By Jon Duckett
Experienced TEFL teacher and director at TEFL Jobs World
By Frank Wouters from Antwerpen, Belgium (Flickr) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
In recent years there has been increasing opportunities to find TEFL jobs in Indonesia. The warm climate, fresh and tasty cuisine and friendly culture make it an attractive place to be.
Located in South-East Asia, Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world. There are over 17,000 islands populated by 238 million people, making Indonesia the world’s 4th most populous country. This encompasses a multitude of ethnicity’s, languages and cultures in a country that is predominantly Muslim. The diversity doesn’t stop with the human population. In terms of biodiversity the country is second only to Australia in the number of endemic species.
Recently Indonesia has struggled to attract enough native English teachers to supply the demand. Requirements are less strict than most other countries in Asia. Most notably teachers do not need a degree to get a work visa. A TEFL certificate is enough and it doesn’t necessarily need to be a CELTA or Trinity TESOL although those are preferred by the schools. Schools are ordinarily looking for a 1 year minimum commitment from teachers. Wages are usually good compared to the local average and teachers generally have enough to live well and travel within the country. Additionally schools will often pay for a teachers return air fare.
TEFL jobs can be found all over Indonesia but the majority are concentrated on the island of Java, particularly in the cities of Jakarta and Bogor. Students tend to be friendly, enthusiastic and genuinely want to work hard to improve their English. A lot of the teaching time is in the afternoons and evenings after students have finished their regular activities. After school English tuition is popular and most teachers will find a large proportion of their students are children, particularly if their school is in a residential area.
Check out our job board for TEFL jobs in Indonesia.