Teaching English abroad

Does anyone here have any TEFL experience? I like the idea but the thought of being trapped somewhere abroad terrifies me. I just want to know what kind of support people have had and whether or not they think it's a worthwhile experience. I've almost finished my own teaching course in the UK.

Reply 1

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Original post by BefuddledPenguin

When you say teaching course, do you mean a PGCE or something like a CELTA course? If you have a PGCE or BEd, honestly I would forget about TEFL and look at getting QTS with the aim of working in an international school. The pay and conditions will be much better and you're less likely to fall into any visa/paperwork problems.

The amount of support available varies widely, and really depends on what country you are looking at and what kind of environment you will be teaching in (language school, public school, university, things like hagwons in Korea). If you have a particular country in mind I would have a look on Dave's ESL café and read through some of the stuff in the forum for that country. As to getting trapped - ideally you should always bring enough money to get out of dodge in an emergency. The only situations where you could realistically be stopped from leaving are if you are working illegally (which is an obviously bad idea), or in Saudi Arabia (as you need an employer-approved exit visa to leave the country).