Get Your Feet Wet! Start Teaching English With No Experience or Training

In An Introduction to Teaching English Abroad, I gave readers a broad overview into becoming a traveling English as a Second Language (ESL) instructor.  It’s a fun and profitable way for young, and not so young, people to see the world!  You work where you want and teach who you want.  Your work will pay enough to cover basic living expenses, although in some locales lucky ESL teachers are able to sock away a significant sum of money.

I always encourage readers to do their research into the infinite possibilities!  One thing you will have found perusing the job boards is that some schools will pay your transportation to the location, maybe help with accommodations… that kind of thing.  These are serious expenses that you should take into account when you make the decision to teach abroad.

Financial Considerations to Ponder

Wallet Teaching English with no Experience or Training

What about the myriad other expenses you won’t get reimbursed for, though?  Obtaining a passport will cost over a hundred dollars.  Any required visa?  You will probably have to pay for that, and they aren’t cheap, either.  What kind of wardrobe will you need given the climate (political and/or religious, not just temperature) you are headed to?  How will your in-country transportation be taken care of?  Will you be able to, you know, eat?  And when you have the time to travel around the area, will you have enough savings to enjoy yourself?

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An Introduction to Teaching English Abroad

Dear American/British/Australian reader:

What if I told you that you carry something incredibly valuable with you wherever you go?  Something that people all over the world pay legit amounts of cold hard cash for?  And no matter what you do with it, no one can ever take it away from you?

Did you have any idea what your English fluency could do for you?

Believe it or not, your native fluency in English can be your ticket to a rewarding international lifestyle.  Millions of people worldwide are desperate to learn or improve their English-speaking abilities.  It goes without saying that English is the lingua franca, or language used, of international business, arts, sciences – just about everything.  In this 21st century global economy, it’s mandatory for the world’s movers and shakers to speak English!

Teaching English Abroad

Share Your Knowledge Anywhere You Go

What can you do that’s so profitable, then?  Help these world citizens master their English language fluency.  If you have a hankering to make a good international living and get to know interesting people and cultures, this may be your dream job!  Other than in western Europe, which has an ample supply of nearby Brits at its disposal, Americans are welcome to teach our language legally in almost any friendly country worldwide.

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Terra Incognita No More – Come Work in Australia!

Australians take their tender years very seriously.  About one in four secondary school graduates postpones entering college and participates instead in a gap year, which often involves foreign travel. Their government encourages youth to spend time volunteering overseas.  According to their website, “At any one time there are about one million Australians living and working overseas.”  Australia, which upon its discovery was deemed Terra Australis Incognita, took little time to overcome its relative isolation.   “Incognita” no more, it was important to make a name for itself and get along well with other peoples.

As part of its drive to welcome intercultural diversity, it’s hardly surprising that The Land Down Under encourages youth from other countries to stop by.  Ambassadors up to the age of 30 are welcome to hang an entire year on the island continent.  After all, who would realistically fly halfway around the world to spend a mere four-day weekend in the large and beautiful land of Oz?

Kangaroo Australia
You think you’ll ever leave, punk?

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Why not Au Pair? Part Two

Do you (Child) care? Why not Au Pair?!” Part One” continues, below:

Research Time

Once you feel confident that you are adaptable, responsible, and open-minded, and that you out care Mary Poppins herself, sit down with a laptop for a good long while and google “Au Pair” abroad.  If there is a country you are especially interested in, add it to your google search.

 

bureaucratic red tapeThere are many companies that will happily help you jump through the bureaucratic red tape in order to get yourself situated with a promising family.  They all charge different fees and make varying promises to you.  With some thorough research and help from a trusted adult, you should be able to narrow down the choices to one or two organizations to pursue further.

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Do You (Child) Care? Why Not Au Pair?! Part One

Enticed by the idea of living abroad for a little while, but studying abroad isn’t for you?  You may be close to high school graduation and now are considering something to do on a gap year.  Perhaps you need income while traveling independently overseas, or wish to give your resume a bit of a kick in the pants.  Have you considered serving as an Au Pair?

 

What is an Au Pair?

 

The simplest way to describe this arrangement is that you serve as a glorified nanny overseas.  The term “Au Pair” is from the French, roughly meaning “the same.”  The upshot is that you are to be treated as one of the family, not as an employee.   You are paid to work with your host parents’ children, but the income should be considered as something akin to an allowance, not a paycheck.

You live with the family in their home, and they feed you at no cost to you.  This kind of living situation where rent and food is covered is known as “room and board.”   There are Au Pair arrangements where young men and women from other countries become an Au Pair in America.  Similarly, you, as an American, can apply to various countries abroad to become an Au Pair.  Many nations, unfortunately, do not participate in Au Pair programs.  Of those that do, each has its own particular requirements of both the host family and the Au Pair.

Continue reading “Do You (Child) Care? Why Not Au Pair?! Part One”

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