A word of advice for first-time teachers from our Tefl expert Joe Hallwood; don't limit your options. Joe says its really important to be open to teaching different age groups and students with different learning needs. You don't want to restrict yourself to just teaching adults or children, he explained in a recent Careers blog.
If, however, you've got the energy of Tefl teacher David Proctor, you could do both. David combined working in a university in Colombia with teaching a 30-strong rowdy class of 10-year-olds once a week in a private language school. Sound challenging enough? Well, the school day there started at 7am - it certainly sounds like a teaching assignment to keep him on his toes.
Wherever you've decided to focus your Tefl career, it does sound like the students and colleagues you end up working can help shape a rewarding overseas experience. Callum Clark, who plumped for a university teaching job in China, found his students and colleagues worked hard to make him feel at home. He got a taste of local life when a new pal treated him to a birthday meal in a restaurant where the speciality dish was donkey. Yum.
While, in another Careers blog, recent graduate Emma explained how her boss has treated her and her boyfriend like family, inviting them to family reunions and holiday get-togethers - he even took them elephant riding. When's the last time your boss did that for you?
To help give you more of an idea of the Tefl opportunities out there and how to get your hands on them, we've asked a panel of experts to offer their advice and insight in a live Q&A. If teaching English overseas is just on your radar for now, or you've newly-qualified and looking for a job, join us on Thursday 2 February for live advice or post your question in the comments section below now.
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Our panel:
Joe Hallwood is founder of Tefl England and Tefl Scotland and Guardian Careers' resident Tefl expert. Joe has worked in Tefl for many years, including time as a teacher abroad and in the UK, and now advises people on Tefl careers both in the UK and abroad.
James Jenkin is Tefl course provider and i-to-i's academic director. James has been teaching English as a foreign language since 1994, having managed English language programs in Vietnam, China and Australia. As well as his extensive teaching experience, he also has over ten years' experience as a teacher-trainer on Cambridge CELTA courses and i-to-i's Tefl courses.
Monica Poulter works at University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations where she is responsible for the monitoring and support of the teaching awards. Before joining Cambridge ESOL, Monica worked as an English language teacher and trainer, and has experience of working in a variety of contexts with different age groups and nationalities.
Marisa Constantinides is the director of studies at CELT Athens, an Authorised Cambridge Teaching Awards centre for CELTA & DELTA. Marisa maintains two blogs, Tefl Matters, Teaching & Learning Languages and every Wednesday moderates #ELTchat, a weekly topical discussion for ELT teachers from all over the world on Twitter.
Jenny Johnson has 30 years experience of the Tefl world. She is academic director at Cactus Language Training, head of Tefl at Cactus Tefl, and was also head of Tefl teacher training at International House, Barcelona. She is author of Teaching English in Spain, a Guidebook for Teflers.
Rachel Wicaksono is head of languages and linguistics at York St John University (YSJ) and teaches on the YSJ MA Applied Linguistics: TESOL. She has taught English, trained English teachers, and managed and inspected schools across the globe. Rachel is a co-author of Mapping Applied Linguistics: A Guide for Students and Practitioners (2011, Routledge) and of the Mappling website.
Professor Simon Borg works at the School of Education, University of Leeds. He has been involved in English language teaching for almost 25 years and has worked as a teacher, teacher trainer, lecturer, researcher and consultant in a range of international contexts.
Mike Mooney is a course director at Tefl Lab London as well as teaching development manager of The English Studio Language School. He has been an EFL professional for twenty years, including an eight year spell in Madrid, working for the British council.
