Teaching English abroad is one of the best ways see the world, immerse yourself in other cultures and make money while you travel. It’s also an unforgettable experience that’s guaranteed to keep on giving, long after you’ve stepped out of the TEFL classroom. Teaching abroad, even for only a year or two, is sure to give you valuable skills and experiences that can help boost any future career!
Before you start TEFLing, it can be hard to understand how it’ll boost your career, or how you’ll incorporate it into your CV once you take your TEFL hat off. TEFL gives you so many transferable skills, but here are our top 5 CV-boosting TEFL skills:
1. It’ll enhance your communication skills
So many of our TEFL graduates say that communication is one of the biggest skills they’ve perfected whilst TEFLing. From public speaking to delivering super successful lessons to a classroom full of students who don’t speak your language, teaching English abroad will teach you to express yourself clearly and sometimes in ways you’ve never had to before. Not only will you have improved your verbal communication skills, you’ll also be able to demonstrate great written skills too! Think of all the lessons plans you’ve come up with, resources you’ve created and work you’ve marked – that counts for a lot!
2. You’ll be able to prove your flexibility
It’s impossible to live abroad and not learn to be flexible! When TEFLing, you’ll be living in a place that’s so different than what you’re used to back home – and it can be hard to make plans when you’re working around your job and trying to understand a new culture. You might be working in different schools, in multiple locations and sometimes even teaching lessons other than just English, so flexibility will soon come naturally to you.
3. You’ll boost your confidence
This one goes without saying really! Future employers want to make sure you’re confident enough to work alone as well as in a team. Standing in front of a classroom full of 30 children you’ve never met and moving to another country on your own may seem daunting, but it’ll provide you with all the confidence you need to succeed in any other job. If you can move halfway across the world to teach English in a completely new culture, you can do anything!
4. You’ll often gain a second language
Teaching abroad gives you a great opportunity to really immerse yourself in a completely new culture. And learning the local language is just one of the natural results of this career. Even if you don’t try to learn the language, you’ll pick up certain phrases and soon understand more than you might think! A second language on your CV – even if it’s not fluent – can tick a lot of boxes for employers. The more fluent you become in your second language, the more doors it can open for you when you get back home.
5. You’ll naturally become more organised
Being a TEFL teacher, you’ll get used to juggling multiple things at once. From marking, planning and delivering lessons to being prepared to step in for the odd cover lessons here and there, you’ll quickly gain some sense of organisation! TEFLing will make even the most unorganised, frantic person into the tidiest TEFLer. Make sure you highlight this on your CV, it’ll be really impressive for any future employers to see.
These are only a handful of ways that TEFL can boost your career. Everyone’s experience of teaching abroad is unique, but the combination of these transferable skills and your own individual experiences abroad could be just the thing that makes your CV stand out in future.
