial language for me to learn was Spanish. I had already traveled through most of Central America, so I narrowed down my possible countries to teach in to anywhere in South America or Spain. Then there were other things I took into consideration such as safety, cost of living, and culture. I have always had a love for Latin culture, so South America was really what kept tugging at my heart strings. As I researched, Chile was known to be the most economically stable and safest South American country, so my decision was made. To Chile I was going! My advice to those in the process of choosing where you will teach is to really think about what interests you and what your goals of the trip are. If you plan on trying to save money so you can continue traveling, it is wise to think about the cost of living and traveling in some areas in comparison to others.

What were some of the frustration you encountered? How did you cope with them?
The biggest frustration initially was not speaking the language and adjusting to the pace of life. Coming from corporate America where the sense of urgency is a bit ridiculous to a country where a favorite word is mañana, and being on time is not always important, it took a bit of adjusting.

What were some of the rewards?
The rewards were endless. The relationships, the thankfulness of the students – I taught mainly adults that were learning to improve their career so they were always eager and motivated, the realization of the connections one can make with someone so different than themselves, and most of all the openness I received from all that I met, and how I will always have a home away from home in the country where a gave a piece of myself.

How did you incorporate your business skills to this new experience?
I was able to incorporate my business skills in the initial process of this experience by using my Human Resources and recruiting background to help acquire my position. Once I arrived and got started there are many aspects that you don’t realize where business skills are definitely transferrable. Presentation, communication, organizational, team building, and planning skills are among the some of the most prominent.

Would you recommend teaching ESL to everyone or is it for a particular type of person?
Teaching may not be everyone. If you are looking to do a lot of traveling on your venture, then teaching may not be the option for you as you will in fact be working, and your freedom is a bit more limited. Also teaching children and adults are completely different experiences. If you do not have a teaching or mentoring background, I would highly recommend doing some volunteer work in your local community with adults or children to see if this would be the best choice for you.

Any advice?
One thing to remember is that this is an adventure and an experience. Try not to become too overwhelmed with things not going how you planned or how you thought they would be. In a foreign country, there will be obstacles and surprises. Prepare yourself to have patience and flexibility.

Alisha Robertson is an avid traveler passionate about education involving social entrepreneurship, long term travel, volunteerism, and helping others learn about other cultures. She has recently launched Small World Pursuits – an educational blog about broadening horizons, traveling and working abroad, volunteering, and connecting with cultures from around the world. To keep up with her ventures and planning, you can also follow her on twitter @alishaamr. She will also serve as co-host for Meet, Plan, Go! in Dallas.

STEPPING STONE

• Good for the novice traveler
• Group leader to translate and answer questions
• Experience all the new things within the ‘safety’ of a group
• Used it as a ‘test run’ for extended travel

SAFETY

• Comfort level varies for different countries
• Unsure of safety as a woman traveling alone
• Language barriers also vary country to country
• Transportation issues

BREAK UP EXTENDED TRAVEL

• Variety – solo, travel with friends & group tours
• Travel is work!
• Nice break from booking transportation & lodging
• Offered a ‘vacation’ type experience
• Also offers a level of independence
• May provide future travel partners

CULTURAL EXPERIENCE

• Access to cultural activities you may not have on your own
• Experience life like the locals, including transportation and staying with families
• If you want to understand a country and it’s people, ride with them
• You aren’t on the outside looking in
• Times when you have to have a guide (ie, Galapagos)

NO TRAVEL PARTNERS

• Some experiences you don’t want to do on your own
• Even if you don’t have a travel partner doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the experience
• Make new friends
• Have cultural experiences within your own group

TIPS

• When booking, think about what you want to get out of the experience
• Comfort level/Age range
• If you are solo, try to arrange an airport transfer when possible
• While on trip, be patient with new cultures
• Also be patient with your group members

Some of the destinations we’ve used small group tours include
Peru | Galapagos Islands | Morocco | Brazil | Cambodia | Vietnam | Egypt

Recommended Tour Operator

Michael and I traveled to Thailand as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.

Of all the places we would visit on this trip, the last place I thought Michael would be able to relate to the most was a small Muslim Village in Thailand.  But surprisingly, he eased right into sleeping on a mattress on a floor under mosquito netting with roosters crowing at 2am, speaking a completely different language from anyone else around us, and feeding baby goats twice a day.  But he easily compared it to consulting – traveling endlessly from one hotel to the next, needing to learn a new dialect or corporate speak, and understanding a new corporate environment and supporting it.  Makes perfect sense.

Our stay in Tung Nang Dam was thanks to Andaman Discoveries – an offshoot of the North Andaman Tsunami Relief (NATR) organization.  As their website states “we started by doing relief projects FOR community members, then we progressed to development projects WITH community members, now we are assisting with projects led BY community members.”

We were to stay four days/three nights in this small Muslim village, which consisted of just 35 homes and a population of 115.  Even though Tung Nang Dam is protected by mangroves, (hence you can only access it by boat), and no homes or lives were lost during the tsunami, the fishermen lost their boats and livelihood and many fish farms were damaged beyond repair.  And as part of the evolution of NATR “villagers decided that community-based tourism would allow them to generate additional income and support the community of their traditions, culture and lifestyle.  Community-based tourism could fit into their lives, and not force them to sacrifice their traditional lifestyles for the sake of tourists.”

Our host, P’Noi, and her family were the perfect hosts for this experience.  P’Noi was part of the NATR seven-month vocational training program that focused on using tourism as a tool for community development; cultural, environmental and adventure-based guiding methods; first aid and safety training; English language and computer skills; small business management and entrepreneurial training; and hospitality and travel planning skills.

One of P’Noi’s projects was an orchid conservation farm.  Orchids in Tung Nang Dam are becoming increasingly rare, as they are popular decorations for homes and restaurants.  Over-harvesting by mainland people has become a big problem in the jungles of the village.  P’Noi has developed a program of incubating orchid cuttings on her farm and transplanting them to the jungle once they are mature.  In addition, volunteers add their names, hometowns and date of planting on a plaque next to the orchid in hopes of dissuading people from cutting them.  We did our part by planting cuttings in coconut planters with hopes of them returning to the jungle in the future.  We also went on a jungle trek to fertilize those orchids that have been returned.

P’Noi and her family also had a goat farm, so every afternoon we would help shepherd them into their homes for the night as well as feeding the baby goats by bottle.  Michael quickly took to this chore and had a few favorite kids that would nip at his feet for more.  Another cultural activity that P’Noi shared with us was cooking.  She shared with us how to make the Thai equivalent of a small pancake, guided us in cooking a seafood lunch, and even grilled oysters on a fire with her brothers.

Of course the activities were just a side to the actual experience of living within a completely different environment, learning to communicate in broken Thai and sign language, and placing ourselves out of our comfort zone.  But as much as we struggled in this new environment, the fact that these people, who come from a very shy culture and have to learn much more in order to accommodate us, opened up their homes and lives to us was extremely humbling.

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