I'm considering applying for EPIK next year to test the waters of teaching English in a foreign country and to see if it's a career I want to dedicate myself to.

I have a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing but understand I would also need a TEFL certificate in addition to this.

My conundrum is what course to choose, I'm mainly torn between TEFL.org and TEFLFullcircle (the latter because its cheaper).
I've done my research and know that TEFL certificates are a tick box, but I'm not sure if EPIK care which is the better qualification or which of the two are reliable options. If there's a better option than these I'd appreciate suggestions.

I'm also considering CELTA, however I don't want to invest that kind of money and time for what might not even be a career I actually enjoy in practice and as I have a job I can't just drop without another option.

I’ve been doing some research on potentially teaching in Thailand (Bangkok specifically) when the school year starts in May 2025.

But I keep on reading that the pay is lacking. From what I’ve seen, I would need 60k baht per month at the minimum to have a cozy lifestyle there and hopefully save some cash. I have a Bachelor’s in Education, 4 years of teaching experience (2 of which I was an English teacher), and a teaching license. Would these job credentials open up opportunities that are in the 60-80k baht range or is it paltry all around unless you manage to secure a position at an accredited international school?

Hi all, so I finally decided to do the online CELTA with IH Bangkok but I'm torn on whether I should do the full-time or part-time course.

Initially I thought I'd do the full time one as I teach in the evenings on weekdays and only need to reschedule a month's worth of lessons, but seeing how everyone who's done it says it's pretty labour-intensive got me second guessing my decision. I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to juggle both the coursework and my lessons, since lessons are DAILY.

The only downside to part-time would be the length of the course and I'd have to reschedule 2 of my students classes for 2.5 months rather than just one.

What do you all think?

I have a degree and an online TEFL 120 hour certificate but no teaching expeirence. (Not sure how legit an online certificate is). I want to teach in Japan but I’ve heard it’s very competitive. I’ve had one interview and didn’t get it and now I have two interviews coming up that I’m nervous for. However I’m wondering if the weakness of the yen is making Japan less appealing and will result in less competition. I have a good work ethic and I’ve taught kids before (just not taught English) but I have extremely low self esteem. Any feedback, advice or observations welcome. Thanks.

I've been doing TEFL in Spain and and I think I have reached my point of no return. And would love an opinion.

I have been doing this for a while and early years always overwhelmed me. I have asd do sometimes the sensory overload of ages 9 and under overwhelm me.

I've got loads of experience doing exam prep and A2 to c2 classes

I've started this job in October and I feel like it's dominating my life. In leaving to go to work at 11.45 and returning home at 21.30 but I'm only doing 5-6 hours everyday so I'm only earning just over €1000 a month.

The evening classes I'm fine with by we have school classes during the day (it's extracurricular) and I feel totally overwhelmed as the behaviour is so bad. I've been close to having a sensory meltdown multiple times already.

On top the school is paying for a part time celta which was the main reason I came here.

But the work load means I need to wake up early do CELTA work plan my classes do all my marking then I head out at 11.45 and don't get home until 21.30 Monday to Friday.

I feel like it's going to be hard to maintain the friendships and relationships with this schedule.

Luckily I have around 7k of savings so I thought about quitting signing up to a course in another area such as web development or UX/UI design as it feels like TEFL is going downhill in Spain.

I would love to hear an opinion on this if anyone else has done something similar.

Hi all, I used to teach English abroad and even got an undergraduate degree in linguistics & TESOL and a CELTA. I tried to transition to becoming a secondary/high-school teacher - mainly to make more money - by doing a PGCE/QTS back in the UK but will most likely be dropping out as it's not for me.

It's been a few years since I've done TEFL - what is the industry like these days? I remember China used to be good but the government clamped down on TEFL pretty hard there. I guess I'm now at a loss and just considering my future options.

What are the go-to countries for TEFL? What are some good steps up from a CELTA and where could they land me?

So right now, I'm an English teacher in Spain, Madrid. I've managed to work up to (close to) 20 hours a week, €14-15 hourly and I'm just making ends meet at the moment (which is sort of, as I understand it how yhe whole teacher-in-spain trajectory goes haha). And I've been pretty frugal as much as I can. I eat simply most of the time, and it's lucky groceries are cheap.

Anyways, despite this I really love living here. I love that it's just chilled vibes, and the quality of life is much better, imo, than in my home country. And I want to stay here.

Something I am worried about though, is the fact that from May to September, there's a long school break, and nobody has classes then. I survived it the first time round (came with a bunch of savings), but honestly, really just about. And I had some help too.

Now that I'm just making ends meet, I wouldn't survive if I had to survive another 4 months without work. It's crazy! Also, Im only an A2 in Spanish, so I can't do like a waiter job or any other type of job other than teaching right now.

Do you guys have any advice ? How have you survived ? Do you think my best bet will be to get myself to a Spanish B1 level and then try and score a non-teaching job for those barren months? I know there are summer camps but they only last a month right?

Idk if my googlefu is exceedingly weak, or if everything is just hidden behind a Thai script wall and the Moe site not loading, but does anyone have the school start date for May 2025, please? I'm trying to plan my move and associated moving parts.

I'm an American with an MA in English and a CELTA. I've taught at a university in Tokyo for Westgate, and I taught TOEFL classes for Kaplan. I've also taught other ESL classes on and off, along with other kinds of work, in the past.

I took a break from work because my partner was seriously ill. Now that she's better, we're planning on moving abroad for a while, maybe to China. We're aiming to move in 2-4 years.

I was wondering, is it worth getting another MA, in ESL/TOEFL specifically, or maybe even a PhD, before entering the job market abroad? I'm not currently working, because I was taking care of my wife, and I'm looking to enter the job market again.

I looked around, but most info in this subreddit is pre-COVID.

I'm an American who holds dual Polish citizenship and speaks decent Polish, as well as holding 2 (non-education) bachelors degrees and an advanced degree (also not education).

I'm interested in TEFL in Poland, but most info in this sub is either outdated or about the process of getting work permits or such.

For those who teach in Poland - can you tell me more about the job, the pay, other TEFL jobs you've seen, etc...?

Hey all. I’m sort of at a cross roads right now trying to decide what i want to do with my life :,) I’m an American, 24f, have my bachelors degree in communication. I want to teach abroad and i also just want to be a teacher in general but i have to go back to school for it. A lot of states in the us offer alternate route programs so it wouldn’t take me too long to get certified. My question is, do i move out of hometown and to a city and start my teaching career here in the states OR do i teach abroad for a year or two ( get my celta ) and then come back and start my teaching career. Id like to go to europe for a year or two. I know not the most financially secure or visa wise, but there’s some programs in Spain i think would be doable. Obviously there’s no right answer here but any life advice on this subject would be appreciated. My partner wants to move to philly and start our careers there and then eventually go to Europe once we’re a bit older. I’m just worried that if i wait to go and teach English it’ll become more complicated once I’m older. I have older parents and i worry that i might have to take care of them and I’ll never get the opportunity. Thanks! Pls be kind ❤️

I’ve moved to Vietnam to teach mainly teenagers and university students. I’ve noticed pronunciation seems to be a difficult point for many Vietnamese English speakers/learners. Any tips / activities / lesson plans for helping them?

This is a silly vent post, apologies in advance.

That said, the title is accurate. I've been working at a Chinese public school since September, after getting the CELTA in February. But man, the environments are so damn different, and in the course of adjusting, I feel like I've become a worse teacher in general. A couple of issues come into play here:

1. Complete lack of student motivation and interest- I kinda get this (it's an ungraded class for them in a school system that really emphasizes graded lessons), but man, it's still something I haven't managed to figure out. I've tried to incorporate their interests (basketball and whatnot), but that- at best- just sends them into excited fits for a while that makes them more difficult to teach. Most of the time, though, they just want to talk to each other in class (again, not paying attention at all). It's made me wonder why I should put any real effort into lesson plans if it's not going to work.

2. Very few classroom activities that work- most of the resources/ideas I find online for ESL games assume small groups or pairs. However, I've found out that the extremely teacher-centric model of the Chinese public school system makes these concepts nearly as foreign to them as English itself. At a certain point, I kinda gave up. The class setup (35+ desks in a cramped room, all facing forward) really doesn't help; there's barely any room to do anything besides stand up or walk to the front of the board. The few activities I CAN do with the students (Dictionary, board races, flashcard duels) are often resisted, most don't want to come up unless they're pressured (which, to be fair, I understand! Peer perception in middle school is a real challenge.)

3. Lack of any real curriculum or guidance on what to teach- the Chinese teachers do the 'real teaching' from the textbook, so most of the stuff that would work in the classroom is already taken. If I talk to their Chinese teachers, they ask me to make them talk about the topic that week, but since getting them talking is difficult for the previously-mentioned reasons, that's not much. I'm often thrown for a loop in what to do for a lesson, so I've ended up just reviewing some vocab words from their book and calling it a day.

4. No other teachers to work with/get advice from- there's only one other foreign teacher at my school, who's a) got a pretty dour attitude towards the job and students, and b) has blown off my requests to observe his classes (he teaches high school and says it's too different from middle school).

All of this, and the general sense of indifference from everyone, makes me worried I've become demoralized and a worse teacher. Now, I should clarify- I know this is par for the course at many public school jobs. I also know very well that I need to take charge of my learning/improving myself. Blaming others will only make things worse. But I have found it's way too easy an environment to just stop trying in- which doesn't help anybody.

I suppose it's a good thing that the school lost its funding and had to end my contract early. I'll find a better position; I just have to make it to January.

Hello, for a while now I’ve been so interested in being an English Teacher in another country and have been research and I know about the salary, requirements and such. But what else should I know and do while I’m young. (Freshman High school) I know it may be weird talking about it now but I’ve must been so drawn towards Kazakhstan I love completely new countries, Hiking, and my Cousin was doing the same thing in Taiwan and quite a bit of my bloodline were teachers. Another reason why I’ve made this post is I’ve Done some research on the salary and an apartment is a super expensive from what I’ve researched. Note: My desired city is Almaty and I am from the US. I do know about TEFL certificate, College Degrees, Learning the Kazakh and Russian Language also.

I will be turning in my EPík application soon. I wish I had known about EPík this summer so I could have started getting my application together wayyyyy earlier. But I didn’t even really think about this career option until about a month ago. Because of this my application will be turned in pretty late in the game. But honestly, waiting until fall intake is too long of a wait. In the EPík website it says that applications continue through January. I also have some prior teaching experience. Just worried that I will get a rural location and I’m wondering if anyone has experience applying later in the game. I’m not going to put Seoul on my application I honestly just want somewhere that’s at least a little bit urban. Like medium sized city.

Just wondering if I still have a change at getting in and if I have a change of not getting a super rural location?

I applied for some hagwons and there were still many looking for teacher so I imagine that public schools would also be looking for teachers as well?

Would I have a better chance of applying through GEPIK? Or directly to public schools?

Hi everyone! Just wanted to get some opinions from people if they have taught TEFL in either Japan or South Korea and what they like and dislike about either.

I’ve visited both previously on holidays and I like both and I’m struggling to decide which to go for

Thanks!

Hi anyone know salary range for my experience

• psychology degree from cardiff university in UK (grad 2020)
• tefl, not eng teaching experience
• 3 years coporate sales experience
• native english, cantonese, advance mandarin

Background

• british passport, hong kong perminant residence (mixed british chinese girl) , lived 11yrs in hk, 15yrs in england

Many thanks

Currently I'm doing B.A in English and I don't know if I should pursue a M.A but if it would help me pursue my dreams of settling abroad then I want to go for it? Pls show honesty and courtesy 🙏 Can doing master abroad help me find job in that particular country?

I am literally going insane right now. I teach college freshman in china and in one of my classes the students WILL NOT stop using chinese, even when we are doing an ENGLISH discussion exercise. I will literally walk right up to their discussion group and they will giggle and continue to talk. I tell them to use English (the whole point of the exercise) and they switch, but then switch back as soon as I walk away!

I've tried explaining the importance of practicing their speaking in longer conversations and discussions (they have to take english-taught classes next year), when that doesn't work, I try being harder on them and more strict. Today was the first time I genuinely yelled at them because they had been disrespectful the whole class and been doing all their speaking exercises in Chinese. But it didn't phase them at all.

Some context here: I am a girl in my mid 20s (I finished my MA early) and most of my students are boys, so im sure that doesnt help. Also, it is not my first time teaching college students, but I've never had an issue before like this. I also speak Chinese, so I understand them fairly well and they know that.

I genuinely don't know what to do. They're not bad kids, but the fact that I tell them multiple times to only use English and they continue to ignore me is so disrespectful. This isn't high school, I shouldn't have to hound them about this kind of stuff. Usually they're not too bad, but today was terrible. I just wanted to walk out so bad because they weren't even pretending to try to use english. They'll all fail their classes next year if they don't practice now.

Edit: I think yall are misunderstanding. I don't expect the class to be 100% English from them (though that is what the program is supposed to be). I'm only frustrated that they don't even TRY to use English during their specific speaking exercises. (Also this is only one of my classes. The others are fine)

Just want to take a year out and do something worthwhile, preferably in Asia. Any suggestions much appreciated (no paid volunteer positions)

I don't even have to go into why I want to escape the U.S. If you know, you know.

I have an MA in ESL, a B.A. in English, and a TEFL certificate from the International TEFL Academy. I taught English in South Korea over 10 years ago and taught English online to students from various countries between then and now. I currently work in a college and university, and it would be ideal to work in a university overseas. If not possible, I'm willing to work with high schoolers, but I don't know.

The thing is that the countries that would snatch me up for my credentials are countries that I really don't want to go to: China and UAE. Being a single and childfree Black woman in her late-30s who is queer, I just won't fit in well or do well mentally, especially in the UAE.

I can't work in Europe because I don't have a European spouse and am not wealthy enough for a golden visa. Plus, the program in Spain pays way too little a month.

I don't want to go back to Korea to work again.

My only choices seem to be countries that may very little or won't hire for universities. China, Korea, and the UAE seem like the only places that would pay a decent salary.

I'm just stumped at this point. For the time being, it just seems more realistic to plan my move to an extremely blue state.

İ have the sudden opportunity to change jobs. İ have a DELTA and I'm confident teaching kids from roughly age 12 and up. However, this new job would be for young children.

İ feel very confident that i can be an acceptable teacher. However, I'd rather do extra reading - and maybe a course - to be a really good teacher.

What should i read, and are there any courses you can recommend?

I saw that you can’t do Korvia after doing EPik directly but I’m wondering if you are using Korvia for public school direct hires or other programs like GEPik can you still use them?

What center for taking Celta course would you recommend and which one would you recommend to avoid from you personal experience?

Use this thread to ask questions that don't deserve their own thread on the subreddit. Before you do that, though, use the search bar and read through our extensive wiki to see if your question has already been answered. Remember that subreddit rules still apply here.

I want to transition into education. I currently hold a bachelor's in journalism and media studies. I'm also a non-native speaker by virtue of being born in a non-native speaking country. However, English is my first language.

I have read a number of posts on whether I should start with Celta or Tefl; and majority says Celta would yield better job opportunities. I've also read the non-native wiki page which suggests doing a Celta with IH could link you to better chances of being hired as a non-native speaker.

I would ideally prefer doing it online as my country(Kenya) has no centre that offers the course. But would it be any different from doing it face to face?

Also for those who did it online, what institutes would you recommend?

Hi everyone.

I would like to teach a group of small children (5-7 years old) a holiday song (less than 2 minutes) for their winter performance. I think this would be much cuter than a boring poem about shapes. They know little to no english, but they're learning. Has anyone ever done anything similar? Is it possible? Tell me how you accomplished this, if you did. Thanks.

I've just stumbled on someone's post saying they don't have a degree and saw lots of comments saying a degree is a must.

By degree, do you guys mean any bachelor's degree, or are we talking about a teaching license?

I am also doing my CELTA in January. I have a bachelor's degree in International Relations, a postgraduate degree in Renewable Energies, and lots of experience working in international sales for different multinational companies. One year ago, I quit my job and decided I wanted to do something else with my life. I was just tired of the office routine—wearing a suit in 40-degree weather(Celsius), etc., etc., etc.

I'd like to spend the next few years in SEA, Vietnam, or Thailand. I've been teaching online for the past 7-8 months, and I also taught for 4 years when I was in college. Overall, I have 5+ years' experience in teaching, on and off—I had to quit teaching when I got my first internship, and I didn’t teach for nearly 8 years in a row while working my corporate job.

I do not have a teaching license, but by the end of January, I will have finished the CELTA, and by March, I should have my certificate—the center said it takes a month or two for Cambridge to issue and mail it to my country.

P.s: I am a NNES, 34y.o male from Brazil who grew up in the USA, but I dont hold an American passport.

Hello everyone.

I have a 1 to 1 once a week with a student age 7. I am worried my lessons are starting to get a bit monotonous and boring so I was wondering if anyone had any fun ideas for lessons ? He is a very bright student for his age and has a strong English level.

Tomorrow, I'm delivering a demo lesson plan to a bilingual school in China. It's based on the Cambridge IGCSE, and the topic is 'verbs followed by verbs' (verb + -ing, verb + to + infinitive, verb + noun + to + infinitive. I recognize that in the former case, it's a gerund, not a 'verb' per se). The theme is 'sports and leisure'. They've asked me to use their textbook (if they hadn't, I would be using a different approach to teaching the grammar) with the Warmer/PPP/homework method, and to assume that the students are 10 years old, know about 3000 words with a limited grasp of grammar. I will be showing this to the faculty, not actual students.

With all of this, my plan is:

1. Review the rules with the students.

2. Do a warmer. I show the students two pictures; one with people going to the movies, and one with people playing video games. I put the students in pairs and ask them three questions: 1) What are they doing, 2) Do you like to do this, and 3) When do you do this?. I get the answers from the students.

3. Transition to the presentation. I get the students to ask me what I did on the weekend, and then show them a brief explanation: 'This weekend, I practiced playing my favorite video game. I decided to go to the movies...' (it's longer), with 1-2 examples of each form. I then walk them through one verb + verb form at a time, asking CCQs: 'How many verbs are there? What's the form? Do the verbs happen at the same time or different times?' Once I've gotten those answers, I explain that a) verbs can be followed by other verbs, b) there's no easy rule for the structure, students will have to practice and memorize for each verb, and c) many sentences have the same meaning regardless of the form you use, but some (e.g. remembered watching/remembered to watch) change it. This is all stuff that's covered in their book.

• Here, I'm not sure if 'what's the form' is the best way to elicit the structure. I could be more direct (e.g. what comes after the first verb?'. I'm also not sure it's worth highlighting that the verbs normally happen at the same time for verb + verb-ing, and slightly different times for verb + to + infinitive.

4. Practice 1: I explain the activity, and put the students in groups of 3. Students complete an activity in their book where they look at example sentences, and sort them into the appropriate boxes (verb + verb-ing, verb + to + infinitive, verb + noun + to + infinitive). We review the answers together.

• In terms of classroom management- it's better to explain the task, then put them in groups, right?

5. Practice 2- warm up for the speaking activity. I show a brief dialogue of Kobe and Lebron talking about what they did last weekend, using the appropriate structures. Then, I have students write down 3-5 activities they think they do on the weekend themselves. They must use each verb + verb structure at least once.

• ICQs: 'Can you write less than 3? (No). How many should have this form (I say this as I point to each structure on the PowerPoint): (1). Do you use present or past tense? (Past tense).

6. Production- Using their lists, students do a roleplay where they pretend to be Kobe and Lebron comparing their past weekends. They have to decide who had the better weekend. I assign student A Kobe, and student B Lebron. After they're finished/if I need an extension, students find another partner.

• ICQs: Student A, are you Kobe or Lebron? (Kobe). And what do you talk about? (What I did last weekend). What do you decide? (Who had the better weekend). Really not sure about the ICQs here, I've never been great at asking them.

7. Error correction feedback. I elicit the correct answer from the students. My PowerPoint has two examples (I enjoy to cook/I enjoy cooking; He wants me to cook/he wants I to cook), but I'll explain to the interviewers that I base these on the mistakes students make.

8. Assign homework- I give them two of the activities in their textbook. For extra credit, I ask them to find one English article and underline all the verb + verb examples they find.

I've also created lists of verbs that commonly use each of the three structures, so I can correct students as they go along/appear prepared for my interviewers.

Apologies for the lengthy post, but this is my first time at a bilingual school, so I'd like to make sure it goes well. If you have any thoughts, I'd welcome it!