Last Updated on October 7, 2026
If you have ever typed “can I teach English abroad without a degree” into ChatGPT at 1 am, you are in good company. Teaching English is still the most common way long-term travelers fund life on the road, and the same handful of questions come up again and again. The problem is that the answers you get from an AI chatbot are only as good as the websites it learned from, and a lot of those websites are trying to sell you a course.
So here are the nine questions people ask most, with the answers I wish someone had given me before I started looking into it.
It depends on the country, not on the TEFL course. Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, the UAE and most of the Middle East require a bachelor’s degree for the work visa, and no certificate gets around that. Spain, Italy, Cambodia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina and much of Latin America do not require one for the kinds of jobs most travelers take. However, pay is lower, and the paperwork is often informal.
The practical test: find out what the visa needs are before you look at courses. A TEFL certificate is an employer requirement; a degree is usually a government one.
Can I teach English if I’m not a native speaker?
Yes, in most of the world. The countries that restrict teaching visas to passport holders from a short list of English-speaking countries are a minority, mainly South Korea, and to a lesser extent the big public-school programs in Japan and Taiwan. Everywhere else, fluency, a recognized certificate, and a degree where the visa requires one are what employers assess. Non-native teachers often do well with beginners, because they remember what it is like to learn.
Is a TEFL certificate actually worth it, or is it a scam?
A good one is worth it, and a bad one is a scam, and the difference is accreditation. A TEFL certificate is not a legal license; it is a signal to an employer that you understand how to plan and run a lesson. The signal only works if the employer can verify who stands behind it.
The clearest version of “someone stands behind it” is a course regulated by a government qualifications body, such as Ofqual in the UK. If you want to understand what that means in plain language, The TEFL Institute has an explainer on accreditation that is more candid than most about the fact that “accredited” on its own is a meaningless word. Read it before you buy anything.
How many hours should my TEFL course be?
120 hours is the number most employers quote as a minimum, and it is a reasonable floor for a first job. 180 hours at Level 5 is the number that opens better-paid work: international schools, corporate English, exam preparation. Serious employers mostly ignore courses under 100 hours. The $19 Groupon course is not a shortcut; it is a way to spend $19.
Online or in-person
Online, unless you specifically want observed teaching practice and have the budget for it. Most teachers are interviewed from abroad, so the certificate needs to be on your CV before you leave, and online courses are a fraction of the cost of a four-week in-person program. Where online courses fall is practice teaching, so if you are nervous about standing in front of a class, look for one with a practicum add-on or arrange to volunteer in a language class at home first.
How much can I earn, and can I save?
Enough to live well locally in most places; enough to save meaningfully in a few. The countries where teachers routinely save money are South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Gulf states, because salaries are higher relative to living costs and housing is often included. Europe and Latin America are lifestyle destinations: you will cover rent, food and weekend trips, and little more. Anyone promising you will save thousands of dollars a month by teaching in Spain is selling something.
Can I teach English online while I travel?
Yes, but it is a harder way to make a living than it was in 2019. The Chinese market that paid Western teachers $20 to $25 an hour largely closed to foreign tutors in 2021, and rates on the big platforms have fallen since. Online teaching now works best as a top-up to savings or as a bridge between in-country contracts, rather than as the whole plan. A stable connection, a quiet room and a recognized certificate are the three things platforms check.
Which TEFL provider should I pick?
Pick on accreditation and support, not on price or Instagram following. Two that I would put on a shortlist for a traveler choosing a first course are Premier TEFL, which publishes a straightforward guide to how its course levels map to real job types in different countries, and The TEFL Institute, linked above, for the regulated Level 5 route. Compare at least one more, check that the hours and the accrediting body are printed on the certificate itself, and ask every provider the same question: which employers in my target country have hired your graduates in the last year? A good provider can name some.
How long does it take to go from zero to a job?
Three to six months, realistically. A 120-hour online course takes four to eight weeks part-time. Hiring seasons matter: Asia hires heavily for March and September starts, Europe for September and January, Latin America year-round but informally. Start the course roughly four months before you want to be in a classroom, and you will land in the right window.
The honest summary
Teaching English abroad is still one of the most accessible ways to live somewhere properly rather than pass through it. A degree decides which countries are open to you. An accredited certificate decides whether anyone replies to your application. Everything else is choosing where you want to wake up.
