Christmas is over and along with all those New Year's resolutions you have decided to follow your dream and look into teaching English abroad. How do you go about it? Where do you start? What arrangements do you have to make? Who can you ask?
There are many things to think about before you are ready to go. You need to do your research on such things as finding a good Tefl course, finding a job, packing up at home, saying goodbye to family and friends, planning your journey, finding somewhere to live, dealing with culture shock, and so on.
You may know someone who has started a new life in a new country, with a new job and lifestyle. If this is the case, contact that person for helpful hints and tips about how they went about it.
Taking a Tefl qualification is one of the first things to find out about as there are not many destinations left these days where unqualified teachers walk into jobs with no training. In any case, it is preferable to have some idea about what you are doing before you walk in to face your first classroom of eager students.
If you surf the web for organisations providing Tefl courses, you will find literally pages and pages of search results. If this is too bewildering, you can save yourself a lot of time and possibly an expensive mistake by going straight to an advisory service such as Cactus TEFL, which will help you find a suitable course.
Tefl can take you places most other careers can't, but simply gaining the qualification won't instantly change your life. There is a certain amount of effort involved in finding work after your course.
Some areas of the world are easier than others because there is a huge demand for English and a correspondingly large demand for teachers. These areas include South East Asia, China, Russia, South America and some parts of Central America. It is harder, though not impossible, to find work in Europe. So you need to decide how far away from home you are prepared to move.
There are various ways to go about finding where the work is. You could do your Tefl course in the country where you want to teach: many course providers are also language schools, and some of these are greatly in need of teachers, especially in some of the places mentioned above. Doing a course in one of these places is almost sure to guarantee you work afterwards. Alternatively, you could do your course in a school in the UK with a proven track record of giving its trainee teachers job assistance.
The internet is also a great way to search for Tefl jobs. However, make sure you do your research thoroughly and don't fall for an offer from one of the dodgier set ups. Check out websites: they should have been regularly updated, prospective employers should get back to your emails in a timely fashion, and so on. They should also be willing to help you with accommodation, either providing it, in a few cases, or at least helping you to find it. Investment in staff training is another sign of a good school: if they make a point of offering in-house training, if there are regular teachers' meetings, special help for new teachers, etc.
Culture shock is something that a good school will take into account too, so any kind of orientation package giving information about the country, the people, accepted behaviour, taboos and the like is also a good indicator.
Your trip itself needs careful planning. Do extensive research on all the options: prices can vary tremendously depending on how you decide to travel. Think green, too. How about taking more time over your trip and enjoying the getting there as well as the arriving - and reducing your potential carbon emissions in the process?
Letting go of home, family and friends is another area to give some thought to, and to be well prepared for both pragmatically and emotionally. Many far flung countries are more computer-savvy than you would imagine, so make sure you import all your email contacts into a web-based email programme so you can stay in touch from the moment you arrive - the phone will not always be a good option.
Set a date for your first return visit to have something to look forward to when you are feeling homesick. Your new life, friends and social whirl may mean this doesn't happen, but it's good to be prepared.
Also, take familiar things with you and check up on what is not easily available: can you get your marmite fix in Costa Rica?
Tefl can open up innumerable possibilities so it makes sense to extend your
planning to take in every aspect of the life it will lead you to. Once you have
weighed up all the pros and cons, prepared yourself for major changes, and planned
for all eventualities, you can then be committed to your decision and look forward
to living your dream.