top of page

If you've considered going down the path of teaching, I may be able to help you with that decision! There are many ways to be a teacher - what sounds the best to you: a classroom teacher? A private tutor? An English teacher for speakers of other languages? You can go deeper - a kindergarten teacher? A painting teacher? A woodworking teacher? You get the point, and no, you don't have to have the answer. But it's good to have an idea to get yourself the right training. 

I'm going to start with becoming an ESL teacher (English as a Second Language), because that is what I have experience in. I started teaching, a fresh newbie, at 28 years old. I moved to Thailand and teaching was the best job option for foreigners, at least starting out abroad. This is true for nearly any country you move to - English teachers are often high in demand and knowing English in addition to your native language can get you WAY ahead of the game.

 

To teach English in a school, it's strongly recommended (but not required) to get a certification, which usually takes 1-3 months of teacher training, comprising of a crash course in English grammar, classroom management and cross-cultural communication. There are a lot of acronyms starting out, so let's get them clear:

TEFL

TESL

TESOL

CELTA

DELTA

A TEFL course is generally a 120-hour intensive course to give you extremely useful tools for your new class of students. I am forever grateful I took mine. It also requires real classroom teaching experience, which me (and half my class) was deathly afraid of since we had never done anything remotely like this before. Let me tell you, after the first or second time, it's smooth sailing and you will adapt FAST. As long as you plan your activities and you can speak like a human being, it's really not that challenging. The key is being real with the students - not robotic. Use your personality and try to have fun, and the students will too. After a quick month of this training, certificate in hand, I was a far more employable and could expect your average teaching salary in the region.

That being said, I know a few teachers who didn't get this certification, and you know what? They could get a job too. The fact that they are a native English speaker is enough to get you hired in Thailand and a few other nearby countries. If you are confident you can wing it and don't want to spend the time getting a certification, then by all means, go for it. But I highly recommend the training. 

bottom of page