{"id":4878,"date":"2019-10-07T09:00:54","date_gmt":"2019-10-07T09:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/?p=4878"},"modified":"2026-02-05T10:13:45","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T17:13:45","slug":"insiders-guide-teaching-colombia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/insiders-guide-teaching-colombia\/","title":{"rendered":"Camille in Colombia: An Insider\u2019s Guide to Teaching in the Classroom and Online"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bridge graduate Camille Turner<\/a> taught English abroad in Europe before landing in Colombia, where she’s currently teaching in both a traditional classroom setting and on the side as an online teacher. We asked her to share her insider’s perspective on what it’s like to live and work in this beautiful South American TEFL destination.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Teaching ESL in Colombia has given me the opportunity to connect with the greater ESL community, learn from fellow educators, and have a positive impact on students\u2019 lives. If you\u2019re considering going abroad, Colombia is a great place to do so, and there are hundreds of new ESL teaching opportunities springing up in the country every single day. I\u2019ll tell you exactly how to find a job teaching in Colombia, why it\u2019s a great country to teach in, and what you can expect from the schools there \u2014 information I wish I had! Plus, I\u2019ll give you the low-down on how you can supplement your income with an online English teaching job<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Why teach ESL abroad in Colombia?<\/h2>\n

Teaching ESL in Colombia can be a rich and rewarding experience. Not only will you gain exposure to a brand-new culture, but the country itself has some very diverse environments, and you\u2019ll have the opportunity to explore everything from the coffee country to the Caribbean to the Andes Mountains to the Amazon Rainforest. Plus, you\u2019ll get to brush up on your Spanish!<\/p>\n

Requirements to teach English in Colombia<\/h2>\n

The basic requirements to teach in Colombia are similar to the typical requirements of the region in general: TEFL certification<\/a> (120+ hours preferred) and sometimes a university degree. For example, I took the Bridge 120-Hour Master TEFL\/TESOL Certificate<\/a>, which is widely accepted, and also chose to add on the Guided Teaching Practicum course<\/a>\u00a0because I wanted some hands-on teaching experience, in addition to the online training. (Previous teaching experience is generally not a requirement for jobs in Colombia, though some schools may prefer it.)<\/p>\n

Browse online TEFL certification<\/a> options.<\/em><\/p>\n

How to find an English teaching job in Colombia<\/h2>\n

You can certainly find some ESL jobs in Colombia online via online TEFL job boards<\/a>\u00a0or social networks (such as the Bridge Jobs Facebook group<\/a>). Also, many larger language institutes that have multiple sites throughout Colombia will often advertise on places like LinkedIn<\/a>. However, for many of the private schools, tutoring institutes, and smaller site jobs, you won\u2019t find ads online but will rather get jobs by word of mouth. In fact, since living in Colombia, I\u2019ve discovered that most things (job opportunities, apartments for rent, furniture for sale, etc.) are discovered this way.<\/p>\n

The good thing is that getting to Colombia isn\u2019t so difficult since the government tends to be lenient with visas, and once you\u2019re here you\u2019re likely to find an ESL teaching job very quickly as there are a number of opportunities in just about every city. I found the school where I currently teach because a neighbor works there and informed me the school was in desperate need of English teachers. I\u2019ve since had countless individuals, friends of friends, etc. tell me about similar opportunities and ask if I\u2019m available to teach. Honestly, it seems like I get a new job offer (not that I\u2019m in the market) to teach English here just about every month simply by someone overhearing me speak English!<\/p>\n

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Main square in Villa de Leyva<\/em><\/p>\n

Where to teach English in Colombia<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re going to teach English in Colombia on your own (in other words, not as part of a specific program that takes care of logistics for you), then I highly recommend you teach in a bigger city. This is because transportation and resources are often limited, and in smaller towns or rural areas\u2014even the touristic ones\u2014you can\u2019t always find what you need, and the job opportunities are immensely reduced.<\/p>\n

For example, when I first moved to Colombia, I decided to live in the small touristic town of Villa de Leyva because it\u2019s so quaint and quiet. While I loved the town itself, there were constant issues with the amenities,\u00a0including the water, electricity, and Internet, at my house. Plus, if I wanted any basic teaching resources, such as a small whiteboard, I had to take an hour-long bus ride to the city of Tunja just to hunt one down. Even items like poster board or markers were difficult to find in the tiny town.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, once I moved to Tunja, a smaller city and the capital of the region known as Boyac\u00e1, everything became much easier, and this is when the job opportunities started presenting themselves. Colombia has tons of great bigger cities like Medellin, Bucaramanga, Cartagena, or the capital, Bogot\u00e1, but also some wonderful smaller cities like Tunja and Manizales where you can find plenty of ESL teaching jobs.<\/p>\n

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Picking oranges at my in-laws’ family finca (countryside house) in Moniquir\u00e1<\/em><\/p>\n

What is it like to be a TEFL teacher in Colombia?<\/h2>\n

School system<\/h4>\n

The school year in Colombia typically runs from February to late November or early December, and the students\u2019 Christmas break is sort of the equivalent of the European or North American summer holidays. (Keep in mind that there are no actual seasons in Colombia!) Many students attend private schools, as they are far more affordable than their North American counterparts, and many of these private schools are bilingual and focus on language learning.<\/p>\n

The schools in Colombia usually break for lunch, when kids and teachers go and eat at home and return about two hours later. Every school has its own system when it comes to grading, curriculum, disciplinary actions, etc. At the private school where I teach, I am allowed to design my own curriculum, which I really enjoy as I can teach using the materials I want and cover the topics I think the students are struggling with the most. As I teach in an immersion setting, no Spanish knowledge is required.<\/p>\n

The school year itself usually models what\u2019s done around most of the world, with four quarters, known as periodos<\/em>, dividing up the year and final exams given at the end of each one.<\/p>\n

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The view from the finca in Moniquir\u00e1 (plantain and banana trees)<\/em><\/p>\n

Culture<\/h4>\n

The Colombian culture is a vibrant and colorful one. Expect to see vendors selling handmade baskets and hats on every street corner, people paying for bands to come and serenade their loved ones in the middle of the night, and invitations to snack on cheesy, fried arepas<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Just as each culture around the world is highly unique, there are certain things that you have to get used to when you move abroad to Colombia. In particular, I\u2019ve had to make peace with a difference in personal space (that personal space bubble is much smaller here) and noise levels (from music, vendors, parties, dogs, and more at all hours). The funny thing is that one of my tenth-grade students was recently preparing for his student exchange in the U.S. and told me his welcome packet mentioned both noise levels and spatial awareness but from the opposite point of view of how to adapt to them in the U.S.<\/p>\n

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In the town of R\u00e1quira<\/em><\/p>\n

Cost of living vs. salary<\/h4>\n

The cost of living is quite low in Colombia, and you can make it on a salary of no more than $700 USD\/month in many cities. The average salary in Colombia is probably between $700 to $1,000 USD\/month, but you can certainly negotiate rates.<\/p>\n

Teaching ESL online from Colombia \u2013 Why it makes sense<\/h2>\n

Teaching English online can be a great way to work while traveling or supplement your income in lower-income countries, such as Colombia. I have worked online for both Speaken and Magic Ears<\/a> (where I currently hold a position). Magic Ears is similar to many of the other online Asian ESL companies that cater to students in China. With these companies, teachers usually teach students ranging from ages 2 to 15 and of all different levels.<\/p>\n

Learn about getting qualified to teach online with the newly updated Bridge Certification in Teaching English Online + Virtual Practicum!<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Minimal prep and lesson planning<\/h4>\n

In my own experience working online, the curriculum is set and my preparation time is very limited, which makes the job even more worthwhile. After I got the hang of teaching online, I started being able to easily prep for a class in about five minutes, mainly by quickly previewing the lesson and setting aside a few props to go with it. At Magic Ears, each class is only 25 minutes long and contains four students. The students are always changing, so you don\u2019t have regulars. Some similar companies function slightly differently with regular students booking your classes instead of an automated random system, and some classes are only one-on-one.<\/p>\n

Flexibility<\/h4>\n

Teaching online is extremely flexible. You can essentially teach from anywhere as long as you\u2019ve got a stable internet connection and a quiet, clean space. This is yet another reason to consider living in one of Colombia\u2019s cities rather than a small town. If you\u2019re going to teach online, you have to have good internet, which isn\u2019t something that\u2019s available in the more remote places of the country.<\/p>\n

Hours<\/h4>\n

For the company where I work, you can choose your own hours each day, something that I highly value as it allows me to change my schedule depending on the week. I don\u2019t have a minimum number of time slots I have to open \u2014 another perk if I go on vacation, get sick, etc. Other online companies do make you choose a set number of weekly hours.<\/p>\n

Remember that as most of these companies cater to Chinese students, you could find yourself teaching in the very early hours of the morning or the very late hours of the night depending on the time difference. The only other thing to keep in mind when working online is that booking rates may fluctuate depending on the season. If you are going to be dependent on your online teaching income, it\u2019s best to spread yourself over several companies so as not to suffer when one of them has a booking drought.<\/p>\n

Pay<\/h4>\n

Teaching online typically pays quite well, with most companies offering between $10-$26 USD\/hour. As I mentioned before, this is a great way to supplement your income in low-income countries or to fund your travels.<\/p>\n

Browse online teaching jobs on the Bridge Job Board!<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Teaching in Colombia \u2013 An overall unique experience<\/h2>\n

Teaching English in Colombia is a great opportunity for anyone looking to start or advance their ESL teaching career abroad. The country is an affordable place where you can work both in the classroom and online if you\u2019re looking for a way to supplement your income. Colombia offers a unique experience and has plenty of ESL job openings available, making them an up and coming big player in the ESL world market.<\/p>\n

Want to hear more about Camille’s TEFL adventures in Colombia and around the globe? Check out her\u00a0BridgeTEFL Teacher Interview<\/a>\u00a0or browse TEFL jobs on the Bridge Job Board<\/a>!<\/em><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Camille, currently teaching in the Boyac\u00e1 region, tells us exactly how to find a TEFL job in Colombia and what you can expect from schools, plus gives us the low-down on supplementing your income by teaching ESL online.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5015,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,13,14],"tags":[],"post-language":[],"popular_posts":[],"class_list":["post-4878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bridge-voices","category-teach-english-abroad","category-teaching-english-online"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Cartagena-1.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Camille Turner","author_link":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/author\/camille-turner\/"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4878"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37698,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4878\/revisions\/37698"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4878"},{"taxonomy":"post-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-language?post=4878"},{"taxonomy":"popular_posts","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/popular_posts?post=4878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}