If you are considering taking a gap year to teach English abroad, one of the most important skills you will hear about is TEFL (or Teaching English as a Foreign Language). Whether you are interested in teaching English during your gap year in a non-English speaking country or exploring international TEFL programmes, obtaining TEFL certification can open up incredible teaching opportunities worldwide.
English is often regarded as the world language for business and communication, and many nations choose English as a second language. As a result, there are numerous teaching English opportunities abroad for native English speakers, making TEFL courses for gap year students a popular choice for those looking to combine travel, cultural exchange, and professional development.
Thanks to traditional education systems that may have limited foreign language learning, many English people lack fluency in a second language. However, becoming TEFL certified and learning a second language is a highly valuable skill that can boost your employability and enrich your gap year experience. A reputable TEFL training programme not only prepares you to teach English abroad but also enhances your CV for future career opportunities.
Eager to teach English overseas during your gap year, explore affordable TEFL courses, or find teaching jobs abroad, the TEFL certification courses below can transform your travel plans into an unforgettable cultural and professional adventure.
Immerse in the language and culture of another country, learn Spanish from experienced teachers and locals, dive into the deep, ancient history of the region, volunteer if you wish to, and enjoy the natural wonders that the landscape has to offer! We also have an online option available!
Specialising in ethical and sustainable volunteer abroad projects, Kaya Responsible Travel have a wide breadth of choice when it comes to projects in Africa. With dozens of projects in 11 countries, discover the incredible scenery and varied wildlife of Africa while making a positive impact!
Asia Here at i-to-i TEFL, we’ve joined forces with reputable education organisations in China, Vietnam and Thailand to provide you with a fully-supported paid teaching experience, combined with a high quality tailored TEFL course.
Africa Asia SouthAmerica Our TEFL internships allow you to combine valuable teaching experience with an amazing adventure in a beautiful new country.
Before you head off, you'll be fully TEFL trained and when you arrive, you'll get all the support you need from our in-country teams.
Europe We’ve been running English camps for French children since 1994! With multiple locations across France, American Village Language Immersion Camps welcome thousands of kids each year. Our caring, fun, and professional counselor team is a part of what makes our camp so loved by our campers!
Africa Go Make A Difference in Tanzania (Go MAD) is a small independent Christian charity headed up by experienced leaders, some of whom have led groups to Tanzania for 23 years. We offer people the chance to visit Tanzania and get involved in community development projects.
Africa As a teaching volunteer in Cape Town, you will educate, support and empower children who come from disadvantaged township communities. This is an exceptional opportunity to visit one of the most beautiful cities in the world, while also contributing to the future of it's poorest citizens.
Africa Work with one of Africa’s most iconic tribes, the Maasai, near Africa's highest mountain - Mount Kilimanjaro. Your support will give members of the tribe who have not had access to education as a child a second chance at education in adulthood, and empower them to earn an income for their family.
With a wide range of volunteer projects in Asia (and ten years in the business) get in touch with Kaya Responsible Travel today and start organising a life changing trip! Already got travel plans? Add in some volunteering time and make a positive impact while you explore!
Africa Join us near the 'Adventure Capital' of Africa, Victoria Falls, and offer much-needed teaching assistance at under-staffed Zambian schools. This is an opportunity to give individual attention to children who really need it, assist local teachers, and to gain some valuable teaching abroad experience.
Travel off the beaten path and work on community-led initiatives in conservation, community development, education, healthcare, or the arts. Immerse yourself in new cultures and the Spanish language, hike mountains, explore ruins, tunnel through jungles - and make a difference!
Asia Make this a year to remember by joining the Thailand TEFL internship.
Africa You Volunteer with different Volunteer projects around Uganda, These include Teaching, Childcare, Women Empowerment, Special Needs Care, HIV/ AIDS Support, Sports Education. Street and Slum Children Support around Uganda.
Africa Asia Europe SouthAmerica The demand for English teachers around the world is astronomical, take China, where there are 350 million people learning the language at any given time. Combine teaching and TEFL courses or volunteer in sports or childcare projects to create a rewarding adventure and experience!
SouthAmerica The ​Buenos Aires TEFL institute offers an intensive 130-hour, 5-week TEFL/TESOL certification designed to transform students into qualified English teachers. The program is distinctive for its focus on in-person instruction, moving away from online-only formats to provide hands-on classroom exper
Africa Help with various community aid projects in the settlements of Cape Town!
Asia With this paid teaching experience in China (known as the i-to-i China Internship), you’ll enjoy the amazing cultural experience of living and teaching in China whilst we’ll support you every step of the way.
Africa Asia Australasia Europe NorthAmerica SouthAmerica UK To learn a new language, we feel that the best way is to completely immerse yourself within the culture of the country who's language you are learning. With ESL you will go straight into a unique opportunity to learn new languages while on a long-term learning, cultural adventure.
Asia The demand for English teachers around the world is astronomical, take China, where there are 350 million students learning the language at any given time. Whether on a gap year or a graduate, we have the course for you. Choose either to join our Teach and Earn programme or our China TEFL programme
Asia Join our 120 hour TESOL course in either Hua Hin or Chiang Mai and gain a teaching job in Thailand. The course includes a fun-filled orientation week before the 120 accredited TESOL course begins.
Our TEFL internships allow you to combine valuable teaching experience with an amazing adventure in a beautiful new country. Before you head off, you'll be fully TEFL trained and when you arrive, you'll get all the support you need from our in-country teams.
You may also see reference to TESL Teaching English as a Second Language, ESL English as a Second Language, EFL English as a Foreign Language, ESOL English for Speakers of Other Languages, ELT English Language Teaching TESOL Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages... with no internationally agreed standard, the list is almost endless and reads like a Monty Python sketch. The only major differences are that TEFL is designed for people who want to go into a country where people do not speak English, TESOL can also be for people who want to teach non English speakers who are living in English speaking countries. And TESL would be somewhere between the two - you teach people to speak English in countries where a good chunk of the population already speak English as a first language.
While a degree in English, or a teaching qualification may well be sufficient for some positions, and a positive requirement for many schools in Western Europe, a recognised TEFL qualification, which will enable you to teach English in a school, workplace, or the home, to students whose first language is not English. This will also vary country to country as some places will have much higher demand for teachers and will not be so concerned about recognised qualifications. It is worth knowing that while qualifications can be an important consideration for companies or public bodies looking to employ you, they will also be interested in how you interact with the students. A native English speaker with great interpersonal skills but not qualifications may do a better job of teaching a class than someone with many certificates but little experience of the role.
You may decide to gain an internationally recognised TEFL qualification to assist your gap year job search. This is a popular move and other than the ability to speak English, you do not usually require any previous qualifications or experience in order to take a TEFL course.
As we have already seen, there are a lot of different ways to describe the practice of teaching English to people who do not have it as their first language, but there are as many if not more different accreditations and affiliations for the TEFL courses that companies provide. The TEFL course providers try to align themselves with companies and bodies who provide this accreditation, to give their courses more credibility. Anyone can set up and offer a TEFL course, but who is to say they are any good. That is where the accreditation comes in. Unfortunately, anyone can also set up a TEFL accreditation company. Some accreditations are better than others so it is worth doing your research before handing over your money. The genuine companies will be able to demonstrate previous success and provide you with detailed advice about their courses and whether they would suit you. There are plenty of great companies out there, offering great courses that will further your career and experiences, just keep an eye out for the rogues. And if you already have an idea of where you will be teaching English, it may be worth asking your potential or future employers which TEFL courses they recognise.
Once you have decided to take a TEFL course you will need to decide how to study for it. One benefit of the internet has been the development of distance learning. It is quite possible to take a full TEFL course online, allowing you to qualify at your own pace and in your own time. Alternatively you may wish to join others, and get more experience of a classroom environment by taking a location based TEFL course. Many companies also recognise that people work Monday to Friday and may not have time to fit in a course during the week, so they have designed courses that fit into a weekend. Twenty hours of teaching and training and you are qualified. Perfect.
OK, so what is involved, what do you have to do? During your course, you will likely cover all or some of the following: writing skills, literature, task based learning, linguistic structures such as words, phrases, verbs and tenses and understanding sentence complexity. Basically, you will be taught how to approach the teaching of English to your future students, to be their teacher, organiser and motivator. You will be shown how to make your teaching methods meaningful and memorable. TEFL courses are not difficult, but they do make you think about how to teach and give you very valuable ideas for when you find yourself in a room full of people who do not speak your language.
The world is your lobster. Any country you can think of that does not have English as its main language will have opportunities for English teachers. If you are looking for somewhere with high demand, try China or Japan. We list a couple of English teaching gap year opportunities below.
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