How to Get a Job Teaching English in Mexico

Native English speakers OF ANY AGE can easily get a job teaching English in almost any country throughout the world. I'm going to tell about our experiences teaching English in foreign countries beginning in Mexico. 

Mexico is our first international teaching experience, but not our last. We will continue traveling and teaching in more countries. Click here to learn how to secure a teaching job in your preferred country.

English language schools can be found in all large Mexican cities and also in many smaller towns.

Are foreigners allowed to teach English in Mexico?

Yes, but the government has restrictions. The English schools who employ expats are required to also have a percentage of the teachers to be native Mexicans. This is in order to keep employment equitable and not have a bunch of foreigners taking over. 

What are the requirements to teach English in Mexico?

The requirements depend on the school.

• Top tier schools require a teaching credential from an English-speaking country.
• Second tier schools require a bachelor's degree.
• Third tier schools require no degree or certificate, just the ability to speak English

Do the schools require a contract?

The schools that require no degree realize that they need to train you so they do require a time commitment of 6 months to a year. 

Top-tier schools and second-tier schools expect you to know what you're doing so they will employ you for shorter periods of time such as a couple of months. Normally they do not require a contract.

How do I decide at which school to apply?

You will have to either ask around or actually go to the schools to discover which best fits your circumstances. 

How I got a job teaching English in Mexico

We initially came to Mexico as volunteers to teach a summer session English class at a local charity. We had arranged this prior to our arrival. Once our 3 week class ended we had made some friends and secured our own apartment, so decided to stick around town and seek out paid teaching jobs. 

One day while playing bridge at our local friend Abraham's house, we ask for his advice and he suggests applying at a school which he calls Mop Lay Academia so I decided to look it up. I wasn't sure how to spell it so I searched on the internet for English schools in Oaxaca.

One look at the list of English school websites and I spotted it. It is the English school owned by Canadians. How do I know this? Because the school logo is a giant red maple leaf. You know, the same maple leaf you see on the Canadian flag.

Can you guess the English pronunciation of the school? It turns out that \Maple in Spanish is pronounced Mop Lay. Do you find it ironic that this English title is known by the Spanish pronunciation, even by the people working there? 

I think it's best that I apply in person rather than over the phone so off I go looking for a  building with a giant red maple leaf.

In hindsight, I should have taken a cab! You'll understand the reason when your read about my "adventure" in seeking out the school.

The address shows that it's about a quarter mile from our house straight up a hill. The streets from our apartment in Oaxaca climb up at 45 degree to 60 degree angles so I'm quite exhausted by the time I reach the correct neighborhood. 

I could not find the address on my own so I started asking local people, none of whom spoke English.

The first group I ask is a bunch of kids who proceed to send me on a wild goose chase. Finally I encounter a local man who recognizes the address. He walks me all the way there and I thank him profusely.

Soon enough he holds out his cupped hand and I realize that he wants a tip.

This was unexpected but I guess it makes sense. He is working as my guide.

This entire adventure has taken me over an hour and a half. I don't know why I didn't just take a taxi for the same amount of money that I paid for his tip. I could have saved myself a lot of walking around! I guess we're trying to do everything on our own.

I present myself to the school and they are interested in hiring me.

I was told that the pay is 20 pesos per hour and I'm thinking to myself, “Am I calculating this correctly because I'm coming up with $6 an hour.”  Oh well, our rent is less than 500 per month so I can probably make enough to cover our living expenses. It’s almost like getting paid to take a vacation.

Abraham certainly guided me to the correct school. Maple Academy caters to the wealthy citizens so requires a teacher credential, which I have.

Still they want me to give a demo lesson. But first I must ask one question before I consider the job.  Can you guess what it is? It has nothing to do with teaching but rather to do with today’s journey.

My request? “Please tell me there's a bus stop nearby!”

Fourteen children are waiting for my demonstration lesson.

The lesson goes well and afterwards I am receiving profuse apologies for having so many children in the classroom. Fourteen is less than half of what I normally have.

Classes in the United States have between 35 and 40, so 14 is a dream for me.

What is the usual class size here in Oaxaca if 14 is considered excessively large? I'll soon find out.

After the demo lesson, I'm hired to teach 4 classes.

The first class is in the evening and will have three young ladies in their 20s. This will be the advanced class. The second evening class is a one-on-one lesson with a junior high age girl. Then I have two primary school classes with four to eight children each.. The primary classes are on Saturday, which is tomorrow.

I'm all set to come up this hill again tomorrow ON THE BUS until I'm told that the Saturday classes are at Maple’s second location.

As they are describing the location, I want to kick myself as I discover that instead of trapsing up and down hills in the heat searching for the Academy, I could have simply walked across the street from our apartment.

Sure enough, on my walk home from Maple Academy, a few yards from our house, I spot it: a big red maple leaf.

Why didn't I see this before I made the uphill hour and a half trek in eighty-five degree weather with 70% humidity?

Note: 9 out of 10 Teaching English jobs offered throughout the world are focused on teaching children. Jobs teaching adults are much harder to find.

If you feel you need experience before applying for teaching jobs in foreign countries, here are ways to gain experience:

Teaching English ONLINE is an option that allows you to teach from anywhere.

Palfish is a Chinese company we use. They provide curriculum for the children's classes and all you have to do is follow the prompts. The pay is $22 per hour. You set your own schedule.

To be practically guaranteed a job, take the British Council Teaching English course called the CELTA.

This course is offered in many countries. The trick is to choose the country where you would like to get a job and take the course in that country.

Upon your graduation, all the English schools in the area hold interviews where you are likely to get multiple offers.

Schools will hire any age of worker so don't think you are too young or too old.

A good precursor to a job is to Volunteer to teach a summer school class at a local charity