If you enjoy traveling and experiencing new cultures, teaching English as a Second Language can be a way to spend extended periods of time abroad while earning a decent salary. While Europe is a familiar continent that offers ESL teachers both comfortable salaries and a good quality of life, other countries, such as Japan, South Korea, Dubai and Saudi Arabia, offer a more exotic lifestyle and even higher wages. To teach English as a Second Language in one of those high-paying countries, you need both solid qualifications and adaptability.

Obtain a bachelor's degree in English, along with teacher's certification. While a bachelor's degree is a prerequisite for most jobs teaching English, some schools, especially prestigious international ones, require teachers to also hold a valid teaching certification, or license, from their home country. The requirements to obtain certification vary from country to country and, in the United States, from state to state. Contact the agency in your state or province responsible for credentialing teachers to obtain the latest requirements.

Obtain an ESL-specific teaching certificate. There are two different types of ESL certificates that are recognized by all educational institutions worldwide: the Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) from the University of Cambridge and the Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CertTESOL) from Trinity College in London. These courses require students to both attend classes and participate in teaching demonstrations. Despite the fact that the educational institutions that designed these courses are both British, you can attend classes at accredited CELTA and CertTESOL course centers worldwide. You can find your local CELTA or CertTESOL course center, or accredited university program, on the University of Cambridge and Trinity College's websites (see Resources).

Contact schools in the country you have chosen to work in before emigrating. This will allow you to check if you meet the requirements for teaching ESL in that particular country. In addition, the most prestigious international schools sometimes hold recruiting sessions in English-speaking countries. By contacting them beforehand, you might actually be able to get an interview in your home country and sign a contract before even emigrating.

Learn basic words and simple grammar of the official or most widely spoken language of the country you are going to work in. While most schools do not require their ESL teachers to speak the local language, it can help you both in your daily life and when communicating with your students, especially if they have an elementary command of the English language.