Have you given the thought of becoming a teacher, but are not entirely sure if you want to become one? Have you ever had the desire to teach but not pursue it as a career? Are you graduating college thinking that it will be difficult to find a job with little to no experience?

Well, teaching is not limited to a high school, private school, or university. There is a world—yes, literally a “world”—of possibilities to pursue teaching. Whether you want a experiment with the career of teaching, spend a few years teaching after graduating college, or acquire your first job in teaching to add to your résumé there are many  paths to take teaching English than the average person might know.

“Why teach English?”

Although English does not have the most native speakers compared to other world languages, English is the most widely spoken language in the world with over 400 million native speakers and 700 million people who speak it as a foreign language. Around the world, English is seen everywhere: airports, train stations, bus stations, street signs, and the list goes on and on. To many people, it is not a desire to study English that makes people want to learn, but a need to learn as it is continually increasing throughout the world. Through globalization, the need to learn English is becoming a necessity and the demand for native speakers to teach their language throughout the world is increasing.

“What are some opportunities offered to teach English abroad?”

The number of opportunities of teaching English abroad are endless. Two opportunities that can help you decide whether you want to be a teacher or help you start your career in teaching are the Peace Corps and the JET Programme. These two programs can give you hands on experience to pursue teach without being on an immediate career path.

 

Peace Corps

The Peace Corps is a government program that sends Americans out to foreign countries to do a variety of jobs, one being teaching.

The Peace Corps is a twenty-seven month long commitment to go to a under privileged country and use your skills to help out. That being said, the Peace Corps is a great nontraditional path that can help person decide or not they want to pursue teaching as a profession. Also, since teaching jobs are very competitive, the Peace Corps is a good option for recent graduates to gain their first job out of school that they can put on their resume whether or not they decide to continue teaching. In addition, the Peace Corps is a good option if you want to decide if teaching is a good path. There are a few qualifications for joining the Peace Corps that you can search here.

 

Getting Started in the Peace Corps

A twenty-seven month long service in another country is a big commitment to decide if you want to pursue teaching, so it is best to think about the decision before immediately pursuing it. There are multiple steps that you can take before deciding if this program is right for you:

1. Read books from returned Peace Corps volunteers.
2. Attend an event to meet and talk to your local recruiter.
3. Read articles on the internet from returned volunteers

Check out my interview with my local Peace Corps recruiter.

 

Application Process

In 2014, the Peace Corps changed their application process to make it easier, faster, and personalized to attract more people. There were three major changes made in the application process that can be very beneficial to deciding if this is the right opportunity for you:

1. Peace Corps applicants can now choose the programs and countries they want to apply to.
2. The application is shorter.
3. Each open Peace Corps position now has clearly identified Apply By and Know By deadlines, so applicants know when they can expect to receive an invitation to serve.

 

Benefits of the Peace Corps

This nontraditional path to teaching is not only a way to discover that you want to teach or get your first job, but there are many benefits that come once you arrive home.

1. Upon arriving home, the Peace Corps gives each returned volunteer $8000 to readjust back to home life.
2. Living in a foreign country for 27 months will allow you to develop fluency in a foreign language.
3. The Peace Corps offers financial assistance to returned volunteers who desire to further their education.
4. In addition to gaining experience, it can be a determining factor whether or not you want to continue teaching.

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Jet Programme

The second option that allows English speakers to teach abroad with less of a commitment is the Jet Programme. Unlike the Peace Corps, the Jet Programme is a teaching opportunity that send English speakers to Japan with a minimum of a year long commitment.

This option is better for someone who wants some teaching experience, but does not want to be out of the country for an extended amount of time. It is a program based in Japan that offers English speakers to teach in various areas of Japan.

 

Getting started with the JET Programme

This opportunity is great for someone who is wanting to experiment with the idea of teaching without a long term commitment or a person who is looking for a first job right out of college. Before deciding to join this program there are a few steps a person can do to decide if this is the right opportunity for them:

1. Watch videos that give tips on the application and show the life of a JET teacher.
2. Research the JET Programme on the internet.
3. View the program’s website.

Application Process

Luckily, the JET website clearly explains the application process. Furthermore, aspiring JET teachers should refer to the application timeline to know the time frame of when to apply.

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 “The international language”

As mentioned before in this article, English is the international language and the need for teachers is in great demand. For anyone who is graduating college looking to discover if they want to teach, gain teaching experience, or find an unconventional job teaching the possibilities teaching English as a second language (ESL) are endless.

 

Fulbright is a great option that places recent college graduates into schools abroad to improve the English level of students in those countries. The programs lasts between six months to a year and there are many different countries to choose from. The two requirments with this programs are a bachelor’s degree and sufficient profecinency in the language of the host country. For more information and a list of countries offered in the program click the image.

 

 

ESL Base is a good resource to use to learn more about getting certified with Teaching English as a Foreign Language(TEFL). Also, ESL Base provides a database on different jobs to search for.