Teaching abroad has been a passion for many aspiring and professional English teachers and the TEFL course has guided them thoroughly to reach the finishing line. Teaching EFL/ESL skills and techniques are quite different than the normal teaching procedure because over here there is a huge cultural gap between educators and learners. EFL teachers get a lot of training during their TEFL/TESOL certification days and crack high-quality TEFL jobs but then again they face a lot of challenges and some beyond EFL classrooms abroad.
Do you want to know about the countries where teaching English will be the best in 2022?
There could be uncountable challenges that a TEFL teacher might face abroad but we can assure you that if planned carefully and tackled cautiously, those risks are quite easy to mitigate.
FINANCIAL PROBLEM:
One of the basic problems that teachers come across is financial stability. There are several international schools in non-speaking English countries that provide international education to their students and that is why TEFL teachers are being hired. Countries in the Middle East or Europe, and some of the Asian countries pay lumpsum to English teachers along with free accommodations but in some developing areas like Latin American countries, Palestine, Morocco, etc., the pay scale is not that high and other perks are also in scarcity.
Teachers have faced problems mainly due to accommodation and medical expenses. The majority of the ESL teachers have said that medical expenditure is quite high in foreign countries. Sometimes, they have to spend a good amount of money on the maintenance of the apartment they are staying in. Whenever it comes to manpower expenditure, the amount is not negligible. Thus, teachers must keep this in mind while traveling abroad for teaching English.
CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT:
Honestly, this is not everyone's cup of tea! Does not matter how extroverted or social you are but getting along conveniently with another culture is really tough! You might possess the highest level of TEFL certification programs or International TEFL but communicate smoothly with the speakers of other languages is definitely difficult.
Maybe the teaching skills of a TEFL teacher are extremely and the teaching methods are absolutely on spot but ESL students might be awkward since he/she is coming from a different background having no knowledge of their language or culture. We always suggest that TEFL teachers must learn the language of the country at a basic level they will be traveling to and they should be aware of the local cultures.
For example, if you're visiting the Meenakshi temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu and you're wearing a sleeveless dress your entry to the temple will be restricted. Likely, if you're traveling to UAE or Dubai, you must know that dealing with drugs is a criminal offense and public display of affection is rightly frowned upon.
MISSING OUT:
ESL students may be fascinated by the lesson plan and the fluent English accent of the TEFL teacher but what about the other faculty members of that academic institution? TEFL teachers have often agreed to the fact that just because they are educating foreign language and the level of communication in the local language is not smooth, they feel left out frequently.
Well before coming to a conclusion, we want to let the TEFL teachers know that there are certain norms or rules in every educational institution. The working hierarchy is not the same everywhere and in many cases, it has been seen that teachers of different designations maintain a distance among themselves. On the other hand, if you get an opportunity of teaching Engling in the schools of Italy you'll be delighted to see that people are so fun-loving over there.
Italians embrace people from other cultures and they will even share their lunch box with you as Italians are tasty-food-maestro!
WORKING HOURS:
Traveling from East to West or vice versa is bound to hit you badly with a jet lag. Though the working hours are almost 25-30 hours per week yet the time scheduling is absolutely different. Suppose you're traveling from India to Brazil, the time difference is like 8.30 hours, i.e., India is ahead of Brazil by 8 hours and 30 minutes.
Let's say a school in brazil starts from 9 am and the IST will be 6.30 PM. Generally, we Indians wrap up our official work within 6-8 pm and in Brazil, you'll be starting working from so. Thus, there will be a distortion in this long habit of yours which is actually a big challenge you'll be facing.
PRIVATE TUTORING:
This is full of risk and the pay scale is always not that lucrative. Whenever you'll be hired as a private tutor in TEFL you must be very clear of certain facts like how much shall be earning, what if the student drops the idea of joining the class at the last moment, and so on.
These are the top 5 challenges that TEFL teachers face while teaching English abroad but look how happy these TEFL qualified teachers are after getting their certificates!
EFL teachers are undoubtedly hard-working and they are guided well by the skilled and experienced trainers who teach the TEFL certification programs. There will be difficulties everywhere on the surface of the earth but retreating from the battlefield is a sign of sheer cowardice. So fight back, stay strong, and teach English with all your passion.
Written By : Aditi Radhakrishnan
