Hi Lacy, sorry for late reply...been very busy recently.

You're boyfriend shouldn't have any problem finding work as long as his English is good enough (he's white i.e. he doesn't look Asian) so should have no problem really. A good friend of mine has been teaching with her boyfriend and she is from Poland but has great English. The passport isn't really the issue in china, mostly looking western here is what counts. If you guys would like to work in Dongguan (South China) close to Hong Kong (2hr drive) and tropical then let me know, I have a couple of schools that need teachers ASAP (I'm not an agent, I just network a hell of a lot...At least that's my excuse for visiting the bars! haha)...You won't need a TEFL right away either.

Either way good luck with your plans,

Robert

Hi Lacy!

Great profile photo!

Hmm, there are many people teaching here without a degree, but the general rule is that they are native speakers. As dean said, maybe your boyfriend will get away with it as he looks 'western' and also a lot of schools do like to hire couples, so you being a native speaker will help!

I LOVE China, it is such a lot of fun here. Teaching was scary to start with, but now, after a few months, it comes naturally. The people are so friendly and everyone wants to be your friend!

I am sure you guys will love it! Good luck!

Denise.

Hi Lacy. Sounds fun what you want to do. I can only answer from my experience. I can only answer for Asia, specifically Hong Kong, China. Being a "Western looking" person is already a major qualification when it comes to TEFL. If you want to be a NET (Native English Teacher) you want English as your first language, so your b/f will have trouble. If he sounds fluent (I mean, sounds like he is from America or the UK) then he might get away with it because he "looks Western" compared to looking Asian, etc. It's discrimination I know, but it's where the market is in Asia. Overseas Chinese gets jobs, but they always need higher qualifications.

I would recommend Educational Centers, Agencies (that hire NET's to work in Schools for after school programs) and Kindergartens. You might be able to get a little 'cash in hand' work with privates and in a center before working your way up the chain. I hear Japan is pretty easy to get work. There's a big market here.

Once you get a little experience it all gets better. You talk you way into more pay, better places, better hours, etc. 

Hey,

Welcome to Chalkboard. Great to see you're interested in teaching in Asia. Some countries in Asia such as Japan, South Korea and Thailand would require you to have a degree in order to obtain a visa. Plus it may be difficult for your boyfriend to find work there with not been a native English speaker, however it may be possible. Your best bet in Asia for you to both find work would be China, where you don't need a degree and they do hire some non-native English speakers.

To get you started on the site you may want to take a look at the groups to get an idea of what teaching in different countries is like:

http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-chalkboard/groups

Also you may want to have a chat to these members who are currently teaching in Asia - they will be able to give you help and advice on finding work out there:

Indonesia: http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com/robertclarke (is now teaching in China, but has a lot of blogs about teaching in Indonesia)
Japan: http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com/pdixon/
China: http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com/rin, http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com/stevebudd and http://tefl-chalkboard.com/rozel09
South Korea: http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com/lintse07
Thailand: http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com/garethopenshaw
Vietnam: http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com/sarah86

Enjoy the site and feel free to ask me any questions you have :-)