After an amazing weekend at Lumb farm and a head full of travel and all things right about being able to pack up and go, I find that I won't be able to pack anything up for at least a little while... and depression is setting in.
It's not all bad, because it is fabulous motivation to just Sort It Out!
So, in attempting to find a way to fund some travels and a aquire a sensible skill to take with me,
I am thinking about doing a TEFL course in London as soon as possible.

Has anyone taught along the way during their travels, or even before/after travels to save up some dosh?
Any experience of TEFL courses and their usefulness?

Thank you!

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I wish you every success if you do go down this road, but please try to talk to as many people as you can who have done this before you sign up for a course . My step-son did this a couple of years ago in the hope it would fund his stay in Spain. He now has all the qualifications and he did spend some time doing this in Barcelona and Madrid, but in the end he has found bar work to be more profitable and more enjoyable.

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If you think you are too small to make a difference you have never spent the night with a mosquito.

Good advice.
The pay that is offered (each country is different, of course) doesn't allow much breathing room to save money.
It could work well if you're looking for just extended stays in certain areas.

hI sHELLS,

I'd be interested in what you find. Me and my wife (still seems weird saying that as I've only been married 6 months) had a similar idea regarding doing a TEFL to help fund a trip once on the road.
Must admit bar works looks more fun but I feel less rewarding?
Good luck
simon

A few points. None of them particularly encouraging I am afraid. But best to know what you're getting yourself into.

Teaching schools do not want travellers. They want you to stay a year or more in general. Two and three month contracts are around yes, but they are designed at the convenience of the school ("flexibility" it's called in UK) not the workers. Generally speaking, you need to make a longish commitment of time to the job. I am sure there are exceptions, but this is generally the case. Look at it from the school's point of view.

Fulfilling Simon? No. this is not the reason to do TEFL. You are teaching businessmen, and disinterested well-to-do teens whose fathers want them to acquire the status English-speaking acrues. It is unlikely that you will get work with either children or dedicated learners.

And yes, the pay and conditions are lousy. Enough to live in the country. But not to save and travel. If you want the experience of living abroad, and are prepared to live at a low standard then TEFL is a good option. It suits early twenty-somethings I reckon. A life of coffee and scruffy trousers.

Exception: Japan. But here you are something close to a full-time professional teacher, and have proper responsibilities. It is not really for the "give it a try" types.

China will take anyone at the moment, but, again, the pay is rubbish and you are expected to live for a year in the middle of nowhere. Is this your life-plan?

Do you like teaching? Have you ever done it? Really, it doesn't suit everyone. I find most people have a completely warped notion of what the job involved. Funny, given everyone has the experience of schooling. So talk to some teachers.

This is a very funny site, written by a TEFL teacher:

http://chasemeladies.blogspot.com/

Scroll down for his teaching entries.

Lastly, to be more positive, you live in a country with a strong currency compared to most. Your best option for money is on your doorstep.

Here's an idea. Just for spice. How about six months touring India? Fly there. Buy a bike there, and resell at the end. Monthly expenses? Upwards from 350GBP. 450 is comfortable. Total: three grand will get you a fine experience. If you fancy SE Asia instead, then make it four or five. It is a lot, but not an impossible amount to save over a year or so. Maybe you own some assets, like a house and a car? Get a smaller ones.

I'm not trying to put you off here - just share my experience as a teacher and traveller. Biking travel is great. But TEFL is suited to a particular type of life. A stationary one. If you want an in-depth experience of another place then it may be for you. But it fits poorly with the hair-in-the-wind, whereever-I-lay-my-ignitions-keys-that's-my-home life that most people have in mind for biking travel.

Hope this helps,

Simon

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Simon Kennedy
Around the world 2000-2004, on a 1993 Honda Transalp

Hi. I have been teaching English overseas for a little over three years now.
As other posters have pointed out, you can generally earn an income that is good by local standards but low by 'Western' ideals. An example: I taught for a year in Indonesia and earned about $800 US per month. The average income for an office worker there might be $150/month, so I lived quite well and still managed to save $500 per month.

However, if you want to tour around on a motorcycle, $500/ month isn't sufficient. It would take you months to save the money for the airfare to fly your motorcycle to the next destination.

"Coffee and scruffy trousers"? Ha ha - today we ran out of coffee in the office, so it's a mug of tea this morning. But my trousers are pretty scruffy-looking....

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Bruce Clarke - 2020 Yamaha XV250