Working as a teacher while backpacking around the world is pretty common these days, as an English teacher that is. Especially in Asia there are several countries where they do not speak English very well, and there are few local people qualified to teach English, so foreign English teachers are in high demand.
Asia is what I have most experience with, so that is what this article will be mainly about. There is nothing wrong with teaching English, I’ve met several people on my travels doing exactly that, but there are also other languages that you can teach. This is not just large languages like Spanish, German and French, but also languages of smaller countries like Norwegian and Swedish.
If your first language is something other than English I suggest you look into if there is any market for teaching that language in the country you are planning to stay in. It is easier to teach your native language as a teacher abroad and your salary will also usually be better. The reason is that it is way easier for a language school to find an English teacher than a teacher of some other European language. I have myself had the chance to teach my native language in the Philippines, which was a really rewarding and enjoyable experience. My salary was also much better than most English language teachers I’ve talked with.
There are many websites specifically dedicated to finding English teaching jobs for foreigners in Asia. I’m sure most of those are fine, but I’d suggest trying to contact language schools directly as well. In many Asian countries craigslist is a very popular place for employers to post adds, so that is definitely a place worth checking out. Also contacting expats from your country living in the country you’re planning to work in is a good idea. They are usually happy to help out someone from their own country who is planning to travel there. Good luck.
Tags: Asia, backpacking, backpacking and teaching, English, expat, French, German, Manila, Norwegian, Philippines, Spanish, Swedish, teaching, thailand, work abroad, Working
Do you have a degree? I know they have schools you can enroll in just for teaching english overseas. I have considered that and maybe going to Thailand. I live in the U.S. for now but dream of living in the PH, I currently have a house there.
I have a degree, but it has nothing to do with language teaching, my degree is in applied physics actually. My degree didn’t matter for this job though, and they did not ask about it apart from it being mentioned in my CV.