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teach english in papua new guinea

Teach English in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea, with its growing economy and linguistic diversity, offers unusual challenges for TEFL teachers – high-salaried international school jobs, or volunteering in rural areas?

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If you’re looking for a TEFL destination with staggering ecology, linguistic and cultural diversity, and a uniquely growing economy, Papua New Guinea may well be the best place for you. While those familiar with the region and global economists will be more than familiar with the country known as PNG for short, it might not be the first place TEFL teachers think of as a haven for teaching opportunities and career growth.

As a country rich in natural resources, PNG has seen immense interest from global businesses over recent decades. Massive, global corporations have made inroads across a country rich in liquified natural gas and petroleum. However, despite economic growth, there is still considerable inequality, and this can be seen in PNG’s education system. While areas like the capital city, Port Morseby, boast excellent schools and infrastructure, only about 13% of the country is urban. This affects literacy rates, English proficiency and access to education more widely. For TEFL teachers, this means a lot of job opportunities for teaching English are through government programmes. Or, you’ll need to opt for volunteer programmes.

Can TEFL teachers thrive in Papua New Guinea? Are there enough teaching jobs? What does an English teacher need to meet the requirements of PNG’s employers? What are salaries like, and what is the cost of living like? Let’s take a look at teaching English in this Oceanic anomaly, a truly interesting nation-state with over 800 languages.

Papua New Guinea: an overview

Considering Papua New Guinea’s population - about 9 million people - it seems unfeasible that there are about 820 different languages spoken in the country. Still, here’s some good news for those who want to teach English abroad in Papua New Guinea: English is one of the 820.

The main languages spoken in Papua New Guinea are English, Tok Pisin and Hiri Motu. Tok Pisin is a Creole language, with English as its basis, and though it’s only spoken as a first language by about 120,000 people, it’s understood by about half of Papua New Guinea’s population. Hiri Motu, meanwhile, is more of an informal second language.

English is the “official” language of Papua New Guinea, used in government, the legal system and education. This means that English is taught in schools from an early age in Papua New Guinea, or certainly, it’s meant to be. In recent years, Papua New Guinea’s government has emphasised the importance of high-quality English education from an early age, but it’s been hard to implement standards.

This is where TEFL teachers come in. Through volunteering and government programmes, Papua New Guinea has tried to address the shortfall in quality English education. Despite being rich in natural resources, PNG’s education system still lags behind. The official literacy rate is about 63.5%, but this is disputed.

Requirements

So what are the requirements to teach English in Papua New Guinea? Interestingly, there are no specific requirements in terms of qualifications and experience for English teaching positions. You’ll need an offer of employment to be granted a working visa and work permit - more on that later.

Can you teach English abroad in Papua New Guinea as a non-native speaker? Theoretically yes, though it may be more difficult to find teaching jobs. Certainly, in job adverts for roles with higher salaries, there is sometimes a preference for “native” English speakers from the likes of the UK and the USA. However, this isn’t uniform, and if you have a certificate like an IELTS or TOEFL, or a bachelor’s degree from an English-speaking institution, you will still be able to find work.

What else might English teachers need? Let’s take a look.

TEFL certificate

Most employers in Papua New Guinea want you to have teaching qualifications, and that includes TEFL courses. 120 hours of study is the industry standard for TEFL certification, and your course must have been with a reputable, well-known course provider. Your provider needs to have been recognised by multiple accreditation bodies, otherwise, employers are unlikely to take it seriously.

With Papua New Guinea’s extreme linguistic diversity and its resource-rich economy, chances are you’ll find plenty of willing students who are over school age. Tutoring adults who want to build professional relationships can be a great way to supplement your income, and you’ll be better placed to do so with advanced TEFL certification. Specifically, Business English is a really useful qualification to have, with many Papua New Guineans looking for career advancement opportunities.

Degree/no-degree

Generally, for full-time teaching jobs, employers in Papua New Guinea ask for a bachelor’s degree. The degree doesn’t necessarily always have to be in education or English, though it helps. Though there aren’t many international schools or private schools, they do exist, and when they’re hiring, they’ll usually look for at least a master’s degree.

Can you teach English abroad without a degree in Papua New Guinea? Yes, but only really in a voluntary position, or through a teacher training programme.

Experience

Prior teaching experience can be very valuable when you're hunting for teaching jobs in Papua New Guinea. Ultimately, it depends on the types of teaching jobs in question - higher-paid job opportunities are going to require more experience.

If you’re looking to teach English without experience in Papua New Guinea, you might be best looking at private language schools, training programmes and volunteering opportunities.

Visa

To legally live and work as an English teacher in Papua New Guinea, you’ll need the right visa and work permit. A word of warning: the visa process in Papua New Guinea is notoriously slow, and most resources online will suggest that you start a good 4 or 5 months prior to your expected arrival date.

To get a working visa, you’ll need an offer of employment. From there, it’s a case of providing copies of some important documents. These include:

Your passport
A doctor’s certificate (you’ll also need evidence of vaccinations)
A clean criminal record
A letter of approval from the Papua New Guinean government

Then, you’ll need a work permit. To get one of those, you’ll have to provide:

A signed contract of employment
Your CV/Resumé
A copy of the job description
Passport copy
Hiring company’s certificate of incorporation
Certificate of English proficiency

Download our guide to teaching English around the world

Salary, benefits and cost of living

Now we’ve established what you might need to live and work in Papua New Guinea as an English teacher, let’s take a look at salaries, potential benefits and the cost of living. It’s worth noting that there are discrepancies between urban and rural areas in Papua New Guinea - in the economic and political heartland, the capital Port Moresby - you should expect to see higher wages and costs than in rural areas.

Salary

What kind of teaching salary can you expect to earn in Papua New Guinea? Data on teacher salaries in Papua New Guinea is extremely variable, with very low wages in parts of the country, and extremely high wages in elite institutions like international schools. This can make it hard to scope out what a typical, average starter salary is for full-time TEFL teachers.

That said, it’s realistic for school teachers to expect something between 3,000 PGK and 8,000 PGK ($770-$2,054/£600-£1,600) per month when they start teaching English in Papua New Guinea, depending on qualifications and experience.

Teaching salaries have been the subject of considerable debate for decades in Papua New Guinea. If you do make the move to teach there, expect to hear more conversations about teaching salaries in the news.

Benefits

In lucrative, highly-paid positions - which can generally be found in Papua New Guinea’s limited number of international schools and private schools - there is usually a suite of substantial benefits for teachers. Alongside competitive salaries, it’s usual to be offered medical insurance, furnished housing and airfare.

At the public school level, you should expect some administrative and financial assistance with visas, as well as public holidays.

Cost of living

How much does it cost to live as an English teacher in Papua New Guinea? To find out, we looked at the cost of living in Port Moresby, the capital of PNG, to get an idea of the highest prices in the country. It’s also where the vast majority of jobs are.

At this point, it’s important to point out the incredibly high levels of income inequality in Port Moresby. Due to the nature of the country’s economy, there is incredible wealth, but it’s concentrated in very small pockets of the country’s population. Therefore, cost of living data - especially when it comes to housing - is somewhat distorted. Conversely, there is considerable poverty in Port Moresby and in Papua New Guinea as a whole and a large rural population. This means that some consumer products, for example, internet access, will be more expensive than in other countries.

So, with that information in mind, let’s look at rents. If you’re renting in central Port Moresby, it can be expensive. For a one-bedroom apartment, you could pay as much as $2,430/£1,190 per month, but that goes way down to $547/£427 if you’re willing to live outside the main hub of the city.

We mentioned internet access - it’s quoted as being as much as $320/£250 per month by some Port Moresby residents. For teachers who want to supplement their income with online lessons, that’s something to consider! Meanwhile, utilities cost about $105/£82.

If you’re looking to sample the Papua New Guinean cuisine, it costs about $9/£7 to try some yourself, in an inexpensive eatery. A three-course meal for two, somewhere mid-priced, is about $49/£38.

Country	Avg. monthly salary	Degree required	Start of term	Teaching experience	Housing & flights included	Suitable for non-native English speakers	Age restrictions
Teach in Papua New Guinea	PGK 3,000 - PGK 8000 (£600 - £1,600 GBP $770 - $2,054 USD		January		Not usually		None

Jobs

So where are the teaching jobs in Papua New Guinea? Let’s take a look.

Public Schools
Private Language Schools
International Schools
Private Tutoring

Public schools

If you’re concerned about making a social impact in Papua New Guinea, especially in rural and less privileged areas, the public school system could use your help. Usually, government programmes and volunteering are the easiest ways to find public school teaching opportunities in PNG. You’ll need a bachelor’s degree, a TEFL certificate, and usually some teaching experience for a full-time position. Programmes and volunteering opportunities will have their own requirements. Students in the public school system are typically very respectful, though your average classroom will be busy and lively!

Private language schools

Only found in major metropolitan areas, private language schools aren’t widespread in Papua New Guinea, but they do exist - and they provide teaching opportunities for TEFL teachers. Primarily, adult learners will be your students. That said, your classroom may feature some school students who’ll want to pick up extra English lessons on evenings and weekends.

You’ll usually need a TEFL certificate, some teaching experience and, in most cases, a bachelor’s degree. In return, expect better salaries than public schools, as well as some benefits.

International schools

There aren’t many international schools in Papua New Guinea - yet. However, as more families move over to enjoy the economic benefits of PNG, you can expect the audience for international schools to grow, with more expatriate students coming to learn in PNG's classrooms. If that’s the case, it’s great news for highly qualified TEFL teachers, because international schools pay extremely well, offer a range of amazing bonuses and have the best facilities of any school in the country.

Teaching positions at international schools are ultra-competitive and come along very rarely. You’ll need at least a master’s degree, a TEFL certificate and comprehensive teaching experience - preferably including experience of working in Papua New Guinea.

Private tutoring

If you’re interested in private tutoring, it’s likely that you’ll find a client base in Papua New Guinea’s urbanised areas, including Port Moresby. Generally speaking, it’ll be adults with career aspirations who’ll make up the majority of your clientele, given PNG’s growing, resource-rich economy. So, a Business English qualification will definitely help.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How do I become a teacher in Papua New Guinea?

To become a teacher in Papua New Guinea, you have to get a job offer from an educational institution, and successfully apply for a visa and work permit. Most jobs require a TEFL certification, a bachelor’s degree and teaching experience.

Q. What country is easiest to teach English in?

In terms of entry requirements, there are a range of countries where you don’t need a bachelor’s degree to teach English, especially in Latin America and Asia.

Q. What problems do Papua New Guineans face in learning English?

Particularly in rural areas, educational standards can be extremely low, with poorly funded schools and a lack of materials. For TEFL teachers wanting to make a social impact, teaching in Papua New Guinea is a fantastic opportunity.

Q. Is English spoken in Papua New Guinea?

English is the “official” language of Papua New Guinea. It’s used in politics, in the legal system and in education.