Istanbul
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Are you looking to travel more and feel as if the corporate world isn’t for you? Are you looking to work abroad so you can travel more? If you answered yes then this is the podcast episode for you! In this podcast episode, we have an amazing conversation with Matt Mitzel, who took his love for travel and found a way to work abroad by teaching English. Over the last several years Matt has traveled to 39 countries and has taught English in Spain, Korea and Turkey.
We are diving deep into teaching English abroad. Some of the topics covered in this podcast episode includes the requirements to teach abroad, how to find jobs overseas, what it is like to teach English in different countries and the pros and cons of teaching English abroad.
Before we talk all about teaching abroad, we want to introduce you to our podcast guest Matt Mitzel! Matt is originally from the US and the great state of Maryland.
Matt is currently based in Istanbul, Turkey, teaching English. He moved to Turkey with his girlfriend, Perlie, in August 2022. Turkey is his 3rd country that he has taught in. In addition to Turkey, he has taught English in Spain (Galicia and Barcelona) and South Korea (Busan).
Matt loves to travel and truly enjoys the opportunity he has been given to live in other countries. His goal is to hit every country in the world. Currently Matt has traveled to 39 countries but still has a whole world to see.
Become Matt’s Travel Bestie: Travel Instagram | Personal Instagram
The corporate world isn’t for everybody and neither is being a digital nomad. Another way to travel more while still working is teaching English abroad. Let’s talk about the basics of teaching abroad, how to get started and what are the requirements.
The requirements to teach English abroad will differ from country to country. Some countries will require you to have an undergrad degree and a teaching certification. Other countries may only require you to have a certification. To find the appropriate requirements, please research the country you are interested teaching in.
There are two different certifications: TEFL and CELTA. Both courses can be done completely online. For those who have an undergrad, you may want to consider a PGCE, which stands for Postgraduate Certificate in Education. PGCE is a postgraduate qualification designed for prospective primary and secondary teachers.
There are many different ways on how to find international teaching assignments and jobs. During our conversation, Matt shares some of his favorite ways to find teaching jobs.
If you received your teaching certificate with ITA, they have advisors that can help you find jobs. Matt has also found jobs with a simple google search and Facebook groups that are geared for teaching abroad. Another great resource is Dave’s ESL Cafe. This website allows you to search jobs, upload your resume and join a forum to ask for advice.
As far as teaching contracts, each country has a different contract. Most countries have contracts lasting 1-2 years. You can also find contracts for summer camps.
What does it look like to teach English in a different country? Teaching English is structured differently from country to country. Matt described the different teaching environments that he has personally experienced.
Some countries will structure their classes in their native language and have an English teacher who floats to teach just English. There are other countries like Turkey who has the English speaking teacher teach all day in English.
When it comes to lesson plans, this will also greatly depend on the country and school that you teach in. Currently Matt is required to come up with lesson plans, administration work and interacts with the parents.
There are many pros and cons when it comes to teaching abroad.
Some of the Pros include:
As shiny as the Pros are there are also Cons. These include:
Teaching abroad is not for the faint of heart and takes a special type of person. You first need to understand that if you are going to teach abroad, this is not one big vacation. Yes you will be able to travel on your days off but your main purpose for you being in a different country is to teach English. This is your job and top priority and traveling comes second.
If you are going teach abroad you need to have patient and being flexible. Being in a different culture can come with a shock and being able to adapt to this large change is important. You will need to step out of your comfort zone in order to succeed in this type of environment.
We hope that you enjoyed this podcast episode and we were able to open your eyes on a different way to travel the world. If you were ever interested in teaching English internationally, we hope you found this helpful and helped you decided whether or not it is right for you.
Hi travel besties! It's Kayla and Cheraya, your co-hosts of the Passports and Coffee Podcast. We are fellow corporate world millennials looking to escape the 9-5 and are encouraging you to do the same.
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