TEFL Opportunities For Retirees

No matter what your age, the world of TEFL has opportunities for you. While teachers in their mid-twenties definitely seem to dominate the TEFL scene, this does not mean there isn’t room for anyone else. In fact, there are a growing number of employers that are looking for more experienced teachers, even if they are not necessarily experienced in the education field. In other words, employers are starting to realise that more mature teachers who may have spent many years working in an entirely unrelated field, are able to bring a different but relevant skill set to the EFL classroom.

Becoming involved in TEFL at a later stage in life is becoming more and more popular. Maybe you have recently retired from your job, but you don’t actually want to stop working. Maybe you’ve realised that this is a good time to start travelling and having new adventures. Maybe you already have teaching experience, but would now like to teach in a completely different context. Whatever the reason for your interest in TEFL, while there may not be as many opportunities available as for younger teachers, they are definitely still out there.

There is one consideration, though: visas. Some countries don’t offer visas to people over a certain age. So while there may not technically be an age limit on teaching jobs, sometimes it will be impossible for older teachers to teach in certain places. If a country has a compulsory retirement age of, say, 60, employers will not want to hire teachers close to 60 and they won’t be able to hire anyone over 60. However, there are a number of places which are more open to older employees, such as Latin America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Bear in mind, though, that there are various TEFL opportunities and they are not all confined to the classroom. Many companies require teachers for in-house training and often in these business situations, the company will appreciate a teacher who has experience in the field.  If Business English is not your thing, it is possible to find an English teaching situation in the field you have experience in. You could teach Medical English to medical students, for example.

Working for yourself is, of course, always an option regardless of your age. If you are looking at teaching English, it is usually possible to find private students who are looking to improve their language skills. If you decide to go this route, your age will definitely not be an issue and you may find some students prefer an older teacher.

On the whole, then, deciding to become a TEFL teacher if you are older is not a problem. There are definitely opportunities out there but you may need to look a bit harder or only in certain areas. In order to find a job, it’s entirely possible to use the usual online routes.