r/teflteachers

In defence of EF (Education First)

More of lurker on here but have been following this sub since I started my TEFL journey in March.

I live in Brighton UK, completed my CELTA with St Giles and then picked up a summer contract with the EF school here in Brighton and have just been made permanent/all year round.

I was pretty hesitant at first just because of all the negativity around EF but I seriously have had no complaints.

My DoS is awesome, the old guard teachers there are all very supportive and the materials are top notch, been able to teach straight out the book when needed and we are given lots of autonomy to adapt.

Pay might be slightly lower than market rate but in terms of being a big name in the industry, the job security and hours offered are much better which definitely makes up for it and they have successfully negotiated london weighting for staff from October due to the high cost of living here.

They've also got a career ladder where I could get a DELTA sponsored after a year or so's experience if I want it.

Maybe I just got lucky but I've felt this career change couldn't have been with a better school!

As a non-native teacher from Asia, I’ve seen offers as low as $2 for a 30-minute lesson regardless of experience, qualifications or teaching quality.
Meanwhile, a native English speaker with barely 10 classes of experience can sometimes be offered $10+ for the same 30-minute lesson.
That’s a 5x difference for essentially the same work.
I understand that native-speaker status can matter in ESL, but at what point does “preference” become discrimination?
What’s even more frustrating is the white/native-speaker preference you see in parts of the East and Southeast Asian ESL market. And yes, racism and colourism aren’t only Western issues, Asian societies can have plenty of their own biases around skin colour, nationality and Western identity.
Why is someone’s passport or place of birth still valued more than their actual teaching ability?
Curious to hear from both native and non-native teachers: what pay differences have you experienced?

Hello all,

I've got an upcoming interview teaching English at a high school, and I'll be honest, I've never done this level before and am looking for advice. I really want this job, so I figured, hey, let's ask for some help to try and get some great ideas.

They've given me a couple relatively short reading selections and asked me to design a 15 minute speaking activity based on them, and I should create a lesson plan for at least one of them. The students are level CEFR A2–B1.

So, what are your go to ideas for speaking activities for high school students, and do you have any good ideas to put in a lesson plan?

I appreciate any advice you've got. :)

I’m a **Nigerian, non-native English speaker** with 2+ years of ESL teaching experience, a **BSc**, and accredited **TESOL/TEFL certifications**. I also have a clear, neutral English accent and experience teaching both children and adults online.

I’m desperate for work and **ready to grind**. I don’t mind the pay. I just need an opportunity.

Please recommend any online ESL companies currently accepting **non-native teachers**. I’d really appreciate it!

Thank you! 🙏

I am looking for verified website that can provide me course and certification of TEFL, that must be recognized in Saudia. Need genuine leads.

Hi everyone!

I’m currently an English teacher in a Portuguese primary school (teaching children aged 8–10), and I’m thinking about moving to the Netherlands, ideally to the Rotterdam area.

I’d love to continue doing the same kind of work, teaching English to primary school children. Has anyone here gone through a similar process or knows how it works?

I’m wondering things like:

• Is it possible to work as a primary school English teacher if you’re not Dutch?

• What qualifications or certifications are usually required?

• Do I need to speak Dutch fluently, or are there international schools or bilingual schools where English is enough?

• What’s the best way to find these jobs?

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has done this or knows someone who has.

Thanks in advance!

I have read all the posts and comments on this subject and some are positive while others are negative. I plan to leave the USA and teach with a TEFL certificate regardless of the negative feedback I see or will receive so I really just want some helpful realistic advice from people who have done this in the recent years. I am a 46 year old healthy caucasian female from the USA with a BA in Psychology but no teaching experience. My career has been in the corporate restaurant industry and I have no plans on ever going back to that. Because of another job opportunity that ended up falling through at the last minute in the aviation industry I have already sold all my stuff, rehomed pets and prepared myself to leave my home and start fresh. I am ready to go and this shift is what I am doing. My kids are grown and I have no real prospects in the USA that will provide me enough money to even live above poverty in our current state. I am looking at Vietnam or Thailand mainly due to COL. I have and can live a happy modest life and Western comforts are not of the utmost importance. Clean home, good food and cheap travel are my goals. My questions are 1. Best program with hands on learning and success rates of helping secure jobs?
2. Pros and cons of both regions?
3. What is a good amount of money to bring to start the journey. I want to be able to live without stressing about money for the first 6 months while I complete my program and acclimate to the area and become employed. I was thinking $7-8 thousand as a savings to start.

Hello everyone, I would like your opinion on this job offer I received from an agent:

"We currently have some kindergartens in Guangdong province that are looking for teachers. The salary is 10k before tax + 1.5k housing allowance. During the summer or winter holidays, it is 2k + 1.5k housing allowance.

Please let me know if you are interested.

They prefer to work with us to help them recruit and manage foreign teachers. Therefore, you will sign a contract with our company and we will pay your salary, but your visa will be directly under the school.
Please let me know if you agree.

If so, I will arrange interviews for you.”

Thank you for your help!

Hi. Long time ago MBA and decades of business experience, mostly international and was founder of own business in my 10 year stint in Hong Kong.

Am thinking teaching online to business professionals. Was closely considering jumping in and do Cambridge TEFL possibly in Vietnam. Try to stay awhile get some practice as I build up experience and on line opportunities.

But i see that Cambridge is lots of work. Other programs less so. Learned in school days that i did not know English grammar as a native speaker and not sure i want to bury myself in it. Also as 70 looms in the not so distant future does my old brain really want to work so hard? Kind of like the challenge but not sure about effort needed.

So some of my questions are should I just go for it on line or do I need a certificate. Remotely possible might want to teach overseas so think certificate would help. Do I need to do Cambridge or just pick one. Suggestions on which one? Want to learn but not super heavy and keep down expenses.

On fixed income and didn’t plan well for retirement but have enough to get by especially if I leave California for cheaper cost of living in Vietnam etc.

At first blush this all seemed to clear. Vietnam Cambridge then stay for awhile. After doing more homework and getting head out of clouds lots to consider. Sorry so long and thanks to any and all for reading and any advice.