Which Teaching Traveling Articles Are Most Useful and Popular?

Hello from Lillie, founder of Teaching Traveling! I created this site in 2010, meaning that, as of this writing, this travel and global education blog is now 7 years old, and boasts almost 300 interviews with Teacher-Travelers of all sorts.

As this year draws to a close, it’s a perfect time to look back at which articles have been most popular and useful to readers. I do this round-up every year on Around the World L, but this is my first go at it for Teaching Traveling. This post will be a useful resource for readers wanting to know where to start on this site, and also for potential interviewees to see which interviews do best, and why. Speaking of my other travel blog, I am illustrating this round-up with photos I took from my own travels this year in the “ABC Islands.” Click any photo to see the full article!

Now without further ado, here are the most popular articles of all time on this site, as of 2017’s close:

#12 Most Popular: How to Become a Teacher Who Travels for Free (7,155 reads so far). This interview is brilliant because it breaks down exactly why certain teachers get SO many fully-funded international travel opportunities, and how to make yourself into one of those globetrotters.

#11 Most Popular: Ways to Teach Abroad in Japan and France (7,490 reads).
Though I’ve never met Rashaad in person, we’ve been in touch online since 2012 when this interview was published. (A perk of running this site is making lasting connections like this!) It delights me that this article made it to the top 12 of all time, since Rashaad seems like such a wonderful person, and this interview is insightful and inspiring.

#10 Most Popular: Finding a Job Teaching in Colombia (9,285 reads).
It’s been fascinating to identify regions that Teacher-Travelers are specifically seeking to move to, and the popularity of this article indicates that Colombia is one such up-and-coming location. I’m even headed there to visit, myself, soon!

#9 Most Popular: Getting ESL Teaching Jobs as an Older Woman (12,715 reads). Donna is now in her 70s, and this article about her exploits around the world has inspired over twelve thousand readers! My favorite part is Donna’s 2017 update in the comments section: “After teaching around the world, or at least quite a few countries, I have found a home in Mexico… I have more or less become a beach bum and author. Life is good.”

#8 Most Popular: Happy Travel and Teaching Abroad Without TEFL Certification (13,065 reads). Whether or not to get training or certification to teach abroad is a topic that comes up frequently here, so I think this interview has been so popular because readers are curious whether jobs abroad are possible without TEFL… and they are!

#7 Most Popular: Cheap Vacation Travel by Work Exchanges: Yoga, Fitness, Farms (13,260 reads). I define “Teacher-Traveler” VERY broadly, and so this interview was much-desired: How to fund travel by teaching exercise abroad! It’s important to realize that English is not the only skill the world needs taught.

#6 Most Popular: Teach in Canada, UK, or Australia in this Teaching Exchange (15,345 reads). This program allows teachers to switch with educators in other parts of the world, and I’d never heard of it before this interview. Useful to know about if you live in one of the three regions involved.

#5 Most Popular: Teaching in Hong Kong With a Better Salary than the U.S.! (25,158 reads). Hong Kong emerged in this interview as an intriguing location for teaching abroad. Though it’s an expensive place to live, the salary, perks, and benefits can make it very worthwhile.

#4 Most Popular: Travel and Teaching With a Dubai International School (33,765 reads). On a similar note, teaching in the UAE (especially Dubai) has become increasingly popular. This article also featured a diamond-encrusted refrigerator, so there’s that.

#3 Most Popular: Free Travel Exchange Scholarships from the U.S. Government (35,680 reads).This is a highly useful search engine for a wide range of educational international exchange programs, both for U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries.

#2 Most Popular: Why it is Worth it to Get CELTA Certification to Teach ESL (43,410 reads). It wasn’t just the question of CELTA certification that made this article so popular — it’s the personal story of Tasha that boggles the mind. This woman has lived on a boat, lived in the far corners of the world, and started a school. She makes a compelling case for how and why to move forward with your teaching, traveling dreams.

#1 Most Popular: 24 Teacher Travel Opportunities for Free or Cheap! (98,820 reads so far). The day I met the Teacher-Traveler interviewed in this article, I knew her interview would be the most popular of all time. Why? Kim has done more free teacher travel programs than I knew humanly possible, and — so kindly — has remained active in the comments section of the post, updating readers on new global education opportunities through the years. All that, and she also agreed to model for me for a recent travel fashion article for my other site! Huge shout-outs to Kim for how much her interview has helped people.

Now, the up-and comers. These are the most popular Teaching Traveling posts published in 2017:

#5 Most Popular 2017 Interview: A Sabbatical from Teaching to be an Educator in Norway (2,851 reads so far). One of many boons of running this site is learning of the lesser-known educational travel programs, such as this “Roving Scholar” program in Scandinavia.

#4 Most Popular 2017 Interview: Teaching English Online: An Ideal Remote Job (3,250 reads). This interview was just published, but has catapulted past thousands of views because so many people crave remote work, and this opportunity is an intriguing one.

#3 Most Popular 2017 Interview: This Man Draws Fictional Maps on People’s Skin! (3,556 reads). YAY that this interview made the top 3! I met David while in Alabama this year, and he exemplifies the broader understanding of “Teacher-Traveler” that this site adores: Someone who teaches new ways to look at our globe. Painting maps on people sure qualifies!  

#2 Most Popular 2017 Interview: Becoming a Scuba Diving Instructor in the Caribbean (3,677 reads). Continuing on this theme of expanding our understanding of teaching beyond ESL instruction, I loved the spirit and inspiration in Mark’s interview, and readers clearly did, too! There are so many ways to be a teacher around the world, including Scuba education.

#1 Most Popular 2017 Interview: Live in Spain or Germany FREE With This Exchange (4,851 reads so far). The number one most popular article published this year took off because countless readers wanted to live in these great places in exchange for speaking English to locals. A robust commentary got going in the comments section and on Facebook, and the consensus is that this program is real and is great, but one must be clear that it’s work — it’s not just lying on a hammock getting a free stay! You earn your food and lodging by intensive English interaction. If that’s your scene, however, here’s your dream opportunity!

There you have the most popular articles on this whole site, as of December of 2017! Did you predict #1? Did you find any useful new posts you’d missed? Do share!