![\"How](\"\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/58463331_ML-2.jpg\")
<\/a>Teaching ESL overseas is\u00a0a great way to travel\u00a0and build your\u00a0resume.<\/p><\/div>\n
When I made the choice to leave a successful but stressful job and get a TESOL\/TESL\/TEFL certification<\/a>, I didn\u2019t have a long-term plan. I expected to go teach overseas for a few years, and see if it was right for me. I wanted to get paid to travel and help people, and I have successfully done that for almost a decade.<\/p>\n At the onset, I really had no idea about the ways that teaching ESL overseas\u00a0would change the entire trajectory of my career, or the qualifications it would provide me when I returned home. Teaching many demographics of students has also helped me discover what kinds of teaching situations are the most rewarding for me.<\/p>\n Living overseas is an amazing adventure, and many people choose to remain life-long expats. They find partners, buy houses, and settle in their new countries; but it\u2019s not always permanent. Any number of things may happen to bring you back home, or compel you to return abroad for new experiences.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve got your TEFL certification, you\u2019ve got some experience, and you\u2019re home. Now what? Stay in the U.S.A.? Find new jobs teaching English abroad? Living overseas for the first time can open many doors both domestically and in other countries, providing the personal and professional experience needed to live and work practically anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n Don’t limit your career potential. Get out there and see the world!<\/p><\/div>\n Most recently, I took a contract position as an English Language Fellow<\/a> with the U.S. Department of State. This program sends qualified teachers and teacher trainers to over 80 countries around the world, for 10 months at a time, as well as contracting for shorter specialized projects.<\/p>\n After returning to the U.S. again from nearly a year teaching English in Vietnam, I\u2019m beginning to reflect on the many diverse ways for people to utilize\u00a0their experience and certification in the workplace. To give some ideas and examples, I\u2019d like to share some of my own experiences, as well as several of my colleagues\u2019 and TEFL certification students\u2019 journeys.<\/p>\n While living and teaching for three years in Japan, I discovered that teaching was the right career for me, and got my Master\u2019s degree. When I returned to the U.S., I wanted to find a job teaching English as a Foreign Language<\/a> in an English speaking country and found that there are many opportunities for TEFL certified ESL teachers with overseas experience.<\/p>\n I had the pleasure of working in an Intensive English Program at a university, which is the kind of program that helps students from all over the world improve their English in order to enter American colleges and universities.<\/p>\n I also began teaching in a Community English Program, which helps adults from the general public improve their English for whatever their reasons may be. Both of these jobs were extremely rewarding for me personally, because I have had the opportunity to work with people from over 30 countries worldwide, helping them get closer to achieving their goals. I also became\u00a0a Teacher Trainer for Oxford Seminars, helping prospective and practicing teachers on their own career paths.<\/p>\n Teaching ESL online is an increasingly popular option for ESL teachers.<\/p><\/div>\n Teaching abroad gives you the experience to open additional career doors when you return home.<\/p><\/div>\n I got involved with and began serving on the board of a local regional TESOL organization in Japan, and then again in the U.S.A. These kinds of organizations are all over the world, and are an excellent resource for networking, brainstorming, collaborating, and getting those extra \u2018gold stars\u2019 on your resume. I ultimately became President of a regional organization, putting together local conferences and professional development activities for area TESOL instructors<\/a>.<\/p>\n Attending local, regional, state and international TESOL conferences gives you the opportunity to meet like-minded professionals who can be valuable connections. Knowing people in different aspects of teaching can help you get your foot in the door, or get back into a position after leaving for another overseas contract.<\/p>\n The pre-service and in-service teachers I certify often make solid friendships during the course and help each other with networking both internationally and domestically. Community and church-based organizations can be great resources as well, and there\u2019s always the Internet.<\/p>\n Living overseas showed me that teaching is the right choice for me, and has opened up international and domestic opportunities for both my education and career. It has helped me grow personally and professionally in ways I never could have imagined. Seeing the positive changes over the years in my colleagues\u2019, my trainees\u2019, and my own life has definitely proven to me that with experience, perseverance, and often a little creativity, people can achieve great careers in ESL teaching.<\/p>\n [wp_social_sharing social_options=’facebook,twitter,pinterest’ twitter_username=’oxford_seminars’ facebook_text=’Share on Facebook’ twitter_text=’Share on Twitter’ googleplus_text=’Share on Google+’ pinterest_text=Share on Pinterest\\” icon_order=’f,t,g,p’ show_icons=’1′ before_button_text=” text_position=” social_image=’ \/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-social-sharing\/static\/socialshare.png’]<\/p>\n Written by Jessica Carroll<\/p>\n Jessica is currently an English Language Fellow of the Brunei\/U.S. Language Enrichment Project for ASEAN, collaborating with the U.S. Dept. of State. She serves at Hung Vuong University in Viet Tri, Vietnam<\/a>. She was an Instructor at the University of North Florida\u2019s (UNF) English Language Program, coordinated UNF\u2019s TEFL Certification and when in the US, is an instructor for Oxford Seminars. She was President of North East Florida TESOL, and taught for three years in Japan<\/a>. She has BAs in English and Art History from UNF and an MAPL from the University of S. Queensland, Australia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Teaching English abroad is not only a great way to travel and see the world, but a great way to gain valuable experience that can open countless career doors both at home and overseas. Read on to see how teaching ESL improved my job prospects in America, and for tips on how to network and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":2825,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,349,344],"tags":[423,9,133,127,90,424,138],"class_list":["post-2785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-getting-tefl-certified","category-masters-degreephd","category-teaching-esl","tag-careers","tag-education","tag-japan","tag-jobs","tag-teaching-english-abroad","tag-tefl-certification","tag-vietnam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2785"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4448,"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2785\/revisions\/4448"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>How I Built a Successful Career Teaching ESL<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
<\/a>Available\u00a0Jobs Teaching English\u00a0in the US, Online, and Overseas<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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<\/a>How to Network and\u00a0Get a Job Teaching English Abroad<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Want to start your career\u00a0Teaching English Abroad<\/a>?<\/h2>\n
Download our Course Guide<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Sign up for a free information session about teaching ESL overseas<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Find a TESOL\/TESL\/TEFL course near you<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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