My Incredible Journey: Teaching English in Vietnam

Learn how I moved to Vietnam to follow my passion for teaching.

I have always had a passion for traveling and loved experiencing new cultures and seeing new places. After finishing a 3-month stint in Tanzania in 2016, I was thirsty for more and looking for a way to travel on a longer-term basis. With a new geology degree in my pocket and a personal tragedy in tow, I felt like it was a good opportunity to make this happen.

Deciding to make the leap

Fast-forward to June 2017 and I was preparing to leave my family and friends behind in the UK and set off for Southeast Asia. I had decided to teach English as languages had always been a passion of mine and, having been a tutor in the past, I really enjoyed teaching others. After perusing the internet for a long time, I decided that Vietnam was a great country to do this in. There was a general consensus that the country was bursting with culture, developing rapidly and the people were really nice and welcoming. I was sold! So, after selling most of my belongings and packing my humungous backpack, I was ready to go.

Before I got to Vietnam, I decided to spend a few months traveling around other countries in Southeast Asia. Luckily, Vietnam is in close proximity to many other beautiful places, so I got to see Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. So, perhaps, by the time I got to Vietnam in August 2017, the culture shock didn’t hit me as profoundly as I thought it would. Yet, when I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, the hoards of motorbikes filling the streets was definitely a new experience.

I grew up in a small town in England, so the concept of a ‘city never sleeping’ was a bit lost on me and the busyness of Ho Chi Minh City took some time to get used to. It also took some time to master the art of crossing the road.

You will find that there aren’t many rules when it comes to driving, motorbikes will drive onto pavements, go through red lights, and drive in the opposite direction. I should say that it is a bit scary at first, but you will definitely get used to it. I even decided to get my own motorbike and, actually, I found that the chaos of the roads started to make sense once you were entangled in them. Plus, it’s the best way to get around and see more of the ever-growing city.

Getting my TESOL and a job in Vietnam

I chose to do a TESOL course to learn how to teach English effectively. I felt the TESOL course was vital for my success in Vietnam. It was a gentle way to ease me into teaching life and gave me lots of useful techniques to use in the classroom.

After the course was over, I got a job with VUS, the largest chain of English language centres in Vietnam. Language centres are very common throughout the country, there is roughly one on every street in HCMC. Each VUS language centre had about 30-40 teachers with about 30-40 classrooms to match.

When I first started at VUS, I taught very young learners from the ages of 4 to teenagers around the ages of 15. Classes were either in the evening during the week or at weekends. I found it strange to be working these hours at first, but it was nice to be off during the day to explore the city when it wasn’t so busy. A lot of other teachers also got second jobs, teaching in schools or nurseries to boost their income, so depending on your reasons for coming to Vietnam, this is something you can also consider.

Each class had a lesson with a Vietnamese teacher and a foreign teacher every week and was either 2 or 3 hours long. With my very young students, we would play lots of games and do fun activities as a way to learn the language. I also had two teaching assistants to help me, as 20 young children who can’t understand you would be very hard to control on your own.

However, I found the teenage classes most challenging at first. These lessons were 3 hours long and I didn’t have my trusty TA’s to help. Also, most of these students were there because of their parents, so some lacked motivation. This wasn’t always easy to obtain in a 3 hour lesson, especially after most students had spent the whole day at school.

After a while, I learned what activities worked well and which ones didn’t. I found keeping the students active and not sat in their chairs the whole time helped, so I incorporated activities where they had to get up and ask each other questions or group activities so they could participate with their friends.

My advice for other people

What I originally had planned out to be a 9-month stay in Vietnam, turned into me living there for 3 years. I guess you can say Vietnam definitely changed me for the better. Here, I learned how to live independently in a country that I initially knew very little about. I also found that I became very adaptable, moulding myself into a new way of life and living like a local.

I suggest to anyone who is thinking about moving and teaching in Vietnam to just embrace it. You can try to plan as much as you want before you leave, but I think this is better done once you’re actually in the country. For example, it’s easier to find a job when you’re here as you have the option of going to different places and finding a centre or school that best fits your needs and schedule.

So, if you are debating whether to come to Vietnam to teach, I can understand. It’s a huge step to make, but from my own experience, it’s one you will not regret!