Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL)

TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) is steadily growing more popular, and you can find jobs advertised for native English speakers in almost every country of the world, which gives you the opportunity to not only travel, but to discover a culture that is likely vastly different to your own. The largest market is currently in Asia (China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand), but if the Asian market doesn't appeal to you, then you are able to find jobs advertised for positions in Central and South America, most parts of Europe and also in the Middle East.

Working overseas teaching English is the opportunity of a lifetime, but if you don't do your research, it could turn into the trip from hell. Before agreeing to any position, make sure to research the school. There are many horror stories of westerners turning up expecting to find a job and accommodation lined up for them, only to arrive and find out that they are going to be farmed out to the highest bidder, or subcontracted out to different schools everyday, giving no job stability.

There are a myriad of sites that you can use to investigate the legitimacy of the organization proposing the contract. Many of the websites that provide job vacancy lists also have a school review area, making it easy to see how other teachers have fared at a particular establishment.

In addition to checking the internet for reviews of particular schools, it is also crucial to ask the organization for the contact email addresses or phone numbers of previous and current foreign teachers. If they refuse, this is a definite red flag, as any legitimate institution will be more than happy to give you this information. Chances are that if you don't find any scathing reviews on the internet, and any previous teachers don't tell you to turn tail and run, then you're fairly safe in accepting the job.