How to transition back to life at home after teaching abroad?


 

International Teaching Experience - Teacher Record

 

Every adventure comes to an end.

As a TEFL teacher, what it means for you is packing your stuff, going to the airport, saying goodbye, and then go home. You may feel excited if you have been away from your country for some time, or you may miss the place you just left very much. But in either case, the transition from abroad to living at home will not be an easy process. The way you work or the experience you have got for teaching English abroad may not be suitable for solving domestic affairs, which may make you feel confused and distressed at first.

Yet your bonus is the international teaching experience you have gained from teaching abroad will bring you new opportunities at home.

A great career transition for a majority of TEFL teachers is transforming international teaching experience to a long-term educational career.  

Here we are going to give you some advice about the smooth transition.

1. Teaching English online

If you want to come back home to work (or have to) as soon as possible, it's not difficult to transition from teaching in classroom to online. Most online jobs allow you to decide your own working time, which means you have time to think about how to apply your teaching skills to online teaching and attend an interview to find a satisfactory job at the same time.

Tip: try to arrange your schedule at the peak of online teaching hours in your time zone.

High wages, unlimited teaching locations and chances to learn other cultures are also the advantages of online English teaching. Also, there are so many online English teaching companies offering jobs for you to choose from that you don’t need worry being unemployed.

2. Getting an education degree

It is known that being a good teacher need time and experience. At the time you finished your teaching work overseas, you may feel like that you are just actually good at teaching.

So, it's a good choice to come back to school to get a bachelor's degree in education (B.E.D.) or a master's degree in education (M.E.D.) to make yourself a professional teacher. Many great candidates for university education degrees are always TEFL teachers because of their practical and rich teaching experience.

3. Getting an alternative teaching certification

The high cost and long-time investment are main reasons why many people cannot choose to go back to university to earn an education degree. But what if you still want to be a licensed teacher?

Let me ask you a question first: "Do you have a bachelor's degree?" Some countries regard bachelor's degree as one of the alternative online teaching certification options which means that you can complete the online course within six months (no matter where you are) and become a licensed teacher as you wish it!

4. Starting a new career by applying your transferable skills

If you choose not to be a TEFL teacher anymore and plan to start your new career, well, your previous teaching experience can still help a lot. Remember to add your teaching experience abroad to your resume and emphasize the skills you have acquired that can be applied to other professions, such as cross-cultural communication and presentation skills.

If your new career requires you to improve your academic qualifications, don't worry the difficulties you may meet after your coming back to university. Your teaching experience as a language teacher will make it easier for you to be an excellent student in the class since you have a better understanding of learning methods than other students.  

5. Finding another teaching job abroad

After returning home, some ESL teachers begin to realize that they prefer to live in foreign countries and even be more interested in other cultures. So, try to treat foreign teaching as a professional job?

Online teaching can help you make this dream become real, don't forget that a TEFL certification is lifelong, and your teaching skills will last for a long time. Keep your Teacher Record profile and start finding a job as an online English teacher. There are lots of job opportunities writing for you! Remember, you are the best!

Look at the world from a new perspective

In some ways, moving back home can be as big of a transition as moving overseas. Things that were familiar become different, you could be far away from friends you’ve come to see as family, and you might spend a few days (or weeks!) feeling like a fish out of water. Remember how it felt when you first moved abroad? Moving back home, you‘ll probably have to go through some of the same processes to help you acclimatize such as being proactive about your social life, getting to know your hometown all over again and, of course, getting used to a new workplace or school.

When making choices about what to do next, think about the things you found most satisfying or interesting during your time overseas. You’ll be sure to have challenged yourself in new ways and have a new concept of what you’re capable of than before you left. What do you know about yourself now that you didn’t before? And what kind of challenges are you looking for in your next adventure? Because moving home can be an adventure in its own right. Choosing where to study next or which jobs to apply for might not have the same thrill as setting off overseas, but making the right choice about what to do after teaching abroad can set your life off on an equally exciting new path back home.

Moving overseas means being away from home, family and friends, giving up familiar lifestyles and working environments, and then starting to adapt to the new culture, make new friends, and learn about new ways of working. This is not an easy thing for everyone.

Moving back to home from abroad is a similar experience like moving aboard. You need to learn your hometown again and adapt to the new working environment. Don't be frustrated when things don't go well, set your new plans and goals, and keep moving forward. I believe you will have a bright future.

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