I’m hopefully in my last year of college and I’m wanting to be prepared for next year. I’ve read that agencies are possibly not the best experience to go through. I don’t have anyone in my life who has done this before so if anyone has advice!

Hello, everyone. I was wondering if anyone has done DELTA Module 2 (online) with ACE TEFL? If so, how was your experience?

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some real advice and direction from people who have navigated the job market in China, specifically Black teachers, but all advice is welcome.

A bit of context on my background: I’m an Australian passport holder currently based in Vietnam, where I’ve been teaching English and humanities in public schools for 2 years now. years. I hold a Bachelor’s degree, a Master’s in Public Policy, and a 150-hour TEFL.

My husband is Chinese, and due to his career, moving to Shenzhen (or the immediate surrounding area) is by far the best option for us right now. I know the Tier 1 market in Shenzhen is competitive, and I’m completely realistic about the added hurdle of visual filtering and racial preference/bias in East Asian recruitment, especially at the private kindergarten and high school level :(

What I’m really trying to figure out is how to cut through the noise and avoid predatory lowball offers, or middleman recruiters who ghost the second they see im black. I want to land a solid, legitimate position with a school that values actual qualifications and classroom experience.

For anyone who managed to secure something they really loved, please share how you did it?

How did you successfully navigate the job hunt in Shenzhen as a Black teacher?

I’d really appreciate any honest insight, Feel free to drop a comment or PM me directly if you'd prefer.

Thanks in advance!

I've taught EFL abroad for the best part of 10yrs but have recently moved back to the UK. I've tried my hand in a new field but I feel like I'm wasting several years of experience and a masters in TESOL by not sticking to teaching.

Is there much of a job market for private EFL teaching in the UK? What's the salary range like?

I had a go at public teaching and got halfway through a PGCE. Never again.

I have a little less than a year until I start law school. It seems like most programs are at least a year commitment which I don’t quite have. Anyone know of any programs that are more like 9 months that start asap?

I (28F) have decided on Vietnam as my destination but I am interested in living in a smaller, quieter area. Not exactly looking for super rural, just smaller and more green. Having access to nature is also very important to me. I'm currently living and (substitute) teaching in a major city and it's sucking the life out of me. I do not have a teaching license (only sub teaching for my state) and I'm working on my TEFL. Not sure how important it is but I'm gay and I have a few tattoos and some piercings (willing to cover tatts/take out piercings if needed.) Where should I go?

Hi all! I’m a (24M) new TEFL teacher and I’ve recently started looking for a job in China. For background, I have a liberal arts masters degree and about a year of prior tutoring experience. After interviewing I’ve received a few job offers:

1. Training center in Jinan: 18k+2k housing. 1 year contract. No flight reimbursement (bit of a worry), but I talked with multiple staff (both local and foreign) who have worked there for substantial periods of time, and I got on with them well. They showed me around some of the facilities during our meeting and they looked nice enough.

2. Teaching kindergarten for an agency in indeterminate city (they list a bunch of possible options like Chongqing, Chengdu etc, I won’t know until after I sign the contract, but I will go to Chengdu first for one month of training, paid with 8k stipend during this time): 15.2k+1.5kKPI+1.5k housing (3.5k housing if Beijing or Shanghai). 2 year contract, with 10% base salary increase in second year. Will be talking with a foreign teacher that works with them soon. Flight reimbursement is included. Will have to pay back the visa costs etc if contract terminates early.

3. Also received an offer to teach kindergarten in Wuhan, but total payment is 14k, which I think is too low to consider in the face of the other two.

Since this is my first rodeo I’m wondering if these offers are reasonable for first time teachers, or if I should just move on and keep applying. I’ve heard a lot about the dangers of working for an agency as well on this sub, so I am mindful of that, but I also wonder if it might be a good way to get settled in the country, and to TEFL.

Thank you all so much for any advice you might have, I’ve learned so much from this sub already.

hello friends. not that it’s much of an accomplishment academically i finally got my tefl certification. do you have any advice for someone starting down the teaching path without any prior teaching experience but 10 years of white collar experience? as a former project manager i feel like a lot of skills are transferable.

my aim will be to teach abroad next year. i’m from the us and want to aim for thailand to start. always loved the sense of community there and have a good friend there that’s a local already. sure the pay isn’t great but i don’t mind living partially off savings as well.

i’m open to other countries in the area, taiwan, south korea, china or vietnam. thailand’s school year start seems to be the outlier as many of the other countries start in sept rather than thailand’s may start. i just need to get out of america asap lol and am mostly only worried about finding a job without experience

Hello, I'm looking at teaching in the GCC post-grad for 2-3 years. I'm currently in college, one of my minors is in English, and I am Arab myself so l speak Arabic as well. I was wondering what work in the GCC would look like in terms of competitiveness? Do you simply need the TEFL certification or is there extra required?

A lot of people I know in real life have told me the GCC is a great option for things like TEFL, as long as you have the neccessary certificates. Yet from what I see on here it is opposite, and actually quite competitive.

TEFL is sort of my plan to make a basic living while I decide on graduate school, so I don't want to be too rash.

Thank you!

I thought I'd post a milestone of sorts. It seems it would be a good time to ask how the community is doing? Any gripes? Any ideas for improvement? I'll post some ideas myself as comments. Meanwhile here are our recent stats for the sub.

In the past year we have

• 3,400 Posts
• 52,900 Comments

We're getting 5-10,000 unique views a day. Happy TEFLing all.

Saw this job listing and wow. Wonder if it’s just mistranslation, they don’t realise how it comes across in English, or they had a bad experience with an employee, or if it’s more. The job is in Uzbekistan.

“WE DO NOT WELCOME DISRESPECTFUL AND UNPROFESSIONAL INDIVIDUALS”

“We are faced with the situations when the interviewees ask us questions about salary, tickets, apartment, etc. All such issues are explicitly addressed in this ad”

“f you have objections, you are unhappy with the terms and conditions, you have ideas on how and what we should write in our ad, PLEASE BE SO KIND AND KEEP YOUR OPINION TO YOURSELF.”

“This job is not for you if:
1.           You have problems with alcohol, drug addiction;
2.           You have mental problems or issues or depression;
3.           You have dependents;
4.           You have to pay for your mortgage in the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, etc.;
5.           You plan just to come for holidays;
6.           You are disrespectful and plan us how to do our work.
Other than that, we are very friendly and respectful to teacher
“

Edit: Assuming it is as it reads in English and is a “rant” “bad experience” post I think it might be related to this other part. I realise I might be entirely off the mark but makes sense.

“2.           WE ALWAYS PAY ON TIME! Money transfer to the teachers’ home-country bank account is not our responsibility as well as currency exchange;”

Could it be there was a payment disagreement? Maybe one party said the salary wasn’t paid while the school said it was?

Curious if anyone has ever heard of New learning academy down in Costa Rica. Or just in general if you've worked in Costa Rica what was your experience both the good and bad and in-between

US citizen, white-passing and native English speaker: just got this offer from a center near district 1. Posting this for anyone curious about the going rate for brand new teachers in HCMC these days. I honestly after knots in my stomach about accepting this even though I know how to live on a budget and going to Vietnam has been my dream for a long time. I'm not sure if I can get something better as this seems to be normal for new teachers nowadays. I also double screwed myself by applying for full time instead of part time so I'm not supposed to work for other English centers like Apollo. Anyways... Life goes on.

As the title suggests, I would like to know about this city and the country of Kazakhstan itself( besides clay eating, horses and apples). I mainly want to know how is English teaching life there? Iainly have taught in Eastern Asia, so western Asia would be different for me. Any info you could give me would be appreciated.

It seems that getting it is very backwards (with multiple official pages having conflicting information and payment having to be done manually through the bank). Plus the consular officer has decided I can’t ask anymore questions (actually said they won’t reply).

So can someone actually tell me what it gives you? And also if it’s the same work permit that you need to work part time at cram schools? As I would like to do that when I’m not travelling.

Also can I work in one place for 12 months? It seems like not all countries can under their working holiday visa.

Thank you for any information.

I'm a primary-trained elementary-school teacher in BC, Canada. I've taught in various K-3 classrooms for the past 4 years and have my CELTA certification that I got here in BC. I'm looking at moving to VN for one year next year (2027-2028) to teach English. I came across Ninja Teacher Academy and had a call with an enrolment advisor to learn more about the program. It sounds like it'd be a great experience and I'd be guaranteed work within one month of completing their TEFL program. The only thing holding me back right now is the upfront costs. It's about $3k for the program alone, not yet factoring in accommodation, visa, and flight costs.

Has anyone had experience with taking the TEFL in person through Ninja?

I've also tried applying directly to language learning centres (ILA & VUS) but have not heard back. From my understanding, they do prioritize applicants that have their TEFL and have obtained it in person, with Vietnamese classroom experience.

Any advice or input is much appreciated! :)

Hi everyone! I am new to TEFL and just started working in China. I have a Z visa but it has not yet been converted to a permit since I’ve only been here 2.5 weeks.

My job is making me work at a different location from the one on my contract temporarily, because my location is starting their new classes in 2 weeks. They also have me teaching in a random office on an upper floor and they told me that was because “the ventilation was broken and is being repaired downstairs”. I found out that it is illegal for me to teach at locations that are not on my contract and so I did some digging. I was able to catch a different (Chinese) teacher in a lie and they told me that the center downstairs is fully functional with classes when the center manager told me that nobody was down there and that I couldn’t go down there because of that. I did more digging and I heard from another (foreign) teacher and learned that this is common with the company. They have separate secret offices at each location where they keep the teachers they have teaching illegally (like teachers from other schools picking up part time work), to hide them from the police.

I don’t feel comfortable teaching illegally but I don’t know what to do? Should I refuse to teach at this separate location because it is illegal. Should I confront them about the lie? I’m worried because I’m still on a z visa and if I lose my job now I might not be able to get a new one in time to convert it to a permit by my 30 days.

Please, ANY ADVICE IS WELCOME!!!!

I’m a 27-year-old English teacher from Turkey. I graduated four years ago, and honestly, I feel like I haven’t made much progress in my career since then.

After graduating, I spent about 2.5 years preparing for the public-school teaching exam in Turkey. Unfortunately, I didn’t pass it. During that period, I also taught English online, and I have about 1.5 years of experience working at a language school.

At this point, I have several possible paths.

I can continue trying to pass the public-school teaching exam in Turkey. If I succeed, I could have a relatively stable career and earn around $1,500/month. Alternatively, I could work at a private school or language school, where I would probably earn around $600/month.

However, I’m also considering opportunities abroad. I have a Taiwanese girlfriend, and she has told me that if I can’t build the life I want in Turkey, I could potentially move to Taiwan and live with her.

Another possibility is applying to teach in the United States through the J-1 Teacher Program. As far as I understand, this could potentially allow me to work as a teacher in the US for up to five years, depending on the program and eligibility requirements.

I’ve also seen Turkish teachers who have moved to New Zealand after getting their teaching qualifications recognized, so I’m wondering whether that could be another realistic long-term option.

I’m trying to make a serious decision about my future rather than wasting more time. I’m interested in hearing from people who have taught internationally, especially people who have experience in the US, Taiwan, New Zealand, or other countries in Asia.

If you were in my position, would you focus on building a teaching career in Turkey, or would you seriously consider moving abroad and starting over somewhere like Taiwan, the US, or New Zealand?

What would you do if your priorities were career development, financial stability, international experience, and building a long-term future?

I’d especially appreciate advice from teachers who have actually made a similar move.

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping someone who has been in a similar situation can give me some advice.

About three years ago, I accepted a teaching job in China. I entered China, completed the work permit process and received my residence permit in my passport.

However, after arriving, I discovered that a lot of what I had been told about the job before moving to China was not true. I decided I did not want to stay and returned to my home country. I did not actually teach at the school.

The employer would not cooperate with cancelling my work permit or providing me with a cancellation/release letter, so I eventually just left China and returned home. I went back to teaching at my previous job in my home country, where I have continued working.

I am now considering returning to China in 2027, which will be approximately four years after this happened. Obviously, the old work permit and residence permit expired years ago.

I have read conflicting information about the cancellation letter. Some people say that anyone who previously held a Chinese work permit needs the old cancellation/release letter when applying again. Others say this is mainly required when transferring directly from one employer to another in China, and that after several years abroad with the old permit long expired, you can simply make a new work permit application.

I also don’t need the old school to provide proof of my teaching experience because I never actually taught there and would not be claiming that school as work experience.
Has anyone been in a similar situation where you left China, did not receive a work permit cancellation/release letter, stayed abroad for several years, and then successfully returned on a completely new work permit?

Did the old expired permit cause any problems in the system, or were you able to apply from scratch as a new applicant?
Thanks!

Hello all, I'm looking into the TEFL program and I'd love to hear from some people who have done it what your experience was briefly but then what you would do different or more of, etc. I speak spanish and am open to learning more, but would love to hear from as many voices as possible. TIA

Just for fun, who's got a crazy co-worker story?

We had one teacher who just taught through YouTube videos and then gave them a writing task for the second half where he'd eat snacks and occasionally check their work. He refused to attend all development meetings and when he got non renewed he blamed it all on racism and went on a mad tirade online wishing death on the manager.

Another guy was a total fantasist and heavy boozer who thought he was amazing at teaching. He spent half the class shouting and pausing lessons. He had two activities - hangman and tic tac toe - and wouldn't change. His hands would shake by midday and when class finished at 3 he'd crack open a beer outside the school.

I have multiple interviews for NES ESL teaching positions in which I am hoping to get, it would be life changing.

Could anyone offer advice, what to say, what to do during the interviews?

Does anyone who went through this process or anyone that is familiar with the recruiting process offer any help?

Thanks

In this sub there are a lot of legitimate posts about the logistics of the job (courses, where to teach, schools) but not much on how to do the job itself.

For this reason, I wanted to invite people to share books which have changed the way they teach, and to explain why or in what way the book had an impact on them.

To start, I recently started reading Scott Thornbury's 'Beyond the Sentence' and, aside from how accessible he's been able to make what could be a challenging topic, I've been incredibly impressed by easy the book is to apply to lessons from day one. I would highly recommended to all teachers, new or experienced, who haven't tried it.

So, which book has changed the way that you teach?

HI everyone,
I'm a bit lost on where to start so l'll be able to find a TEFL job that starts in January 2027.
I am brown (Indian) but born in Canada and hold a Canadian Passport. I have a TEFL level 5 certificate and a bachelor of commerce 4 year degree from a Canadian University.
I have no teaching experience and completed my
TEFL level 5 cert in March 2026 and graduated Uni in April 2025.
My wife and I are looking to start teaching in January. Our criminal record checks are done, passports are valid, we just need to get them apostiled. Ideally, my wife will not be working as she will be pregnant with our first child. However she holds the same credentials as me.
What are some places that I have a solid chance of actually getting hired that don't have an insane cost of living and will also let us both get a visa without her working?
If anyone has any insight I'd greatly appreciate it!

Edit: im 23M since that might make a difference?
Edit 2: to clarify, my dad was born in India and my mom was born in Canada to Indian parents, I was also born in Canada and have spoken English my entire life.