Country guides, salary database, contract templates, lesson plan banks. Built and maintained by working ESL teachers — not generated by AI, not scraped from forums.
Each country guide is written by a working teacher in that country. Real costs, real visa process, real salary ranges, real classroom expectations.
Thailand splits cleanly into two markets: private/international schools (higher pay, more structure) and government or language-center jobs (lower pay, more flexibility, easier to land with less experience).
Requirements: Bachelor's degree plus a TEFL certificate covers most private-school and language-center jobs. International schools increasingly want a teaching license or PGCE, especially in Bangkok.
Pay: ฿35,000–70,000/month depending on city and school type — Bangkok pays the most, Chiang Mai and Isan pay less but cost far less to live in.
Visa & contract notes: Your employer sponsors a Non-Immigrant B visa and a work permit. Government and some language-center jobs run on the 'border run' pattern for visa renewals if the school is slow to sponsor — ask directly before signing.
Two main paths: EPIK (the government public-school program) or a private hagwon (language academy). EPIK is more reliable and better-documented; hagwons vary hugely in quality.
Requirements: Citizenship from one of seven approved countries (US, UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa), a bachelor's degree in any subject, and at least a 100-hour TEFL/TESOL/CELTA certificate.
Pay: ₩2.0–2.7M/month is typical, with EPIK's pay scale set by region and experience. Hagwons vary more and are worth checking against public reviews before signing.
Visa & contract notes: EPIK sponsors an E-2 visa, covers a flight, provides an apartment, and pays a completion bonus plus severance at contract end — one of the more reliable contract structures in Asia for a first-year teacher.
Three main paths: JET (government program, most prestigious, application windows run Jan–Apr for an August start), dispatch ALT companies (like Interac, the largest), or eikaiwa (private conversation schools).
Requirements: A bachelor's degree in any subject is the baseline for all three paths. JET is the most competitive and application-heavy; dispatch ALT and eikaiwa hire on rolling schedules with a faster turnaround.
Pay: Entry-level dispatch ALT pay runs ¥250,000–265,000/month; eikaiwa is similar or slightly higher at ¥250,000–300,000/month; JET starts around ¥280,000/month with scheduled annual increases. After pension, health insurance, and tax, expect to take home roughly 12–18% less than the gross figure.
Visa & contract notes: Be aware entry-level ALT and eikaiwa wages have stayed largely flat for over two decades with limited built-in raises — Japan is a great first-teaching-job market, less strong as a long-term salary-growth market.
An under-the-radar market with a genuinely low cost of living relative to pay. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City both have large, active language-center networks recruiting foreign teachers year-round.
Requirements: Bachelor's degree plus a TEFL certificate is standard. Some centers will consider strong candidates without a TEFL if they have prior classroom experience.
Pay: Typical pay in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City runs $1,200–2,200/month at language centers, with some campuses paying $17–20+/hour. Cost of living is low enough that this stretches further than the raw number suggests.
Visa & contract notes: Most teachers enter on a tourist visa and transition to a work permit and temporary residence card once employed — a well-worn, well-documented process at established schools.
China remains one of the largest ESL markets in the world, with well over a thousand international schools actively hiring foreign teachers alongside public schools and private language centers.
Requirements: Bachelor's degree, a 120-hour TEFL/TESOL/CELTA certificate, and a clean, apostilled criminal background check are required for the Z work visa, which must be sponsored by a licensed employer.
Pay: Public schools run ¥12,000/month and up; international schools range from $2,100–6,300/month depending on city and school tier, with Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen paying the most.
Visa & contract notes: International-school contracts typically include free housing or a housing allowance, flight reimbursement, paid holidays, medical insurance, and a completion bonus — read the completion-bonus terms closely, since they're often the largest single line item in total compensation.
A master's-required market at the top end (international schools, higher education) with a wide range of tax-free salary tiers depending on credentials and school tier.
Requirements: Bachelor's minimum for most roles; a master's plus teaching licensure (QTS, PGCE, or equivalent) opens the higher-paying international-school and higher-education tiers.
Pay: Tax-free salaries generally range from $2,000–8,000+/month depending on school tier, credentials, and experience — Abu Dhabi and Dubai pay the most, Sharjah and other emirates somewhat less.
Visa & contract notes: Packages commonly include housing allowance, annual flights home, and medical insurance. Compare Abu Dhabi vs. Dubai vs. Sharjah carefully — cost of living and school quality both vary more than the salary numbers alone suggest.
Vision 2030 has made English a strategic national priority, driving rapid growth in private schools, universities, and technical colleges — currently one of the highest-paying ESL markets in the world.
Requirements: Bachelor's degree plus a strong TEFL certificate (a 250-hour diploma is well regarded) covers most private-school and language-institute roles. University and TVTC technical-college roles typically want a master's and prior experience.
Pay: Tax-free salaries commonly run $3,000–7,000+/month depending on employer type, with university and TVTC roles at the top of that range. Packages usually include furnished housing, flights, and medical care.
Visa & contract notes: Because salaries are tax-free and major costs are covered, many teachers report saving 70–80% of income — but verify contract terms carefully, since cultural and workplace norms differ meaningfully from other regional markets.
NALCAP (the North American Language and Culture Assistants Program) is the best-known path — a government-run cultural exchange, not a full-time teaching job, placing assistants in public schools nationwide.
Requirements: At least a second-year university student or degree holder, North American citizenship, and no criminal record. This is an assistant role, not a licensed teaching position — no teaching credential required.
Pay: €700–1,000/month, paid monthly, for roughly a 12-hour week — designed to cover a modest cost of living, not to be a primary income.
Visa & contract notes: The application window typically runs through the PROFEX2 portal and closes by early summer for the following academic year — apply as early in the window as possible, since placement choice narrows as the applicant queue fills.
International and bilingual schools (IB, American Common Core, or British IGCSE curricula) offer the strongest salaries and most structured contracts; language centers pay considerably less but are easier to enter without a teaching license.
Requirements: International schools generally want a bachelor's degree, teaching certification, and at least a year of experience. Language-center roles are more flexible on credentials.
Pay: International-school salaries run roughly $19,800–29,700/year (MXN $20,000–29,000/month at the higher end); language-center pay is typically $800–1,500/month.
Visa & contract notes: Mexico City, Guadalajara, and coastal cities each have meaningfully different costs of living — a language-center salary can go much further outside Mexico City than inside it.
The market splits into two lanes: platform-based roles (Cambly, Preply, iTalki) where you set your own hours and rate, and company-hired remote positions with a fixed schedule and contract.
Requirements: Platform roles typically just require native or near-native fluency and a reliable connection. Company-hired remote roles generally want a bachelor's degree and TESOL certification.
Pay: Adult conversational tutoring on platforms typically pays $18–35/hour. Company-hired remote roles average closer to $41,500–63,000/year for full-time positions.
Visa & contract notes: Platform income is genuinely flexible but inconsistent — most successful platform tutors build a repeat-student base over months, not weeks, so budget for a slow ramp-up period.
A quick-reference table pulling together the pay ranges from the guides above, so you can compare markets side by side. Figures are approximate and change over time — always confirm current numbers directly with the employer.
| Market | Typical pay | Common requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Thailand | ฿35,000–70,000/mo | Bachelor's + TEFL |
| South Korea (EPIK) | ₩2.0–2.7M/mo | Bachelor's + 100hr TEFL |
| Japan (ALT/Eikaiwa) | ¥250,000–300,000/mo | Bachelor's |
| Japan (JET) | ¥280,000/mo, rising | Bachelor's |
| Vietnam | $1,200–2,200/mo | Bachelor's + TEFL |
| China (public school) | ¥12,000+/mo | Bachelor's + TEFL + Z visa |
| China (international school) | $2,100–6,300/mo | Bachelor's + license |
| UAE | $2,000–8,000+/mo, tax-free | Bachelor's–Master's |
| Saudi Arabia | $3,000–7,000+/mo, tax-free | Bachelor's + strong TEFL |
| Spain (NALCAP) | €700–1,000/mo | 2nd-year university+ |
| Mexico (international school) | $1,650–2,475/mo | Bachelor's + license |
| Mexico (language center) | $800–1,500/mo | Bachelor's |
| Online (platform) | $18–35/hr | Native/near-native fluency |
We don't publish a generic downloadable contract template — contract law and norms vary too much by country to make one template honestly useful everywhere. Instead, here's the real checklist we tell teachers to run through on any contract, in any country:
All free, organized by age and level. Each card below is a full lesson summary you can teach from directly — jump to a unit or scroll through all six.
Total Physical Response activities for ages 4–7. Each lesson pairs a small vocabulary set with full-body movement — point, touch, mime, and act — so words get anchored through the body before they're ever written down.
Point-and-touch drill naming colors on classroom objects, then a 'Simon says' color-run game.
Students act out and mimic sounds for cat, dog, cow, duck, and bird while chanting the words.
Head-shoulders-knees-and-toes style routine building toward independent body-part commands.
Point to family photos and repeat mom, dad, sister, brother, grandma, grandpa with hand gestures.
Act out sunny (shield eyes), rainy (umbrella mime), windy (sway), and cold (shiver) on cue.
Physical obstacle-course style drill of run, jump, sit, stand, clap, stomp.
Mime eating/drinking gestures paired with real fruit and snack flashcards.
Students point to and name shirt, pants, shoes, hat while getting dressed in play clothes.
Count and clap simultaneously, building 1-to-1 correspondence with the target numbers.
Same pattern as counting 1-5, extended with jumping instead of clapping.
Find and name circle, square, triangle objects hidden around the classroom.
Mime and name car, bus, boat, airplane, bike with matching sound effects.
Face-mirror game naming happy, sad, angry, sleepy, scared with matching expressions.
Practice hello, goodbye, good morning in a passing-the-ball greeting circle.
Role-play mini requests (pass the crayon) to drill polite phrases physically.
Point-and-fetch game with desk, chair, pencil, book, bag.
Outdoor or picture-based walk naming tree, flower, grass, rock, sky.
Act out hot summer, cold winter, rainy season, and windy season in sequence.
Stretch tall/crouch small while chanting big and small with matching objects.
Race walk vs. slow-motion walk drill pairing movement with the target words.
Simon-says style prepositions drill using a box and a chair.
Touch-and-react game with warm and cold water cups (supervised) or picture cards.
Herd toy farm animals into pens while naming cow, pig, chicken, horse, sheep.
Crawl/stomp/slither like lion, elephant, snake, monkey while naming each.
Swim-mime fish, shark, octopus, turtle while singing a simple ocean chant.
Act out crawling ant, flying bee, hopping grasshopper, and name each insect.
Sort real or plastic apple, banana, orange, mango into a basket by name.
Plant-mime carrot, tomato, corn, potato while naming each vegetable.
Sort toy car, doll, ball, blocks into bins while naming each toy.
Slide, swing, climb, run mimed on a real or drawn playground with target verbs.
Mime wash, splash, soap, towel in a pretend bath-time routine.
Mime brush teeth, put on pajamas, read a book, sleep in sequence.
Mini birthday party role-play drilling cake, candle, present, sing, blow.
Water-gun mime and splash game naming water, wet, splash, festival.
Float a paper krathong while naming candle, flower, river, float.
Decorate a paper tree naming red, green, star, gift.
Mime feed, walk, pet, play with a stuffed animal while naming pet types.
Kick, throw, catch, run mimed with a soft ball for football, basketball, running.
Mime drum, guitar, piano while making matching sounds and naming each.
Sweep, wipe, put away mimed while tidying the classroom to a clean-up chant.
Mime cook, stir, cut, pour while naming kitchen tools in dramatic play.
Dig, water, plant, grow mimed while tending a pretend or real classroom garden.
Umbrella, boots, puddle, splash acted out with a rain-sound backing track.
Point to the sky (real or drawn) naming sun, moon, star, sky, day, night.
Physical wave-and-greet drill for meeting and leaving classmates.
Full-body number line: students jump to the called-out number.
Each letter A–M gets a matching action (A=apple bite, B=bounce, etc.).
Each letter N–Z gets a matching action, continuing the A–M pattern.
Combine body-part touch and feeling-face review into one active game.
Free-choice review day where students pick 5 favorite TPR words to perform for the class.
TPRS-style stories for ages 8–11. Each lesson uses a recurring cast of characters and vocabulary-anchored retelling, building toward independent storytelling by the end of the unit.
Introduce a recurring cast (a girl, her dog, a village) students will use all term.
Build a short scene using one sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch detail each.
Guided retell of a simple lost-and-found story using past tense verbs.
Students invent what's inside a magic backpack and tell what happens when they open it.
Convert a present-tense story into past tense as a whole-class drill.
Practice first, next, then, finally by ordering a jumbled four-picture story.
Draw a simple beginning-middle-end map before telling a story aloud.
Add 'he said' / 'she said' lines to a silent picture story.
Identify the problem and the fix in a short story, then invent their own.
Partner-retell a story just heard, checking for the 3 most important events.
Stop a story halfway and predict the ending before hearing the real one.
Write a short story where a weather event changes the character's plan.
Tell a story set at a local market using shopping vocabulary.
Story about a rained-out plan and what the characters did instead.
Classic three-wishes story frame, retold with student-chosen wishes.
Sequence a beach-day story using time words and beach vocabulary.
Sequence a mountain-hike story, introducing simple adventure vocabulary.
An age-appropriate mild-suspense story (a strange noise at night, resolved kindly).
Build a story around a simple joke or silly mistake with a happy resolution.
Invent a story where an animal can talk for one day only.
Story about two characters learning to share a toy or snack.
Story about welcoming a new classmate, focused on kindness vocabulary.
A found-and-returned story practicing honesty and describing objects.
A visiting-family story using house and food vocabulary.
Story where a character solves a small problem and is called a hero.
A mild-conflict story with a grumpy character who is won over by kindness.
Cut-and-order a 6-panel comic strip, then narrate it aloud.
Students tell a true or invented short story about their own family.
Story set during a Thai festival (Songkran or Loy Krathong) with cultural vocabulary.
Sequence a typical school day into a first-person story.
Invent a short adventure from the point of view of a pet.
A story that uses numbers 1–10 as a structural device (e.g., 5 little ducks).
A story built around a color theme, reviewing color vocabulary in context.
A story following one character through all four seasons.
A patience-themed story about planting a seed and watching it grow.
A birthday-party story with a twist ending.
Sequence a zoo-visit story reviewing animal vocabulary in context.
A friendship story practicing introducing yourself and asking questions.
Students write a short story then swap to add a surprise ending to a partner's.
Informal retell assessment against a 3-point rubric, then each student performs their favorite story from the unit for the class.
Topical conversation classes for ages 12–17. Real-world topics teens actually want to discuss, structured to build fluency, opinion-forming, and respectful debate skills.
Debate the pros and cons of social media use at their age.
Discuss dream first jobs and what skills they'd need.
Role-play resolving a disagreement between friends using polite language.
Discuss expectations parents have and how to talk about disagreements respectfully.
Interview a partner about their dream career and follow-up questions.
Describe a dream destination and justify the choice with reasons.
Discuss one environmental issue and one action a teen can realistically take.
Talk about what causes school stress and healthy ways to manage it.
Small-group discussion comparing favorite sports and hobbies.
Debate favorite music genres, defending opinions with reasons.
Recommend a movie or show to a partner and explain why.
Discuss personal style choices and how style can express identity.
Discuss screen-time habits and negotiate a 'healthy phone use' class agreement.
Debate whether video games are mostly good or mostly bad for teens.
Age-appropriate discussion on healthy friendships and boundaries.
Role-play saying no to peer pressure in a realistic scenario.
Discuss what bullying looks like and how to support a friend who's targeted.
Guided low-pressure discussion on stress, feelings, and where to find support.
Discuss the value of volunteering and brainstorm local opportunities.
Discuss budgeting an allowance and wants vs. needs.
Discuss the pros and cons of working part-time as a student.
Debate taking a gap year versus going straight to university.
Guided discussion on a age-appropriate current issue affecting Thai teens.
Compare and contrast a custom from Thailand with one from another country.
Discuss a skill they'd like to learn and how they'd practice it.
Describe a role model and the specific qualities that are admired.
Plan a full dream vacation itinerary in pairs and present it.
Discuss favorite foods and describe how to cook a simple dish.
Structured for/against debate on school uniform policy.
Structured for/against debate on homework load, ending in a class vote.
Email writing, meetings, presentations, negotiations. Practical, workplace-ready language organized from foundational phrases through full mock-meeting practice.
Structure a professional email: greeting, purpose, closing, and tone.
Key phrases for joining, running, and closing a business meeting.
Safe small-talk topics and phrases before getting down to business.
Answering, holding, and ending professional phone calls politely.
Useful phrases for proposing, countering, and closing a negotiation.
Opening, body, and closing structure for a clear business presentation.
Phrases for describing trends, numbers, and charts confidently.
Common interview questions and structured answer practice (STAR method).
Practice explaining your role, responsibilities, and daily tasks clearly.
Practice a 60-second company pitch covering what, who, and why.
Clear step-by-step instruction language for workplace tasks.
Polite phrases for admitting confusion and asking a colleague to clarify.
Soft-disagreement language for meetings without causing offense.
Phrases for confirming understanding and agreeing to next steps.
Email and spoken phrases for proposing and confirming meeting times.
Sincere, professional apology language for workplace mistakes.
Structured, respectful language for delivering difficult news at work.
Constructive feedback phrases that stay specific and kind.
Gracious response phrases for receiving critical feedback.
Icebreaker phrases and follow-up questions for professional events.
Ten common business idioms (e.g. 'touch base', 'circle back') with real examples.
Ten more common idioms, practiced in realistic email and meeting contexts.
Firm-but-professional structure for a customer complaint email.
De-escalating, solution-focused language for replying to complaints.
Structure and key phrases for a strong, concise cover letter.
Action-verb-driven language for describing achievements on a resume.
Writing a clear, professional LinkedIn summary and headline.
Best practices and polite phrases for joining and running video calls.
Structure for a short, persuasive written business proposal.
Building and delivering a 90-second sales pitch with objection handling.
Warm, efficient phrases for handling routine customer requests.
De-escalation language for frustrated or upset customers.
Vocabulary for rising, falling, and stable trends in reports.
Core terms: revenue, profit, budget, invoice, expense.
Core terms: target audience, campaign, brand, conversion.
Core terms: onboarding, benefits, performance review, leave.
Core terms: deadline, milestone, stakeholder, deliverable.
Practical tips and phrases for working with international colleagues.
Airport, hotel, and taxi phrases for a smooth business trip.
Full role-play meeting combining phrases from the whole unit.
A 20-lesson sequence to take an upper-intermediate adult to Band 7. Covers all three speaking parts, plus the most-asked exam questions and two full mock tests.
Practice fluent, natural answers to common Part 1 topics (home, work, hobbies).
Timed rapid-fire Q&A to build automatic, natural-sounding responses.
The 1-minute prep method: notes, structure, and time budgeting.
Practice speaking for the full 2 minutes without running out of content.
Cue-card practice describing a person, with strong descriptive vocabulary.
Cue-card practice describing a place, using spatial and sensory language.
Cue-card practice describing an object, focusing on specific detail.
Cue-card practice describing a memorable experience with clear sequencing.
Practice extending answers into abstract, opinion-based discussion.
Techniques for justifying an opinion with reasons and examples.
Drills for rephrasing the examiner's question naturally before answering.
Spotting and fixing 'canned' answers that hurt naturalness scores.
Natural spoken connectors (that said, on top of that, having said that).
Drills on stress patterns that affect clarity and the Fluency score.
Rising/falling intonation practice for natural-sounding speech.
Walk through what examiners listen for at Bands 6, 7, and 8.
Rapid review across the 10 most common Part 1 topic areas.
Categorize and practice comparison, prediction, and problem/solution questions.
Full timed mock test, all three parts, recorded for review.
Second full mock test with detailed banded feedback and an action plan.
Section-by-section strategy guide covering Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. Common traps, time management, and a full mock test included.
Orientation to Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing sections and scoring.
Speed techniques for locating information under time pressure.
Strategies for guessing unfamiliar words from surrounding context.
Techniques for answering 'implied meaning' questions accurately.
A structured shorthand system for capturing lecture content live.
Recognizing thesis, examples, and signal words in academic lectures.
Strategies specific to campus-conversation listening passages.
Template and timing strategy for the personal-opinion speaking task.
Combining a reading passage and lecture into a structured spoken summary.
Summarizing a campus conversation and opinion in the allotted time.
Structure for comparing a reading passage against a contradicting lecture.
Strategy and template for the academic discussion-board writing task.
A full-test pacing plan so no section runs out of time.
Recognizing distractor answers designed to look correct.
Avoiding answers based on isolated details instead of overall meaning.
Flexible sentence frames for all four speaking tasks.
Flexible paragraph frames for both writing tasks.
What each score range (0-30 per section) actually represents.
Hands-on practice with the actual test-day interface and tools.
Complete timed mock exam across all four sections with score estimate.
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