Does My Age Matter (If I’m Young)?

As far as getting a job, I’d say age probably matters less in TEFL than it does in other fields at home.

First of all, what is young? I’m going to set the arbitrary “end of youth” at 25. Lots of, if not most, people who teach EFL, myself included, start fresh out of school. This is quite common and I certainly don’t mean to imply “too young” – it’s just approximately what I had in mind when I wrote this post.

One awkward – though hardly insurmountable – point is that you might be the youngest person in the group you are teaching.

Just be aware of it, and recognize that while your students may not have more experience with English language than you, they probably have more life experience. Acknowledge that; their language skills may not be developled, but they are adults with lots of life and often professional experience. I was 23 when I started teaching and avoided telling students my age (“In the US, asking a woman her age…it’s just not done” rather dramatically and with a smile works for women. Men: you’re on your own. “That’s a secret” may work, or “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you” if you have the right atmosphere for it). I think that if you are the teacher, they are more or less obliged to show you the same respect they would show to an EFL teacher of any age. But it also means you may have to make an extra effort to put forth a professional image. It’s hard to imagine this actually becoming an issue with anyone but the most obtuse students.

Schools may wonder about your ability to adapt to life in a different culture if they think you don’t have much life experience under your belt, so you would do well to prepare yourself with examples of how you have adapted to difficult circumstances in the past or explanations for how you expect to do it now.

In short, EFL employers are used to and in fact depend on a steady supply of “young (and perhaps starry-eyed) labor”. Do your homework, ask the right questions, but don’t let someone tell you that you can’t go into TEFL because you’re too young.

Young at heart but not by the calendar and still want to TEFL? Stay tuned for more advice…Does My Age Matter (If I’m Not So Young)?…coming soon.