How to Begin Teaching in Colombia

Scenery is Stunning and the Pace of Life is Slow

Colombia has become one of the newest tourist destinations in the last couple of years.

For every TEFL teacher considering living and working in Colombia, there is one extremely important word that comes to mind: safety. Colombia has been known as one of the most violent and unsafe areas to live and work in the world, due to civil war, drug wars and open armed conflict in the streets of Bogota. The UK Foreign Office still has some recommendations in place about where residents of the UK should and should not travel. This is mainly in rural areas, particularly bordering Panama, Venezuela and Ecuador, where armed groups are still active. Therefore, if you are considering Colombia, it is important that you regularly keep up with the UK Foreign Office’s advice.

On a good note, the same Foreign Office states that the cities, particularly Bogota, are much safer and people usually experience no difficulties there. The past violence has disappeared from the city, making it an interesting place to visit. Tourism is also on the rise, which means that Colombia has become one of the newest tourist destinations in the last couple of years.

Colombia, acting as a bridge between Central and South America, experiences extremely different climates. Bogota is cold in the north, but Colombia also has beautiful warm Caribbean beaches, where the scenery is stunning and the pace of life is slow. The people of Colombia are warm and friendly. They enjoy socialising and drinking, and are generally laid-back in their attitude to life. Culturally, Colombia also boasts the award-winning writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who is known all over the world. The language of Colombia is Spanish.

Teaching Opportunities

With the country’s tourism industry opening to the outside world, there are more and more opportunities for native English teachers. Although, there are private institutions employing teachers, one popular option is the bilingual high schools found in the capital. Often rich families send their children to these schools. Medellin, famous for fashion and architecture, is also becoming a popular TEFL destination. Teachers are generally required to have a degree, but for better positions a 120 hour TEFL certificate is highly recommended.

The working week in Colombia generally consists of 6 days, from Monday to Sunday. The cost of living is low, so working in Colombia will provide you with a comfortable lifestyle, but no major savings to take back home to your country. To boost their income, many teachers in Colombia give private lessons. Finding job opportunities in online forums is possible, but the better positions can be found by looking from within the country. The best times to look for jobs are from November for the new academic term.

Teaching Requirements

Degree Requirement	Typical Contract Length	Peak Hiring Seasons	Visa Info	Typical Students	Average Monthly Cost of Living in £ GBP & Local Currency	Average Monthly Salary in £ GBP & Local Currency

Not required

6 - 12 months

March - August

Work visa

Business professionals, children

958,962 - 1,342,550 COP (310 - 435 GBP)

1,342,550 - 1,917,000 COP (435 - 620 GBP)

Degree Requirement

Not required

Typical Contract Length

6 - 12 months

Peak Hiring Seasons

March - August

Visa Info

Work visa

Typical Students

Business professionals, children

Average Monthly Cost of Living in £ GBP & Local Currency

958,962 - 1,342,550 COP (310 - 435 GBP)

Average Monthly Salary in £ GBP & Local Currency

1,342,550 - 1,917,000 COP (435 - 620 GBP)

Your TEFL journey starts here! Fancy teaching English as a foreign language around the world?

Great! You’re in the right place. The TEFL Academy provides the very best in accredited TEFL courses, meaning your qualification is recognized throughout the world . The TEFL Academy is the world's leading TEFL course provider. We can help you acquire the skills needed to teach English as a foreign language, whether it be through our specialist online TEFL course or our combined TEFL course. Unsure which is the best TEFL option for you? See our TEFL courses compared page for an instant breakdown of course specifics.

How TEFL works >

TEFLInternships

TEFLJobs

TEFLVolunteering

https://www.theteflacademy.com/assets/images/sep.png

Accreditation partners

Mary grace blackabey

brilliant !! I highly recommend The TEFL Academy . Very nice staff too.

Posted 10 hours ago

Elliot Turner

I wanted to study for a TEFL certificate and I decided to do a ton of research into which organisation to get it through. Although you can find a few providers of budget style TEFL courses, as soon as...

Posted 1 day ago

Grant Luke Byron

Have a good TEFL course which covers work in sufficient detail and gives, games and exercises to practice application

Posted 1 day ago

Anastasia Maria Alves Rodrigues

No bad experiences at all. Tutors are always there to help and are very quick. Feedback on assignments are very helpful and very detailed. Responseis very quick.

Posted 1 day ago

Eunice OreOluwa Fasan

Getting certified with the TEFL Academy was definitely a worthwhile experience! I opted for the Qualifi Level 5 (168 hours) Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language and found that not onl...

Posted 2 days ago

Dayna Watters

The tefl academy has changed my whole career path and opened so many doors. I’ve always craved travelling and now I get to do it while earning money. It was an enjoyable course with plenty of resou...

Posted 2 days ago

Aqeelah Johaar

The TEFL Academy is professional and their 168 hour level 5 course is well structured and simple to get into especially since everything you do is online. It is user friendly and straight forward. The...

Posted 2 days ago

Anonymous

This was a fun course, easy and very educational. Don't miss out on this 168 hour TEFL course.

Posted 2 days ago

Tania Saunders

The TEFL Level 5 online course allowed me to study at my own pace and gave me the opportunity to change careers in my later years. Living in South Africa has its own challenges e.g. bad postal servic...

Posted 2 days ago

Alexander Caico

I studied Level 5 TEFL Course (168 hrs) and have no complaints: information was plentiful, feedback was helpful and the assignments were engaging.

Posted 2 days ago

Anonymous

I did the Level 5 (168hour) course and really enjoyed it right the way through. Very easy and straightforward course!

Posted 2 days ago

Lachlan Harkness

Great face to face weekend workshop, really educational and inspiring. Very easy to study online. Overall very engaging.

Posted 5 days ago

Evelyn Simpson

A really positive experience! I studied the Level 5 TEFL Course (168 hrs) and I would highly recommend it. The units were detailed, I learned a lot of new information and I feel more prepared to teach...

Posted 6 days ago

Kimberly Scheffer

I recently completed the Level 5 TEFL Course (168 hours) with the TEFL Academy and I could not have been more pleased. I was extremely impressed with the material and additional resources provided and...

Posted 1 week ago

Cammy Orren

The Level 5 (168 hour) course was extremely valuable in learning the foundations and application of this type of teaching. The information was comprehensive, easy to navigate, and had sufficient ongo...

Posted 1 week ago

Kayla Sprayue

A useful and rigorous course that has made me feel well-prepared for working abroad! I really enjoyed the in-person portion and appreciated my tutor's timely responses to my inquiries.

Posted 1 week ago

Carol Ann Tromp

Studying the TEFL Level 5 Course (168 hours) was a challenging but rewarding experience. The course contains so much information that, even as a first language English speaker, I was not familiar wit...

Posted 1 week ago

Virayan Naidoo

The Level 5 TEFL Course (168 hrs) is well structured and the 20 hours face-to-face training was especially helpful. The ESL professional who gave face-to-face training was experienced not only in the ...

Posted 1 week ago

Morgan Lee

I was a student for a number of years it's nice to have the perspective of the teacher too. There's a lot I didn't know about my native language! Really enjoyed learning about how to teach effectively...

Posted 1 week ago

Michael James Ridge

I found the course very thorough and well set out. I feel that it would be useful, for learning purposes, to see a marked script to see exactly what could be improved for the assignments. Alternatel...

Posted 1 week ago

Morgan Hand

The TEFL Academy course is a well structured and informative course. It provides it pupils with plenty of information regarding teaching, lesson planning and how to secure a job when finished.

Posted 1 week ago