You can get away with not doing the online course. You'll feel more confident if you have some form of teaching qualification though. I found the weekend course to be the most useful. I-to-I and AYC gave us interns exellent support, we were very well cared for during induction. They did a great job of shuttling us about, setting up our Thai bank accounts, arranging a nice hotel, taking us out in the evenings etc

I'm actually doing the Thailand internship so I can get a job in Japan afterwards, and it's exactly what you need to do if you want to teach around Europe. I'd warn you though, white people really stand out around here, especially young ones. I find sometimes it is not so much the land of smiles, as the land of stares.

A second warning: Thai weather, and food, it is hotter than satan's balls!

It's not bow, but it is very nice! I was doing archery on holiday in Tunisia. Haven't enquired about a range here yet ^_^

Matt

Hey,

No problem, it's what I'm here for! I'd say for the start of your TEFL career Europe might be quite tricky - basically to work in the EU you need a right to work, which is easy if you have an EU passport from the UK and Ireland, but is much more tricky if you're from the States.

However, once you've got a year/couple of years experience under your belt, moving across to work in the EU is much easier, as you'll be a much more tempting proposition for employers. My advice would be to start in Thailand and get some experience there, then see about finding work in Europe. The Thailand internship might be a good option as you get loads of support and free accommodation: http://www.onlinetefl.com/teaching-internships/thailand/

In terms of accommodation, I wouldn't worry too much - when you get a TEFL job your school will usually either provide an apartment or give you help in finding one. And unless you're teaching in deepest darkest outer Mongolia internet shouldn't be a problem, so you'll be able to Skype your mom and friends back home, which should hopefully make the homesickness a little easier.

Hope that all helps - if you'd like any advice about teaching in Thailand you might want to get in touch with these guys who are there at the minute to see what it's like:

http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com/garethopenshaw

http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com/metalmatt

If you have any more questions just drop me a message, otherwise good luck!

Hey,

Welcome to Chalkboard! That's great you're looking into TEFL - getting your certification is actually quite straight-forward. You can do your course online to fit it around college etc and it's not too expensive - take a look: http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-course/. This article might come in handy for you too: http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com/travel-guides/227-3-Easy-Steps-to-Becoming-a-TEFL-Teacher

Where are you thinking about teaching once you're certified? To get you started on the site you might want to check out the groups to chat to people who are teaching abroad at the moment: http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com/groups

Good luck with all your planning and if you have any questions give me a shout :)