English as a foreign language teacher : Employers and vacancy sources

Although there are hundreds of language schools throughout the UK, most teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) work takes place overseas. Employers include commercial language schools, education and development organisations, government departments, volunteer organisations, multinational companies and The British Council . The demand for EFL teachers, and the ease of finding work, varies considerably from country to country. However, opportunities to teach EFL outside the UK are very good. Demand is currently very high in China, Japan, the Far East, the Middle East, parts of Eastern Europe, and Spain, Italy and Germany.

In the UK, there is a strong demand for qualified teachers, particularly those with a diploma, in the private sector. Opportunities tend to be with commercial language schools found in most large cities, although there is a concentration in London, the south coast of England, Oxford and Cambridge. Work tends to be seasonal with plenty of temporary posts and short-term contracts between spring and autumn; summer is a particularly busy period. There is strong competition for permanent posts or longer-term contracts.

Other opportunities for EFL teachers in the UK exist in schools to support pupils whose first language is not English, and in colleges of further and higher education and universities to provide English language support for international students. English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers are also often needed in ethnic minority mixed nationality communities. Demand varies according to the proportion of residents whose first language is not English.

Sources of vacancies

• Search graduate jobs on this site.
• Times Higher Education (THE)   
• Times Educational Supplement (TES)   
• Hunt ESL Teaching English Worldwide    
• TEFL.com   
• i-to-i TEFL
• TEFL Heaven - TEFL courses in Thailand  
• Guardian Jobs  - Tuesdays.
• English UK   
• OverseasJobs.com    
• EL Gazette   
• Direct applications to schools - addresses available from Fast Track Teaching Jobs Worldwide  for a small charge.
• Tiger English  for TEFL jobs in Asia.
• Park English  for jobs in Korea.
• Cactus TEFL  
• Dave's ESL Cafe    

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