With communities - and even entire countries - still affected by travel restrictions and economic fall-out stemming from the COVID-19, the impact of the pandemic of the field of TEFL has been massive though schools in many countries have begun to reopen and have resumed hiring TEFL certified English teachers. International travel remains only a fraction of normal levels and travel restrictions remain in place depending on the country. Meanwhile, online education has expanded and many ITA graduates are now teaching English online as a way to sustain themselves during COVID-19-related school closures.
As of October 2021, some schools and language institutes are reopening and hiring English teachers to work in physical in-person classes. This is the case in some Asian nations like South Korea, where schools and government public school programs like EPIK have been recruiting and hiring teachers, including ITA graduates. In many cases, new teachers will need to complete a COVID-19 test and possibly proof of vaccination.  In some cases, a quarantine (usually 7-14 days) may be required for some English teachers (even if vaccinated in some instances) before they can begin their job and engaging with the local community.
In Europe and the Middle East, many nations are also beginning to slowly open their economies and schools are beginning to hire and reopen. The exact situation will vary country-to-country and even region-to-region within some nations. Again, travel restrictions or temporary bans remain for foreign nationals in some cases.  Some countries require a negative COVID test and quarantines of up to 14 days.
Some nations in Latin America have experienced some of the highest case rates in the world into 2021 (especially Brazil) and closures and restrictions remain in place in some countries.  Still, many schools are beginning to reopen.  Again, the situation can vary greatly from one nation to the next and is subject to change at any time depending on the COVID-19.
Worldwide demand for English language education is massive and demand for teachers will continue to grow. As the virus is brought under some control, there will likely be strong demand for in-person teachers across the globe. In more than 10 years as a world leader in the field of TEFL, we've seen that in times of economic crisis, people across the world invest in English language education. Gaining a new skill and boosting your resume is critical for getting hired in so many sectors of the 21st-century economy.
For firsthand perspectives on ITA graduates who are teaching or just riding out the COVID-19 abroad, check out these articles.