The World of English Teaching
Many Kinds of English Teachers
Contrary to what many people think, teaching English abroad is actually a very wide-ranging career. Due to the great number of English learners worldwide and their different individual needs, qualified teachers can find a job in a variety of settings.
While a lot of positions can be found in government and private schools, qualified teachers are also hired by international schools, universities, kindergartens, or corporations—and it doesn't stop there.
English language teachers also find volunteer positions at countless organizations worldwide, tutor privately, or teach online!
What we’ve discussed above is just different types of teaching positions. Successful teachers can move on to a host of opportunities in this industry as we’ve written about in our English Careers page.
Two Categories of Teachers
Most teachers teach English as a second language. These are general English classes that aim to develop students who have developed a basic competence in the language.
To speed that process up, some schools hire Content Teachers who instruct subjects like math, science, geography, literature, in the medium of English. This is the essence of CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) where you are teaching both the subject and the language
Thailand's Teaching Opportunities
Thailand offers a variety of options for English teachers. While a TEFL certification is not an official requirement, it certainly increases your chances of landing a teaching position at a reputable school and gets you a higher salary.
Here’s the approximate breakdown of the average salaries per school type:
Earning Extra Cash
Some teachers top up their salaries by taking on private students after their day job. You can easily make a couple of hundred dollars a month when tutoring students in your free time.
In Thailand, the typical hourly charge for private English lessons is anywhere between $15 and $30 depending on the location, your experience, and the level of competition in your area.
Over the past 5 or so years, teaching online has grown exponentially. Here you can either build up your students one by one—as you’d do as an in-person private tutor—or work for the many new online teaching companies. If you go the latter route, do keep in mind that many online schools want a minimum commitment in terms of hours per week.
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