Posts Tagged ‘teaching’

Teach English Abroad & See the World
Monday, February 6th, 2012

Do you want to spend six months or a year living and traveling abroad, but don’t have $10,000 or $20,000 to fund such an adventure?

Would you like to live as a local in Tokyo, Rome or Buenos Aires and get paid?

Do you dream of walking to work every day along the cobblestone streets of Prague or Florence, or through the colorful street markets of Bangkok or Saigon?

Do you want the satisfaction of performing a valuable public service while traveling the world and experiencing the adventure of a lifetime?

If the answer to any of these questions is “yes,” then teaching English abroad could be right for you.

From Seoul and Shanghai to Milan and Istanbul, hundreds of millions of people study English, creating an unprecedented demand for more than 250,000 English instructors. While many confront the most challenging job market in generations, gaining an internationally recognized TEFL certification (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) provides both viable and accessible job opportunities as well as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the world while gaining invaluable work experience.

Teaching abroad allows you to experience a foreign country as a local where you can become an integral part of the community, interact with local citizens on a daily basis and build friendships that will last a lifetime.

In addition, it provides a perfect vehicle for the international travel that you seek. For example, as an English teacher in Czech Republic such great destinations as Germany, Hungary, Austria, and Poland will be within easy reach. Or consider teaching in Vietnam, and you could easily find yourself taking holidays in China, Thailand, or perhaps among the entrancing ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Where Can I Teach?

A native English-speaker with a university degree and a TEFL Certification will have the potential to teach English professionally in up to 100 countries around the world from Latin America and Europe to the Middle East and Asia. Even without a BA, you can still teach in roughly half of the countries of the world including Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, China, and Spain, as well as many countries in Latin America and Eastern Europe.

How Much Money Can I Make?

In most countries, particularly in Europe and Latin America, most first-time English teachers make enough to pay their bills and live comfortably with enough money to sight-see, travel and enjoy the country where they live and work. For those looking to make extra money, consider Asia, where English teachers typically save 30%-50% of their salary after expenses and in China and Korea, schools typically provide teachers with airfare and free housing. The most lucrative destination is typically South Korea where a first-time English teacher can save $10,000 – $15,000 a year and that can easily fund 3-6 months of travel in Asia or anywhere else!

The first step is to just be bold enough to make a call to a TEFL school and a dream of living abroad can come true.

About the author:
Bruce Jones is founder of International TEFL Academy based out of Chicago, IL, and was a sponsor of our Chicago event. He started his TEFL certification school after his 2-year, 20 country journey backpacking around the world from 2001-2003. His vision was to help inspire and assist others to live abroad and see the world. You can see his journey on his personal website MyWorldTour.

Teaching Traveling: Inspiring Teachers to Travel
Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

“Why should we care if teachers follow their travel dreams or not? Here’s one reason: if we teachers are telling students they can and should follow their dreams… shouldn’t WE do what it takes to follow our own travel dreams as well?”

Lillie MarshallWise words from our MPG Boston Host Lillie Marshall, who followed her dream and took a year-long Leave of Absence to travel around the world after 6 years of teaching in Boston Public Schools. But that dream almost didn’t see the light of day.

“Part of what nearly stopped me from taking a Travel Leave of Absence from my job as a public school teacher was guilt. ‘What will my students do without me?’ I wondered, worry gnawing at my stomach. ‘How can you do this to us?!’ wailed my coworkers when they found out about my impending Leave of Absence. ‘Do you realize how much you leaving will screw everything up?’

Thank heaven I didn’t cave into this guilt, because the reality is: after I left, the world as we knew it at my job did NOT end. In fact, I would assert that the state of Boston Public Schools is now BETTER since my Travel Leave.”

Lillie chronicled her adventures on AroundTheWorldL and is now inspiring and assisting more teachers to travel through her new site, Teaching Traveling. Why?

1. Happiness leads to effectiveness. First and foremost, a fulfilled, happy staff is the key to an energetic, powerfully effective organization. Going into my sixth year of teaching, I was getting tired, falling into a rut, and lacking sparkle. But now, after a year away, I return to Boston Public Schools with such renewed passion for teaching! And the students and my coworkers now appreciate that.

2. Have faith in humans!The students who I left on my year-long Leave of Absence didn’t have me as an English teacher, but they ended up having a lot of other great teachers that year. If you are being pressured not to leave because of the threat that ‘everything will fall apart,’ remind folks of the reality: humans have the ability to rise to a challenge. Your workplace WILL go on, and in fact, the new configuration might even cause a positive breakthrough for the whole organization!

3. If you decide to return to your workplace after a Travel Leave, what an asset you will be! Now that I’m back in BPS, I have a wealth of new curriculum from working with students in West Africa and beyond, I have a ton of contacts for teachers wanting guest contributors to their lessons and projects, and I have a veritable trove of resources for educators wishing to follow their own travel dreams. What would BPS rather have: 7 years of a tired, un-inspired teacher who never once took time to fulfill her own life goals by taking the risk of a Leave, or a zest-filled, world-traveling dynamo, freshly back from Around the World?

Teaching TravelingTeaching Traveling profiles teachers who have traveled, shows how they have done it, and shares how the experience has benefited them. You also meet travelers who have decided to teach – many of whom are teaching English overseas.

Lillie will also be hosting a night of travel inspiration for teachers and those who have dreams of teaching abroad.

During this event, you can connect with aspiring and expert Teacher-Travelers as well as representatives from related organizations. All types of Teacher-Travel will be discussed – from short-term to long term and educational to “non-educational.” You can also learn secrets of cheap travel from a diverse, interactive panel and speakers will discuss balancing travel with raising kids, dealing with a small bank account, and having no time.

EVENT DETAILS
Teaching Traveling Inspiration Night in Boston
Thursday, March 31 – 6:30-8:30pm
Elephant and Castle Restaurant, Lower Level
161 Devonshire Street – Boston, MA 02110
For more information and to RSVP

Career Break Guide Table of Contents

Meet Plan Go