Best Places In The World To Teach English Abroad
• Tips
Each year, thousands of people go overseas and teach English. Whether you’re a recent graduate or planning a career change, there are many reasons to teach abroad. Experience something new, learn about a different culture, make some extra money to travel farther and longer, meet new and interesting people, or just tear up your everyday routine and dive headlong into the unknown!
Living abroad can give confidence and a positive sense of independence.
With thousands of TEFL jobs available, where ARE the best places to teach English abroad? What countries offer the best experience, pay, and benefits? Let’s take a closer look!
South Korea
South Korea is touted THE BEST country to teach English abroad.
Jobs are plentiful, pay is relatively high ($2,000–5,000 USD per month), and teachers receive wonderful benefits like, healthcare, free housing, airfare reimbursement and a contract completion bonus.
Recent college grads specifically like working in Korea because it is a country that wholeheartedly welcomes first time teachers.
Koreas is known for its unique cuisine, raucous entertainment, friendly people and low cost of living. It also has a large expat community to socialize with and is extremely safe.
Japan
Japan like Korea is a great place to work as an English teacher. One of the problems is that, although a wonderful country with wonderful people and culture, Japan has a higher cost of living than Korea.
There are some programs out there that provide you with generous benefits and a completion bonus so do your homework before signing a contract.
UAE
An experienced English teacher can make up to $80,000.00 USD per year in the UAE. Another lure is that there are no taxes and great additional benefits such as housing and relocation bonuses.
Although this sounds very attractive, don’t expect to find a job teaching English in the Middle East unless you are certified and have several years of experience.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the most popular destinations for teaching English if you do meet these requirements.
Thailand
Thailand draws in a lot of English teachers because the cost of living is among the lowest in South East Asia. The weather, food, beaches and hedonistic vibe are other reasons young English teachers choose to live and teach in Thailand.
A realistic salary expectation in Thailand would be between $1,000-2,000 USD per month.
Teaching in Thailand combines great weather, superb cuisine and a laid back, hospitable people. The tropical beaches are also a huge plus!
China
China has taken its place as a global superpower, as such, the demand for English foreign language teachers is at an all time high.
There are a huge number of employment opportunities throughout the country.
You can earn a good salary - up to $3,000 USD per month, and many jobs give completion bonuses, free housing, free lunch, and airfare reimbursement.
Living costs in China are much lower than in Western countries and so it’s easily possible to save money and pay down student debt if you need to.
If you’re thinking about teaching English abroad, the countries above are the destinations that offer the some of the best opportunities for pay, perks and lifestyle. You will also meet plenty of amazing people along the way!
Be sure to apply TEFL jobs here and get started in your teaching adventure!
Previously: Volunteer and Teach English in South America