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Teaching abroad is one of the best ways to earn an income while traveling and offers an incredible opportunity to enrich the lives of students, while simultaneously immersing yourself in a new culture. For solo female travelers especially, the entire process can be empowering, exciting, and more than a little bit nerve-jangling.
Nevertheless, it’s a job market that is exploding in popularity right now with destinations ranging from Colombia to China all ripe for nomads looking to trade their English proficiency for competitive salaries and the ultimate slow travel experience. With that being said, there are still several common myths and misconceptions about travelling and teaching abroad as a woman that will be debunked in this article.
1. Traveling Solo is Lonely
Traveling solo has become one of the hottest emerging trends in the world of travel over the past few years, yet some people still view it as a lonely experience. For many solo female travelers, teaching abroad with a TEFL certificate from The TEFL Academy is often the exact opposite of this!
Teaching abroad is a great way to be immersed in a new culture and meet new people. Not only are there opportunities to interact with people at their place of work, but countries such as South Korea, Japan, China, and Thailand all have strong expat communities that are perfect for making new connections.
2. Women Shouldn’t Travel Alone
While women can experience harassment and unwelcome attention when traveling, the idea that they shouldn’t travel alone is, at best, untrue and, at worst, belittling. No destination has successfully conquered gender inequality, so no country is without risk for solo female travelers. But teaching abroad can be one of the safest means of traveling alone as a woman.
As well as providing a safe space to work in, your employer is usually on hand to support you with housing and transportation and to provide tips and guidance on where to shop, eat, and other insights on how to live in your chosen country.
3. Teaching Abroad isn’t Safe
Building on the last point, myths and misconceptions continue to swirl that trading life in a Western English-speaking country for a teaching career abroad is a dangerous pursuit. For many female ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers, life abroad is filled with many of the same frameworks and infrastructures they’re used to back home.
Many of the most popular destinations for teaching abroad are arguably safer than countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. For example, according to the Global Peace Index, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the UAE, and Vietnam are all within the top 50 safest countries in the world, while the United States was down to 131st as of 2023.
4. The Best Destinations are in Europe
As mentioned above, destinations such as Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam all represent safe countries for solo female travelers. But this isn’t the only reason they should be considered as a destination for teaching abroad.
Traditionally, Europe has been viewed as the ideal TEFL teaching spot. And while we’re definitely not going to argue against a slow travel romp through Italy, Spain, or Croatia, there are countless wonderful experiences ripe for uncovering across the Middle East and Asia where the ESL market is booming.
5. Moving Abroad is Too Expensive
While moving abroad does often involve some amount of start-up capital and more than a little planning, the actual sums are likely much lower than you probably think. Teaching positions sometimes come with perks such as housing allowance, health insurance, and flight reimbursement that will help keep your costs down.
However, there are a wealth of other tips and tricks solo female travelers can use such as staying in a cheaper hostel rather than a hotel and eating local authentic foods rather than imported Western-style dishes.
6. You Have to Be Brave to Teach Abroad
It’s completely normal to have ‘pre-match jitters’ before a trip, and even more so when you’re up-ending your life and moving abroad. With all the anxieties that come with relocating, it’s also understandable if you’re feeling nervous or anxious about teaching in a new classroom — a classroom filled with students who don’t even share the same language as you.
But, no matter where your fears stem from and how much they affect you, everyone is capable of teaching in some capacity or another. Once you push through the fear barrier, you’ll be amazed by your personal and professional development and how much more understanding of the world you’ve inherited.
