Hello, hello. Hi. Welcome, welcome. I'm back again this week for another live session for ITTT. Super excited to be here yet again. As always, it is Friday 10am where I am in South Korea. And please let me know guys, if you can see me, if you can hear me, you know, use the comment section and just throw in a quick hi and where you're watching from. Let me know where you are in the world. I'd be super excited to know because we always get a very international crowd here and it's super exciting. So please let me know where you are right now, what time it is there and yeah, just a hi. I would appreciate it. I am in South Korea about an hour and a half south of Seoul. It is Friday morning. The weather, it's kind of cloudy but it's not too bad. Yesterday was really nice. Spring has finally arrived. I feel like in Korea we've already got some plum blossoms that I was hunting down yesterday and took some really cute pictures and that's why I'm, I feel like very springy today. I thought I would wear a little floral shirt today because I'm just so ready and excited about spring. I even had a Sakura cherry blossom latte this morning. So I'm, I'm crazy about spring but yeah. So we got some people here. Hi, Joao. Hey. Good evening. It's still evening where you are. Great. Where are you at, Joao? Gwen is in the house. Hi Gwen. Good to see you again. We have Kenan or Kanan. I hope I'm saying it right. From India. Awesome. Cool. Gwen is in Malaysia, 9 a.m. Oh yeah. You're one hour behind. Cool. Okay. 10 here, 9 a.m. in Malaysia. Awesome. Cool. Okay. That's very interesting. So let's wait for a couple of more people to join us in our session today and you probably already know what the topic is because you can see the title somewhere around here. We are live on Facebook and on Instagram, not Instagram. YouTube. Facebook and YouTube at the same time. So thanks so much for tuning in and also if you are listening to this episode as a podcast, thanks so much for the download. We always turn our live sessions into audio only podcast episodes. So if you enjoy podcasts, I highly recommend checking out the ITTT, Teflon and TESOL podcast. You can find us on Spotify, Google, podcasts, iTunes, all those good places. Hello, Erin from the Philippines. Thanks so much for tuning in. Then we have, oh yeah, here. Awesome. Peace be upon you. Thank you so much. I remember you tuning in last time and I couldn't get your name right. I'm so sorry. Then we have Lillia, oh sorry, Lillia, saying hello Linda. Hi. Thanks for tuning in and Tiana, Tiana's back. I missed you, Tiana. Tiana's been always watching in the past few times. I think you weren't there and I was concerned. I was worried about you. Good to have you back. All right. So today, exciting topic. The top hiring seasons for teaching English abroad. So we're going to go over different countries in different continents and what their hiring seasons are. So when's the best time to go job hunting and also some tips for job hunting in those places. So sometimes you need to, some countries hire from like in advance when you're still in your country and you can do like online interviews and stuff. But some countries, they really need you to apply in person. So we're going to talk about that as well. Yeah. So thanks so much for tuning in. And as always, please don't forget to like and subscribe so that you never miss another live session. We are going live twice a week, one time me, Fridays, Friday for me or Thursday for some of you. This time pretty much usually. And my colleague Lisa, she goes live on Tuesdays. She is a non native English teacher from Russia. And so she does a lot of really cool live sessions about, you know, how to advance in your teaching career as a non native English speaker and how to, you know, improve your English, how to plan your lessons. So it's really interesting, especially for those teachers coming from a non native English background, but also for, you know, anyone. I usually, I love watching her live sessions because she has so many really cool ideas for lesson planning and like how to create fun activities. So I always really, I learned a lot. So I love watching her lives. So check that out. You can always rewatch our live sessions. They were always, they always stay on our YouTube channel and on our Facebook page. You can find them there in the video section or on YouTube. We have a folder or a playlist call them live sessions, I think. So you can check that out. It's 6pm in Arizona. Okay, that's not too late. Thanks so much. Have you had dinner yet? Awesome. Okay. Oh, yeah. And I also want to bring attention to this QR code. There we go. QR code. So you can scan this code at any time during the live session to get a 30% off discount of any TEFL or TESOL course from ITTT. I'm also going to share the discount link with you guys right now so that you have that because some people can't scan, especially if you're watching on a mobile device. Of course, you can't scan the QR code. So you can use this link. I pasted it into the comments section. It should show up any minute now. Good. So it looks like this. You can click on it and you'll go straight to the application page if you haven't completed a course yet. So you can do that and get 30% off. Awesome, Tiana. I see you. Great. Oh, Egypt. Okay, it's 3.08am in Egypt. Wow, you're up very late. Thanks so much for tuning in and staying up. I appreciate it. Okay. Somebody's asking, I want to go to Saudi Arabia and work as a TEFL teacher for a living. Any advice when it's the best to apply? Yes. So stay tuned. I will be mentioning Saudi Arabia very, very soon. So keep watching. That will come up very soon. So I'm going to go over basically the different countries and different continents. We're starting with Asia and then we're going to work our way through. We're going to talk about Europe, countries in Europe. Middle East is there, Central America and South America. That's on the agenda today. I think it's going to take maybe 30 to 40, 45 minutes. And then we're going to have a Q&A session. But feel free at any time to throw your questions at me. I'll be happy to answer them at any time. Even if it's not related to this topic, just feel free to ask. We also have a very, very big FAQ section that you can also check out. That's very, very, very useful. Let me share the link with you guys so that you can refer back to that now or later at any time. It's basically just teflucords.net slash FAQ. And it's a huge section. And pretty much every question you can think of related to teaching or TEFL or anything like that is answered there. So if there's something that I don't answer, or if I can't see your question or you have a question after this live, you're watching the replay or whatever, you can go here to this website and check that out. Okay. Then I am going to make myself a little bit smaller. And here we go. We're starting with this topic right now. So the top hiring seasons for teaching English abroad. And so please also, I know I say this every time, but bear with me. It's just me doing this. I don't have someone behind the scenes looking at the comments or anything like that. I have two laptops in front of me, one microphone. And I need to look at, you know, many different things at the same time. So if I miss a question or anything, please, I'm sorry about that. Okay. I'm doing my best. I'm trying my best here for you guys. All right. Let's get started with today's session. And I always start off with a little self introduction. So my name is Linda Dunsmore. I am a travel writer and content creator under the name Linda goes East. You can find my personal website at Linda goes East.com. I highly recommend you check it out. And you can also find me on social media also at Linda goes East on all the platforms, especially Instagram. If you're interested, I have some really cute stories up about spring blossoms. I went out yesterday. The plum blossoms are in full bloom right now. And you can find that in my stories. And I also had a really interesting strawberry sakura latte this morning that I bought from Japan. So you can also see that in my stories if you're interested. Yeah. I am originally from Germany and the USA. So my mom is German. My dad is American. I have dual citizenship. I spent time in both countries. And then I've pretty much been living in Asia since like 2012. So I moved to I moved to China. And now I've been based in South Korea for six years. All right, the subtitles, you can actually turn your subtitles off. So that's a feature from Facebook where you're watching from there should be somewhere in the video, you know, in the play settings. There should be a way to turn it off. I'm not creating the subtitles. It's not me doing it. It's Facebook. So you can just turn that off. Okay. And yeah, I've been living in South Korea for almost six years. Time goes by so fast. And I'm enjoying my life here. I've been teaching and you know, working for it and all that good stuff. So yeah, on the other hand, I am a Teflon TESOL marketing professional for ITTT. I've also been doing that for a long time already. And ITTT for anyone who doesn't know stands for international Teflon TESOL training. Our website is TeflonCourse.net. So you can check that out. And on Instagram at international Tefl training. And we are a leading Teflon TESOL course provider worldwide. We have a huge variety of different Tefl courses for all different needs and backgrounds. And I did a live session about which course is right for you. Not too long ago, or actually it was kind of long ago, I think it was October, October, November. But you can you can find that. Okay. Thanks so much for helping out each other with the captions. Thank you. You guys are awesome. I love our little community. It's so great to see, you know, the same people every week and then some new people and we all, you know, engage with each other.  So it's really interesting. All right, then I would like to ask you guys first, you know, before we're jumping into the different hiring seasons, where would you like to teach? So where are you most interested in teaching? I know that somebody was asking about Saudi Arabia, which is really awesome. I know Tiana wants to go to Korea. What about everybody else? Where where is like your favorite place where you would really like to go and teach or yeah, or would you like to teach online from home from home? Or would you like to teach online on the road and travel everywhere? Or what's what's what are you most interested in? Okay, or somebody a shock. I hope I'm saying that right. A shock wants to teach in China. Awesome. I taught in China a little bit. I love China. I actually studied Mandarin Chinese. And then I moved to China. And I also taught English there. And it was it was great. I love China. I really want to go back as soon as the borders open. Yes, Tiana, South Korea, of course, Jennifer. Hi, Jennifer. Jennifer says I'm flexible online is cool. That's awesome. I also recently started teaching English online for one of those platforms. I might talk about that in the future too. And it's been really fun, you know, you get to meet so many interesting people. It's really cool. That's I think my favorite part about that because you never know who you're going to talk to or who you're going to teach and those people like some of those people are incredible what they're doing. It's amazing. Luciana, I would like to teach in Egypt. I am from Brazil. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah. Cool. I also I'm also going to talk about Egypt. So that would be great. But maybe you can also help me later with some things about Brazil in the hiring seasons. I'll also be mentioning that later. But maybe Luciana, you have some input about, you know, the school year when the school year starts and stuff in Brazil, I'm going to get back to you. I'm going to ask you in a little bit. Okay. And maybe you can share that. Juliano. Hi. Oh, you have a new picture. It's cool. I love it. He says I'd like to teach in China but online. Oh, yeah, we actually are getting more and more job offers like that for it is in China working for Chinese school Chinese company but it is online. So we are working with a company like that. So if you're interested, you can hit me up and maybe I can put you in touch with them. Yeah, just a suggestion. Okay. All right. Somebody wants to teach in the USA. That's also really good. You can also teach English in an English speaking country. So that's also a possibility. Gwen says I'd love to try teaching in a few places, maybe Thailand, China, South Korea and Japan, and maybe also Costa Rica. Cool. Yes, definitely. And I think that's one of the great things about TEFL and teaching abroad that you don't have to just stay in one place. You know, you can just move on to the next place and go teach there. So yeah, a lot of people do that. You know, they stay for a year there and then they move on to the next country. One of my really good friends, she's taught English in Japan for three years and then she moved to Korea for three years or no, it's more five years, six years, five years. And now she went back home to the US and she's teaching online and she wants to do maybe go to Mexico and things like that. So, you know, everything is possible. Okay, let's see. Juliana, I'd like to teach online and tutor in my community, but I like to visit my friends in their countries. Awesome. Yeah. That's also really good. Okay. Juliana is also interested in Malaysia and Singapore. Maybe you can ask Gwen about Malaysia and Singapore, they're very close. So maybe Gwen can help you out. Jennifer says, I like the sound of teaching business English online. I like the sound of that too. That sounds really nice. Cool. I'm kind of interested in teaching English for businesses in Korea. Yeah, that's also really good. Nice. And Gwen, I like the flexibility of online teaching, but I far prefer face to face because I think some nuances of communication are lost over video conferencing. Yeah, no, definitely for sure. Okay. And Noor says, a country with good payment and good life while including travel around the world. That is the perfect place, right? That sounds really nice. That sounds like a good choice. Don't we all want that? That's awesome. Cool. Okay. Thanks so much for your input. That's very interesting. Very, very mixed answers here. You really want to go everywhere around the world. So that's awesome. So let's start looking at the first continent and the top hiring seasons there. And we're going to start off with Asia. So the hiring seasons for teaching English in Asia. So there's basically a primary hiring season, which is literally year round. So Asia is great for year round hiring, except for Taiwan and Thailand. So I'm going to talk about that in a little bit. And of course, the biggest one in Asia is China. And you can actually find positions in China year round. They don't really have a hiring season. So it's always hiring season in China. There's too many positions that need to be filled all over the country. So China is great for literally any time of the year. And they also hire teachers in advance from when you're still in your country, which is great. You don't have to go there first also because of visa things and stuff. So China is great at any time. And then Korea, especially the EPIC program, which is a government funded program that places English teachers in public schools. That one has two hiring seasons. So the first one is spring and early summer for August and September start dates. And then there's also a smaller recruitment in the fall for positions that start in January, February or March. So that's what it looks like in Korea. So if you're interested in teaching in Korea, those are the two hiring seasons that you need to watch out for. And that's when most job offers are going to show up online and on job boards and wherever. And the obviously also the EPIC website and their deadlines. So definitely be sure to check that out. Then we also have Japan over here. Japan and the JEP program, very similar to EPIC. It's a government funded program that places teachers into schools around Japan. And their deadline is always the first of December for positions that start the following autumn, falling fall season. So they hire way in advance. So if you want to go to Japan and you want to work for the JEP program, then you need to have your application in by first of December for the next fall. Okay. So keep that in mind for your planning, for your timeline. Then let's talk about Thailand and Taiwan. So in Thailand, May and then again in November are the two main hiring seasons. And for Thailand, you can find positions from abroad while you're still in your country, but they also do a lot of face to face in-person interviews. So if you want to go to Thailand, then you should visit, be in the country in either May or in November or shortly before that. And then you can interview in person. For Taiwan, the main hiring season is after Chinese New Year, which is different every year. So you kind of need to check. Sometimes it's January. Sometimes it's February because they followed lunar calendar. And then again in July and August. So those are the peak hiring seasons. And Taiwan also hires in advance. So you can, you know, you don't have to go there before you can find positions online and then interview online. So yeah, that's what it looks like mainly for Asia. You can definitely find positions year round, especially private schools, private schools, they pretty much hire all the time. But you're definitely going to see, you're definitely going to see more job opportunities during those times that I just mentioned and that are listed here. Tiana has a question. Is there a specific job, are there specific job websites you'd recommend for looking for jobs in Korea? Yeah, there's a lot. There's, you know, the all-time favorite Dave's ESL cafe. That one's really good. Then there's also our job section. I can share that with you as well. Let me check. And we actually also sort our jobs by country. So you can check that out. I'm going to share that into the comments section right now. Looks like this. Teflacourse.net slash Tefl minus jobs. And you can select the other country where you want to go to and you'll find all the most recent job offers there. Also, if you see a job offer that you really like and it's already a little bit older, I would still recommend reaching out to them even if it's older because the turnover is just so high. There's always people looking and teachers leaving from the school and then they need a new one. And then also about how to find jobs in Korea or literally for anywhere. I think Facebook groups are, I mentioned Facebook groups a lot, but I think Facebook groups are a great resource. There is literally a Facebook group for everything. I think there is a Facebook groups, a Facebook group jobs in Korea and people advertise their law. So you can check it out.  There's probably also teaching jobs in China, teaching jobs in Costa Rica, wherever there would be a Facebook group. I definitely recommend that. So or EFL teachers in Korea, EFL teachers in China, there would be groups for that on Facebook. All right. Noor is asking, are the visas available currently during the pandemic? Yeah. So actually moving abroad for an English position as an English teacher is actually a great way to travel at the moment is one of the only ways because tourist visas are pretty much, you know, not available in a lot of places, but work visas, long-term resident visas and things like that are available. So I know a lot of people who got hired into Korea, you know, this past year, of course, they have to go through like the quarantine and all that stuff. They have to take their corona test and have a negative test.  So or wherever this happens quite a lot, especially in Asia. So because Asia is pretty much the biggest continent, biggest region, you know, for EFL, for teaching English as a foreign language, it doesn't stop even, you know, despite COVID, it doesn't stop. Hiring is still going on. All right. Good question. Laurie's asking mostly who got hired are native speakers. What are the chances of non-native speakers getting hired? Yes. So actually, Asia is still great, has a lot of opportunities for non-native English speakers. So especially Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam. I also think Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, also Japan is actually the jet program is not only open to native English speakers, which is really great. So Japan is open for anyone. Korea is a little bit more difficult. The Epic program, you need to be from an English speaking country. But yeah, I'm also thinking there was all China, China, of course, China. Also, you don't have to be a native English speaker. You need to have a TEFL. You need to have two years work experience, work experience, not only teaching experience, which is great. So yeah, there's a lot of opportunities for non-native English speakers. And I know that my colleague Lisa, she did a live about that before, a live session. So you can go back and check that out in our playlist. It's called, it has a similar title. So teaching English abroad as a non-native English speaker or something like that. And I also actually did a live session with her together and we talked about that too. The difference is what it's like for native English speaker versus a non-native English speaker who wants to be a teacher. So go and check that out. There's a lot of good information in there. Juliano says, do you recommend any group? Okay, so the Facebook group. I know I'm part of one for Korea. I can't remember the name. I have to search. Teacher, is it teachers in Korea? TEFL teachers in South Korea? You can just search on Google. Oh, ESL teachers in Korea. Then there's another, that one has 10,000 members. Then there's another one, English teaching jobs in Korea, ESL teachers, private lessons, one group. That one has 8.4,000 members. There's a lot of groups in there. So you can go and check them out. I'm just going to share them into the comment section right now so you guys can check it out. And pretty much there'll be groups like this for every country. So you can just replace Korea with China or with Peru or whatever and you'll find a group pretty likely you're going to find a group. So for example, this one, you can click on that. That's the EFL teachers in Korea group, English teachers in Korea group. Check that out. All right, let me see. Noor is asking, how do we apply for a job in an Asian country? Do we go to an embassy or check a school's website? Yeah, it's a good question. So you can just Google teaching jobs in wherever the country you want to go to. There's also recruitment agencies that you can reach out to and those are free for teachers. So those are great, especially if you don't live abroad yet, you don't have any experience of moving abroad or to that country. We have, we work with a couple of different recruiters and many of them also specialize in Asia. So you can reach out to them and then you can tell them, hey, I want to go there. I want to teach children. I want to do this, this, this. And then they'll find a job for you that matches your preferences. So that's one way. Then you can also use the Facebook groups and reach out and respond to job offers. And then you would get a list of things that you need to prepare for your visa for going to that country. And then you would go to the embassy. For example, your TEFL certificate, your resume, your passport, all those things that you will need background check. It always depends on what country you're going to. So those requirements are different. But once you have all of that, then you go to the embassy and you give them everything you submit your application. And then you would receive your visa and you can go abroad and you can take the airplane and go to that place. That's how it works. Oh yes, Tiana also has a good group. Yes. Tiana, why don't you paste the link to your group into the comment section? Oh yeah, you did. Okay. This is Tiana's group. It's also a really, really good group. You can all connect on there and share information. It's really, really good. Check that out as well. All right. Juliana is asking, does South Korea have any summer camp opportunities? Yes, they do. Also winter camp, that's very popular. However, I think for those positions, most of the time, only people who are already in Korea get hired, unfortunately. Not so much from abroad because of the visa thing. It's expensive to get the visa. And usually those things are hired from people who are already here, typically. But yeah. Noor is asking, does my nationality matter or is the language I speak that matter a lot? It depends on where you want to go. So some countries, like Korea, where you need the work visa, you can only get if you're from an English speaking country. But some other countries like the Jet Program in Japan, they don't care about your nationality. They care about your English level. So I think you also have to submit some kind of English proficiency certificate. So it depends on where you want to teach. So yeah. Noor is asking, does the bachelor work to apply for a job in China? So bachelor's degree, yes, you need at least a bachelor's degree for working in China, I believe, yes. And for a lot of other countries. But even if you don't have a degree, there are still some countries where you can teach. It's not impossible. But it's going to narrow it a bit down. But it's still possible. Places like Cambodia, I think also Vietnam, Laos, Southeast Asia, places like that. And then also, I think Latin America, a lot of places there, a lot of countries don't require you to have a degree. And then there's also a program called the talk program in Korea, where you can enter it if you only have a two-year degree. So after an associate's degree, for example, you can also teach in Korea with that in the talk program. Juliana is asking, does it count when we just have experience teaching in our own country? Yes, of course. Yeah, absolutely. For like China, you mean? For the visa? Yeah. For that, it just says two years work experience. It doesn't really matter what kind of work. It doesn't have to be teaching related. And also where? Of course, your own country is also okay. It doesn't have to be abroad. All right. Noor is asking, if we apply for a job in China, as an example, would I be required to go there? Like for the interview? No. So most of the time, especially for China, you don't have to interview in person. They would do a Skype interview.  The school would book your flight, and then you go to China. That's typically how it works. Another one, if I got the job in China, would I get anything like getting free flight tickets, getting a free house or money to buy the house or make life somewhere with someone? Yeah. So China typically has pretty good benefits. You do get free airfare, typically. And you might also get a house, a teacher's apartment. So those are pretty typical benefits for China that you can get. Yes. Gwen is asking, do employers usually sponsor the visa process? Or does it change between countries and employers? Yeah, it varies. Most of the time, especially in Asia, it is all sponsored by the employers. Yes, for sure. So they also pay for airfare. Typically, the visa costs aren't even that expensive. So they sponsor that. However, what you need to pay for is like getting like your, sometimes you need an Apple Still, a special stamp on your documents. For example, on your TEFL certificate or on your college transcripts or things like that, your criminal background check. When you need to get all of those documents, you need to pay for that. The school doesn't pay for that. So the school pays for your visa, usually, and then for your airplane free flight tickets, typically. All right. Then let me move on to the next one. I know a lot of people have been asking about the Middle East as well. So I also want to talk about that. So the top hiring seasons for teaching English in the Middle East. Also, primary, literally year-round, except for public schools. So year-round would be private schools they hire all the time, but then public schools they vary. So in the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, and throughout much of the Arab world, the top hiring season is during the spring and early summer for August and September start dates. And then again in the fall for positions that begin in January, February, and March. And then Morocco, Egypt, and Jordan are a little bit different. So what you need to know about that, they have similar hiring seasons. However, some language schools there they hire in advance, but most of the jobs in Morocco and in Egypt and in Jordan, they will be found locally in the country. So that means if you want to work there, you need to go to the country during those hiring seasons and job hunt on the ground. They typically do not hire from advance. So because somebody was saying they wanted to go to Brazil, they wanted to go to Egypt, they are from Brazil, wanted to go to Egypt. So that's something to look out for that you need to be in the country for job hunting in Morocco, in Egypt, and in Jordan. But pretty much the hiring seasons are the same throughout the Arab world. Does that make sense? It's so quiet now, maybe. I guess Asia is super popular, right? Middle East, maybe not so much for everybody, but yeah. So good. If there is no question about the Middle East, I'm gonna move on as well. Because I think we're gonna have some more questions. All right, here is a question from Irma. Hi Irma. I want to know in your opinion what is better, being in the country while applying for a school to teach or online application to secure a job before going to the place. So this really depends on where you want to teach. So because for example, here in Morocco, Egypt and Jordan, it would be better to go there and job hunt in the country during those hiring seasons. And we're going to talk about Latin America in a little bit as well. And many countries in that part of the world are also the same. However, for Korea, for China, it's not really typical to go there before and then job hunt in person. It's pretty much done only online. And the reason for that is because you need to have your work visa ready before you go. So for example, in China, you can't even get your work visa in China. Or at least it was when I was there, you needed to get your visa from your home country. So you need to apply for a Chinese work visa in your own country. And only then you can get it. So if you wanted to job hunt in person in China, you would fly to China, you'd get your tourist visa, which also costs money, you would go there, you would job hunt.  So that's very, very complicated and unnecessary. And that's why it's just done online. So it depends on the country you want to go to. So research about the place you want to go to and how the application process works in that place. Okay, another question. Hi, may I ask what about in Australia, is it difficult to find a job? If teaching online, am I required to have my certificate first? Okay, so Australia, I don't know too much about Australia, I have to be honest, but I know a lot of foreigners who went to Australia for work and it's quite easy. There's a lot of like working holiday options. I don't know too much about teaching English in Australia. There are opportunities for sure. And then when you say teaching online, do you mean like teaching online while in Australia? So that will probably also be possible with a work visa, with a working holiday visa. So you could look into those options. I think working holiday visas might probably be a good option for that. And those can also be extended as far as I know. But I would recommend either reaching out to people who are teaching English in Australia, you can find blogs perhaps, or Facebook groups. And then you could also, you know, call your local Australian embassy in your country and ask them. I'm not too familiar with that, unfortunately. Okay. Another one from Noor, thanks for being so active, I love it. If I got a job as an English teacher, do I have to get the visa from my own country? Or am I able to do it from a different country? Because I am not in my country. I am in a different country that I don't have its nationality. Yeah. So that is going to depend on, you know, the country where you're going to and the country that issues your work visa. So sometimes that is possible. So actually, I moved from China, right to South Korea. And I wanted to get my Korean work visa, you know, in China. And I went to a Korean embassy in China, and it did not work for some reason. It was just not possible. So then what I had to do was, and that's what my school recommended go to Japan. So I actually went to Korea, I entered on a tourist visa, and then I left to go to Japan, I think two weeks later or something. And I got my work visa in Japan, it took like three days at a Korean embassy. And then I flew back to Korea. So that is possible. But I think for some countries like China, it is not possible. It needs to be in your home country. So it depends what their rules and regulations are. So you need to, the best way would be to call the embassy of that country and ask them, Hey, do I have to do it the visa process in my home country? Or can I also do it in another country? For example, in this country at the Chinese embassy, or whatever embassy, and they will be able to answer it, you know, 100% correctly. I'm not sure for every country. It is possible for some countries, but for some countries, it is not possible, unfortunately. Okay, let's move on to the next region. We are going to Europe. Hiring seasons for Europe. I think nobody today in our little group here mentioned Europe. Anything about teaching English in Europe? Why Europe is great. But it's it's also hard to get into, right? So I understand. So there's two main hiring seasons. The primary hiring season for Europe is September and October. And the secondary one is January. I also want to mention that Turkey, Russia and Georgia, they actually hire year round. So you can find positions there throughout the year, regardless of those hiring seasons. Also interesting to know the government assistant ship programs in Spain and France. So that is Taepif in France. And the cultural ambassadors program in Spain, they require their applications to be filed by March for positions starting in September. So if you want to enter one of those programs, that's the timeline you need to follow. Then a lot of people also do summer camps. So these are typically filled like locally from people from within the EU or like with EU passports, but not only you can also find summer camp positions for people from outside of the EU, Americans or anywhere else, Canadian or from other parts of the world. It's also possible. And they typically hire during the winter and spring or recruit during the winter and spring for the following summer. So if you want to do a summer camp job, then you would have to find and job hunt in winter already or in spring. Okay. Oh yeah, Tiana says I would love to go to Germany because I'm half German or Italy. Cool. Yeah. All right, Neuer. What countries give a good life with everything needed for language teachers in Europe? Yeah. So we actually always say for people outside of the EU and English teachers, it is a great way to start your Europe teaching journey in the Czech Republic. So the Czech Republic is a good place for teaching English as a foreign language because the visa regulations aren't that strict compared to many other European countries. So it's quite easy to get into. And the cost of living is also much lower compared to many other European countries. So if you're interested in Europe, we always recommend the Czech Republic as a good starter option. And then you can network and then you can figure things out locally. And maybe you can move on to a different country.  Prague is an amazing city. There's so much to see. And once you're there and you have your visa, you can also travel all across Europe. No problem. All right. Next, we have Central America hiring seasons for teaching English in Central America because Central and South America are very different in terms of their hiring season. So primary hiring season for teaching English in Central America is June, July, and the secondary one, January, February. And then I have Costa Rica here because it's a little bit special. So they interview in December for positions beginning in January. I don't know why I put that up. I think because most of them would do that I think in December, or maybe it's a little bit more short term. And what's special about Mexico actually is that language schools in Mexico are hiring year round. So they don't really stick to those main hiring seasons. So in Mexico, you can find positions year round. And what's very, very special and unique in this part of the world is that you would have to be on the ground with your TEFL certification in your hand during these hiring seasons to interview in person. So in Central America, interviewing in person is very, very common and they don't really do online in advance hiring. So that's why if you want to find a job in Central America, you would have to go there typically in June or July, be there maybe May, a little bit earlier, and also in December, January for starting in January and February.  And there's a lot of also Facebook groups that help with this situation for people who have been through that, the job hunting in Central America. So you can also find groups like that on Facebook, like you can pick this, like I mentioned, you know, teaching positions in Costa Rica, teaching positions in Mexico or EFL teachers in Mexico, join those groups like those groups are so valuable and you can ask your questions and you get answered from people who actually live there. They've actually been through the process. So that's always a really great way to find, you know, the most current information because sometimes things change quite a lot. And we at ITTT, we're not an, we're not an embassy, you know, and we don't, we're not officially from like that country. So we might not know everything 100% because things also change so quickly. Hope that makes sense. All right. Okay. Let me move on. Now we're talking about South America. The primary hiring season in South America is February and March. And the secondary one is July and August. And I've listed like the most popular countries here and all of their hiring seasons so that you can like compare and it's more detailed. And maybe we had somebody from Brazil in the beginning. If you're still here, maybe you can say a little bit about that and validate if that's correct. So for Argentina, it says March, April, July and August. Then for Brazil, it says middle of February, March and August. Ecuador, February, March, July and August. Colombia, middle of January, February, July and August. Bolivia, middle of February, middle of March, July and August. Chile, March, April, July and August. So if you, if you're not sure when to go, July and August seems to be a great time. So you should head there or beginning of the year. And also a lot like Central America, you need it, you would need to be on the ground in South America and interview in person. That is just part of their culture and their hiring process. So they just do face to face interviews a lot more than hiring in advance online. So yeah, that's it about South America. And I think, is there one more continent left? I think we're through it all now. And at the end, let me see. Yes. So I just listed basically the 10 countries with the highest demand for teaching English abroad at the moment or 2021.  Those are really great places. Not to say that all the other places aren't good. But those 10 countries are the hottest right now. That's where it's at. So number one, no surprise, China still number one. China is always, I mean, China has been number one for a long time. It's a huge country, a huge EFL market. There's more vacant positions than people to fill them with. So if you want to go to China, you can definitely find a job there. You know, maybe not in Beijing or Shanghai or whatever, but you can also find a job in some smaller cities. So when I live there, the first time I lived in Guangzhou, which is one of the biggest cities in China actually, and it's very close to Hong Kong. And it was great. It was my favorite. I love the city. And the second time I went to a city called Changsha. And that's very unknown even for Chinese people. A lot of Chinese people don't even know Changsha. But it's the capital city of Hunan province. Huge city, you know, a lot going on. And it was also great. So you don't have to only stick to like the most well-known cities. Those are more competitive. But if you branch out a little bit, you can still, you know, find a good place. Then number two, South Korea. South Korea is hiring like crazy at the moment as well. Despite COVID and anything, sure, you have to go through your COVID testing. And then also quarantine for two weeks. But after that, you're good and you are ready to teach and everything is pretty much normal. And we also don't really have a lockdown really at the moment. So everything is pretty much, I mean, it's not like, you know, like before, but people are wearing masks and everything is open normally pretty much. So it's not even that bad. Could be worse. Let's say that. Then we have Japan. Japan also quite similar to Korea, you know, everything's still going. Everything's great. Vietnam as well. Thailand. I have a friend currently living in Vietnam. And she, you know, it's also pretty good there. People are still hiring. Schools are hiring. I think you also have to go through a quarantine process. I actually did a live about the best places to teach English in 2021, a couple of weeks ago, and they also mentioned some quarantine situations per country. So you can refer back to that one if you're interested in how that process works. But I'm also sure that some things have changed. I know that Thailand is now open for tourism again. That's what I heard. However, I think you need to, do you need to be vaccinated? Maybe. Don't quote me on that, but that's what I heard. Thailand is open again under like this condition. It might be you have to have a vaccine. Not sure. Then we have Taiwan. So as you can see, from one to six, it's all Asia. So Asia is where it's at at the moment. And it has been for a while for teaching English abroad. Juliana says, I have a friend here who went to Taiwan to teach English in one of their summer camps. Yeah. So that's really great. That's what I would love to do too. Taiwan is a really, really beautiful place. I really want to go back there again. Then Tiana was asking, how would you get a job in Hong Kong? Yeah, Hong Kong also, they have a teaching program called the net scheme. You've probably heard about it. And I know a couple of people who went through the net scheme and it was really good. They earn quite a lot of money in Hong Kong, but also Hong Kong is expensive and the apartments are quite small.  We've also had some ITTT grads and there was a guy from, I think Italy and he went to Hong Kong and taught English there. And it was not through the net scheme. He just taught for a private school, I believe. And he found a job there.  You can be from anywhere. If as long as you, you know, have, as long as you have a good English background, yeah, Hong Kong is great. I definitely, I definitely recommend Hong Kong. It just, you know, it's similar to Singapore where it's a just a really big city. And so it depends on, you know, if you might feel trapped, a lot of people, especially now, I know some people living in Singapore and with the lockdown and everything, you can't go anywhere else. You can't go out. And so they just feel really like kind of trapped because Singapore is so small and they haven't left in more than a year now. So they're like, I've seen everything in Singapore. I've seen everything in this city. It's so boring. But like, I mean, yeah, it's, you know, can you complain or not? I don't know. But that's what some people say. Yeah, there is quite a good demand in Hong Kong for sure. And I think the net scheme is really good. You should definitely look into that. Then also on the list, we have Spain and France. And they also have the teaching programs. So like I said, in Spain, they have the cultural ambassadors program. And in France, they have the tape if program that is what does tape if stand for teaching. Oh, I forgot tape if I forget what it stands for. But I did a live about that too. The most popular government funded teaching programs around the world and tape if was one of them. So you can also go back in our playlist and watch that one that's also really interesting. Then number nine, United Arab Emirates. So we also talked about that a little bit. I think that also that is especially in the Middle East region, I think the hottest place for Tefl teaching at the moment. We also see a lot about Qatar and Oman recently, I think. So those are good places. And then Czech Republic, like I mentioned a little bit ago. So in Europe, if you really want to go to Europe and you're not a EU citizen, the Czech Republic is really a great entryway into your Europe adventure. So I definitely recommend that if you're into Europe. Nikki's asking, what about New Zealand? Yeah, I think it's similar to Australia. You know, there's some opportunities definitely for working holiday visas. I'm not too sure about teaching English. I'm sure there are positions, but they might be very competitive. And usually they're filled by locals, right? So it might be a little bit challenging. But if you are from New Zealand, you can definitely find some positions there. I highly recommend reaching out on Facebook to different people. Facebook groups, I know I've mentioned it like 10 times now, but Facebook groups are great. You can connect with people who are doing what you want to do right now. So it's great. I recommend it. Good. Okay. Now we're almost, we are pretty much an hour in. So I just want to mention the 30% off link once again. And I'm going to share it with you guys one more time in the comments section. So you can click on that and you can get Tefl certified 30% off any Tefl course. It looks like this. Or you can scan the QR code, same thing.  And then I'm going to take a couple more questions if there are any, and then I am going to sign off for today. And yeah, it was fun today. Good group, lots of questions. It was really awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Maybe since a lot of people are also interested in Hong Kong, I'm going to try and get a guest on who has taught in Hong Kong. I think that would be really interesting. An ITTT grad, of course grad who I think is teaching still in Hong Kong or has taught in Hong Kong. I think that would be cool. And we could ask him or her questions. I remember there are a few, we have quite a few in Hong Kong, ITTT grads. So I hope I can get somebody on in the future. That would be really great. Juliana says, for now, I just want to stay at home because it makes me safe. Sure. I mean, I think right now is a great time for getting your TEFL certificate, for getting all your things ready, for doing as much research as you can, so that when you feel ready, when you feel like it's the right time that you have everything and you can go abroad. So definitely smart. It's not, yeah, it's definitely a good idea. Gwen says, thank you so much for today, Linda. Sorry, I was so quiet. I was trying to take notes and everything. You're taking notes. Are you kidding? Oh my gosh, you're great. You're awesome. I love that. Taking notes. That's cool. I'm always worried, you know, that I'm just rambling or I don't make sense or I don't know. But I love you guys. It's awesome. Tana says, I need to see the world. It's been my dream since I was a kid. Yeah, you know, there was this really cool quote that somebody said not too long ago and it was like, so I'm doing Peloton. I don't have a tread or I don't have the, what's the other thing, the bike. If you know Peloton, it's a workout thing. They have treadmills and bikes that you can buy, but they also have the apps where you can follow an app, where you can follow the workouts and stuff. So I'm doing this workout. It was like a run. And I always do runs like from the same instructor. I love her. And she's really cool. And she's Italian. Like her mom is Italian. Her dad is American. So she lived in Italy, born and then lived there until she was 10. And then she moved to Hawaii. She moved to everywhere literally. And now she's in New York City working for Peloton.  Of course, now I can't really say it, but I don't remember it. It's like life is like a train or something. And you want to experience all the different seats.   Does that make sense? I'm so bad at like retelling stories and stuff. But I don't know. I need to write, and I'm going to listen to it again. I need to write it down. And then I can tell you more about it. But I just thought that was such a good message, you know, you need to experience other people's seats. And then you see more and different things and experience more things. That's basically the essential message. And I think that, you know, teaching English abroad and TEFL is such a great way to do that. So yeah. Tiena says, love all the information. I've never been outside my country. Yeah, it's high time then Tiana. What are you waiting for? No, just kidding. All right, cool. Then I think I'm going to sign off. Tiena says, you can send it to me. Which one? The quote? Julianna says, the first place I want to visit is definitely Daegu. The second one is Osaka. Oh, Osaka is great. We were there in 2019 at the beginning of Cherry Blossom season. It was amazing. Osaka is awesome. Okay guys, thank you so much for joining today's session and for being so super active and kind and, you know, sharing the information, helping each other out in the comment section. It was really, really great. And I hope to see you again next week. And yeah, stay safe everybody. You know, maybe you can find some really cool Facebook groups until next week and you can share them with everybody. That would be cool. Teaching groups. Tiana's got her group, but maybe we can find some other groups that we can share with each other. And I don't know yet what I'm going to talk about next week. If you want to hear something specific, feel free to let me know. Any topic suggestions? Let me make myself bigger again. I want to see you better here. Any topic suggestions? Feel free to let me know. No problem. And yeah, don't forget the 30% off. If you haven't taken a course yet, I highly recommend it. And yeah, have a great weekend and I hope to see you next week. Bye, guys. Bye, bye, bye.


One of the things that I'm most in love with about Chinese medicine is the sophistication in herbalism. Besides Ayurveda and some other ancient medical systems, I've never seen any kind of medical system that is continuous with as sophisticated a philosophy of how to use herbal formulas and when to use them. And just the very fact that Chinese medicine has formulas that range from one herb to 30 plus is just the most incredible example of both alchemy and chemistry that I've ever seen. Now in this video, I thought I would share the three levels or kinds of medicinal herbs according to one of our most ancient medical texts. Hey guys, Dr. Alex Hein, author of the health book Master of the Day, Doctor of Chinese Medicine and licensed acupuncturist. So before we jump into this video, two very important links right below it. The first is if you'd like to become a patient of mine locally in Los Angeles or virtually via telemedicine. There's a few links right below this video to contact my private practice and reach out to me. And there's also a free guide for daily rituals that can help you add years to your life potentially with Chinese medicine. And that's a free PDF right below this video as well. So one of our most ancient medical texts specifically dealing with herbalism, as well as let's just say medicinal substances because they also include plants, rocks, insects, minerals, all these kinds of things, animal parts. It's called the Shenlong Ben-sao Jing. And it's loosely translated as the divine farmer's materia medica. Now the Shenlong Ben-sao Jing really talks about something that's very interesting, which is the three levels, this kind of hierarchy of medicinal herbs, upper level, middle level, and lower level. Now this hierarchy is not something that's better or worse, but it really shows at what stage of illness, what intervention is required. So when we talk about the upper level medicinal herbs, we're talking about, they really just have low toxicity, right? They have medicinal uses, some of them may overlap with being food grade. But really, it's about minimal toxicity. And the lower level medicinal herbs are used to treat very serious illnesses, life-threatening illnesses, but also they do have toxicity. Now when I say toxicity, I just mean some of these herbs are toxic in their unprocessed form, but toxicity just in the same way as any pharmaceutical is toxic if you take it over a long period of time. You don't want to be taking steroids over a long period of time. You don't want to be taking antibiotics over a long period of time. You do not want to be taking benzodiazepines over a long period of time. There's absolutely toxicity to those. Now, let's jump in to what this actually looks like in each of these tiers. The first tier, the upper tier, the upper level medicinal are described like this. They are non toxic. And even when taken in large quantities or over a long period of time, they won't harm you. These herbs help to lighten the body, boost your chi, avoid aging and extend your lifespan. Now an example of an herb from this upper tier category is ginseng. Ginseng is one of the most highly prized herbs on the market. It's very, very difficult to find wildcrafted or wild harvested ginseng. Sometimes people get these as gifts, these incredible ginseng roots with the main root and then the smaller fine roots and they're just framed. You just see them in herbalist shops sometimes. So this is one of those herbs that has a reputation for being able to take daily frequently over time without major harm to your health, for example. Now when it comes to the middle level medicinal, here's how they're described. These middle level medicinal, some are toxic, and others are not. They're used to treat illness and supplement deficiencies. Now an example of this would be yin yanghua, horny goatweed. So a lot of these herbs in the middle quality, the middle tier are herbs that are they're still safe, right? They're still clinically safe to use. But they're not herbs you want to be taking at a high dose over a long period of time, because you may begin to experience some side effects from them. Now, the way I think about these in terms of medicines, for example, we can really compare these to a lot of pharmaceutical medications that people use, right? The higher tier, I don't really know if there's a highest tier of pharmaceuticals necessarily that anyone would want to take every day over time. Maybe baby aspirin for some people potentially falls in that category. But maybe some decongestants. But in general, when we talk about middle level medicinal, we're talking about herbs, substances, medications that have a therapeutic effect. But still, you don't want to take it for the rest of your life if you don't have to. In my opinion, you should not want to take herbs for the rest of your life if you don't need to. Right? The highest level of medicine is always no medicine is always no intervention. If we can maintain the person's state and their health and their longevity without having to take anything besides this food, that's always the optimal state. So middle level medicinal, they are stronger herbs, because I potentially stronger in terms of their ability to treat illness or disease, but also may have more side effects taken for a period of time. Now, when we talk about the lower level, medicinal's, here's how they're described. The lower level medicinal's are used to treat illness, have stronger effects on the body, i.e. toxicity, and should not be taken over long periods of time. Now a good example here is food or Akinite. Akinite is one of the most toxic plants in the world unprocessed. But when processed, we utilize some of the alkaloids and the Akinitines in there to actually treat disease, treat illness in the same way that someone who's having severe anxiety or severe insomnia, a benzodiazepine is given or Xanax, for example, is given, but you would never ever ever want to be taking these daily over a long period of time. I'll leave you to read the research on that and what the withdrawal can potentially lead to. There are still patients that I see taking benzodiazepines daily on top of an antidepressant for years. That's it's dangerous. It's dangerous in conventional medicine, and it's dangerous any way you cut the cake. Theoretically, that's what's needed for some patients. I'm trying to draw a parallel here between Akinite and, for example, a benzo. But an example is that some pharmaceutical medications can cause, for example, seizures when it's not tapered down in a proper way. And I have seen patients who've been scared of taking benzodiazepines who took themselves off them and then had serious withdrawal symptoms that they had to go get medical interventions to help with. So that's a perfect example of a low level medicinal. It's absolutely necessary when and where it is necessary, but you don't ever want to get on those if you don't have to and tapering off them by themselves can potentially be lethal. These are strong medicinals used to treat serious disease and you don't want to be taking them for a long period of time. That's where some of our herbs fall into that category. Not to that same effect, but it's that general idea. So I thought I would share this with you today. I found it to be very interesting and I think it's a very useful piece of knowledge to know because in the same vein, a lot of people in alternative medicine have this idea of just taking 50 herbs every day and you're going to live forever, right? Goji berries, superfoods, acai bowls, and it's not really true because it's stages and grades of illness and intervention and the medicine should always match the stage of illness and the depth and the severity. And if no medicine or intervention is required, no medicine should be given, right? That's the highest level of medicine. Alright guys, that's what I have for you here today. Before you go, two related videos for you right there. I'll catch you soon.