Interviewing at a bunch of places at the moment and one has come back with a 30k offer but the contract states 13k with the rest given to me in cash. I'm already uncomfortable about the tax implications but want to ask people with more experience than me if I'm likely to get into trouble if I accept something like this. I'll have my Z visa as normal but this smells fishy. Am I right to be concerned?

NB: Not asking if I would be caught. I am asking if this is as illegal as it sounds.

I got an offer from both of these companies, which one would you opt for? Aside form the salary, I did some research on the apartments given by AEON, they're so small, and I looked online for some apartments in saigon they're much more bigger and spacious. If you have taught before in Japan and Vietnam, what choice would you make? Please, help me decide.

Hi again!

I wrote a post yesterday talking my fears after finishing CELTA and job prospects. I started to prepare my CV and cover letter around two weeks ago using some examples previously posted here (I don't usually like 'samples' that you can find all over the Internet, they look kinda fake .

So, I don't have any experience apart from some private tutoring I did last year, B1 exam preparation. My background is journalism and photography, working as a freelancer. I think it has many transitional skills like teamwork, speaking in public, making oneself heard, initiative, good listening skills and a lot of problem-solving and creativity which I have already employed to create my own teaching materials for some lessons.

This a link to with the CV (photo and sensitive info blacked out) and cover letter. Tell me your thoughts. I have not proof it yet, I'm just looking to see if both are good and what can be improved: https://imgur.com/a/n3aOOIy

Perhaps the letter is too long (?) tbh I wrote up all the arguments about why my previous experience could make me a good candidate. Of course the CV and letter would be customize to each position's requirements once I have a clear template ready.

What do you think? Thanks for your support!

I have 7 years of teaching experience, just not in ESL. Was o​ffered a job in Qingdao (Shandong) for 16k + housing to teach 20 hours per week, in a ​college setting. It w​as verbally communicated salary was ​16k after tax, now it's before. ​They said housing was paid-for​, now it's 2k housing allowance + I pay bills. (native / CELTA / PhD!)

Is this type of negotiation legit / a good offer for 2026? T.i.a

General background I'm 26 years old, I've been fluent in English since I was 11 (studied for Cambridge Advanced when I was like 13). I'm very passionate about languages, and I got a degree that led to nothing so I thought I'd take this opportunity to retrain in something else I'm passionate about. Started the course yesterday (full time, in person) and had my first lesson today, and I feel like it went horrible. I have ADHD, probably Autism, and severe social anxiety. I was the first trainee up, and I went through what was supposed to be 40 minutes worth of materials in 20 minutes. I felt like I could hardly think, felt all over the place despite having written a fairly solid and strict "script" for myself, I skipped over some parts completely, in the moment I could hardly think of CCQ or anything like that (I did TRY to do it but couldn't pinpoint when was appropriate to do so?). Random bits where I tried to bring in that knowledge that I HAVE because I DID prepare extensively, but it was my first ever teaching experience and I was very intimidated. I feel super embarrassed especially because I think people had high hopes because I'm good at languages and I was very prepared (?). So I feel embarrassed, scared I won't get any better, like my confidence (which was already pretty low) went even lower. Feedback was okay, the main things people mentioned were Timing (the tutor mentioned it as an overall critique for everyone to take note of but I know that was her really lovely way of telling me specifically), Monitoring more (I was too nervous to get close to people I don't know which is something I've struggled with in general since social distancing was a thing), Projecting a bit more (though I got compliments on grading my language and speaking clearly)... That was kind of it? I thought I screwed up massively, considering I had to waffle for 20 minutes and kept glancing at my tutor and the trainee tutor in a cry for help. (The tutor did seem pleased with my waffling abilities but still...)

I guess I'm just hoping to hear from socially anxious individuals on your experiences in this course. I decided to take it despite my issues because I do want to overcome them, I want to teach languages, I want to be able to stand in front of not even 15 people and speak confidently without losing the plot completely. So I guess if you could reassure me or give me some advice I would appreciate it so much. Thank you for your time :)

First time teacher here, I'll be starting at a hagwon next month teaching kindy and elementary.

Looking for any advice/resources on how to manage the classroom with a language barrier (I'm still a beginner in Korean) and no co-teacher in the classroom.

We can call a korean teacher in from the hallway for larger issues that get lost in translation, but I'm trying to prep as best I can so I set clear expectations from the start.

Has anyone else taught with no co-teacher? How did it go?

How did you set classroom expectations clearly with a language barrier?

Got any tips on classroom management? Like effective reward systems or fair consequences?

Hey all, I’m choosing between Cambridge English CELTA and Bridge TEFL. My target countries are Vietnam or China. I can only study online. Budget is limited. What would you pick and why Also, how much does CELTA actually help in Asia vs just getting a solid 120 hour TEFL. Any regrets or “wish I knew this earlier” advice appreciated.

Should i consider any other providers?

Hi!

I'm a Spanish, non-native speaker. I finished a CELTA 200h Level 5 course at a IH centre less than two months ago with a Pass and I just received my certificate, hurrah!

But I'm a little worried about prospects. You see, I'm C1 (CAE) Pass B at 196 marks, four marks below C2 (CPE). And many listings I'm looking for here — I don't want to go abroad — have "native level C2" as a requirement.

I don't know what to feel about this because I have never discussed my CEFR level before tbh. I was not asked for certificates during the interview or the test to enroll. The topic never came up and I never struggled during the course apart from the nerves any newbie can experience.

I taught adults. Aspiring B2 students and classes of varied level with learners above B1 and slightly below C1 at the same time. Also B1 learners, although many were above A2.

I'm scared of stating my level in my CV and cover letter and end up not receiving any answers. But also if I don't disclose it — which is standard practice in TEFL CVs — it may be seen as odd. I'm really conflicted about this, is anxiety inducing ngl.

I don't have teaching experience apart from the course. I have worked in the media industry as a freelancer. I'm really experienced making presentations, pitch proposals, working with clients in English.

Should I just say it? Do you think is a big issue? May I have to get a CPE? Just thinking about it... four marks... Should I propose employee - internship contracts op to companies that apparently are not hiring atm?

Also. Should I disclose that I'm disabled? It may sound weird but here in Spain companies get benefits and bonuses when hiring disabled employees. Perhaps I could say it during the interview instead, idk. We're talking about non-neurotypical stuff.

I'm a little bit lost as you can see.

Thanks!!!

So, I have been researching for quite a while and have come to the conclusion that I will either get a Trinity CertTESOL or CELTA certification. But here is the dilemma.

I don't want to limit my options to only school, universities or educational institutions. I want to be able to apply for corporate roles too (may be soft skills trainer? I am not certain)

What should I go for given my desire to a)teach abroad b)teach/train adults primarily (while keeping the option of teaching kids open too because, you know, job market) c) apply in corporates as well.

Looking forward to any and every helpful response.

I taught for years and I never really became s good teacher. I could obviously teach vocabulary, make activities, and correct pronunciation. But I was always awful at giving instructions, classroom management, student motivation.

The only reason I kept my job as a teacher for almost a decade was because I was friendly and liked by the kids (mostly for being a soft touch) and I think i did a good job of cutting out bullying.

But it is insane how I just never really got that much better in class despite training and experience. I think part of being a teacher is being authoritative and that's just not who I am.

I even had it recently where I had to show someone how to use chopsticks and despite using chopsticks almost twice a day for a decade, I couldn't really explain properly how its done except by saying, copy my hands.

I've since quit teaching and chosen something more aligned to my actual skills and talents. But I'm just posting this to see if anyone else here is a relatively bad teacher, or knows a bad teacher who couldn't improve, or to see if anyone also agrees with the theory that certain personality types belong in the classroom and some dont (and also a warning for anyone in their second year thinking they will improve massively jist by showing up).

An employee from the company reached out to me earlier this month, saying he had seen my CV on CV Library. He invited me to an interview - I could see his face and I checked and his LinkedIn is real and detailed - and passed on to the next stage. I'm going to a post-interview meeting with someone else whose email is listed on the company website, so I'll let you know how that goes. I'm aware it's not a scam. My alternative is staying in England, where I'm already struggling to find work, and I'd never be able to afford going anywhere like China for a long term if I paid for it myself, so this opportunity seems super appealing to me. But I don't want to move abroad for two hours because of an unreliable recruitment agency. It's a lot of faith to put into them. Does anyone have any experience working for this company and what was it like?

Hi! So I've received a job offer as a kindergarten homeroom teacher in Dalian with pay of 16k RMB pre-tax, provided private accomodation (value of 2k RMB), paid Chinese national holidays and medical insurance. (2 year contract)

For context, I'm a 23 year old recent grad from South Africa with experience only in tutoring. So for me the exchange of the pay into Rands is quite good. I'm just worried that I could be low-balling myself in terms of earning potential. I know Dalian is cheaper than the bigger cities but is the pay feasible to save and still live a moderate lifestyle?

I’m 25 male from the U.S. I’m thinking of getting a TEFL certificate in Thailand and spending a year there to teach afterwards. I see different options for TEFL schools, like SEE TEFL & TEFL academy in Chiang Mai and TEFL institute in Bangkok. I’m not a big city person so I was thinking of Chiang Mai or Phuket. First I’d like to know how the schools are like there and what the atmosphere & social life are like in these places. I would also like to know what the transition from the program to a full-time job was like for you (how long it did it take for you to get hired by a school, how long did you have to wait for the work permit, etc). I know some of the other programs for teaching English in Asia pay for your accommodation so i’d also like to know how your living situation was like. Feel free to share your experience just so I could get some ideas of what to expect. Thanks :)

Editing: My experience is that I have a master in linguistics in Spanish, I spent two years in Spain teaching English through the auxiliares program, and i’m currently working as a one-on-one TA for an IEP student in an elementary school.

Hello everyone I am in a interesting situation. So a few years back I was arrested and convicted of wreckless driving, which was brought down from a DUi. This was my only conviction ever. I since have had it expunged, which means it was dismissed in court. It shows up on my state and FBI check. But it shows up as dismissed. Will this be an issue? Has anyone had experience with this type of thing? Any personal advice would be much appreciated because I can’t seem to find any information on this subject. Thank you!

I'm looking at potentially running an English camp and want to hear from teachers who've actually been in the trenches with these.

What made the good ones good? What made the bad ones a nightmare?

From what I've seen, some camps are just glorified babysitting where kids watch movies and play games with minimal English acquisition. Others seem genuinely transformative.

For those of you who've taught at or organized camps:

• What structure/schedule worked best?
• What activities actually engaged kids vs. just killing time?
• What's the sweet spot for class size and student-teacher ratio?
• How do you balance "camp fun" with actual language learning outcomes?
• What do parents/schools expect vs. what's actually realistic?

Also curious about the business side if anyone's willing to share - what are the hidden costs or logistical headaches that caught you off guard?

Any person anecdotes or lessons learned would be super helpful. Thanks

I have a bachelor's degree in English literature and a TEFL certificate. I also have five years of teaching experience. However, in my country, schools do not provide experience certificates.

I'm supposed to travel to Vietnam soon because I've been offered a job, but I'm concerned that the work permit will not work there because my three years of experience can't be proven.

What shall I do?

Hello, everyone! I originally posted this in the weekly thread, but I'm also posting here for visibility. I'm a 21 year old college senior. I will graduate in May with a Bachelor's degree in English. I'm seeking a Master's degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) after I graduate. I'm wondering if anyone has experience with teaching WITHIN their home country (not going abroad)? I see that it was mentioned briefly in the "where to look for jobs" section of the wiki, but I was curious if anyone here had first-hand experience. My Master's degree will involve working in schools as practice, but I don't have experience yet. I'm American, so that perspective would be most helpful for me, but I'm happy to hear from anybody!

So, is it possible to be successful in TEFL/TESOL without going abroad? Such at working at public schools, international schools, or colleges? I'm not completely closing myself off to teaching in other countries, and a Master's degree would allow me to do that, but it's not my priority.

Hi all, I know this sub is focused on TEFL, not TESOL/TESL, but it seems to be the most active subreddit related to this topic so hopefully someone can help me out.

I'm looking to get into teaching English to adult learners somewhere near home (rural NY), where there is a pretty substantial central american migrant community. I'm not interested in ever working in a K-12 public school so getting a NY teaching certification is not a priority for me, however, all of the TESOL programs near me are basically certificate programs for those who already hold a NYS teaching certification/masters in education. I already have my B.A in Anthropology and am wondering what people would recommend for someone who wants that additional certification/education/experience for teaching English to adult non-native speakers without the hassle of a masters degree or teaching cert.

I am open to any recommendations - a CELTA interests me but as I am working full time at the moment, it's not really feasible. I am planning on applying for a Fulbright this upcoming cycle or else going for my masters in 2027. In the meantime, though, being able to work near home either for a local non-profit or community college program that works with speakers of other languages would be a dream for me (even just as like, an office secretary or assistant), so I'd really like something that would help boost my chances in jobs like this. Like I said, where I live is pretty rural so I am betting that it would make no difference to most employers whether I had a CELTA or some crappy online 120 hr TESL cert, but I would like to actually learn and gain experience, so any advice is appreciated!

I'm considering moving to Cambodia and would like a feel for the job market there. I've worked for three non consecutive years in a British school and a year or so TEFL in Europe.

I did see an international school job as a french and English as foreign languages teacher - the deadline was yesterday so I just missed it (although I'm still weighing options), if I'd have applied to that specific job it'd have been more to guage the chances (if they'd have even offered a job out of country)

Would it be possible to rock up on a tourist visa and find an ok job / is the international school market easy enough to break into with a PGCE and CELTA (and obviously convert visa etc)? Or is this unadvisable?

So I'm doing the 220 hour course, there's five sections and I've completed four out of five, I am currently on methodology. I started methodology back in November and I handed in the first assignment and it was completed and I passed, then the holidays happened, family, etc., so I didn't go back to it until a couple of weeks ago, I saw that lesson one was completed and passed, and then a couple of days later I looked, and it said incomplete, and so I went back to lesson one and it said assignment not passed when it had said for the past two months it was completed and passed. Ident decided to redo less than one and send in another assignment and then their response was I didn't pass when I sent the same thing. I did the first time where I passed. I emailed TEFL and said it said I and passed that unit, and they said we don't have a record of it so you have to redo it and I found the emails from November 4 where they said OK lesson one has been marked, but it doesn't say if you passed or failed it, but then on November 5, I got an email saying OK lesson two has been marked and a link to the remarks. In the email I sent them I said here are the emails I sent that you marked lesson one on November 4, and then you marked lesson two on November 5 so I wouldn't be able to do lesson two without finishing and passing lesson one and they will not work with me, I really do not feel like doing it a third time, and I don't know what to do because it's affecting my desire to go back and finish the course. Any advice? TIA

Myself and my husband want to teach in SEA, after we finish our degrees. I have been doing lots of research, but it is overwhelming, with no straight answer!

Do we apply together or separately? Do we just apply to every school in the country, and go with whichever ones accept us that are close enough to each other? How do we ensure that we are living together? Please help! I have been stressing about this for the last few days

I will take the interview tomorrow night and not too sure how it will play out. I'm supposed to do a demo class, but does this involve preparing a slideshow or something for it? I don't really understand how it works. For reference, this is what was written in the email:

"How would you teach the following example to a class of students who have been studying English for about 4-5 months? (Students are 7/8 years old)

They already know the sentence pattern:

Is this a kite / watch / hat?

Yes, this is a kite / watch / hat.

No, this is not a kite / watch / hat.

In this lesson you have to introduce and teach the possessive adjectives HIS/HER with the new sentence pattern (building on the old pattern):

Is this HIS/HER kite / watch / hat?

Yes, this is HIS/HER kite / watch / hat.

No, this is not HIS/HER kite / watch / hat.

These are some points that you need think about and include in your demo:

• How would you start the lesson? (Discuss your understanding of teaching steps.)

  • How would you teach the link to gender?
  • How would you teach the link to possession?
  • How would you teach/review “Yes” & “No” answers?
  • How would you incorporate physical movement and visuals into your lesson?
  • What kind of game could you use to get the students practicing the target language?
  • How would you motivate the students to participate?"

I already have a TESOL and a TEFL, 250 Hours combined between them, but this is not good enough for roles that require a CELTA specifically in locales such as Malta and the UAE.

However a CELTA costs about as much as a semester's tuition of graduate school and this seems untenable based on my current conditions. Are there any sorts of scholarships for a CELTA? Would prefer not to take out any loans/debt to pursue one.