ESL Job Application Process
Frequently Asked Questions

We have attempted to cover as much as possible in our Frequently Asked Questions. If you have a question which is not covered below, we have an easy solution for you: Ask us! Contact us
In order to legally work as an ESL Teacher abroad, you need the following qualifications:
1) You must be a native English speaker (hold a passport from one of the following countries: USA, Canada, UK, Australia, South Africa or New Zealand).
2) Possess a full college degree from an accredited institution (The length may vary from country to country, ie. 3 or 4 year degrees are both fine)
3) Agree to a one year contract
Additionally, we expect a high level of professionalism and dedication from all our teachers. One of our mottos here is Matching great teachers with great schools. We work hard to make sure you will be place in an excellent situation. Likewise, we make sure we recruit people with great attitudes and work ethic.
At Reach To Teach, we are looking for people with an exceptional sense of adventure and curiosity. We are looking for someone who realizes there is so much to learn and experience in this world. R2T teachers come from any and all backgrounds. However they all share one overriding trait: A thirst for living life to its fullest. They are creative, open-minded, caring, responsible, adventurous and generally just very interesting people!
You don’t need any teaching experience to teach with our Georgia and South Korea programs. The ESL markets in China and Taiwan, however, tend to lean towards taking on experienced teachers.
In China, you must have two years of work experience post-graduation. Out of those two years, you must have at least a year of formal teaching experience. You also need a TEFL or CELTA certification for most schools in China.
In Taiwan, our schools generally want teachers with teaching experience and/or a TEFL. It’s not impossible to find a position without experience, but having a TEFL or CELTA will definitely give you an edge over the rest of the competition.
Yes, your school should provide you with a certain amount of teaching materials and lesson plans. However, there are times when you will need to use your imagination and creativity to develop your own lesson plans. Remember, you can also check this site or contact us for ideas!
We recruit teachers throughout the year, but our primary starting dates are May- September. Typically, our teachers arrive 4-5 days prior to their start date. If you are already in the country in which you want to work, we might have positions available. Check with us for vacancies.
The first step is to fill out the application form. Subsequent to your filling out the application, we will contact you. As always, if you have any questions about completing the application or teaching abroad, feel free to contact us anytime at Info@ReachToTeachRecruiting.com”]
Yes. You must be a native English speaker from the following countries: USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand. This is NOT our policy. This is the policy of the government of the countries in which we work.
The majority of our interviews take place over the phone. Whenever possible, we interview our teachers in person. However, because teachers come from all corners of the world this is a very difficult task. Our interviews are extensive and quite detailed. It is a good idea to mentally prepare yourself as you would for any other job interview.
Yes. The schools and governments that we work with in China, South Korea and Thailand all require teachers to be TEFL certified. We are still accepting a few non-TEFL qualified teachers with teaching experience for a limited number of positions in Taiwan, but the majority of our positions in Taiwan also require teachers to have at least a 100-hour TEFL, preferably classroom based. We have found that most of our client schools prefer 100+hour TEFL certificates and we recommend a number of these programs on the Reach To Teach TEFL page. Keep an eye out on that page for special discounts that we have arranged for our teachers!
After we receive your application, we will review its contents and contact you. If you meet our application criteria, we will arrange a phone interview with you. After the phone interview, we will contact you to let you know if you have been accepted. After that we will find a school which meets your requests!
Generally, the entire process takes 30 days. However, many people set foot on the country of their choosing, in a shorter period of time. Its entirely up to you, your interests and requests.
Yes, we welcome all applications from friends and couples. We will treat your applications separately. If you are both accepted, we will do our best to place you together. As with everything else, let us know your concerns and we will work on them for you!
If you expect to graduate in the next six months, why wait!? If you are thinking about teaching abroad, apply now. This will give you the time you need to prepare and to carefully consider all your options. We cant place you until we have a copy of your actual degree, but you can begin the process anytime.
Make sure you completed all required fields and that none of the documents you want to upload exceed 500MB. Also, when filling out the application be sure to fill in the entire application and make sure you are using the correct format when filling in dates.
Your cover letter does not need to be long, but it should suitably express your interest in teaching in Asia and the reasons you feel you are the right person for the job.
Please address your cover letter to any of the following: Reach To Teach / To Whom It May Concern / Sir or Madame
Please send any updated information or documents to info@reachtoteachrecruiting.com and please remember to write your name country of choice so we can locate your application. We will then update your application for you.
Feel free to contact us friendly folk here at anytime. We are here to answer all your questions, concerns and worries. We have been through the same process ourselves, so we understand it can be confusing at times.