A few cities in South America are flooded with English teachers, but most of the rest of the continent is open for teaching. Uruguay has a history of fighting for freedom, and this country on the southeastern coast of South America provides some great opportunities for English teachers to explore its country, its people and its history. (See References 1 and 2.) The country is home to three million people, and 1.7 million of them live in the capital of Montevideo. (See Reference 3.) As an English teacher in Uruguay, you'll be able to become well acquainted with the local culture and history.

Decide whether you want to teach English full-time on a volunteer or paid basis. If you want to teach on a volunteer basis, you do not necessarily have to have your Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language certification. Search the Internet for "volunteer teach English in Uruguay" for applicable volunteer programs available. If you do want to get paid to teach, you will need to get your TEFL/TESL certification.

Obtain your TEFL/TESL certification through a program such as Language Corps or TESOL Courses. These programs are offered at training conferences or online. You can also get a more in-depth TEFL/TESL training certification from many community colleges in the United States, but the programs are more expensive and last longer than other courses.

Tell the TEFL/TESL certification course staff that you want to teach in Uruguay upon completion of your course. Most programs offer job placement assistance for graduates of their TEFL/TESL courses. Many schools in Uruguay will also offer assistance in arranging home stays or apartment shares, work papers, etc. Contact individual language schools or programs in Uruguay individually if you want to arrange your own position.

Purchase your airline ticket well in advance of your position start date as you are not likely to get travel arrangement assistance from your TEFL/TESL course or the school you are to work at.

Learn some Spanish. Doing so will help you navigate your way around the country and settle you in to you new home. Take advantage of online language exchange such as My Language Exchange, which will help you learn conversational Spanish from a Spanish speaker who wants to learn English. Also work through Spanish tutorials on YouTube. You will be able to hear Spanish speakers and see the words and sentences you learn written on many of the videos. Search for "learn Spanish."