| It's tempting to get carried away with the excitement | | | | than teaching 5 different classes each day for an hour |
| of going to a new country and being accepted for a | | | | each! |
| job is a great feeling – but before you start packing | | | | - How much marking will you have to do? Again, this is |
| your suitcase, make sure you check out the conditions | | | | linked in with the amount of classes you have and |
| – they'll make or break your experience of teaching | | | | class sizes. If you have a lot of students this can really |
| abroad! Here are 6 things to check: | | | | bump up the hours you're working! Also take into |
| Hours of work: | | | | consideration exams. How many will there be |
| - How many contact hours will you have to teach? | | | | throughout the year? |
| The average is 25 contact hours of teaching (when | | | | - What additional hours will you be expected to be at |
| you are physically in the classroom with the students). | | | | work? (Training days? Placement testing? Covering |
| - How many days will you be working over? 25 hours | | | | other teachers' lessons?). |
| or less seems great…until you are expected to do | | | | - When will you be teaching exactly? Most TEFL jobs |
| them over 6/7 days! | | | | are typically in the evening, which is to be expected as |
| - What preparation will this involve? In order to | | | | this is when most people are available (after work |
| determine this you will need to find out the size of your | | | | school). Will you have to work split shifts? Some |
| classes, the length of the lessons and how many | | | | schools require you to work a few hours in the |
| different levels you should expect. Teaching 5 classes | | | | morning and a few in the evening. Think about when |
| of which there are 3 different levels each for five | | | | you want to work (consider the habits of the country - |
| hours a week is considerably less preparation time | | | | do you want a siesta?). |