Have you ever thought of visiting and teaching English in Vietnam? Vietnam has been widely known as a beautiful travelling destination with the coastline stretching across the country. As a matter of fact, more and more people from all over the world come to visit and stay in this stunning tropical country every year. Most foreigners coming to Vietnam choose teaching English as it is one of the most table ways to earn a good amount of income in order to live a comfortable life here. So in this article, we will provide you the complete guide on what you should know about teaching English in Vietnam.

Why should you teach English in Vietnam?

If you take a look at Nas Daily’s video about Vietnam, you’ll notice that he asserts over and over again that Vietnam is indeed a “happy” country. The people here are inherently friendly and non-judgmental. When teaching English in Vietnam, many foreigners confess that they love Vietnam because of its beautiful scenery, low cost of living, and sweet people. In addition, because the demand for foreigners to teach English in Vietnam is increasing, you will not have to worry about the lack of job opportunities when you come here.

1. Job opportunities for teaching English in Vietnam increase greatly

As a developing country with a high growth rate in Southeast Asia, Vietnam’s need to popularize English for international integration is increasing sharply, along with a great demand for a number of foreign English teachers in Vietnam. This helps create many job opportunities for foreigners, especially native English speakers. In particular, in the context of recovering the economy and education after the epidemic period, the demand for English teachers is much higher.

In addition, if you are good at something other than teaching, there are also many other job opportunities beside teaching in Vietnam such as manager, supervisor or technical specialist…

2. Favorable climate and beautiful landscape

Vietnam is a country with a temperate monsoon climate with few natural disasters, and the weather is quite pleasant to live in. Nature also favors Vietnam because it is located adjacent to the East Sea with rich natural resources, diverse and beautiful landscapes, making Vietnam really a paradise to live and work. Besides, accompanied by a favorable climate is a wealth of agricultural products and fruits. Foreigners living and teaching English in Vietnam can enjoy delicious and nutritious foods at a very reasonable cost.

3. Safety

Compared to other neighboring countries in the region, Vietnam is one of the best secure countries in the world. In Vietnam, there is almost no terrorist violence. Crime rate is also very low, thanks to the ability of the government to control extremely well. This is an advantage that attracts foreigners because they will obviously feel more secure when teaching English in Vietnam.

4. Humans

Kindness, friendliness, openness, and hospitality are common characteristics of the people here. In Vietnam, teachers of color still teach at regular English centers. People are always happy to offer help to foreigners, which can be rare in other countries.

Besides, expats finds teaching in Vietnam an ideal occupation as they have a fixed working schedule, which allows them to spend the rest of their time for travelling, enjoying life and having fun with their mates.

Expenses when living and teaching in Vietnam

The cost of living in Vietnam varies depending on the city or province you decide to live in, but generally speaking, as a foreigner, it is possible to live in any province or city in Vietnam with approximately $600 per month per person.

As a matter of fact, in the largest and most developed cities, such as Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) or Hanoi, the cost of living is a little more expensive than the rest, especially when it comes to rent, leisure activities and food.

How much can you make when teaching English in Vietnam?

A commonly-asked question by anyone who’s interested in teaching in Vietnam is “how much can English teachers make in Vietnam?“.

In general, there are two types of places where a foreigner can teach English in Vietnam: language centers and international schools/universities.

In an average language center you can earn around $1500 per month (salary in Vietnam is usually mentioned per month not year like in the US) for an English teaching job. And if you are a workaholic, you can can choose to work on the weekend. Most of these weekend classes are for adults, so the income could increase to $2000/month. Recruitment is quite easy as Vietnam is in great need of English teachers.

For international school/university, you will be working with children of all ages. The income is a bit higher, at $1800-2500/month. If you work hard, you can easily reach the number of 2500 USD/ month. And nothing will stop you from choosing a part-time job, so there’re a lot of opportunities to earn money when teaching in Vietnam.

What are the benefits of teaching English in Vietnam?

Besides the basic benefits that an English teacher can get like health insurance, at least 13 paid holidays, work permit and visa sponsorship… you can enjoy other perks when teaching in Vietnam, depending on where you work. Among them are:

• Housing allowance: you can usually get an amount of up to 5 million for covering your rent and accommodation expenses
• Traveling allowance: If your house is quite distant from the school, you can get an amount for gas expenses
• Tuition coverage for children: If you get married and have kids in Vietnam, you can get be exempted from paying tuition fee when sending your children to one of the campuses that belonged to the school you work for (usually an International school)
• KPIs bonus
• Contract bonus: If you complete a (normally) 1-year contract, you can get a bonus depending on your monthly income
• Accommodation provided, vacation trips,…

Requirements for Teaching in Vietnam

Many foreigners are now planning to come to Vietnam in the near future, when the country has fully reopened to visitors from all over the world. Some even plan to stay and find a teaching job here in Vietnam, but don’t know where to start. So let us tell you: you need to, firstly, see how you will be able to get one.

There are several requirements for a foreigner to be get English teaching jobs in Vietnam, but most of them are obtainable. You can find these requirements in most of the job descriptions of many employers in Vietnam:

• A 4-year university or college degree, or a pedagogical certificate obtained in any countries
• Have a decent accent and a good command of English grammar
• An international English teaching certificate: TESOL, CELTA, TEFL,… or PGCEs
• To have from 1 year experience in teaching English as a second language

Moreover, in a managerial position, the requirements for a foreigner to teach in Vietnam is even more demanding, including having a sufficient knowledge of office softwares and skills, or proven leadership experience, etc. The more specific requirements a job description has, the higher the salary that will be offered. If you have already got some experience with teaching ESL, or more ideally, in South East Asian countries, you will have a great advantage while applying to teach English in Vietnam.

Not to mention, there are criteria that some employers will also take into account when recruiting expat teachers, such as: nationality, background status, or other preferable characteristics of a teacher, depending on the type of job. For example, if you apply for a kindergarten teaching position, you must have the passion for teaching pre-school children, especially the patience to tackle any situation you may have with them. However, it’s not too demanding when it comes to a kindergarten teaching job’s requirements, but to the opposite, the soft skills that the job requires are usually considered carefully.

Can you teach in Vietnam without a degree?

It is advisable that you should have at least a college degree of any fields, a health check, a police check, a teaching certificate and some sorts of experience working with children. However, the common problem is that some foreigners want to teach English in Vietnam without a college degree, but are able to meet the other requirements. One thing that could be said is you will still be able to get a teaching job here in Vietnam, but not legally, since you don’t meet the most basic requirement to be a teacher, which is to have a college/ university degree.

If you don’t have a 4-year degree, but a 3-year diploma, you can still be accepted to process for visa/work permit. However, if you don’t have a bachelor degree in Education field, you need to have an extra teaching certificate & language proficiency certification ( for non-native teachers)to be employed as a teacher in Vietnam.

What is the best place to teach English in Vietnam?

In Vietnam, you can choose the location to teach English according to your preference of living environment. Many visitors consider Vietnam as a very safe and friendly place for anyone to live. But if you are looking for a well-paid teaching job in Vietnam, you should make a choice to live in big cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, or Da Nang, etc. The salary for teaching English in Vietnam decreases the further you live from the major cities, especially in provinces and outskirts. However, the cost of living in these places are not as high as those in the cities, and the atmosphere is much more stress-free, so it’s definitely up to how you want to live your life.

Teaching English in Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh (or Saigon) is about 1.730 kilometers from Hanoi and it’s the center of southeast Asia. Ho Chi Minh City has the largest port as well as airport in Vietnam. Saigon harborage carries further than 10 million tons every time and Tan Son Nhat airport operates hundreds of flights on a regular basis.

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With the geographical advantage, Ho Chi Minh megacity is the“ Pearl of the Orient” during the 20th century. It’s the center of economics and societies and is famous to people from not only Vietnam but also from other countries. HCM city was notorious for its diversity, where every culture and traditions are embraced. Being told by numerous societies, people from Ho Chi Minh megacity are friendly, energetic, and down-to-earth.

Ho Chi Minh City has an endless amount of jobs for foreigners, especially for those who are fond of teaching in Vietnam. Every job provides a decent salary with amazing benefits from local English centers and schools. However, not every teacher can find English teaching jobs easily when they first come to Ho Chi Minh city. You need to be, obviously, well-prepared financially and mentally before coming to a new place to find a job. And in this case, it’s Saigon of Vietnam.

Teaching English in Hanoi City

Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam, one of the three big cities where many foreigners live and work. This is a region in Vietnam where people attach great importance to education, and they are willing to invest a lot of money in their own and their children’s education. Because of such characteristics, Hanoi is one of the few places to have the headquarters of large, long-standing English centers as well as the most prestigious international schools in Vietnam.

Things that make Hanoi so attractive to English teachers are also quite predictable. As a large city, Hanoi has a large population, making the demand for foreign teachers always high. It is also easy to have access to medical facilities, entertainment or essential services for living. In addition, Hanoi has had a large expat community for a long time, so you can find and connect with many other English teachers, or simply foreigners here.

What are the most common types of jobs for teachers in Vietnam?

When teaching in Vietnam, you are will often find positions with different titles. For examples:

• English teacher (full or part-time)
• Primary/secondary teacher at high schools
• Lecturer at major universities

In addition, in international schools with English as the main language, the salary of a foreign teacher will be very high. However, the recruitment conditions are also more demanding than in other places.

If you are working at a full-time position, you will be able to enjoy more perks and benefits. Along with them are the stricter requirements on the responsibility and commitment to the employer.

If you are working part-time only, you will be able to get other job opportunities at other centers or schools and earn more income.

If you are looking for a non-teaching jobs that have little requirements for recruitment, there are also choices for you. Some of them are acting in a series of videos for teaching, recording for English programs, or some modelling gigs.

But these jobs are usually short-termed. Therefore, if you look for a stable non-teaching job, you need to have a strong background in the field that you’re applying for (I.T., for instance). The benefits and requirements for these distinct types of jobs are also different from teaching jobs. You should do a little research or ask a local friend to help you about where to find these jobs if possible.

How do I start teaching English in Vietnam?

If you are looking for what it requires to start an English teaching job in Vietnam, you have come to the right place! We will give you some suggestions on what you need to prepare, as well as to understand clearly, to be able to easily enter and start teaching English in Vietnam:

1. Consider a job or position that you would like to apply for

Yes, you need to know what you want to do and where you can work. If you simply want a job teaching English to children in Vietnam, there are many offers for you. In addition, if you are looking for a position that allows you to work with adults more, or just focus on Speaking skills, you can still find it on our website vietnamteachingjobs.com. Use the filter to be able to find vacancies that match your desires, and we will go to the next step. You can also choose the places that have the offers you’re looking for as well!

2. Consider the criteria of that job

Now look at the qualifications, documents and skills requirements of the job you want. Which of these criteria can you satisfy?

Keep in mind that the more skills and legal documents you meet to teach in Vietnam, the more likely you are to get a sponsorship by an employer to enter and work. If you already have a college or university degree, the rest of the requirements are fairly easy to meet.

Now let’s take a look at the other basic criteria for an expat to qualify for teaching English in Vietnam, in case you have already owned a college degree:

• Have a decent accent and a good command of English grammar
• An international English teaching certificate: TESOL, CELTA, TEFL,… or PGCEs
• From 1 year experience in teaching English as a second language

As you can see, it’s an easy task for any foreigner to have a decent accent of English. You don’t need any qualification to prove that, you just have to speak or practice to get the best native accent that the Vietnamese employers look for in a candidate.

For having an international English teaching certificate, you can easily get one with at least 120 hours of studying. The most commonly-accepted teaching certificates are TESOL, TEFL or CELTA. There are a plenty of articles that provide information about these certificates, so you can have a look on your own. If you don’t want to look anywhere further, check out our TEFL provider here to start teaching English in Vietnam today!

In addition, the element of teaching experience is also quite important, but not always compulsory for any position. If you have no experience in this field, don’t worry, there will always be a teaching position in Vietnam to help you get started. However, it is very advantageous if you already have 1 year of experience. This means you can get an offer that provides a higher salary than a beginner, and have more chances to work at more reputable employers or larger-scaled schools.

3. Apply and contact the employer of the position you want to work for

If you feel ready to start a new life in Vietnam, do not hesitate to submit your application immediately. Visit our vietnamteachingjobs.com and you will get access to +100 new teacher vacancies every day in Vietnam (more than any other platform where you can find information about jobs for foreigners or teaching in Vietnam).

However, make sure you are contacting an employer who is also looking for candidates outside of Vietnam. Sometimes, in some cases, employers need to urgently hire teachers to keep up with the current needs of the market (school reopening, teacher shortage, new school year, …) , they will not give preference to candidates who are living abroad. You can see the section “support teachers outside of Vietnam” in every job posting on our website: if “YES” you are free to apply, but if “NO”, try your chance in other job postings.

What are the requirements for visa for teaching English in Vietnam?

• Guaranteed by organizations, enterprises or companies operating in Vietnam.
• Having a representative office in Vietnam to guarantee.
• Have a schedule to work or work in Vietnam.
• Provide legal documents of the company or enterprise, including: Business registration certificate or. Investment certificate (for foreign enterprises need to provide both documents above) and company seal sample registration certificate.

The process to enter Vietnam:

• Upon entry: Vietnam has now allowed entry to the country again. According to a dispatch on March 15, 2022, the government issued a decision to restore the entry policy to Vietnam for foreigners.
• Consular legalization is when a competent Vietnamese agency certifies the seal, signature, title on the papers, and documents issued by a foreign agency to be recognized and used in Vietnam.
• Get a work visa: It is compulsory for foreigners to have a work visa to work in Vietnam legally.
• Get a work permit: Work permit is a legal document for foreigners working in Vietnam.
• TRC- Temporary Residence Card:  is a document you earn from an immigration management agency or a competent agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Foreigners must have one to reside legally for a certain period of time in Vietnam.

We hope that this article has provided everything you need to know about teaching English in Vietnam. We have compiled some interesting facts and tips, as well as a number of useful websites which will help you along your journey into the wonderful world of ESL teaching.