Here are 12 amazing facts about TEFL teaching you need to know about!

You can earn top a salary teaching English

It’s unlikely earning potential is your top motivator to becoming TEFL qualified. But you want to know you’ll earn enough to enjoy new experiences and still be able to eat, right? How much you get paid teaching English depends on your qualifications, experience and the country you teach in. There are ways to help you choose your TEFL destination, including looking into which countries typically pay the most and which ones have a lower cost of living.

• The countries with the highest average TEFL salary are Japan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
• Salaries as a private tutor in the UAE can reach £4,000 a month.
• Cambodia is one of the best places to TEFL on a budget, with the average cost of living 33.67% lower than in the UK.

TEFL is a booming market

Although it’s been a tough year for the TEFL market thanks to COVID-19, the way we learn and teach has been changed. This means the need and desire for online learning have been accelerated. So, teaching English online is a rapidly growing market – and that means more online teachers are needed. What’s more, education is one of the most recession-proof jobs, and your TEFL certification is for life.

• $4.5 billion is the size of the Chinese TEFL market.
• 82% of TEFL teachers are planning to teach online due to COVID-19.
• Around 100,000 English teaching positions open every year around the world.

TEFL is a valuable, sought-after skill

The emphasis on English language instruction begins at an early age in many areas, particularly in Asia. Not to mention, English is the language of international business, and many companies around the world require their employees to have a certain level of English. TEFL will stay in demand as English remains critical for successful social and economic development globally. In a wider career context, TEFL also has many transferable skills that are valuable to employers.

• Over 2 in 5 visitors coming to the UK to study take an English language course. 
• 120 hours of TEFL training is the minimum requirement most TEFL employers look for. 
• 3 million students take the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exams each year.

There’s a global demand for TEFL teachers 

English is a global language and is the most widely learned second language in the world. It’s no surprise, then, that there’s such a huge demand for TEFL teachers. Although more of our lives have moved online and the way we live and work adjusts to the new normal, the global need for English language teachers will likely continue to grow.

• There are 375 million English as second language learners worldwide. 
• There are over 40,000 private language institutions worldwide.
• Over 750 million people speak English as a foreign language globally.

Think teaching English as a foreign language could be for you? Read our blog to find out the Top Traits You Need To Teach Abroad.