Graham McCulloch, head of teaching, British Council. He previously worked as a teacher for Bell Education Trust, International House and Eurocentre
The British Council offers a variety of career paths: To start with there are 50 countries where we have teaching centres. As well as teaching, there are a growing number of opportunities in teacher training and management of projects related to the teaching of English. Others move into management of teaching centres and even delivery of UK examinations. A growing number of managers have moved into regional business development or British Council country director roles. Some teachers have specialised in website development. For more information, please contact Teacher Recruitment team.
If you want a serious career in TEFL, you need an internationally recognised qualification: The British Council does not accredit qualifications, but for our own purposes we require that our teachers have a qualification, at least at certificate level that is about 100 to 120 hours in length and has six to 10 hours observed and assessed teaching practice. The course must have rigorous quality control too by an independent body like examinations board. If you want more information about courses you can go the British Council website.
Peak recruitment season is from March onwards: The demand for English in increasing all over the world, not least in south east Asia. Teaching opportunities come up throughout the year, although the peak recruitment season is from March onwards, mostly for jobs starting with the September academic year.
Susan Griffith, author of Teaching English Abroad, Work Your Way Around the World, Your Gap Year and Gap Years for Grown-ups
There's lots of competition for work in popular cities such as Paris: A tiny fraction of the available vacancies in a city like Paris find their way onto international job sites. There is such a large pool of potential English teachers already resident in the city that it isn't necessary to trawl further afield. It also means there will be lots of competition for work and it is probably unrealistic to count on having enough work to support yourself within the first couple of weeks. One possibility would be to try to find a work-for-keep arrangement so you wouldn't empty the coffers paying for accommodation, for example if you were willing to exchange English conversation for a room. This is not uncommon, especially if you are willing to give informal lessons to children and are prepared to be out in the suburbs. But at least this might give you a chance of investigating possibilities on the ground and talking to schools and other teachers.
African countries have many teaching opportunities, but mostly as volunteers: Some sending agencies in the UK charge an arm and a leg to fix up a two or three month placement but there are other ways of doing it. For example, making contact with grassroots NGOs and charities which don't charge huge placement fees but will still expect volunteers to be self-funding, for example to be able to cover their own expenses. For the most recent edition of my book, Teaching English Abroad, I heard from a man who was travelling in west Africa and taught in countries I had never heard of people doing that before, such as Mauritania and Mali, so it is possible to find paid teaching work.
For Sudan, have you looked at the Sudan Volunteer Programme? It is a UK registered charity which promotes English teaching among university students and other adults in and around Khartoum. SVP pays subsistence, accommodation and insurance beyond the initial three months. Volunteers must raise the cost of the airfare to Sudan plus £60 (cost of the first three months insurance).
Using a recruiter in your own country can provide some reassurance before travelling: It can be overwhelming when you set out to apply for and then choose a job in an unknown place in China or Japan, for example. Using a recruiter in your own country can provide some reassurance. Recruitment organisations like Saxoncourt Recruitment have been recruiting for Asia for many years and might be worth talking to. Saxoncourt recruit for 250 Shane English Schools in Japan, China, Taiwan and Vietnam. The usual pattern is for the new TEFL teacher to accept a contract with one of the big companies in the first instance and then once they have lived in the country and know the ropes go on to a more independent school with better working conditions.
Gain insight into the country and culture you want to teach in by doing CELTA there: Of course lots of TEFL trainees don't know where they want to teach or will end up teaching. One piece of advice I often give is if someone knows for sure they want to teach in Egypt or Thailand or Turkey or wherever is to do the CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) course in that country. Although the course instructors will have to stick to the syllabus as developed in Cambridge, they may have more understanding of local conditions and there may be some opportunities to do your practice teaching with local students.
A university degree is the main requirement for teaching in Korea and Japan: A burning passion for Korean or Japanese culture is not a prerequisite for enjoying a year or two of teaching there. Finding a job in South Korea is easier than in Japan though in both countries the demand for native speaker English teachers is holding up. Few employers insist on a TEFL qualification, though of course a certificate course will provide excellent preparation for facing your first classes. A university degree is the main requirement. My book Teaching English Abroad lists a number of employers including a couple of teacher placement agencies in the UK such as Flying Cows which specialises in Korea. It has masses of specific information.
Find as much as you can about a school before signing a contract: In an ideal world you would meet your prospective employer and inspect the school and accommodation if offered before signing a contract. It is always an advantage to meet other teachers and learn about the TEFL scene in that particular place firsthand before committing yourself, rather than accepting a job in complete ignorance of the prevailing conditions. If visiting in person is not feasible, ask the employer for contact details of current or recent teachers to find out the inside story. Ask the employer pertinent questions like what is the staff turnover like. (If a school is constantly advertising for staff, it probably means they aren't a very good employer.) Scour the TEFL websites, some of which have blacklists.
