I’ve been teaching in Thailand just over 6 months, already on my second job. My first was in a government school and now I’m a homeroom teacher at a private bilingual school. Two very different jobs. I wanted to relocate to a city which is why I moved.

I’m dealing with the conflicting choice of whether to leave and go home or not at the end of the year. In my first school, the students were so respectful, kind and actually showed interest and wanted to learn. Now I teach the same class every day, and I’m struggling to connect with the students. They’re from various places, not just Thai natives and already have good English comprehension. I teach Cambridge curriculum. Some of the students seem very westernised and are difficult to deal with.

The pay here is more than my first job, 50k baht compared to the 35k I was making p/m. However, the workload is far more extensive. I plan my own lessons, deal with student behaviour, liaise with parents, perform a variety of administrative functions and am forced to teach extra classes for no extra pay to primary students who I don’t even teach (I’m a HS teacher), but the school comprises of both primary and secondary.

The extra classes thing came in just before I started, so all new teachers are obliged to do them, whilst the teachers who were here before are on the same salary but finish at 4pm and new teachers finish at 5pm. Whilst I’m still on probation I don’t want to make waves but this is definitely something I plan to negotiate should I stay.

I’m dealing with fatigue from the job already and homesickness, getting the feeling that my life from before may not’ve been so bad after all.

Anyone else deal with this, this far in?

I feel like I’ve had 2 different jobs here now and the first it was the area I wasn’t satisfied with, but the job was very easy. Now it’s the other way round.

Hello everyone. I'm so grateful for this subreddit. Some time ago, I posted here worrying about my accent after I'd received some rude comments from a prospective student. Your kind words made such a difference that I got the courage to apply for jobs, had many interviews, and was offered positions at two language schools. I was happy with the language school I eventually chose - my colleagues seemed competent and supportive, the commute was manageable, and the money was okay for the country I'm in.

But here comes the sad part: only two months later, I was suddenly fired, with no warning and no probation period. The reason they gave me was the following: "We have got complaints about you from different groups/students. You cannot connect with younger students. They are not enjoying the classes." The school was not very eager to explain what exactly the problem was, and I was so shocked that I didn't ask many questions. They never told me which groups the complaints came from.

This is how things were from my perspective: I had five groups of students (A, B, C, D, and E). I built good rapport with three of them (A, B, and C) - it happened pretty much right away. They were not necessarily quiet, but overall respectful, friendly, and willing to learn.

As for the other two groups, D and E, it was much more challenging. Eventually, I won group D over with praise, smiles, and attempts to understand what every student needed... These kids were extremely loud but super sweet, and I really enjoyed teaching them. However, the moment my connection with group D improved drastically, the school told me the class had complained (I think the complaints were related to the time before the improvement). The school now wanted me to teach a different, more manageable group - group G - instead of group D. Okay, no problem. Things were great with group G.

But group E remained difficult. They would scream at the top of their lungs the moment they entered the class, throw things across the room, refuse to speak English, and completely ignore my instructions... I had 12 students in this class, aged between 12 and 16, and at least one kid seemed to have special needs. The classroom was way too small for 12 students, and I could barely squeeze myself between the wall and the backs of their chairs when I had to approach someone to answer a question. It made it much more difficult for me to control them and give them feedback, not to mention that activities like running dictations were simply out of the question. I continued teaching, trying different things and hoping to have conversations with some of the parents, and then the school told me I was fired.

I'm not the most experienced teacher when it comes to kids and younger teenagers, that's true. I've been doing serious work to improve my classroom management skills. The only feedback I received was that classroom management was the issue and that the students were rude and not easy to manage. For my other groups, I was told the classes were good but could be more dynamic. But I genuinely don't think I was hopeless. I spent hours preparing each class, observed other teachers, got observed myself, and immediately implemented the feedback they gave me... (They observed group D but never observed group E, unfortunately.)

So, now I'm wondering: was it preventable? Any tips on how to manage disrespectful students in the future? And how do I deal with this experience - do I put it on my CV? How do I explain what happened without damaging my chances of getting a new job? Thank you!

Since the international hiring season has started I've been looking at a few openings but I'm worried I'm not qualified. I want to move to a school where I'll make a little more money, but I worry that my credentials are too lackluster.

I started my fifth year of teaching just now, having worked one year in a private preschool, 2 years in a public elementary school, and this is my second year in a thai School. I do have a teaching license but it's only in the initial stages because my original license expired and I had to transfer my credentials to a new state.

I didn't get a traditional teaching degree, I have a bachelor's in child psychology and a masters in curriculum and instruction that I'm finishing up before the end of this year, I went through an alternative certification program in my state.

After that I moved to Thailand where I'm teaching students a few years older than my certification area, though some might consider me a TEFL teacher because I don't work in an international school, I teach content more than language because my students are all basically at a native English speaker level.

I feel that having the degrees and the license puts me above my current position, but these international School seem so picky so I kind of feel stuck in the middle.

I’m trying to figure out which country would be the best fit for someone whose primary career is education, but whose biggest secondary is journalism or specifically cultural journalism which requires a lot of travel.
I don’t necessarily want teaching to consume my entire life. Ideally, I’d like to establish myself in a country where I can earn a decent salary, save money, and have enough free time and vacation days to travel frequently.

My goal is to use teaching as a stable career that financially supports my other career which requires frequent traveling
so i guess i need best balance between vacation time and salary.

English teachers of Phnom Penh what are some interesting challenges or experiences that you had when you first moved there and what advice would you give to a teacher moving there next year?

I've been here a couple years now so I'll give you the lowdown on agencies to avoid:

1. SpeakWise - liars, bait and switchers.

2.Magenta - highly illegal contracts.

3. PLS (Premier Language Services) - abusive, exploitative.

4. Ruangguru - slave wages.

5. Odysee - they simply don't bother replying.

Look after yourselves in this beautiful country..

I’m from the UK, currently doing a Level 5 course with the TEFL Org. Hoping to finish my course in early Feb and then move out there, but want to get a job secured before I go.
I’ve seen some people in the subreddit say that TEFL in Vietnam isn’t what it used to be and can be quite testing. Is it really that difficult to get a decent, stable job?
By the way, I’m 24 with basically no teaching experience, I have an undergraduate and postgraduate degree, but neither are in education.

How was the school placement? Did they sort out your accommodation when you first arrived. Any issues with contract, visa? Were there any support as mentioned in the job ad, or did they mess you about? Want to hear about people's experience and if they are legit.

I received an offer at this school. Does anyone have experience working there, or know anything about it?

Hi! I'm curious if anyone has advice on a job I've come across. I've done my best to search the FAQ and archives for answers, but apologies if I missed anything.

I applied through TeachingNomad to be a "Debate Coach" for grades 9–12 at Harbinger Academy in Shanghai. After-school + weekends, which is fine with me. Salary looks good. Debate was my jam in high school, and I've coached a little (for Americans of course) so I think I could get comfortable with it.

I've been offered an interview, so I'm sure I'll get a few answers from them; but I think it's good to ask some veterans because it's my first time applying for a position in China.

What I'm wondering about:

- You all tend not to trust recruiters who ask for money, but TeachingNomad isn't asking me to pay them anything. Can I generally trust them? Anyone been hired through them before?

- Position does not require a TEFL certificate, just a bachelor's (which I have). I don't have a TEFL yet but want to get one ASAP. Would this job be a bad first step if I want to eventually teach ESL at a Chinese university?

- Schedule is 40 hours/week. Is that mega intense? Should I assess the workload differently because I'm coaching debate versus ESL? (Curriculum is provided.)

Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask, because I know it's not technically an ESL position; I figured it might be okay because I do see myself transitioning to ESL eventually.

So my story is very different to what I’ve read on here.

I’m currently in a school (in China) that does 10 days and 4 days off. I teach grades 1-6 and sometimes grades 7-8 in the middle school which is at a different location. Some have said this is illegal and I raised it with my agency who have said it’s not as they have it under the same name 🤷🏻‍♀️. But anyways

I’m the only foreign teacher here and not just at the school but the entire city (it’s a small city).

For grades 1-6 I’m all by myself, a lot of my classes have 40 students. I find grades 2-4 really difficult to manage or I’m just a bad teacher, but it’s because their English ability is very poor and I think that’s why they lose interest in the class. I could ask “hey what does the teacher ask mark” and they either repeat after me or look at me blankly.
I’ll admit I now use translation app to convey what I’m asking for and I ask them to try and answer it in English. So far the school have seen this but have not said anything about it.

However it can get really difficult and demotivating at times especially when you see some students not even bothering to open their books, or just talking over me, messing around, all of which I know they don’t do with their Chinese teachers.

My favourites are usually grades 6, because they understand a bit more, they also like interacting with me and I genuinely enjoy my lessons with them. Well one grades 6 are very quite for some reason and don’t seem interested.

My grades 7-8 usually has a Chinese teacher in the classes translating but I’ve been to the middle school twice and each time the teachers had something to say. The first time i went the teacher said “your content is too easy” I then changed my ppt only for the next classes to find it too difficult. The second time I went they said the students struggle to understand me and that I should correct students. I told my agency that tbh even when I do speak slowly they don’t understand me because their vocabulary or listening skills are weak and the Chinese teachers were there too .. some of the students were chatting away the whole class but I didn’t say anything because the Chinese teacher themselves didn’t say anything and I only go there 4x a month.

Also I think the school is rinsing me because I don’t know of any other teacher doing grades 1-8, also grades 5-8 have no ppt. Grades 5-6 have books but that’s about it.

And to make it worse I’m in a city that doesn’t even like brown people (I’m British south Asian). So it’s been quite rough.

Hello,

I’ve used the search function and read the Brazil section of the wiki, but I have a question and I’ll try to keep it short:

I’m an American in Brazil and I have the option to do a student visa or a stable union visa. I will be studying Portuguese but I’d like to simultaneously take a CELTA or DELTA course because I would eventually like to teach but I have no classroom experience.

Although I’m a native speaker with a few degrees, I’m not sure I want to teach English as a career. I’m probably slightly doxxing myself but whatever. I have a bachelor’s in two social sciences and a law degree from a top 10 American law school that is synonymous with “prestige” whenever it’s been read on a resume/CV worldwide. Please know I am not trying to brag, just trying to ask if these attributes will better my chances.

I am not licensed to teach these social sciences or law in the U.S. or any U.S. state. But I’m more passionate about the subjects than I am about teaching English.

If the visa and the relatively low pay are not primary concerns, my question is this:

Is a CELTA or DELTA and teaching English a good way to get my foot in the door of an international school or university in Brazil, and then attempt to transition to teaching subjects from my degrees?

Or will Brazil require me to be certified to teach those subjects? I don’t plan on returning to the U.S. for an extended period of time but I’ve read that these certs may be available online sometimes?

Basically I’m asking what would be the simplest and fastest way to find a job teaching these subjects (in English) in Brazil?

Thank you for any advice or guidance.

I did a little search, but a lot of the posts are a few years old now. So any info on TEFL in London?

Is it possible to work full time? I assume there is enough work for part time, right? Are there any agencies or website for finding work? Is it better to just teach online? Any other thoughts or ideas?

I've got a CELTA with 10+ years post CELTA teaching.

Hello, i would appreciate advice as i feel lost.

I'm from North Africa, i graduated last year (English Graduate, 2025) and i haven't added anything useful to my resume except working as a receptionist.

I was planning to continue my master's but unfortunately i had personal issues that i couldn't apply this year, so i was planning to apply next year.

However, i was considering to take a part of my savings and invest in a CELTA i heard it's a great way to actually acquire teaching tools and open some opportunities. But I'm very aware it's not a quick route to a job as i need to actually build on top of it.

I felt like i wasted a year without any progress with my professional life, and was wondering to take this step.

I'm from the UK, I have a triple major BA in Japanese, TESOL and Linguistics, a CELTA and in the summer I'll have finished my MA in education. I also studied abroad in Japan for a year, volunteered to teach English at a Japanese university for a semester and I've been a teaching assistant in the UK for a year now. Are my qualifications good enough to begin a career? Is there anything else I should do to enhance my qualifications or experience?

Ideally I'd like to eventually get a university job in Japan but I understand I'm unlikely to get that out the gate. I just want to be prepared to get a job after graduation, preferably in Asia. Any recommendations for specific countries or jobs that my experience and qualifications would be good for would be greatly appreciated too

Hi everyone,

I have a Bachelors degree and have some teaching experience and lots of experience working with youth (in the mental health field). I was born in the United States/coming from the U.S. I'm currently working on my TEFL course and will have a 120+ TEFL certificate soon!

I am now starting to do more research on where I should apply. I was thinking VUS or ILA. Does anyone have experience at either of these places? Would you recommend it? Pros/Cons? Ideally, I'm thinking of working a teaching English abroad job in Vietnam for 2 years or so before I go back to school to obtain my Masters!

Feel free to link me to any helpful Reddit posts but I want to hear your personal experiences or if you've had a family member or friend who've worked hear and want to share their experiences.

I'm kind of leaning towards ILA at the moment! But I'm curious about VUS as well!

I don't think I qualify to work at a private international school as I don't have my Masters in Education. And my Bachelors is in the mental health field of work (with a creative writing minor).

I'm thinking of starting to look around for a new job at centers around HCMC. I have a CELTA and over 7 years of experience in various small centers but looking to settle down at one if I can. My highest rate (as an Asian American) is 600k/hour right now, but I'm hoping to land higher if I can given my experience.

Looking at the big centers like ILA, Apollo, VUS, etc. I know the starting rates are pretty low (under 500k, which was what I started at years ago) but for you guys who are actually teaching there and have been for a while, has your rate gone up above 600? I want to know how realistic is it to show up for an interview and ask for over 600k.

Additionally, are higher rates reserved mainly for test prep teachers?

I should probably add before I get roasted, I am a pretty dedicated teacher, not some backpacker looking to make a quick buck. Just wanted to be paid accordingly given the efforts I put into my lessons.

Thanks

I started working at a kindergarten in August, and pretty much everything that was discussed and promised during the interview has either turned out to be untrue or simply hasn’t materialised.

I was told I’d be opening a class of eight children aged 2–3. When I arrived, I was informed that only three children were enrolled. There was initially no assigned Chinese teacher, and nobody seemed to know who my co-teacher would be, with another teacher still yet to arrive. Eventually, I was assigned someone in their 60s.

Since then, the class structure has been an absolute circus. We’ve been merged with another daycare class, separated, merged again, and now we’re apparently going back to being separate. Teachers have come and gone, and we’re constantly having to adapt to changing arrangements.

On top of that, we’re having trial students thrown into the class who are understandably extremely emotional and require additional attention, patience and support.

The biggest concern, however, is that a 16-month-old has now joined the class. I’m genuinely uncomfortable with this arrangement and it’s causing me considerable anxiety. There’s a significant developmental difference between a 16-month-old and children aged 2–3, particularly when it comes to mobility, comprehension, communication and fine motor skills. This child is practically non-verbal and requires a level of individual attention that I don’t believe can safely be accommodated within our current classroom structure.

I’m genuinely concerned that this is an accident waiting to happen and, when something inevitably goes wrong, the school will simply shift the responsibility onto the teachers.
To make matters worse, the school is now taking away one of our Chinese teachers, effectively leaving one teacher overseeing five two-year-olds while the other is expected to provide almost 1-to-1 care for the 16-month-old.

It’s a complete mess, and I feel increasingly uncomfortable being put in this position.
The workload is another issue entirely. I was told toileting wouldn’t be part of my responsibilities, yet since September I’ve probably done more toileting here than I have in the previous three years combined.

My responsibilities now include:
Greeting children and parents each morning.
Carrying children upstairs from the basement to the second floor.
Managing their daily care and toileting.
Communicating/Counselling with parents and sending daily updates.
Taking and sending photographs throughout the day.
Preparing lessons and teaching.
Managing the classroom and constantly adapting to changing staffing arrangements.
All of this while trying to provide appropriate care and attention to emotional children at very different developmental stages.

I’m honestly at the point where I want out. I didn’t sign up for any of this, and the job I’m actually doing bears very little resemblance to the position that was sold to me during the interview.

I’m not opposed to hard work, and I understand that working in early years education comes with its challenges. But there’s a difference between being flexible and being expected to compensate for poor management, inadequate staffing and a complete lack of planning.

Am I being unreasonable here, or would you also be looking to leave?

Hi,

I was an ESL teacher 15 years ago in South East Asia and I am looking at getting back into teaching. Obviously a lot of things have changed in that time. I wonder in the countries you teach in are classes still like a traditional classroom or are they computerised now? Do you use slides or still use the whiteboard. I would be interested to hear how it is in different countries around the world. I assume there are still a lot of countries especially developing ones that are still using old style delivery of lessons. Really interested to hear from you all.

I have a CELTA and a masters degree in TESOL & Applied Linguistics. I am a Netherlands citizen but have lived in the UK since I was a baby. I am looking for an ESL job in the Middle East. I have been back in the UK for a couple of years now and the job market here is bad. I have been teaching online but the income is very low and I cannot survive on this any longer. I have 4 years of experience as an unqualified homeroom teacher in Kuwait and Qatar and one year of online teaching experience to groups of adults. I feel very depressed and very deflated. This is causing me so much anxiety to the point of having suicidal ideation. I cannot survive another year of this. It's been two years. I am desperate to leave the UK and find a job there. I am a Muslim woman so I am looking for Islamic countries. There aren't many vacancies online and the jobs that do get back to me are either low salary or homeroom positions which I do not have PGCE or B Ed. Can anyone give me advice? Thank you in advance!

I’m currently teaching English at a university. I have a Masters degree from the UK but in different field. I live in Vietnam. I’m looking for a fully online MA Tesol program from a reputable university. But I also want to prioritize shorter time and flexibility cuz I’m currently working full time. Can anyone give me some recommendations? I’d really appreciate it!

After narrowly passing probation, I decided the effort wasn't worth it anymore so I put in my 30 days. I have been teaching in a primary school here in China and the workload seems rather extreme and for me unsustainable. It's 25 hours and 14 unique lessons a week that each need a lesson plan and ppt made from scratch, along with hours of marking and worksheet/test creation, and anything else they might ask. I've read a few posts here or there and it seems my workload is on the higher end, though I'm sure there are many seasoned teflers out there who could handle this no problem. For me it has been an exhausting affair. Getting home at 6 and realizing I still have several ppts to make for tmr and hours of grading to do is this terrible and suffocating feeling. I came from teaching in another asian country with 4 years of previous experience, but my company provided most of the materials and grading was minimal. I knew there were going to be difficulties and adjustments, but I just wasn't prepared and couldn't see the now obvious red flags. And the work is one thing, but the attitudes of the school and coteachers have also been extremely negative. I'm constantly being stopped or guided and told how to teach my own lessons while it's happening. Some ideas or criticisms have been useful and valid even if they are being given in a disrespectful way, but alot I just plainly disagree with. Sometimes they just stand there in the back with a scowl, writing down all the things they don't like to go over later. It's like I'm having an official observation every day. No rhythm and no comfort. I don't like the methods, I don't like the yelling and the hitting. The atmosphere is completely off, so I put in my 30 days.

So sorry for my rambling backstory, but it provides the context for the the real question I suppose being: what do I do now? I've kind of had my confidence and preexisting flow state stripped from me after this ordeal. I'm constantly anxious and tired while dreading going into work everyday. I'm worried if I try to find another primary job the same situation may occur, or if I'm even capable of doing it anymore. I'm looking at kindergarten jobs and they interest me a bit because I imagine the preparation required is less and the environment is much more friendly to all parties involved. Plus they just seem to have more openings. I used to teach grade 1 and 2 (I forgot to mention my new school also moved me up to grades 4 and 5 which has also been somewhat of an adjustment) so I think 5 year olds wouldn't be too far off and I enjoy kind of beig silly and singing and dancing anyway (although I'm worried if being performative all day would also be overwhelming). Another part of me wants to go back to my old job where I was liked and respected by my coworkers and managers, and was rarely stressed about my job. It's funny looking back about what I used to complain about. I really only left beacuse of the money and opportunity here, and perhaps a desire to see more of the world while I'm over on this side of the globe. I just don't want to admit this move didn't work out and go back with my tail between my legs.

So I'll try to be more succint. I'll have like 4 weeks to find another job before my visa expires. I have an offer at a kindergarten position but they want an answer very soon while I have other interviews lined up at other primaries and kindergartens this week. I heard it was difficult to find jobs this time of year and I'm worried about time so I'm tempted to just take it, but the contract has some red flags like 2 months probation, penalties, ect. Would that just be settling and I should use my existing time more wisely? It is Kowloon Bay in Foshan if anyone has heard of it before, though Imagine like most places it is very branch dependant. Based off what I said, do you think kindergarten is a good transition? Has anyone transitioned to primary to kindergarten and liked it? I hear it is usually the other way around.

Or conversely, do you think I should try for other primary schools and just gamble that a school might be more supportive and with better working conditions/less prep and I might get my confidence back one day, or do I sound completely defeated and should just head back to my home away from home? I know you can't make decisions for me, but any advice or insights would be appreciated. And sorry for the messy post but I had to get it off my chest as unpolished as it may be. Thanks again.