Teaching English as a second language is fast becoming a popular job worldwide. Native English speakers are sought after as ESL teachers in many countries, even if they don’t have an education-specific qualification. Teaching abroad is appealing, but how many hours does an ESL teacher work on average?
On average, a full-time ESL teacher will work up to 25 hours per week. In addition, administrative duties, planning, and preparation could amount to 15 hours a week. The hours will vary depending on the type of institution, contractual agreements, the students’ age, and their English proficiency.
The types of institutions that hire ESL teachers include universities, language schools, schools for young learners, and online teaching sites. Each learning institution should stipulate its working hours and expectations before any employment contract is signed.
In that way, an ESL teacher can research the potential living costs against their proposed income to see if it is worth relocating.
The Working Hours Of ESL Teachers
The working hours of ESL teachers can range from four hours a day to a full day of work. The number of hours an ESL teacher has to work will depend on the type of institution, the age and ability of the learners, contractual conditions, and whether there is a set curriculum to follow.
The most common places to teach ESL are at schools, universities or colleges, language schools, and online. Below is a table showing a quick glance at the expected working hours at each type of institution.
| Type of Institution | Work Hours | Job Description |
| Universities | Part-time or full-time (around 6 – 8 hours per week, plus marking and feedback) | Teaching English as a second language with a focus on oral (listening and speaking) and writing (often Business-related writing). Teaching Culture- or work-specific communication, e.g., working in an English salon or for an English company. |
| Language Schools | 22 – 25 teaching hours per week. 2+ hours of preparation and training hours per week. Freelance options are available. | Teaching oral and written communication skills to adults and younger learners. The curriculum depends on the language school and the focus of each class, i.e., general English communication or situation/occasion-specific communication. |
| Young Learner Schools | Full-time or half-day teaching hours. After-hours preparation and training. | Teaching students from 2.5 years to high school, depending on the school. A lot more preparation is needed for teaching young learners. In most cases, ESL teachers in these schools must follow a government or other curriculum. Depending on the school and contract, the ESL teacher might have to teach an extra-mural activity. |
| Online | Full-time or part-time hours, depending on the contract. | Online ESL teachers can teach through an online English school or in their own capacity. Depending on where the students live, lessons can be at any time of the day or night. Lessons can include teaching English from scratch to advanced business English. |
Personally, as a rule of thumb I always like to see a good ratio of prep time to lessons time. In a perfect world, one hour of prep for one hour of teaching. If the role does not fit that criteria then I want to know what planning and resources are already in place and ready to use ‘off the shelf’, or are some lessons repeated several times over a week.
Furthermore, I want to know what level o scrutiny I am going to be under, i.e, if it is going to be a serious place where my work is under heavy scrutiny then I will want more prep time. If the expectations are somewhat lower then I can deal with less prep time.
Speaking with colleagues who already work there is normally the best way to work out what the expectations really are.
Having said that, in my current job in an international school we have many responsibilities beyond our lessons and there is always time pressure to get stuff done.
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For example: organize an assembly, conduct academic reviews with students, write reports, mark books, arrange trips, observe colleagues, plan and run CPD sessions, participate in CPD sessions, complete duties, and I could go on.
The bottom line is you need to consider everything you are being asked to do holistically when trying to figure out how many horse you are actually going to work.
The Different Places to Teach ESL
Many countries invite English-speaking teachers to their shores, offering attractive packages and contracts. Some packages include airfare, accommodation, internet, transport, and other benefits.
In many cases, ESL teachers needn’t be qualified as teachers but need a university degree. That said, ESL teachers with experience and relevant qualifications tend to be paid more.
Let’s take a closer look at what each type of ESL job is likely to entail and how the hours and salaries would vary from country to country.
Teaching ESL At A University
Teaching ESL at a university level usually means working hours would be full-time or part-time. However, freelancing ESL opportunities exist at some universities.
Students at a university level would likely have intermediate or advanced proficiency in English. ESL lessons at this level focus on improving business communication, conversational English, and formal writing (e.g., writing reports, marketing, communicating effectively in emails, etc.).
Salary Examples For University-Level ESL Teachers
ESL teacher salaries will differ depending on the type of facility, how they are funded, and the teacher’s qualifications. For example:
- The starting salary for a full-time ESL teacher at a university in Seoul, South Korea, is about $35,000 per annum.
- A senior instructor of English can earn about $66,500 per annum at a university in Hong Kong.
- At a university in Japan, the average annual salary for a highly qualified ESL teacher is $131,000.
- At a top university in Thailand, the monthly salary may be as little as 30,000 baht per month (840 USD but there may be a lot of extra classes which triple that base salary easily (2,400 USD).
Teaching ESL at A Language School
The students at language schools can range in age from young learners to adults. Therefore, the working and preparation hours will depend on the lesson focus and on the needs of the students.
For example, younger students need more concrete learning materials and models to learn effectively. As a result, their lessons require much more preparation.
Furthermore, you can expect to be working at evenings and weekends rather than 8-4, as you would in a school. This was ultimately why I quite working at my first language school. The hours were just too anti-social and you did not get the holidays that school teacher got.
Salary Examples For ESL Teachers At Language Schools
So, what can ESL teachers expect to earn when working at a language school? Below are some examples of language school salaries from different countries.
| Country | Job Description | Approximate Salary | Other Perks |
| Spain | Full-time, 22 hours contact teaching, 2 hours non-contact. Teaching adults and young learners. | $1,450 | Paid holidays, social security. |
| Italy | Up to 25 hours per week, full-time contract. | $1,130 | Paid holidays, accommodation, overtime. |
| Vietnam | 80 teaching hours a month | Hourly rate of $25 to $30 (maximum $2,400 per month) | Transport and accommodation included. Curriculum-based and teaching materials are usually provided. |
| Australia | Part-time | Hourly rate of about $40 | Decent hourly rate for part-time work. |
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Teaching ESL At a school for young learners
Many government-run schools around the world have attractive packages for ESL teachers. For example, some schools provide a bilingual assistant teacher who can help with translating the lessons.
Since ESL teachers would be a part of the staff complement of the school, they might have other work-related responsibilities. Examples include teaching sports or music or added administrative duties.
These places tend to require a lot more day to day effort levels than adult classes for obvious reasons. You also much more likely to experience interference from parents putting pressure on you to be ‘more fun’, more ‘friendly, or whatever there latest gripe is.
ESL Teacher Salary Examples For Schools
The benefits of working at a school are often more significant than those at other institutions because of government funding or other sponsorships. As a result, employers often subsidize ESL teachers quite handsomely.
| Country | Job Description | Approximate Salary | Other Perks |
| South Korea | Public School, teaching ESL to various ages and grades, full-time contract, with a teacher’s assistant. | $2,000 | Free accommodation, settling allowance, round-trip airfares, medical and pension contributions, and bonus salary on contract completion. |
| China | Government school. Children ranging from kindergarten to high school. Working hours are 8am to 5pm, with a 1.5-hour break. Teaching classes of up to 40 learners. Curriculum supplied. Weekly work includes 20 to 25 hours of teaching time and 15 to 20 hours of office work. | Up to $4,000 | Housing allowance, year-end bonus, medical insurance. |
| Poland | Full-time teacher | About $2,000 | The low cost of living in Poland might allow you to save. |
| Thailand | 20 teaching hours a week | About $1,350 | Great location. Some programs offer accommodation and transport. |
Teaching ESL Online
Teaching ESL online is a great way to earn an income remotely. You can choose your hours and decide to work through an online ESL platform or by yourself. Online teaching also closes the gap between countries, so you can set up your classroom in the comfort of your home and teach someone across the globe.
ESL platforms often provide the curriculum and supply many downloadable resources to their teachers. ESL teachers who choose to teach this way should investigate the best site for their purposes.
Salary Examples For Online ESL Teachers
The benefit of working through an online ESL platform is that they find the students and do the marketing. In addition, your income is guaranteed to an extent.
- You can earn almost $2,000 per month teaching elementary and secondary students full-time in Japan.
- You can earn up to $2,200 per month teaching Latin American students online, full-time.
- An online ESL teacher could earn $15 per 45 minutes teaching Vietnamese adults.
Of course, work tends to be more sporadic and depends on the personal relationship you can build with students and parents. Cancellations are common and often go unpaid for so proceed with you eyes wide open with that one but in terms of hours you can teach as much as you like.
In reality though that depends on how well you can market yourself, and/or your classes either direct to students or via online ESL schools.
Conclusion
The working hours of ESL teachers will vary according to the type of institution they work in. For example, a teacher working at a school, language school, or university can expect to teach up to 25 hours per week. However, many schools expect these teachers to do non-contact work, which can be 15 hours a week.
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