FAQs

No, teaching at an international school is much different than TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) in a school abroad. An international school teaches core courses and follows a curriculum, just like any local school would do, such as the International Baccalaureate, Edexcel, Cambridge Assessment International Education, or the International Primary Curriculum, or through the use of a national curriculum other than that of the country in which the school is located (such as using the Common Core Curriculum outside of the United States).

There is no one answer to this question, and the reasons people teach at an IT are varied and personal. Here are a few of the reasons why we chose to work internationally:

Our Personal Problems in the U.S.:

• Neither of us felt truly happy in the U.S. Public Schools. While we both loved teaching and the students, the bureaucracy and emphasis of the state tests was too much for us.

• We had HUGE class sizes in the U.S. Some of my classes were 35 to 40 students, especially when we went online for COVID. That is impossible to control.

• The focus on the standards and the state tests was extreme. In two years, I had four consultants from four companies observe my teaching and tell me everything I was doing wrong, without even knowing my students or content area. I had three consultants who knew my content area, and another two consultants who knew my students. All within two years, all in the name of getting the students great state test scores.

• The pay was almost unlivable. After taxes, health insurance, rent, food, and classroom supplies, we could not save anything. We were two teachers barely making ends meet, still paying off student debt as well.

Our Personal Reasons to Move:

• Smaller Class Sizes: My largest class this year is 11 students. Our school caps classes at 15 students per class (with some exceptions, like gym class).

• Teacher Support: Colleagues are very supportive here, and we are all for our students. Our administration is very open to new ideas, teaching techniques, and anything, as long as we can explain how it will help the students. For example, we are using board games in the history classroom (like Timeline, Azul, Splendor, Twilight Struggle, and Brass). I get to use movies in my classroom now for English Literature, whereas I was not allowed that in the States. I can teach novels now. In the states, it had to be half and half short stories and articles, because that was what was on the state test.

• Teacher Care: The school provides our housing, food, and flights to and from the U.S. once per year. The administration listens to our needs and helps us through. For example, in our 2-weeks of COVID quarantine in Korea, the school provided us with plenty of food, along with all our furniture and things to do.

• New Culture: For both of us, we had been to Europe, but never to work. Moving to Korea to teach allows us to experience a different culture. And our students are from different backgrounds and experiences as well. Many international schools have students from 60+ nationalities.

• Teacher Training: Most teachers hate PD, but international schools offer such a wide range of professional development opportunities. Many also will pay for different certifications, like AP certification. Working in an international school also teaches you how to work with speakers of other languages, who might struggle to get their point across in English.

• Learn a Language: As we settle into our new country, we learn the language to get around. Although the language of everything at most international schools is in English, you can learn languages to interact with locals and with students on campus.

• Adventure: It is something new in someplace new! It is a great way to earn and save money, relax, and travel, all while growing as an educator and helping students.

Other Reasons to Move:

• Relationships: Many teachers are here because they are dating or married to a local, or they want to find someone outside of their own culture to be with.

• Students: In international schools, most students are there because they want to learn, they care about their education, and they want to do their best.

• Previous Jobs: In some cases, teachers are here because they were teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and wanted higher pay with more benefits.

• Global Living: Many people teach abroad to experience new cultures, foods, languages, experiences, and more. International teaching is focused on a global lifestyle and what it means to be a global citizen.

• Different Curricula: Tired of the Common Core? Many international schools offer different curricula, such as the International Baccalaureate, Edexcel, Cambridge Assessment International Education, or the International Primary Curriculum.

• Résumé Builder: Some people teach abroad because it looks great on a résumé. You can use it to discuss your skills in communication, planning, adaptation, language skills, confidence, ambition, independence, organization, and more.

Of course you can. Will it be a better job than if you had stayed home? Possibly. If you're in this for the long term, it is far better to have 2 years of experience in your home country before looking for an offer. Many schools hiring Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) are often not great places to work, have horrible offers, or will offer you way below what they would pay a fully qualified teacher. Plus, the experience prepares you for the job. Moving overseas is stressful enough, without adding in all of the stress of figuring out a brand new job.

Yes! If you are willing to compromise on a few things:

If you want to bring your family with you, your possibilities will be limited compared to a single teacher because some institutions do not sponsor dependents. If you are married and your partner is also a teacher, you have more of a chance of being hired, but have to find schools with openings for both of you.

If your partner is not a teacher, there will still be alternatives, but certain factors, such as location, may have to be sacrificed. You would have to individually talk to each school to see what options there are for your partner. Some sites show if partners can work locally. For example, Search Associates shows it right on the job listing.

If you have a (non-teacher) partner, you must be married in order to sponsor them for a visa. If you are in a homosexual relationship, be aware that many countries will not consider you married, even if you are legally married in your own country.

If you have children, some schools will provide free education; however, if you have more than two children, it is unlikely that a school will be willing to incur the additional expense of hiring you. Again, some sites will show you how many children each school is willing to sponsor. Search Associates details things like how many children and pets a school is willing to sponsor, right on the job listing.

So many things come into play here: the school's need, the school's turnover, when you need to start teaching internationally, and so on.

So, with only a year of experience, can you get a job? Has anyone ever done something like this before?

The answer is perhaps, but it is unlikely to be a fantastic school. In some of their smaller schools, China and the Middle East are known to accept brand new qualified instructors. Bilingual schools are also more receptive to new instructors. Victor and Mikayla were lucky enough to be hired at a new school, but one that was founded by a brilliant educator who already built a name for himself through his hagwons.

Working as an ESL teacher during a gap year after college will not count as experience. It will appear better for you than for someone with no school background, but the worlds of ESL and K-12 education are vastly different.

At the job fair we attended online through Search Associates, the average amount of teaching experience was 10-14 years of experience, with at least 7 of those years abroad. However, we still got jobs with 1.5 years of experience only teaching in the U.S.

Once you have worked at an international school for 2 or more years, you become a more tempting candidate for other schools. You have "proven" yourself as someone who can and will finish a contract successfully abroad.

Everything is entirely subjective. It's a term used by international educators to classify the increasing number of international schools.

Tier 1: Schools with an excellent reputation, strong programs, and competitive salaries. They are frequently supported by the US embassy and the schools of choice for the majority of diplomats in any particular nation.

Tier 2: Usually a minor rival to the above. You must exercise caution because some have a predominantly local population - not an issue if you know what you're doing. Many instructors choose to work at schools where the students are from all over the world.

Tier 3: For-profit colleges that are springing up all over the place.

In other words, there is no objective definition of Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3, and hence no "master list" of who belongs on which list, and even if there were, no one would agree. With institutions like WAB (Beijing) and ISB (Bangkok), there might be some agreement, but there would still be a lot of dispute. If you've spent enough time on the international school circuit, you'll acquire a sense of which schools are in which category. The quality of a school also depends on where it is located. A tier 2 school in Hong Kong may be a tier 1 school in mainland China. It all comes down to the work environment and compensation you receive.

Historically, the compensation package has taken precedence, not because of greed or anything else, but because it is simple to calculate. Schools that charge more for a particular location have more solid finances and greater endowments, indicating that they have been established long enough to develop efficiency and well-planned capital projects. Better schools may charge higher tuition and be more selective in who they admit.

1. Earnings (based on number of contract or teaching hours per week)

2. Accommodations (including utility costs)

3. Education (If you have children.) Furthermore, if you have a non-teaching spouse, how simple is it for them to obtain work?

4. Access to transportation (Including Airfare, moving, and settling in allowances).

5. Insurance (mostly the quality of the medical care)

For more things on what to look for, check out our post on Questions to Ask After an Offer. The better the answers are to all those questions, the higher tier of school it is.

You can leave, but there might be consequences. A school can report you for breaking a contract, and you'll have a hard time getting more jobs after that. If your school is not communicating with anyone, or is not a higher tier school, it might mean nothing to break contract.

The biggest issue is your resume. You'll have to explain the gap and why you left, and new schools may take this as a warning. If possible, talk to your current supervisor, be honest, seek a solution, and do the best you can. It is far better to finish a year and be able to tell new schools you did not enjoy the position, but completed your contract. That being said, there are schools who will work with teachers who have had genuine issues come up.