Teaching Online vs.
In-Person

Choosing the Right Path for Your ESL Career

by Matt Mitzel

For those of you that know me, you will know that I have been bouncing around the globe pretty much non-stop for the last 6-7 years. But for those that only know my social media presence and not me personally, you may ask- “How is this man making all these travels….is he rich or something?” Well, my answer to that is certainly “No, I am not rich- I just got certified to teach English as a foreign language and used that as my ticket to the see the world!”

And man, what a journey it has been from spending close to 2 years teaching English in a small town in Galicia, Spain, to the hustle and bustle of Barcelona. My TEFL adventure then took me to the neon lights of Busan, South Korea, for over 14 months and then recently to a year spent in the only city in the world that spans 2 continents- Istanbul, Türkiye. In this time I have been able to travel extensively in all 3 of these countries, in a way that just isn’t achievable from visiting these countries as a tourist. Fast forward to today, and I have been teaching English online for the past year and spending a month in a different country as I have fully embraced the digital nomad life. So, yes I can provide an extensive evaluation of both options of TEFL and can offer my experiences that can hopefully enlighten you to begin your TEFL journey- either online or in the classroom.

After a year of online teaching, Matt and his girlfriend Perlie returned home for family vacations and chose to embark on another year of work and travel in Latin America. Securing dog-sitting gigs, they spent nearly two months in their first destination—Mexico.

As I started my TEFL career in the classroom, it only makes sense to dive in to life on the ground first and offer reasons as to why the classroom is better than online. Firstly, I wanted to start off by saying that teaching on the ground truly gave me my main goal when I decided to pursue my TEFL certificate- the ability to live and work somewhere and not be a tourist in a foreign country. One of my biggest regrets in life was not studying abroad, which my mother pushed on me throughout my college career as she had studied abroad in Madrid in the 80s. How stupid of me to reject her study abroad pitches because it was literally a way to spend an extended time in a country offering someone the ability to really get to know a place. Well, I view my current life as a study abroad experience in which I have seen places and done things that a normal tourist might not have the opportunity to do, solely because they are traveling somewhere, not living. This for me is my biggest pitch to someone to teach English on the ground. Most TEFL contracts that I have seen on job boards offer at least a one year contract. You can do so much in one year in your new home- from discovering YOUR favorite cafe, YOUR fave bar, YOUR fave park, YOUR network. It is enough time to discover everything you want that you would have in your place of origin. You have the time and flexibility to go somewhere blindly and have your eyes truly opened to a new sense of normalcy.

In 2018, Matt began his global adventure by teaching English in Ribeira, a small town in Galicia, northwestern Spain. As a language assistant for children aged 3-13, this first TEFL experience challenged and motivated him to continue his teaching journey.

Secondly, the kids. Why might someone do TEFL? Well the list of reasons goes on, but for me- a huge draw was the ability to connect with another culture and language through education and working with children. TEFL is an inside look into another country and culture through its youth that you likely would not have the chance to do so as tourist. Sure, you might see kids in the streets….but it might be weird to strike up a conversation with them. TEFL on the other hand is as much a cultural immersion for yourself as it is for your classroom. While I have spent years in the classroom and have met literally hundreds if not over a thousand young Spaniards, Koreans and Turks and I clearly don’t remember everyone’s name; I can honestly say I was able to connect with each and every one of them in a way that helped me grow as a person and a traveler. Without being in the classroom, how else are you going to learn how to explain nouns and verbs to a child of a different language? While experiences like these can certainly be challenging with the language barriers sometimes proving to be major hurdles, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Nothing is more rewarding than seeing a child everyday start from a low level and then by the time the year is finished, having a higher English level….thanks to you and your hard work. You just don’t see this growth as much while teaching English online….being separated by screens with your student just isn’t the same. I believe the children and connections you have in the classroom are reason enough to pursue a TEFL certificate.

After nearly two years teaching in Spain, Matt returned home during the COVID pandemic. South Korea remained open for TEFL teachers, and despite knowing little beyond his grandfather's Korean War service, Matt fell in love with the country. He spent 14 months teaching English in Busan, Korea's second-largest city, where he also met his girlfriend, Perlie. Together, they now travel the world and teach online.

Thirdly, building connections. Moving abroad to another country can be daunting and certainly not easy. I am not going to sugar coat it, it is tough because for most people it is a complete reset in your life. You are moving to a foreign land with a foreign language, customs, foods and just everything in general is different….this change can be more drastic in some countries than others. Yet, the saying “the world is your oyster” truly comes into play here. You have the opportunity to create a whole new network of friends. From your coworkers to other teachers in your city or even meeting local friends and dates….the opportunities to expand your network are endless. From my experience, the connections I made abroad have been stronger than in my own country….whether it be with locals or other expats, the result is still the same—I find a stronger connection and cherish these friendships. How else would I be invited to a bachelor party in England and go to 4 weddings across Cyprus, Türkiye and Korea had I not made this leap abroad and taught on the ground? These connections are ones that just aren’t the same or are more difficult to obtain when teaching English online and moving to other countries every month. It is just a temporary connection, if any, that does have me missing the camaraderie of teaching in a school. Your coworkers are in the same boat as you, for better or worse. There’s a common theme here—teaching in the classroom offers you real-life connections….connections that are restricted by a screen online.

During the 2022-23 school year, Matt lived in Istanbul, Türkiye, and taught a class of 15 Turkish 5-year-olds at a pre-school. This role was more rewarding than his previous contracts, allowing him to teach on his own terms and witness his students' daily growth. "Out of the 51 countries I have visited, Türkiye takes the cake."

Well, we have reached the point of where we have to dive into the pros of teaching online. While the job is mostly the same, teaching English to foreigners, the setting and circumstances make all the difference- again, for better or worse. The biggest pro from my experiences of teaching online has been flexibility. From waking up and just opening the computer to start working to being able to move as I please; this would for sure be the biggest draw. While you can travel on the weekends or on holidays during your in-person job, you still see restrictions for how long and where you can go based on the school because let’s be honest- your school is your employer and you can’t free roam as you please. In my life as an online teacher, I have been able to go anywhere I please and whenever I want. With the flexibility of my schedule, I have been able to fly on weekdays, move my schedule around to have days off during the week, and done a lot of exploration during the week….not just the weekend. I don’t have to wait for holidays to do something…I come and go as I please. With that being said however, there are no holidays especially when you are teaching privately. This means that you do not have paid vacation and you have to make your own holiday, which means no money. If you are sick and have to cancel, you don’t get paid. The financial protections aren’t there as much as physically in the classroom. Yet, the flexibility is key because I essentially work for myself. Even with a company, you can pick your own hours and not be restricted to a 9-5 in-person teaching job. This is a huge pro that just cannot be matched with a traditional teaching job on the ground.

Another big pro would be the personalised connections that you have. In a traditional teaching role, you are responsible for a class of students oftentimes with various levels of English. I have seen several times across the Spanish, Korean and Turkish classrooms how difficult it may be to truly connect with all of your students in the same way. Unfortunately, especially in Korea, there was a greater emphasis on finishing a textbook rather than making sure all the students understood the content. For this reason, a lot of students got lost in the cracks and would be further behind than other students with more advanced topics. Teaching online, however, often allows you to work one-on-one where you can work with your student achieving their personal goals. I have found this style to be more relaxed and fulfilling because the student is a paying customer, not someone who is just part of the system. This is a huge pro because we teach to ensure the success of our students. Doing this on a more personalized level can be more rewarding!

Over the past year, Matt has taught online through various companies. After his main Polish company went bankrupt, he secured private students. Despite the challenges, this lifestyle enabled him to visit 17 countries, staying over a month in many.

Yet, as with anything, there are always cons. The biggest con I would say with this job and lifestyle would be the lack of stability. While I have made online teaching my current job the past year, I actually started teaching online in between teaching contracts years ago. I worked with a Chinese company called DaDa. It was an easy, relaxed job where you didn’t have to do any planning, rather just hopping on and teaching your student with the preset lesson. It was great because you got to pick your hours and the students were all nice. However, all of a sudden, China had passed a law that restricted the English learning industry and many of the online companies ceased to exist; including DaDa. At the time, I thought it was just a random piece of legislation within the industry.

Last year, when we started this online journey, my girlfriend and I found jobs through mutual friends working at an online Polish Academy. It was great until it was not… The company declared bankruptcy and all teachers weren’t compensated for the last two months of work. This happened in March 2024, and we still have yet to be paid and probably will never see that money. Having personally experienced two acts of companies ceasing to exist, I now understand this is a risk you take working online for foreign companies. Things like this happen, and you get caught in the crossfire, which can mean little to no money for your time. Additionally, when students have to cancel for whatever reason (yes, sometimes cancellations policies work in your favor, as in you are compensated if a student cancels within 12-24 hours), you don’t get paid. So, you are at the mercy of other people’s schedules. If there is a holiday, you don’t get paid. This is something unique to teaching online because you are not always protected for circumstances like these as the whole nature of your job is to teach people at a given time. You are not being paid for anything outside that time. This, for me, is the largest con that can really make or break your experience. Frankly, I still have a sour taste in my mouth from previous companies randomly shutting down. We have had to scramble to find students to compensate for the lost time and money. We have built up a schedule now, but it wasn’t easy at first.

Either way, you will have made a great decision and created a new life for yourself...

Now it comes to your decision—whether you would like to pursue teaching in-person or online. While each offers unique pros and cons, my experiences shouldn’t deter or convince you either way. You need to figure out what it is that you want out of this decision to pursue TEFL. Either way, you will have made a great decision and created a new life for yourself, wherever in the world it may be. The world is truly your oyster…so go out and pave your pathway.

Matt and his girlriend Perlie were pretty much open to travel anywhere while working online. Ireland wasn't necessarily on the radar, but it was somewhere that had a month-long dog sitting gig. So, it was a no-brainer and they certainly loved it. Travel tip: sign up with Trusted Housesitters and let it help you travel the world for free.