Attrition, Adversity, and Adaptation: A Qualitative Analysis of the Structural, Professional, and Psychological Challenges Facing Teachers of English as a Foreign Language
Keywords:
TEFL, teacher attrition, teacher retention, precarious employment, professional identity, native-speakerismAbstract
Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) is often represented in popular discourse as an accessible pathway to international mobility, cultural immersion, and flexible employment. However, a growing body of scholarship suggests that the profession is characterized by chronic attrition, precarious working conditions, and unresolved tensions around professional identity. This paper synthesizes findings from the existing empirical literature on foreign/second language teacher attrition and retention with a thematic analysis of publicly available, anonymized online discussion forum content in which current and former TEFL practitioners describe their lived experiences. Ten interrelated themes emerged from the forum data: financial precarity and wage stagnation; institutional disorganization and the absence of onboarding or managerial support; discriminatory hiring practices related to age, race, nationality, and perceived "nativeness"; credential inflation; visa- and documentation-related vulnerability; unpaid or under-compensated labor; workplace surveillance; contested professional identity; long-term career sustainability concerns; and recruitment-related fraud. These themes corroborate and extend prior peer-reviewed findings on teacher wellbeing, resilience, social capital, and turnover intention. The paper argues that TEFL attrition should be understood not merely as an individual psychological phenomenon but as the product of a globally fragmented, weakly regulated industry. Implications for teacher education, institutional policy, and future research are discussed.
Keywords: TEFL, teacher attrition, teacher retention, precarious employment, professional identity, native-speakerism
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