TESOL Jobs for Retirees
Stories from Retirees Teaching English Overseas
Teaching English overseas isn’t just for students, graduates and young professionals who can’t stand another year of the 9 to 5! Over the past decade, more and more retired people from across Australia have started taking TESOL courses and heading off for the challenge of teaching English overseas. And it makes sense when you stop to think about it. Retired people have more life experience to share. They have a little more free time on their hands. And many overseas employers, especially in the more lucrative business English market, prefer to hire people with a little more maturity and professional expertise.
TESOL Jobs for Job HuntersSusanne’s Story
TESOL Jobs for TeachersTara’s Story
TESOL Jobs for GraduatesDaniel’s Story
TESOL Jobs for Life ChangersScott’s Story
TESOL Jobs for Gap YearsSimon’s Story
TESOL Jobs for RetireesRoy’s Story
TESOL Jobs for GlobetrottersElise’s Story
TESOL Jobs for VolunteersBronwen’s Story
Roy’s Story
“I had visited China previously, starting with Hong Kong and gradually venturing further as our confidence and curiosity grew. During this period I became aware that there was a demand for English teachers in China and I thought "this could be for me", perhaps as a retirement activity, which was something that worried me.
“Teaching English there seemed a good way to combine two interests - in China and English. A small paragraph in the travel pages of a paper mentioned volunteering to teach English at a Chinese university, facilitated by i-to-i.
“This seemed exactly what I was looking for - an opportunity to try myself at this before I retired. I thought that university students would suit me best. Old enough to have a decent conversation with yet still learning at a rapid rate. I taught for one month in Xi'an, over the National day and mid-autumn festival day holidays, which was a very interesting time to be in China.
“Before departure I did the online TESOL training which was certainly beneficial. Without it I would have really floundered, as I was left to my own resources from the first class. I enjoyed the lessons and interactions with the students and learnt lots from them, perhaps more than they did from me. They were keen, hard working and well mannered, but with a great sense of humor once they relaxed with me. As an old man (60 when I went there) and a teacher, I was treated with an embarrassing degree of respect. The experience really was life-changing for me.”
