Which TEFL for Teaching Abroad

Which TEFL for Teaching Abroad

There’s a lot of information/misinformation on the web about which TEFL for teaching abroad to get for teaching English. In reality it depends entirely on your situation, so I’m going to lay out the most popular options for you.

If you are just going to teach in Korea/Most of Asia generally

Get the cheapest TEFL course you can find. It doesn’t matter which one you get, no one cares. I went with a Groupon $40 one through FullCircle and it was fine. You’re not going to learn a ton, but even the more expensive ones in this category aren’t going to be much better. You can get through this course in a couple of days. This option is also great for teaching English online, say through ABCKids or SayABC (the latter to which I am currently applying – they ask a question about whether you have a TEFL).

If you need “in-class” teaching time/You’re headed to Busan

There are a bunch of online options here as well, but it’s going to be more expensive (around $150 to $300). It’s why I don’t recommend getting this type of TEFL unless you’re set on Busan or a specific place that requires it. You still won’t learn a ton but you’ll learn more, and it’s a tad more time intensive.

If you plan to eventually teach in Europe, or in international schools

Get a CELTA – this is still no guarantee that you’ll get into either place, Europe and international schools are generally more picky and like to see that you are an actual accredited teacher. However, CELTAs do have a lot of benefits and many people pursue them. I do not recommend them right away. They cost in the thousands of dollars and are much more time intensive. But, you will likely gain a lot of experience.

Give teaching a shot starting in places like Korea where you don’t need one. Then, decide if you’d like to pursue teaching more seriously. At that point, considering a masters in Education could be important.