5 Epic Reasons To Teach English Abroad On Your Gap Year

5 Epic Reasons To Teach English Abroad On Your Gap Year

Have you decided what this year has in store for you?

No? Well then, it’s time to get your TEFL certification. Teaching abroad is the ultimate the gap year. You get to travel, earn money, experience different cultures and meet tons of new people.

Whether you need some time off before you start your degree or you are looking for a break from the humdrum of your daily life, here are five reasons why you should teach English on your gap year.

1. Get Paid To Travel The World

Yip. You read that right.

Armed with a TEFL qualification, you’ll be paid to venture off to exotic destinations around the world of your choice for a whole year. Some countries like China will even pay for your airfare, accommodation and give you a bonus at the end of your contract.

Explore far-flung destinations like Japan or Taiwan while earning enough money to save or to help pay off your student loan back home. Whatever you decide, by investing in a TEFL or CELTA course the world is your oyster!

2. Gain Valuable Work Experience Abroad

Are you struggling with finding a job after graduation? You are not alone. Graduates around the world have to deal with a lack of entry-level jobs.

Luckily, countries around the world are desperate for TEFL or CELTA teachers. According to the British Council, approximately 1.7 billion people were learning and using English in 2015, and this number will be approximately 2 billion in 2020.

With this high demand for English teachers, you won’t struggle to find a placement, and it won’t be long before you are earning valuable work experience abroad.

Even if you didn’t study teaching and have no plans to continue teaching after your gap year, it still looks great on your CV. It shows your prospective employer that you are open to new experiences and challenges. Teaching abroad will also develop your communication, leadership, and interpersonal skills. All of which are valuable soft skills regardless of which industry you end up working in once you return home.

3. Experience Authentic Cultural Immersion

Imagine waking up at sunrise and watching a procession of monks make their way down the road to receive their daily alms. Experiences like these are one of a kind and are why so many graduates choose to teach abroad in the first place.

The cultural immersion is unparalleled and gives foreign teachers the unique opportunity to experience day-to-day life through an unfiltered lens. Your TEFL or CELTA qualification will let you live in the local community and expose you to a different side of the country that most tourists don’t have the opportunity to see.

As you become more entrenched in the local community, you might find yourself invited to weddings, festivals and asked to participate in traditions that most people will never see in real life.

4. You Don’t Need Experience (And Sometimes Don’t Even Need a Degree)

The requirements to teaching English abroad can be pretty low. Especially so if you have a passport from one of the countries required by the governments of many popular English teaching destinations (the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland or the United Kingdom).

Basically, you don’t need any previous teaching experience. While your high school language teachers studied the details of the language in depth and learned how to teach, you usually just need a TEFL certificate, which is comparatively easy to obtain. Keep in mind that each country has its own regulations regarding visa requirements.

Related: Eligibility Check

While some countries like South Korea require you to have a degree, there are still a bunch that will happily accept you without one.

5.  Meet New People From Around The World

One of the perks about picking up and moving to another country or even continent is the people. If you spend your gap year teaching abroad, you’ll meet co-teachers from all corners of the Earth, fellow travellers passing through, and the chance to make genuine friendships with locals.

Some lucky TEFL and CELTA graduates have even found love abroad! It’s almost like a Hollywood rom-com just waiting to happen.

Inspired to teach abroad? Take a look at our some of the exciting job opportunities that are available through Saxoncourt Recruitment.