Teaching overseas
Teaching is an ideal job for travellers. The skills are portable and there is always plenty of work available. Also, with long holidays, there are many opportunities to travel!
There are various countries around the world where teachers are in high demand. Many nations in the Asia Pacific region are constantly looking for recent graduates with an English speaking background to teach English as a Second Language (ESL). Teaching contracts differ per agency and country. Countries include Japan, Taiwan and Korea.
In the UK there is a strong tradition of employing Australian teachers, in both London and in the counties. Australians are well received because they integrate well and adapt easily to the National Curriculum. As demand for Australian teachers continues to grow in the UK, agencies such as ASA Education actively recruit by regularly visiting Australia to run seminars for newly qualified teachers.
Below are examples of agencies that recruit teachers for overseas postings. Many require teaching degrees, but university graduates in most fields may be able to teach ESL in non-English speaking countries provided they have a completed a course in teaching English as a Second Language. Such courses, including TEFL International’s TESOL and the Cambridge CELTA are available from a number of providers.
Make sure you check Careers Online and the Careers Resource Centre (CRC) noticeboards for regular updates of available opportunities.
Further information about teaching agencies can be found in the Teaching Overseas folder located in the International Employment section of the CRC.
Finally, talk to your family, friends and acquaintances about your plans: your own network may well provide you with the teaching opportunity you seek.
top of pageUnited Kingdom
- Established in 1990, TEACH UK is an Australian company, which offers a recruitment service for teachers who wish to travel overseas and teach full time in the UK.
- Teach in Britain with Hays Education Personnel:
- Teach London
- Teach in UK with Teaching Personnel
- Teach in London with TimePlan
- Teaching in the UK with Select Education: or
- Teaching in the UK with Protocol Education:
- 1st Contact
- Capita Education Resourcing
- Elite Education
United States of America
- Visiting International Faculty Program, USA
- Escape Artist, USA
- CDS International is a non-profit US organisation in education and training.
- Education America
Asia
- Provincial governments in China have authorised several programs that recruit English teachers from overseas. Two such programs are provided by Hubei Province and Liaoning Province (Both operate over multiple cities in several regions.
- Teach English in Taiwan with HESS Educational Organisation
- ESL Pro claims to be the ‘Best English Job Café in Asia’. Post your resumé, and search for jobs posted by Asian employers. Based in South Korea
- Japan Exchange & Teaching (JET) Programme
- AMAC Educational (in English) representative of ECC Foreign Language Institute Japan (in Japanese)
- O-Hayo Sensei produces a free electronic newsletter that lists 60-70 teaching positions in Japan
- Teach English in Japan with Kohgakusha
- Teach English in Japan with Interac Co Ltd
- Teaching in Korea with Team English Recruiting
Pacific
- Teach in Papua New Guinea and other countries with International Education Agency
- International Education Agency
Middle East
- Higher Colleges of Technology, United Arab Emirates
- Zayed University, United Arab Emirates
Worldwide
- ESL Jobs World connects English teachers with employers from around the world.
- ESL Worldwide is an internet recruiting company focused on ESL teachers
- Search Associates for Australians and New Zealanders
- Teacher Recruitment International
- Global ESL Opportunities Network
- Resource Ed Personnel
- Council of International Schools
- Originally from the UK, Select Education now extends its services to the placement of teachers in Canada, USA, South Africa, Middle East, Australia and NZ
Other useful websites:
- EFLweb is a site for people who have either started a career in teaching English as a foreign or second language, or who want to start one
- ESL Worldwide is a job search web site helping recruit instructors across the globe, in all studies of Language
- ESL Café’s Job Centre contains job discussion forums, resuméboards, job links and job information journals
- Teachingfish contains ESL games, tips, article and lesson plans
- TEFL Professional Network is a site containing many web links to other sites for information on jobs, Higher Education Chronicles, Academic Position Networks and so on
- ESL Employment is an ESL/EFL Job and Employment Resource Site where you can search via continents:
- The English Job Maze is a British-Australian venture which was created to facilitate the Job-search process for ESL/EFL teachers around the world, assist ESL/EFL institutions in their search for teachers and provide free industry-related info for ESL/EFL teachers and employers.
- The European Council of International Schools provides useful up to date information regarding teaching courses, events, publications, school listings and information on European teaching standards