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Teaching English in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam

Looking to prolong your travels beyond a typical couple of month meander through the region? There's an increasing number of TEFL (Teach English as a Foreign Language) providers who can hook you up with the certification you'll need to walk straight into a teaching job in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

All four of these countries suffer from a dire lack of qualified, competant English teachers and there are plenty of both schools and universities looking for more native English-speaking teachers. While there's no shortage of fly-by-night operators who'll happily look the other way and have you teaching without qualifications in no time, with a certificate you'll be in a better position to get a job that pays more than noodle and beer money, and hey, perhaps your students will even learn something.

In the bigger centres, where there's more language schools than noodle outlets, qualified teachers should have few problems getting short term positions for a few months -- an ideal way to cash up before continuing on with your travels. There's also longer-term positions, so if you're after a career break or even a semi-permanent move to the region, then this could be just the ticket.

The following providers all offer TEFL certification online and in some cases they also offer classroom tuition in-country.

i-to-i

Learn to teach English with i-to-ii-to-i is a world leader in TEFL courses and meaningful travel. In the past 12 months alone they've trained 15,000 people to Teach English as a Foreign Language and assisted them in finding jobs across the globe and have also picked up a clutch of prestigious awards and nominations. i-to-i have three main online courses, with tuition starting at US$295 -- all include internationally recognised TEFL certification.

40-hour Essential TEFL course: basic TEFL certification.
60-hour TEFL course: same as the 40-hour course, but includes a 20 hour Grammar and Language Awareness Module (sounds like fun).
80-hour TEFL Course: includes all the above along with a 20 hour weekend TEFL course.

For more information, click here to find out more about i-to-i TEFL courses.

TEFL Online

Learn to teach English with TEFL OnlineTEFL Online is a convenient, affordable way to get certified to teach English worldwide. Developed by the largest TEFL provider in the US, this innovative course is accessible from any computer anywhere in the world. The program is ideal for those wishing to travel and work abroad, or to volunteer teach English while overseas. TEFL Online is the only online program provider accredited by ACCET, an agency recognized by the US Department of Education. Rates start at US$325 and while TEFL Online's cheapest course is a little more expensive than i-to-i's, it includes an extra 20 hours of tuition, which strikes us as pretty good value. The extra modules are designed for those planning on teaching one particular demographic. TEFL Online have four main online courses -- all include internationally recognised TEFL certification.

TEFL Online Certificate (60 hours): basic TEFL certification.
TEFL Online Certificate + Young Learner Endorsement (65 hours): For teaching children.
TEFL Online Certificate + Business English Endorsement (65 hours): For teaching adults.
TEFL Online Diploma -- TEFL Online Certificate + Young Learner Endorsement + Business English Endorsement: For teaching anyone who'll sit still long enough.

For more information, click here to find out more about TEFL Online courses.

ICAL

Learn to teach English with ICAL ICAL claims to be the largest online teacher training provider and their ICAL TESL/TEFL Certificate to be the benchmark by which other online courses are judged. The ICAL TESL/TEFL Certificate course is an introduction to English Language Teaching and is designed so that even those with little or no ELT experience will find the coursework approachable and interesting. The course covers the principles behind teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language along with a wealth of practical ideas on how to make any lesson a fruitful and enjoyable experience for both yourself and your students. While they have a number of courses available, their most popular appears to be the ICAL TESL/TEFL Certificate which starts at US$265.

For more information, click here to find out more about TEFL Online courses.

Travelfish may receive commissions for bookings and purchases from the providers, and while we can't vouch for them from experience (we taught with one of those dodgy, look-the-other-way schools), we believe them to be quality providers with long track records in the region.