Many schools provide accommodation as part of their package and will provide you with documentation to assist you in obtaining your work visa, a process that will have to be completed before you travel to Ethiopia to take up your position. Once in the country, you will need a residence visa, which your employer will assist you with.

Due to the demographics of Ethiopia, many of the TEFL and ESL jobs are to be found outside of Addis Ababa, in the rural areas. Close to 90% of the population lives outside the cities and, consequently, the jobs are located there. As far as TEFL certification goes, it is likely that the subject will never come up, especially if you are teaching outside the cities. If you are in an urban school, it may be a requirement depending on the school to which you are applying. At any rate, it is safe to say that the better your qualifications, the better your chances of landing a job.

A typical working week will run from 15 to 25 classroom hours, plus preparation time. The rule of thumb for preparation is one to one, that is, one hour of preparation for every hour of class time. You can expect the majority of your students to be children, although some private language schools do offer classes for adults and business professionals – and as one would expect, most of the adult TEFL and ESL jobs are to be found in the larger centres. But should you be in a rural setting you should be prepared to teach children, where you will have all the creative control you will ever want as an ESL teacher. For the most part the curriculum will be under your control, and you can expect to be encouraged to innovate and use whatever materials you find appropriate.