By Jon Duckett
Experienced TEFL teacher and director at TEFL Jobs World
By Tibby Jones (Flickr) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
TEFL Jobs World gives you the lowdown on the 10 best countries to teach English abroad in 2011.
10. Saudi Arabia
Why Saudi Arabia: Great pay packages of up to $100,000 per year!
Qualifications: A degree, CELTA/Trinity certificate, at least 2 years experience. Those after the high salaries will need an MA in linguistics or TEFL plus at least 5 years experience.
Main Employers: Oil companies and colleges in various locations, particularly Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah.
Highlights: Saving up a lot of money! A unique cultural experience.
Drawbacks: For experienced teachers only, most positions are men only, little or no access to alcohol and other western forms of entertainment. It’s hard to interact with the locals and most teachers live on company compounds which can be quite dull.
9. Japan
Why Japan: Friendly culture, abundant employment prospects, good salaries around 300,000 Yen per month, great food, beautiful scenery, the list goes on.
Qualifications: A degree in any discipline. An MA if you want to teach in the universities.
Main Employers: Elementary, junior and senior high schools, universities, private language schools and the JET programme. Tokyo employs the most foreign teachers, but just about every town and city in Japan employs native English speakers in both public and private schools.
Highlights: Futuristic cities like Tokyo and Osaka, the ancient temples in Kyoto and Nara.
Drawbacks: The recent earthquake and tsunami have badly damaged the north eastern coast of Japan. The nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daichi plant is unresolved and there is uncertainty over the timescale to fix it.
8. Argentina
Why Argentina: Vibrant culture, Buenos Aries, the Andes.
Qualifications: Being a native English speaker, a TEFL certificate can also help.
Main Employers: Language schools in Buenos Aries and other major towns such as Mendoza. Privately arranged one-to-one classes with professionals in Buenos Aries.
Drawbacks: Low salaries, around $6 per hour. It’s difficult to get an official work visa so most teachers only stay a few months.
7. Poland
Why Poland: Plentiful jobs, low living costs, historic country and good base to explore eastern Europe.
Qualifications: A CELTA/Trinity TEFL certificate. A degree is useful but not always necessary.
Main Employers: Private language schools in most major towns and cities. These have grown in number dramatically in the last 10 years.
Highlights: Krakow, Gdansk, the numerous national parks and good socialising opportunities.
Drawbacks: Not a place to save money, students can be quite demanding.
6. China
Why China: Jobs galore, fascinating country going through major changes.
Qualifications: A degree plus 2 years work experience in any field.
Main employers: Schools, universities and private language schools in all major cities across China.
Highlights: Amazing culinary experiences, Xian, Hong Kong, Beijing, Tibet.
Drawbacks: Unscrupulous employers abound so do your homework.
Now checkout our 5 best countries in the world to teach English in 2011.