My Top 5 Reasons To Teach English Abroad!

Even before I finally took the plunge and moved to teach English abroad, I greatly advocated it. As soon as anyone mentioned, or even signaled to me, that they wanted to travel but couldn’t afford it, I would leap into action! “Have you heard of TEFL??”. Annoying? Oh yes, however, after spending a year in Barcelona and just over a year in South Korea, my conviction has not waned. So please, hear my cry! Let me tell you my Top 5 Reasons To Teach Abroad.

1. Exploring a new country!

Need I say more? If you’re a travel enthusiast, you will be well aware of the feeling of itchy feet. I’ve always had a passion for exploring new places and having adventures. When I was working a 9-5 office job, it limited my adventures a lot. The cost of living in the UK meant I only had a little cash left over for big trips and many days I could book off work. Combining exploring with your day-to-day life made it much more doable for me.

I also feel it gives you a much more in-depth feel for a country. In a year, you’re bound to experience and see much more than is possible on a week’s vacation. One year into living in South Korea, and I learn something new each week about this vast country and its wonderful people.

2. Saving Money is Easy When you Teach English Abroad!

When you teach English abroad, its a great way to save money. Of course, this depends on where you choose to go and teach. There are tons of resources out there to help you make this choice. Like lists that rate chances of saving as well as quality of life! I found GoAbroad.com to have some good insights. So you can find a balance you’re comfortable with.

For me, South Korea was a no-brainer. After spending a year in South Korea, I saved around 5000 pounds (depending on the current conversion) without giving it too much thought. That’s madness! Most jobs here pay around 2.1 to 2.2 million won, roughly £1,400 a month.

Most jobs also pay for your accommodation and return flights. This is why it makes saving so doable; you could earn the same amount after paying rent and bills in the UK, but you could be left with only half of your earnings left each month! Whereas in SK, rent is covered, and bills are usually so low that you won’t see much impact on your pay. So the money you earn each month is more or less your own!

Since living here, we haven’t scrimped on anything we’ve wanted to do, eat, or see, and the extra money left at the end of the month has accumulated! Never before have I experienced this kind of financial freedom, and let me tell you..it feels liberating! Of course, money is not the be-all and end-all, but perhaps freedom is.

In addition to this, think about the day-to-day life you want to have. Would you rather be saving in your hometown or in a new country, where your evenings and weekends can be spent exploring and learning about a whole different culture?

3. Fall In Love with Teaching!

The little ones. Before I went to teach English abroad, I was never someone who would go wild for kids. Show me a cute dog or cat. Then I’m excited, but I’d never point out a newborn in the street and be like, ‘ooooh’ ‘ahhhhh’. This being said I have utterly fallen in love with the children I teach. The job can be so difficult, but ultimately, it’s so rewarding.

I should mention my experience has always been with kindergarten-age kids, so if you are planning to teach adults or teens, you may not fall head over heels. Back to the point, the more love and enthusiasm you put into their education, the more you get back. Occasionally, I’ve gone to work feeling rotten, homesick and generally in a bad mood; after half an hour with a hilarious bunch of 4-year-olds, I’d be optimistic and ready to face the day. They are able to lift my mood without even trying; it’s so lovely!

4. Making friends!

You are BOUND to make new friends when you teach English abroad. They may even be more similar to you, with more similar passions and interests than the wonderful friends you left back home. Usually, when teaching abroad, you will not be the only foreign member of staff; in my experience, this means before you’ve even met the person or people, you’ve got some fully-fledged friends.

Moving abroad also made me consider for the first time, actually being pro-active to make friends. Before moving abroad, it had always just happened naturally, through school, university or work life. For the first time while living in Spain, I actually went out of my comfort zone and pushed myself to meet new people and make friends. I used Meetups. I joined a book club. I went to free Salsa classes, vegan fairs, and yoga workshops. All to meet people like me! I assure you although it was scary at times, it was a wonderful and liberating experience from which I met some extraordinary people.

5. Know yourself!

Don’t get me wrong, there are also some pretty big downsides and challenges to living abroad. The positive in this? They help you know yourself and understand yourself better. You really don’t know how you’ll manage homesickness, culture shock, not speaking the language, navigating new situations until you do it. You will push yourself, learn about yourself and certainly surprise yourself along the way! So, feel the fear, but do it anyway!

If you have any questions about teaching or moving abroad, please feel free to reach out to me! I’m always happy to help in any way I can. :) Or feel free to share your teaching abroad experiences.