A brief guide to finding your own TEFL Job
The teaching work you'll find will vary hugely from country to country and will even vary from school to school.
Most of the jobs abroad are in small independent schools. These are usually small schools with a handful of teachers and the class-sizes are usually a maximum of 12 - 18 students. The schools could be attended by adults or youngsters and they might attend a couple of hours a week or a couple a day.
Some work is in state schools, often you will be working as a teaching assistant, alongside a native teacher. There is a lot of state school work in China, Japan and Western Europe. In China, class sizes can be anything up to 50 people.
Summer schools are popular in English speaking countries since they offer the learner a short course in English which total immersion into the language. These courses can be from 2 - 8 weeks. In the UK, the main opportunities for work are in June, July and August. England is becoming increasingly popular for learners, particularly Japanese students.
Voluntary teaching is also popular since it gives you the chance to travel and teach abroad for short periods of time. Often the teaching is in poor areas in schools that cannot afford a teacher. India is a popular destination and there is a lot of work to be found teaching street kids to give them some kind of leg up in life. It is also possible to get voluntary work teaching in England by teaching English to non-English-speaking communities.
It is possible to find teaching employment in any country in the world, even in countries like the UK where English is the mother tongue.
