After six years, my company has stopped the English teacher...

Hello. I hope you have had success since your Mongolia situation changed. I am 64 and hoping to start the teaching abroad adventure. I know that China is not an option. Have you had success? Where are you? Thank you

Hi, I am also having the problem with my age, 71, the advice i have gotten from You Tube ESL teachers in China was to go there in person and apply directly to the school director. They can pull strings to get you in the school. Also what will help is to create a great demo reel. This will show your talents and personality in teaching. Look up some videos on You Tube. Try to merge something another subject with the ESL. like Drama English, Debate English, Academic English, Business English. This will differentiate you from the hundreds of other ESL teachers. Let's face it ESL is boring. Personally I am pitching "English Through Filmmaking" You can not argue with show business. Script writing, acting oral English. Can't get anymore dynamic and creative. Look up ESL English filmmaking on You Tube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHMLIZC0y3w Now who can turn that down? Good luck, keep in touch "There's no business like show business." Try the Drama English, just brush up on drama training.

Hi Angela, No luck yet, but to be honest I haven’t really been trying. We’ve just recently come back to Thailand, which is where I’m based and there’s a million and one things to do. I’ve just got my 90 day none-resident ‘O’ visa from Laos, so I’ve got till the end of March to get a job, or a month to change it to a marriage visa. I’m going to try for Myanmar who I’ve heard are not so age picky, or here in Thailand. I’l start blitzing the ads shortly. A BA, B.Sc. and MA, don’t drink and no medications I’m hoping will get me something. :)

Hi Vincent, At over 60 the Chinese government schools aren’t interested, unless you’re already working for them and then you get a kind of ‘grandfather rights.’ The kind of schools that can pull age strings aren’t the private ones. In my opinion, the worst way to apply in China is door knocking on a tourist ‘L’ visa. (It’s OK if you’re already there and have a residency visa). The reason for that is that you leave the school or recruitment company to pick up all the costs of sending you to Hong Kong to get the 30 day Z visa, which you need to get the PSB residency visa. My company insisted that people applying do so from their own countries as it was far cheaper for them. I’m afraid drama isn’t my strong point. I already have references, a self-designed syllabus and plenty of experience. I combine the social sciences with ABL TEFL, providing a culture based semester and used that for years. You’re 71? Good heavens, I only need another two years until I get my pension and the furthest thing from my mind will be working. Good luck to you with that one. :)

It would be great to have a list of countries that employ people over 60 . I have thought about volunteering but really it's terrible many places wish you to PAY to come and teach and hardly give you accommodation costs. So it just isn't an option.

Ageism is rife with recruiters and HR in international education. Being over 60 makes you brain-dead or perhaps about to have a heart attack. Many of us at 60+ are in better shape than many 40 year olds that we encounter - and we have a wealth of experience and expertise to offer that can still be utilised ...And we still want to work. Retire?... You must be joking!

Countries where age is not a serious issue, at least legally (start of a list): + Mongolia + Kazakhstan + the USA + Mexico I know about the first two from first-hand experience; the latter two have anti-agism laws.

Egypt does not have an age limit and most of Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean countries do not have age limits; however, some countries think that older means more experience which means you want more money and that is not always the truth. The idea that all teachers must be between the 20-40 age group to be hired sends a terrible message to current students as they will begin to believe that there is no life after 40, (now that 50 is beginning to be the cut off age in certain countries). This is all based on tuition and the money that schools are willing to pay. The epidemic is not making this any easier on us as Coronavirus is linked the older people. I am sure that there are heads of schools and others that are in leadership positions that value the knowledge and the presence of experienced educators on their campus. Good luck in your search.

Hi John. I am 61 and I find there is a lot of age discrimination in English teaching for sure. I am currently in Egypt. Don't like it. Try Kurdistan. I spent 5 years there. Sabis are always looking for teachers. They have three private schools and many ppp schools(public, private, partnership). I would stick to the private ones though. All three private schools are in good locations. The people in Iraq are great. Kurdistan is relatively safe. I had no problems there. Good luck. Chris

Hi John. I am 62 and left Saudi Arabia right before the pandemic. It was not the best place to be anyway, but now, as ageism has crept into my career and job search, I wish I could have held up a little longer. No way to get back into KSA now. I'm thinking about all the great advice folks have given on this thread and I am not giving up hope. Like all of you, I am frustrated by the policies on age as if we are dead already! Given our experience and all we bring, it would seem to me that the best bang for the buck would be someone over 40. Anyway, I hope you all have had some luck. We're nearing the end of 2021 and I am betting on 2022 being a better year.

Myanmar (Burma) also has no age restriction. I've been a teacher at different schools in this beautiful country for about 6 years now. Sadly, the country is now embroiled in a (rather-unpublicised) civil war. Notwithstanding those serious problems, (and I wouldn't be here if I considered my life to be in danger), I have just started a new job at an international school in Yangon, at the ripe of age of 63! Oh, it's teaching kindergarten :)

This is in response to Mr Dammer's post. We have laws regarding age discrimination in Canada, but it doesn't help. They just come up with another reason not to hire you.