There is something special about reading a novel set in another country. You can be sitting on your couch in the same place you’ve lived for years, but suddenly you’re wandering through unfamiliar streets, ordering food you cannot pronounce, meeting people from completely different backgrounds, and wondering what it would be like to start a life somewhere new.
For anyone considering teaching abroad, books can be an especially fun way to get inspired. While novels are fictional, they can capture some of the emotions that come with moving somewhere unfamiliar: the excitement, homesickness, culture shock, friendships, independence, and feeling of becoming a completely different version of yourself.
If you’re thinking about getting your TEFL certification and heading overseas, here are five novels worth adding to your reading list.
1. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
If you’re interested in what it feels like to build a life in another country, Americanah is an excellent place to start.
The novel follows Ifemelu, a young Nigerian woman who moves to the United States to attend university. As she adjusts to her new surroundings, she experiences the complicated realities of immigration, identity, relationships, race, and belonging.
What makes Americanah particularly interesting for aspiring teachers abroad is its focus on the experience of being an outsider. Moving overseas isn’t always an endless vacation. There are moments when everything feels exciting and new, but there can also be moments when you miss home or struggle to understand the culture around you.
That contrast is part of what makes living abroad such a transformative experience.
If you’ve ever wondered what happens when you take everything familiar about your life and put it somewhere completely different, Americanah explores that question in a thoughtful and engaging way.
2. The Great Passage by Shion Miura
Teaching abroad isn’t the only way to build a life around language.
The Great Passage follows a group of people working on the creation of a new Japanese dictionary. Rather than focusing on international travel, the novel explores the fascinating world of language, communication, and the people who dedicate their careers to words.
For anyone with a passion for English, languages, or teaching, this one is particularly fun.
Working as an English teacher means spending your days thinking about words that native speakers often take for granted. Why does one phrase sound natural while another sounds strange? Why does a word have multiple meanings? How can you explain a grammatical concept to someone who has never encountered it before?
The Great Passage reminds us that language is much more complicated, fascinating, and important than simply memorizing vocabulary.
It is also a great reminder that there are countless careers where your interest in language can take you.
3. The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
What does it mean to leave everything you know behind?
That question sits at the heart of The Buddha in the Attic, which follows Japanese picture brides who travel to the United States in the early twentieth century.
The novel explores immigration, cultural adjustment, identity, relationships, and the complicated process of creating a new life in an unfamiliar country.
While the experiences in the novel are very different from those of a modern TEFL teacher moving overseas, there is an important connection. Leaving home changes you.
Living abroad can force you to reconsider your assumptions about what is normal. You might discover that things you thought were universal are actually specific to your own culture. You might also find yourself appreciating parts of home that you never noticed before.
For anyone preparing to live overseas, The Buddha in the Attic offers a powerful perspective on what it means to make a life somewhere new.
4. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Another fantastic novel for readers interested in cultural identity is The Namesake.
The story follows Gogol Ganguli, the American born son of Bengali immigrants, as he navigates his identity between his family’s cultural heritage and the society around him.
Although the story isn’t specifically about teaching or working abroad, its exploration of belonging makes it highly relevant to anyone interested in international living.
One of the most interesting parts of moving abroad is discovering how much your environment influences your identity. You may start picking up phrases from the local language, developing new routines, trying foods you never would have eaten at home, or adopting completely different ways of spending your free time.
At the same time, you may find yourself becoming more connected to your own culture.
Living abroad doesn’t necessarily make you less connected to home. Sometimes, it makes you understand home better.
5. The Beach by Alex Garland
Okay, this one comes with a warning.
The Beach is not exactly a guidebook for aspiring TEFL teachers.
Alex Garland’s novel follows a young British backpacker who travels through Thailand and becomes obsessed with finding a supposedly untouched beach paradise.
What starts as an exciting adventure gradually becomes much more complicated.
So why include it?
Because it captures one of the biggest differences between traveling and actually living abroad. When you’re on vacation, it’s easy to romanticize a destination. Everything feels exciting because you’re experiencing it temporarily.
Living somewhere is different.
You have to figure out transportation. You have to go grocery shopping. You have to deal with bad days. You have to work. You have to make friends. Eventually, the exotic destination becomes your everyday life.
And that’s actually one of the most rewarding parts of moving abroad.
Books Can Be Your First Step Abroad
Reading about international experiences obviously isn’t the same as having one yourself, but it can be a great way to start thinking about what living abroad might actually involve.
The best stories about international experiences aren’t simply about beautiful destinations. They’re about people changing.
That’s one of the biggest reasons teaching abroad can be so memorable. You aren’t just visiting another country. You’re creating a temporary home there.
You might arrive knowing very little about the local culture and leave with favorite restaurants, local friends, new routines, and stories you’ll tell for years.
You might even discover that teaching is something you genuinely love.
And if you’re currently sitting at home wondering whether you could actually make the jump, remember that you don’t need to have your entire future planned out before you go.
Getting your TEFL certification can be the first step. From there, you can explore different countries, gain classroom experience, meet people from around the world, and discover where your next chapter takes you.
So pick up a novel, start imagining yourself somewhere new, and see where the story takes you.
Your own international adventure might be the next one you read about.