We at Travelbud absolutely love to help people reach their dreams of teaching English abroad. With so many of our team having taught abroad before and having helped so many others do the same, we understand first-hand how daunting it seems to leave your whole life behind.

But if you’re reading this, you’re probably already thinking of teaching English abroad and you just need a few more reasons to convince you. So here are 10 reasons we’ve chosen for you on why you should teach abroad.

1. It will fund your travels

The thrilling Phi Phi islands.

One of the most rewarding things about teaching abroad is the pay! It’s way above the average local salary in most countries as foreign English teachers are in high demand right now. This means that you are able to save quite a bit for your travels. Just by teaching in South Korea for a year, you are able to travel most of Southeast Asia all on a teachers salary.

I can’t emphasize enough how many of our participants use teaching abroad as their gateway to traveling places they couldn’t imagine traveling to just a few years ago. Teaching abroad can be an awesome way for you to keep ticking off your bucket list.

2. You’ll make a difference

Kids learning about technology in Nepal.

First and foremost for most participants, teaching abroad is about making a difference to the local kids that need English skills. With globalization and most economies using English as a means of information exchange, it’s an essential skill for kids in these countries to learn. Being there to teach English you are allowing local kids to gain a footing in a world of opportunities.

3. You’ll learn a new language

A journey to a million places.

How often do we all say: “I really wanna learn another language?” Teaching English abroad allows you to make that dream come true. Living like a local in a foreign country means you have to learn at least the basics of a new language. If you want to be able to communicate with your kids in the most effective way, learning their language as well would be a big help.

4. You’ll immerse yourself into a new culture

Our teachers embracing South Korean culture.

We often talk about immersing ourselves into a new culture but we never actually do it, after all, it’s hard to do while you’re in your comfort zone, surrounded by your friends and family. Teaching abroad gives you the opportunity to actually live in a new country, surround yourself with complete strangers that have a foreign culture, cuisine and lifestyle amongst other things. It will open your mind to new ways of thinking and give you a new appreciation for your own home culture.

5. You’ll meet new people

Our teachers enjoying the beach in Hua Hin.

No matter where you are in the world, a common human characteristic we all have is wanting to meet new people. Our environment often doesn’t encourage us to do this though and we tend to keep a small circle of friends that we do everything with.

Teaching abroad forces you to meet new people, actually, the mere fact that you’re in a foreign country means you will be constantly be interacting with new people. All our teach abroad destinations actually have incredible expat communities, so you will never feel as though you’re totally on your own. Especially if you do our in-class TESOL course, you’ll be around like-minded people who are also experiencing everything for the very first time. 

Teach abroad destination idea: Vietnam!

Teaching English in Vietnam is our fastest growing program and for good reason: choose between urban & rural, public school & private, short-term & long contracts. Earn up to $2000 per month – rent from just around $350 and a meal out less than $3 – saving for travel will be easy! There’s also an opportunity to advance your career in education management through promotions.

6. You’ll collect stories for a lifetime

Memory itself is an eternal rumor.

We’ve all heard those stories from our parents, family friends, cousins and so on of when they were younger and lived in a foreign country. They met the most amazing people and they wouldn’t change that experience for anything. Teaching English abroad could be your story to tell for the foreseeable future. You will pick up moments in your journey that will live with you forever.

Like that time you went to a party on an island in Thailand and you couldn’t find your backpacker hostel, so you sat and watched the sunrise with some locals. Or that time you went to Costa Rica and got lost around Arenal National Park without a flashlight, food or water.

7. You’ll broaden your horizons and grow as a person 

Reaching my potential.

Self-growth is one of the most difficult things to measure when you’re around the same people and you’re doing the same things. But take yourself out your comfort zone and be in a foreign environment, you will be surprised at how much you grow within yourself. It’s not by chance that one of the first things our teachers say when they come back is how much they’ve grown.

Most of the participants we send to teach abroad come from Law, Finance, Science and so on backgrounds so it is their first time teaching and having to deal with kids. This in itself is a form of getting out of their comfort zones.

8. You’ll gain international experience 

The exposure you get from teaching abroad.

Having teaching abroad as part of your CV can only be positive. It shows your future employer that you are capable enough to put yourself in unfamiliar territory and cope through it. This is an asset that not a lot of people have and will only benefit you going forward in your life.

As this story by CNBC shows, living and working in another country can be really positive for your resume. Global corporations generally want employees who can deal with being out of their comfort zones and flourishing.

9. You will see the world through new eyes

Teachers trying to speak Vietnamese at the local food market.

Getting a different perspective is such a great thing to experience. It will make you question a lot of things about yourself, about your upbringing and about society in general. Having one viewpoint your whole life without even realizing it, makes you quite disconnected from other people’s realities.

When you teach abroad you will see things the way those around you see them and it will open up so many conversations that you would not have otherwise had at home.

10. More traveling

Exploring the world on a teacher’s salary.

Traveling – we all want to do it, we long for it and we need it. When you teach abroad you get to live and work in a place where people usually pay huge money to vacation in just for a few days. For six months to a year or more, English teachers abroad get to travel through their host country and neighboring nations with the money they earn from teaching.

Seeing the world through teaching abroad.

This by far the biggest selling point for teaching English abroad. We’ve had past teachers who’ve traveled to as many as 11 countries just from their teachers’ salaries. If traveling is what you looking to do, there aren’t many better job opportunities out there that can compete with teaching English abroad.