One of the first decisions you will have to make after the initial decision to pursue a job teaching abroad is what kind of school you want to teach at. Most countries with a national language other than English have a variety of private institutions that operate with the express purpose of teaching English. Categorizing these schools is difficult because they vary widely in their approaches to education; some closely resemble regular schools, while others are little more than matchmaking services for prospective students to find private tutors.
Most schools like this also offer different classes to cater to different demographics, such that you might end up teaching preschoolers in the morning and shift gears to teach bored housewives and retirees in the evening. Whether or not this is a negative or a positive really depends on your own preferences. Many companies also do business English lessons, although these positions are often harder to get and require more experience. The variety of students served by language schools also means that there is often more flexibility in scheduling.
One downside is that each school varies widely in the treatment of its employees. While there are plenty of schools with stellar reputations, a quick perusal of ESL teaching sites such as Dave's ESL Cafe will turn up plenty of horror stories of private schools run by gangsters and teachers thrown in a classroom full of 50 kindergartners with no training. So if you decide to pursue a job with a language school, it would be a good idea to do your research before you make any binding agreements.
One of the problems with going the private school route is that many instructors are applying from other countries and are hired without being able to see the facilities or talk to other employees or do anything else that one usually does when considering new employment. Because of this, many rugged individualist types would go so far as to suggest that any prospective ESL teacher worth her salt should travel to her country of destination before she even begins the job search and in so doing be able to follow up on any offers in person.
Still, many people, when faced with the decision between traveling to an unfamiliar country with no job lined up beforehand or securing a somewhat-sketchy job in an unfamiliar country from half a world away, find that they are uncomfortable with either option. For these people, a job in the public schools is often preferable.
Public schools, while offering less flexible hours and (often) less variety, allow for quite a bit more security than private language schools. These positions are not always easy to find, but programs like JET in Japan and EPIK in Korea do exist and place teachers in public elementary, junior high, and senior high schools while operating with the blessings of those countries' respective governments. The pay for public school jobs is usually not as high as similar jobs at private schools, but plenty of people consider this a fair trade.
