The biggest challenges for TEFL teachers (and how to overcome them!)

We’ve run the numbers. We’ve done the studies and turned our state-of-the-art blog writing space into a lab, filled with beakers and test tubes. It turns out that there’s no doubt TEFL is a fun and exciting career.

Yes, whether you’re working from home or you’re a teacher abroad, there are exciting opportunities to be had everywhere. Whether you’re in a state of career stasis, you’re fresh out of university and want to travel, you’re a retiree looking to use your transferable skills or you’re in any sort of TEFL-adjacent scenario, the world of English teaching has limitless possibilities. It could be the best choice you ever make.

However, like every good choice, there are some challenges attached. They say nothing worth having comes easy, and while there is so much to enjoy about the TEFL life, moving abroad, starting your own business and other teaching-related undertakings do have their downsides. 

Social media might say otherwise, but no teacher has a perfect life 24/7. Ask a teacher you know, and they’ll tell you that while it’s a rewarding and nourishing career, there are definitely big obstacles attached.

So, we’ve asked some of our staff, both current and former TEFL teachers, to provide their expertise as we cover the biggest challenges for TEFL teachers - and how to overcome them!

Homesickness

You could’ve guessed this would be the first entry here, and it affects everyone: homesickness.

We don’t even mean, necessarily, that we think everyone’s home life before embarking on a career in TEFL was idyllic and perfect. That’d be a bizarre thing to assume, and it’s certainly not the case. No, we’re talking about home comforts from a cultural point of view. 

According to ‘The Science of Homesickness’ from a 2014 Duke University magazine article, homesickness has to do with our very basic human nature. We, as humans, were not meant to stray from our primary networks away from hunting prey, raising children, defending from attacks, and so on. Straying from our “packs” would make us easy meat for a predator, and was discouraged. 

So, homesickness is our natural response to leaving our “natural” environment, what we’re used to. Author Elizabeth van Brocklin tells us:

“We know we have to stay at college or in the new city where we just moved, but our brain is reacting to threats to our well-being from being separated from supportive people and environments. Suffering from homesickness is distressing and unpleasant, and people don’t like to experience it. But that’s its value—much like physical pain. We don’t like pain, but its aversiveness is essential in keeping us from hurting ourselves.”

Steps to overcome

So, the horrible feeling in your gut about being far away? It’s something that’s ingrained inside us, and it’s entirely normal for those teaching English abroad . How do we “cure” it, though?

1. Dive into your new culture

It sounds super simple, but if you’ve moved to a completely new culture, then embrace it. Don’t try to find familiar equivalents all the time - there’s nothing wrong with finding a shop that does food and drink from your home country, but you won’t adapt if you’re constantly relying on what you know. What you don’t know can be exciting and utterly revolutionary for you.

2. Develop a good routine

As we’ve explored, homesickness is a natural feeling. So, sometimes you should allow yourself to embrace it. If you’re missing your friends and family, don’t struggle alone; work out time differences and create a schedule that includes regular calls home. If you need the incentive of a trip home to get through a spell of teaching, then schedule that. You’re not weak for feeling homesick, it is quite literally human nature.

3. Embrace the “new”

If you’ve moved abroad to take up an exciting TEFL job, you need to take stock of what a big, courageous decision that was. To get the most out of it, really dive into the “new”; the new job, the new location, the new food and drink, the new culture. Take yourself out on dates, take lots and lots of photos, and really try to embrace the exciting parts of being somewhere totally different.

Advice from TEFL Org staff

"Everyone misses things when they move away from home, like friends and family, or a favourite snack. For me, the trick was embracing your new adventure; trying new flavours of crisps you haven't heard of before and making new friends through community groups. They will help you create a new norm in your new home that makes you feel more comfortable.

“I find that trying new things helps me as well, like starting to hike at the weekend or having a weekly board game night with your new friends - new traditions help you settle more in a new place, and can help to create a sense of community there."

Jennifer Hilder, TEFL Advisor

Dealing with bureaucracy 

At the risk of sounding like your uncle at Christmas, there’s a lot of red tape and bureaucracy when it comes to moving to another country. There are also a lot of administrative tasks if you’re teaching English online : setting up as a freelancer, or setting up your own tutoring business for example. Yes, we’re sad to say it, but being a TEFL teacher, whether at home or abroad, will sometimes require filling out lots of forms.

Getting a visa , specifically, can be tiring, feel never-ending, and in parts, is actually quite difficult. It’s the reason nobody ever invites you out at the weekend to fill out a visa application, rather than a trip to a cafe, bar or cinema. It sounds like we’re being facetious, and maybe we are, but you get the point; it’s work.

So, we’ve had our moan; how do you deal with the tiresome work of attaining a visa, or dealing with bureaucracy in general?

Steps to overcome

1. Take it in shifts

It’s possible, we suppose, that someone did an entire citizenship application, visa application or self-employment paperwork all at once, at some point in history. However, it’s unlikely. These kinds of tasks are time-consuming, so we’d advise that you take it on in manageable chunks. Planning is your best friend, and can make the whole process easier.

2. Source outside help

Don’t be too proud to ask for a bit of help. Inevitably, someone you know might have either dealt with visa applicants (or the like), and have advice. Or they know someone who does. Alternatively, you could ask Citizens Advice or an equivalent for free, no-hassle legal guidance. In short, we’re saying there’s help out there: use it.

3. Ask fellow teachers 

You’ll have noticed there are giant communities of TEFL teachers out there. A cursory search on Facebook shows us a TEFL Teaching Community page with over 40,000 members. Reddit has a dedicated TEFL forum with over 67,000 members. We could go on. The point is that thousands and thousands of teachers have done what you’re trying to do. So, it might be a good idea to ask them how they did it?

4. Be patient

Perhaps most crucially, be patient. The process can take a long time, and when you’ve completed an application, it can feel like an age before you hear any news. Or, it might be super quick and positive. Generally speaking, you won’t know, but be prepared for a bit of anxiety and refreshing your email inbox. It’ll all be worth it, just have some faith!

Advice from TEFL Org staff

“As a true nomad, I have spent the majority of my life either settling into a new country or excitedly scanning my atlas for the next blue-skied destination on a seemingly never-ending world tour. The good news: as long as you have a passport, can communicate clearly, are determined (and of course hold a TEFL qualification) then you too can give most parts of the world a try.

“Alas, borders must be crossed, and yes, in many cases, visas or work permits are imperative. This will require attentive planning, always keeping a few bucks saved for unforeseen costs, and above all else, patience.

“Most of the time, however, you will find that your school/employer will take care of all or most of this for you. They will arrange your medicals (if required) and will assist you in all appointments. Often the teachers would get an expensed trip over to Hong Kong from China, all arranged and paid for by their school, so that they could turn their tourist visa into a working one. Free holidays are never a bad thing!

“Digital nomad visas are a growing trend in 2024. Many are publicised as easy to attain, but be certain that you can fulfil the criteria. These will always include, amongst other elements, a decent salary from a registered pre-existing organisation by which you must have been employed for a set number of years, a criminal background check, proof of degree and/or experience, as well as adequate funds to support yourself, and full insurance. 

“I cannot stress enough the benefit of paying the money and hiring an immigration lawyer to assist you. They don’t come cheap, but if you are serious about using a digital nomad visa to live in a country, then it is a worthwhile investment.”

Richard Cullen, TEFL Advisor

Language barriers in the classroom

So, you’ve moved abroad, you’re settled in your accommodation, you’ve found where you’re working and you’re ready to take your first class. Or, you’ve started a new role as an online English teacher, your call has connected to a student, and you’re about to start.

Except, oh. What do you say? They’re learning English so… what do you say to them? How do you kick things off? Why didn’t I think of this before?!

Luckily, it’s quite rare to actually teach a class that has no English proficiency whatsoever. You might be working with complete beginners, sure, but most classes you meet will have been learning English for a while. The chances of you being at a complete loss with a group of students are close to 0%; they’ll at least know “hello”!

So, you don’t speak the same language as your students. You’ve thought about this problem, but how do you navigate it?

Steps to overcome 

1. Learn some basic phrases in a foreign language

You’ve probably heard of Occam’s Razor . Put in simple terms, it goes like this: the most simple answer to a problem is likely the correct one. In this case, yes; you can think of a million ways around this problem, but the simplest solution is just to learn some basic phrases in the relevant language to use in the absolute worst-case scenarios.

You can teach English, so obviously you know a thing or two about language. It’d be disrespectful to your students to go in completely unarmed with any basic vocabulary, so before you make a big move, or start teaching online, know your students’ language so you can help them.

Typically, using a class’ native language in the classroom for a substantial amount of time is discouraged. Still, though, having a little vocab will help for the rare moments when a student has little to no English whatsoever.

2. Use body language to break barriers

Total Physical Response (TPR) teaching is extremely popular with language teachers, and it’s not really hard to see why. Using body language and movement to create a rapport is a fantastic way to get over the initial awkwardness of leading a new class, and it also helps to break down some of the barriers caused by spoken language.

Doing some research on TPR is valuable for any teacher. If you can, make it a part of your teaching arsenal.

3. Use fun introductory English phrases

If you’ve ever been to a concert, you might’ve heard a musician say: “When I say {x}, you say {x}”, and they do call and response with the crowd. It’s a trick as old as time. A cliché, you might even say. However, it’s something you can do with a class or a student to get them talking and break the ice a little bit.

If you look and sound like you’re having fun, your students will respond. Starting a class with a little call and response, and some fun introductory English phrases, might be a great way to get things moving. 

Cultural differences

This sounds a little bit like we’re talking about homesickness again, but we’re not. Not really. The simple fact is that moving somewhere can be overwhelming, and there’s a lot of new stuff to adjust to.

If you move to Spain, for example, you need to get used to places opening at different times, siestas in the afternoon, and dinners tending to be later in the evening. If you go to France, you’ll find some places are fully closed on Wednesdays. Move to China, and you’re dealing with an entirely different system of government, a different calendar and so much more. We know: different places are different! We’re as shocked as you are.

So how do you bridge that cultural gap? How do you go from someone who’s curious about a location to someone experiencing it for the first time, to someone who understands and appreciates a culture? 

Steps to overcome

1. Read, read and read some more

There is some innate value to turning up somewhere without a clue as to what’s going on, and just experiencing it. However, there are very clear risks and dangers attached to that, so we’d never recommend it. Instead, we say this: read, read and read again.

Whether it’s our country guides , travel books or long narratives based in particular locations, reading is your absolute best friend. Chances are that you became curious about living somewhere based on something you read, saw or heard, so why stop the learning process at that point? It makes no sense!

2. Keep a curious mind: ask questions, befriend locals

Go out and about. Take walks. Speak to people. Try different foods. Go to concerts. Turn up at comedy nights. Take a dance class. Go speed dating. Whatever it takes; keep a curious mind. The best way to integrate somewhere new is to live it. 

If you want to really get a feel for a place, you have to maintain the curiosity that led you there in the first place. Yes, it can be scary and daunting, but it’ll be so, so worth it. Channel your inner Anthony Bourdain !

3. Find some other teachers/community online

We spoke about this in terms of homesickness, and the same is true here: trust other people. There is no post-modern way of travelling and teaching somewhere; it’s all been done by different people with different tastes, attitudes and experiences. Read what other teachers have to say about certain places. Take their recommendations seriously. If you need to, find a community of English teachers within a certain place (granted, it’ll be easier in Beijing than, say, rural Vietnam). 

4. Embrace it!

Act like you want to be there, because you wanted to be there. And you’re there. So there.

What our staff say:

“Embracing new cultures is not only about learning to observe and understand the differences but also a celebration of the diversity of traditions, languages and perspectives that have made our world so colourful and diverse. As we teach TEFL around the world, we stimulate our curiosity, we journey through diversity and this helps us to establish connections beyond borders, and turn obstacles into links for understanding.”

Thomas Kerr, TEFL Course and Academic Manager

You made it!

It’s another cliché, but it’s a useful sentiment: nothing good comes easy. TEFL teaching is a challenge. Setting up a new life for yourself is a monumental undertaking. Moving abroad is full of little challenges. Becoming self-employed is a real test of various skills.

Is it worth it, you ask? Well, you tell us: we provide people with opportunities to do it, every single day we operate. It is our reason for being. If people didn’t love being TEFL teachers, we wouldn’t be here, talking to you right now.

Nothing is insurmountable. Now, more than ever, there are resources, helpful guides, anecdotes and experiences shared, and tasks made less difficult. Someone has been where you are, they’ve gone through what you’re about to embark on, they’ve settled somewhere you are about to move to, they’ve succeeded in the classroom. Follow them.

Still don’t believe us? Read our student stories for ample evidence. Or maybe you want to tell us about a challenge you overcame as a TEFL teacher? Get in touch at euan@tefl.org . 

Ready to take on the challenging and exciting world of TEFL teaching? Your journey starts with a TEFL course .