Why I Teach Abroad

Teaching abroad as a native English speaker seems to be the new black - everyone seems to be doing it. You would often hear this mostly from North Americans - specifically Americans and Canadians. We all have this dream to go abroad to teach abroad with a university degree and with our TEFL certificate. Although it sounds amazing on the surface, no one ever talks about the challenges living abroad. I know because I have lived it first-hand: from language barrier to cultural differences, I have definitely found living abroad is a rewarding experience despite the endless battles I’ve encountered.

Here are the reasons why I love teaching abroad:

1. Development: Personal development is something I highly value and as much as I want to grow myself, I want to help my students grow. I feel that being on the job is a rewarding one as I watch my students learn something valuable in my lessons and that they had also enjoyed it. Every time I walk out of the classroom, I feel I have passed on one of the most important thing you can give away: the gift of learning, and that I was able to contribute in their education. In turn, I feel I have grown through the experience and become more mature also.
2. Language Learning: I never studied languages (successfully) and I never really understood how linguistics worked. When I teach English and watch my students’ speech patterns, I start noticing more about my own language and how tricky the English language really is. We use so many phrasal verbs and idioms that I never even noticed in my daily speech. I start to realize how students learn, what works and what doesn’t, and as I learn French also, I start understanding why they speak the way they do. I can make connections and learn how people learn languages. It’s so interesting to start understanding the biology of languages and how people learn in general.
3. The Challenge: I love being immersed in a different environment and interacting with people from all over the world. I love trying to learn about how people in other cultures work, play, travel, talk, and their differences with what I consider my own ‘norm.’ I love being constantly challenged and seeing how much I can achieve when I push myself to not ‘sink’ but rather ‘swim’ in a foreign land. Every accomplishment makes me stronger, and as they say, what doesn’t kill you does make you stronger.

It’s been a really tough year with everything I’ve been through but teaching my students and being in a supportive environment really validates that I love the work that I do. As I end my teaching contract in France, I’m really glad I got to be here.

My next adventure awaits.

Everyone has a story.

This is mine.