Everybody fantasizes about what life would be like if they just picked up and left everything behind to move to a faraway country. For some people it’s not a fantasy, they really do it!
Here is what you can look forward to if you decide to teach English as a second language (ESL) abroad.
Cultural Connections Through Language
If you’re a native speaker of English, you’re lucky; many people around the world are eager to learn it, and your skills are in demand. Language gets to the heart of a culture — they say you can really come to understand how another culture thinks, by understanding how they speak.
It’s a gift to be able to share your language — it even makes you a kind of unofficial cultural ambassador. In an immediate and practical sense, it helps other people access your culture, and permits them to live and work in Western countries or with Western businesses.
Get Your Epic Travel Story
You can take advantage of the widespread desire to learn English and get your own epic travel story by teaching ESL.
South Korea is a popular destination for teaching English as a second language for many reasons. The culture is rich and varied, the infrastructure in many cities is extremely advanced, it’s fundamentally safe, and still more. The capital city Seoul is a major attraction, but so are bigger cities like Inchan, Daegu, Songdo, Geoje Island, and Ilsan. Wherever you decide to live and work, it’s easy to travel throughout the country in your spare time.
Worry-Free Travel
Companies like Travel and Teach Recruiting can help make it easy to pick up and have an exciting travel experience in a faraway country — all you need is the will to go! They take care of all the logistics so you don’t have to. This includes everything from arranging and paying for the flights, handling the work visa, finding you accommodations, checking in periodically to see you’re properly settled and acclimatized, and preparing you for teaching lessons in a classroom.
Upon landing you’ll be stimulated and occupied by all the new sights and sounds — there’ll be enough on your mind already without having to sort out mundane logistical problems. Not only will connecting with a travel and recruiting company free you up to dive right in to your new experience, but you get the benefit of locals on the ground-level working to find you better accommodations than you’d likely find on your own.
Many of the staff at these companies were once teachers themselves, so they know exactly what you’re going through. It’s an adventurous decision to pick up and move to a country radically different from your own; it’s perfectly OK to want support to help you adjust, so you can focus on your travels and teaching.
It’s easy to imagine picking up and starting a new life in an exotic country, but it’s hard to summon the will to actually do it. Once you’ve decided you’re really going to take that leap and teach ESL abroad, look for a reputable and large enough company to make your trip as smooth and incredible as possible.
