Thinking about teaching English abroad? This articles present 4 compelling reasons to seriously look at this profession. You might even want to make it a career choice. Few professions or careers offer so many benefits and perks, without the need for a college degree.
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4 Reasons Why Teaching English Abroad is an A+ Idea
1. 4 Reasons Why Teaching English Abroad is an A+ Idea
Thinking about teaching English abroad? This articles present 4
compelling reasons to seriously look at this profession. You might even
want to make it a career choice. Few professions or careers offer so many
benefits and perks, without the need for a college degree.
There aren’t too many jobs where you get to wake up in the morning and know that
you’re genuinely passionate about what you’re doing – but teaching English abroad is
one of them. From start to finish, going all over the world to teach people English is an
A+ idea.
Here’s why:
1. You don’t need a college degree
Have you ever wished that you could make a difference in other people’s lives – without
spending years in school to do it? If you want to head around the world and teach people
how to speak English, you don’t need a formal teaching certificate. You don’t even need
a college degree!
So, what DO you need?
You simply need a high school diploma (or a GED) and your TEFL certification. To get
it, you have to take 150 hours of instruction from an accredited TEFL school. You’ll
spend 130 hours as a student in a traditional classroom setting. Then, you’ll spend your
final 20 hours in a hands-on student teaching environment.
You won’t have to spend four years in college – or spend the rest of your life paying off
student loans – to get the education you need to teach English abroad. In a matter of
months, you can learn everything you need to know!
Yes, a college degree can certainly be helpful when it comes to applying for a teaching
position and the school is comparing applicants, but it’s not required to get a TEFL
certification. Many schools around the world don’t require a college degree in order to
teach English there.
2. You can see things you never knew existed
OK, so you can get a tour of some of the world’s biggest cities during a documentary on
cable TV, but what about the hidden gems of the world? What about the tiny café in the
tiny suburb, or the small farm in the rural area that the cable show never mentioned?
2. Teaching English abroad can give you a chance to see it all!
That’s because there are plenty of teaching jobs in smaller suburban and rural areas.
While you might miss the glitzy and glamorous major metropolitan areas at first, you’ll
quickly realize that the less populated areas tend to be a lot friendlier. As a result, you’ll
get to know people better, and you’ll get to learn all about customs and traditions that
you never would have known about otherwise. In the end, you’ll wind up with a much
more “Real” experience than even the most authentic of tour guides could have given
you!
3. You’ll get to wow future employers
There aren’t too many people who can say that they packed a few bags and headed
halfway across the world to a foreign country, where they didn’t know a single soul, and
lived there for months on end. Imagine what that will look like on a resume! Even if you
apply for jobs that have nothing to do with teaching, potential employers will definitely
be impressed.
After all, teaching English abroad shows that you’re not afraid to head into new
situations all by yourself and take command of them. You don’t need anyone looking
over your shoulder. Instead, you have the confidence and the self-discipline to walk into
anything and succeed at it. That’s a surefire way to make an amazing first impression
during a job interview!
4. You’ll get to truly make a difference
No matter what you get out of it immediately or in the future, it will pale in comparison
to what your students get out of it. For your students, teaching English abroad is a gift.
You’re helping them broaden their career opportunities, giving them a chance to
converse with long-lost loved ones who only speak English, or figure out what all the
fuss is over English pop culture. No matter why your students take your course, they’ll
be grateful for the work you do!