10 Best Summer Jobs to Learn English

If English is not your native language and you live in a non-English speaking country, constantly struggling to learn how to communicate in it, pay attention to our list of 10 best summer jobs to learn English.

The best way to learn a foreign language is to spend some time in the country where it is spoken, though this is not always the easiest thing to do. It requires a lot of money, time and patience, and not everyone is able to provide it and enjoy it fully. On the other side, there are always some options that may help you travel and learn, such as getting the scholarship for your studies or finding a job that may help you communicate with people a lot and earn some money. Of course, if you know English, but you still want to discuss the option of working and traveling, don’t forget to check our list of 10 Best Summer Jobs Where You Get to Travel.

The English language is probably the most important language in the world, and you may use it to communicate wherever you are. It is really devastating when you cannot speak it, so the best time to start learning it is actually – now! We know that taking a course or listening to the English lectures at primary or secondary school is not always the best option to learn, since in most of the cases people only get to acquire the basics, such as introducing themselves and catching up with several phrases. On the other side, if you spend a lot of time with people to whom English is native, you will learn much more in a very short period of time. It is why we really tried hard to provide you the list of the jobs that may be helpful to learn it. Inevitable to mention is the fact that this was not an easy task at all. You need to remember that there are rarely the jobs that will offer you the English course while you are working, so everything is mostly focused on communicating with people, with the system of learn-as-you-work.

The Guardian gave us a food for thought for the very beginning, but eventually, we ended up making our own list of all the jobs that can be done in English speaking countries and do not require English in the beginning, but are suitable for learning in terms of being surrounded by people who speak it all the time. One Quora discussion was also helpful in that process, and we made the list of numerous jobs that one may do in order to learn the language. We managed to come up with lots of suitable positions, but the biggest problem actually was the final classification, since it is basically impossible to classify them according to the speed of learning the language, considering the fact we are all very specific and different in acquiring the knowledge. It is why we also focused on some other conditions, such as salary, since we know how important it is beside learning the language and made the classification according to it. Eventually, each of these jobs will be very much useful if you are persistent and determined to learn the language, so brace yourselves and read our list of best summer jobs to learn English.

10. Woofing

Food/Accommodation

Working on the organic farms throughout the world is something completely authentic, new, amazing and unbelievable. If you take into consideration that these farms are getting more and more popular throughout Australia, New Zealand, and America, you may think about how to combine language learning and working at one of these places. Imagine spending the whole summer eating healthy food, enjoying the sun and untouched nature, and hanging out with people who are very devoted and interesting. You don’t need to know English in the very beginning, but once the summer is over, you will notice your language skills improvement, since being surrounded by people who speak English as their native language is the best way to acquire the knowledge and start communicating without problems.

9. Waiter/Waitress

$8 per hour

Seasonal jobs of this kind are very famous, and especially if you are a student, this is probably the easiest job that you can choose to do during summer holidays. Of course, don’t forget to target exclusively English-speaking countries, since in that manner you will make sure to use the language constantly. We are sure that you can understand and speak at least basics, and believe us, you don’t need more to start. As the time passes by, maybe right after one month, you will notice how your language skills are improved, due to the fact you were surrounded by the people who speak English. And now, let’s see what else we have in our list of best summer jobs to learn English.

8. Hostel Jobs

$9 per hour

Basically, the best job for learning the foreign language is the one where you need to communicate with people a lot so that you may practice your conversation. Various jobs that you may find in hostels are perfect for that, and you may even perform some of them without knowing much for a start. If you work in the cleaning service, you don’t need to speak English at all, but you should think about the strategies how to benefit from the people who actually speak it. On the other side, if you want to work as a receptionist, you need to know at least specific words and phrases, but since you are going to be constantly involved in the communication with tourists, you will get to learn a lot in a short period of time.

7. Bartender

$10 per hour

Being a bartender in a foreign country may bring you a lot of benefits, including the fact that you will learn the language in the most interesting manner. Meeting various people who come to relax, chat about everyday things and drink a good beverage or cocktail can be the excellent way to improve your English language skills. It is definitely useful if you don’t start from the very beginning – just being able to understand the orders properly, and everything else may be discussed later.

6. Festival Circuit

$10 per hour

Summer festivals are probably the best thing about summer, especially if you are a fan of music, good food, and drinks. These festivals, especially those in big cities, are open to everyone worldwide, and you will be likely to get the job if you put a little bit of effort in it. The right time to start searching for the possible festivals in the English speaking countries is now, and you will be amazed by the number of possibilities. This is probably the most exciting way to be in the circle where the language is spoken, thus improving your skills and working on breaking the language barrier, being the reason why we put it on the list of best summer jobs to learn English.

5. Fitness Instructor

$11 per hour

Being fit is probably a very important thing for many people, and to have a good fitness instructor one does not care about whether the instructor speaks English or not. In that case, if you are into this job and you have relevant experience as a fitness instructor, you may always apply for a seasonal job in one of the countries where the English language is spoken. Imagine combining doing what you love, earning money and learning the language, and you will realize how amazing it is. Plus, you will be richer for one completely terrific experience and meet a lot of new people. And now, let’s see what else we have in our list of best summer jobs to learn English.

4. Au Pair or Nanny

$11 per hour

We are continuing our list of best summer jobs to learn English with one of those jobs where you should know at least the basics of English, for the purpose of ordinary everyday conversation. However, you do not need to be a fluent speaker to get this kind of a job which may be very helpful in terms of improving your language skills. You will get to live with the family who speaks English, and you will be constantly exposed to the language. Make sure to have a notebook or a device where you may write new words and expressions. If you get to take care of babies, you may use their nap time to practice everything you wrote that day.

3. Caregiver

$12 per hour

Similarly like being a nanny, being a caregiver also gives you a lot of space to learn the language, considering the fact that you will be living with the family where the language is regularly spoken. Being a caregiver, that ranks 3rd in our list of best summer jobs to learn English, usually requires taking care of older adults or adults with disabilities and the need for additional care. The good thing is the fact that you don’t need to speak English, at least not be fluent in it at the very beginning, but it will definitely be useful to know a couple of words. If you have a previous experience as a caregiver, or if your education has something to do with healthcare or nursing, this is probably one of the best jobs, so do not hesitate and start searching for possible options.

2. Chef

$13 per an hour

If you are a professional chef, you should start using those abilities not just to earn money and travel the world, but also to learn English. Professional chefs that rank second in our list of best summer jobs to learn English are welcome everywhere, and no matter whether they speak the language or not, the only important thing is to have a lot of relevant experience and good recommendations. Restaurants who like to have exotic offers on their menu will gladly hire someone from abroad, even for one season. If you find a job in a restaurant in English speaking country, you are very likely to improve your language skills since you will need to communicate a lot, and you will acquire and learn more than you think.

1. Summer Camp

$14 per an hour

The winner of all the jobs that may help you learn the language is definitely to be the teacher yourself, of course, teaching your native language, while being surrounded by the people who speak English. The best possible option for this is to apply for a summer camp, especially with children and teenagers, since you will have a lot of possibilities to talk to them after your classes. Make sure to investigate whether there are certain camps that are willing to provide foreign language lectures, and apply immediately. Whichever language you speak, think about this option, since this job is the first on our list of 10 best summer jobs to learn English.