Travel & Teach - Mexico

Jill Cruickshank

I headed out to Mexico and am now working in an English school in San Luis Potosi, central Mexico.

Finding a job was relatively easy as in San Luis Potosi, and most Mexican towns, there is no shortage of English schools. I got almost immediate responses after handing in my CV to various schools, had interviews and finally decided to accept a post at the school United English. All of the schools I went to were very keen to have native speakers and especially interested in teachers from the UK.

I have been teaching for about a month and a half now and so far all has gone quite well. My students’ ages vary from 9 years old to mature businessmen but all of the students are friendly and keen to improve their English. The classes are mixed with coursework from a textbook which deals with vocabulary and grammar, and conversation and exercises that the teacher chooses her/himself.

Many of the topics studied in the Global English course have been useful but teachers will have to do extra grammar work to brush up.

I am enjoying the work and am adapting to life here in Mexico. All is very different here, the weather, environment, people, food, but it is a beautiful country with a lot to offer. Being based in the center of Mexico I have had the opportunity to visit a lot of the country and there are many beautiful and breathtaking places to visit. People here are friendly although in the small towns they are not used to seeing many foreigners and tend to stare a bit at white skin!! Saying that, however, I do feel safe here (although being a pedestrian in Mexico can have its risks!!!) and am enjoying the change of lifestyle. I plan to stay here for at least a year.

The pay in Mexico is not great compared to some other countries (wages range from 25-40 pesos) but the cost of life is much lower than in Britain. Also Spanish is not needed to teach so anyone can come out here to work. It is a country with a lot to offer and there are many job opportunities for teachers. I would definitely recommend Mexico to other TEFL teachers.