FAQs

Am I qualified to teach abroad?

• You don’t need ANY teaching experience to start your teach abroad adventure. As long as you have a degree in any subject, a TEFL certificate (which we’ll help you get), and are a native English-speaker – you’re good to go!

 

What is a TEFL?

• Good question, we get it a lot! TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Essentially, it’s a certificate that you must get if you want to teach abroad. To do so you complete a 120-hour online course (but is often a lot quicker) that involves studying and then taking a test at the end. In all honesty, it’s not difficult. You can have your notes by your side when you take the test and even another device to help. We offer a TEFL at a discounted price of £80 to help you get started.

 

Do I need to speak the local language?

• Absolutely not! Most of our teachers have no knowledge of the local language when they start. Either your students will be of a high enough quality that you can communicate with them easily, or you’ll have a local co-teacher to help. But we do love it when our teachers pick up as much of the local language as they can when they’re abroad. I mean, why not?

 

Will I get time off to travel?

• Of course! We know that most people who teach abroad are motivated by this, and see teaching as a way to travel whilst earning money. If you fall into this category, great! At state schools there are plenty of holidays in all of the countries we offer. Training centres and private schools can slightly different, but there are still holidays and the pay is better.

 

 

Will I get paid?

• We would NEVER expect you to work without being paid. All of our placements have salaries that allow you to live comfortable, travel, and in some cases save. Compared to the average local salary, foreign teachers earn a lot. In China for example, it’s possible to save over £6,000 a year. And with flights and visa cost reimbursed by the school, that leaves you very much in the green.

 

What will I be teaching?

• You’ll most likely be teaching English. But don’t worry, if you weren’t top of your English class back at school it’s not a problem. Just being a native speaker is enough. Your main goal is to improve students pronunciation and create excitement around the subject. There may be the possibility of teaching other classes such as PE or science, if you have a background in that area, but generally it’ll be English. The exception is if you are a native speaker of French, Italian, or Spanish.

 

Is housing provided?

• Housing is absolutely not something to worry about and has never been an issue for any of our teachers. Either your school will provide accommodation, usually free, or will help you find some. In China, some schools actually pay you a housing allowance on top of your salary, and it often covers most of the cost. Decent, we know!

 

Will I be the main teacher?

• Generally the answer to this question is yes. However, you will usually have a co-teacher or classroom assistant to help you. And if you don’t, it means that the school is confident in your ability. At the start you will most likely be eased in, in some cases, you may even shadow a more experienced teacher few a few weeks before you step into their shoes. But with the wide variety of schools and programs we offer, we can’t guarantee that this is the case.

 

I don’t want to be a teacher, can I still teach abroad?

• If teaching is not your long-term plan, that is absolutely fine. Only a small percentage of our teachers have gone into education as their career. What you do need to have however is a respect for the job, your students, and your colleagues. Teaching does not need to be your passion but you must put 110% into it when you are there.