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Writer's pictureJoanne Taylor

Coming Home

Back to the UK


After a year in Japan, we returned to the UK. Living in rural Somerset I worried about how I could continue my English teaching career. There may be more options to teach in a majority English speaking country than you think!


Language Schools


Even in smaller cities English language schools proliferate. Summer is the peak season for English school attendees. This is the best time to get started with your EFL career. If you are looking for something that could become long term, a permanent language school is a better bet. Don't wait for them to advertise, but email your C.V and ask if they need summer teachers. There are tons of jobs around in the summer, but if you choose a physical school rather than a temporary summer camp, you may have the option of staying on after the summer. This will probably be as a substitute teacher to begin with, but it's worth the initial instability to get a foot in the door.


Independent Schools


Independent boarding schools attract students from overseas and all have EAL departments to support the English development of these pupils. Often these schools will find themselves in need of an extra teacher as demand peaks. Again, write to nearby schools with your C.V and ensure that if they find themselves in need, they have your phone number to hand. You can also keep a look out on the TES jobs site to find these jobs advertised. Approaching the local schools in this way secured me my first EAL job, and shaped my career from that point onwards.


Universities


You may need to live in a slightly bigger city to approach a university. These jobs are harder to secure, but research what is offered to international students near you. In may case my old university was in the process of internationalising their provision and I was offered a great position offering drop-in tutoring hours in the library.


Online


I will post further about this later, but teaching online is world-expanding and can provide a real income. You'll need to register on a teaching platform in order to find a pool of students, but there are a lot of students out there looking for qualified, quality tuition. I've been doing this happily and successfully for 2 years now.


Building a Career


The great thing about English teaching is that you can build your own pathway through the career, and it'll be completely different from any other English teacher. Abroad, at home, in schools, universities, online...you can mix and match as best suits you and your situation.

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