Earning a TEFL
Teaching English as a foreign language refers to teaching the English language to students with different first languages. TEFL can occur either within the state school system or more privately, at a language school or with a tutor. TEFL can also take place in an English-speaking country for peo…
Aug 30, 2021 · To qualify for most classroom-based positions, you will need to invest in a 120-hour TEFL/TESOL certification, at minimum, such as the Bridge Master Certificate. This versatile credential prepares you for the classroom and substantially improves your job prospects, whether you want to teach English in your home country or abroad.
A TEFL certificate also enables you to earn money while travelling. Rather than spending just a short while in a handful of countries before your savings run out and you have to head home, you can earn a living while taking the time to get to know each country you visit in ways ordinary travelers cannot. This can be a great option for when the ...
If you’re serious about teaching English as a foreign language at home or abroad, you know that getting Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certified is your first stepping stone. Once you’ve spent those 120 required hours doing the coursework (and at least six hours getting teaching practice in a real classroom), you’re a freshly minted TEFL certified rockstar.
Earning a TEFL or TESOL certificate enables you to work as an English teacher in almost any country around the world. Whether you are thinking of teaching English as a way to fund your world travels, as a new career, or as a means to supplement retirement income, getting TEFL qualified gives you the skills needed to make your dream come true.
Country | Teach in Turkey |
---|---|
Degree required | Yes |
Start of term | September |
Teaching experience | No |
In-company teaching is often one-to-one or small groups and often better paid than other teaching. Teachers who have previous non-teaching work experience are particularly suited to this.
The usual career path here will be to first become a Senior Teacher, then an Assistant Director of Studies (or ADoS), and finally a Director of Studies (DoS). Senior Teachers spend most of their time in the classroom, but also have a responsibility to mentor and support less experienced colleagues.
The Director of Studies is tasked with managing the academic side of a language school, which involves hiring, managing and developing teachers, level testing and classing incoming students, making sure the school has all the materials and books it needs, and dealing with any student issues that come up .
For example, if you’d like to be hired as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) in Japan at public and private elementary and high schools, it’s best to apply before the start of the school year in April.
Generally speaking, many international schools worldwide recruit teachers in January, February, and March.
On-site means you’ll be learning abroad, typically in the region where you aim to teach, to gain better tailored cultural training.
The benefits of teaching practice in an online TEFL go beyond impressing employers and passing their requirements. Teaching in theory is a lot easier than getting up in front of a crowd of students. Practicing will boost your confidence, teach you to improvise, and equip you with necessary classroom management skills.
1. Hours Matter. Grab some friends for accountability. An online TEFL certification course can range anywhere from 20 to 250 hours of instruction. That behemoth gap makes it all the more difficult to make your final selection, but there’s a good rule of thumb to guide your decision.
Schools and teach abroad programs will oftentimes only recognize programs with at least 120 hours. So, while less hours will still get you a good idea of teaching methodology and techniques, that 120+ is your golden ticket into a legit school.
If you’re looking for teaching jobs online or face-to-face at language academies, you’ll be much more likely to succeed with a professional certification. Many language academies look for teachers to have at least a 120-hour TEFL course under their belts.
At this point you might be wondering what TEFL programs would be best to teach English online. To help, we’ve listed the most popular certification courses:
If you’re already an experienced TEFL teacher, you might be interested in taking your career to the next level. One way to do this is by pursuing further studies in TEFL. Let’s take a look at the options available:
Tutoring English online takes motivation, practice, and skill – and we know you can do it! If you’re thinking about taking a qualification, you might also be interested in reading about how to be an effective online tutor.
Online TEFL certifications feature the following benefits: 1 Strengthens Your CV: A TEFL certification can boost the odds of landing future jobs. TEFL courses teach universal soft skills such as leadership, project management, and interpersonal skills. TEFL also focuses on cross-cultural communication, an invaluable skill in a global market. 2 Remote Opportunities: Many TEFL certifications include courses that focus on teaching English online (TEO). Remote teaching positions rose in popularity over the last several years. Teaching online can provide flexibility and a wider selection of jobs not limited by location. 3 Experience the World: Earning a TEFL certification can lead to several English-teaching jobs overseas. Employers from over 80 countries provide English teaching opportunities where TEFL instructors can meet new people, experience different cultures, and broaden their horizons.
TEFL stands for teaching English as a foreign language. TEFL instructors teach students residing in countries where English is not their native language. The TEFL industry evolved from the study of Latin and French over 230 years ago.
Students can earn a TEFL certification much faster than a college degree. The typical full-time programs last from 2-16 weeks. TEFL programs can also cost substantially less than a degree.
TEFL courses teach universal soft skills such as leadership, project management, and interpersonal skills. TEFL also focuses on cross-cultural communication, an invaluable skill in a global market. Remote Opportunities: Many TEFL certifications include courses that focus on teaching English online (TEO).
Two acronyms appear similar to TEFL: teaching English as a second language (TESL) and teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). All professionals working in a TEFL, TESL, or TESOL position fall under the umbrella term of English language teachers.
TEFL certification programs come in hybrid, online, or in-person formats. A single school might provide multiple TEFL course packages to choose from. Each package can include a different price, topics of study, and amount of coursework. The courses can also result in different levels of certifications.
The courses can also result in different levels of certifications. Professional TEFL curriculums usually entail 120-300 hours of coursework or more. Some schools might offer basic or specialized programs ranging from 20-100 hours.
A standard length for a TEFL certificate course is 100 to 120 hours of (usually face-to-face) training with six to eight hours of observed and graded teaching practice. If a school asks for teachers with a TEFL certificate or “CELTA or equivalent”, that is what they are expecting.
Such a certificate cannot, however, be used to show your teaching ability or knowledge, because none of that is tested on that kind of course. The same is true for courses who do demand written work from you, but in which everyone who sends it in passes.
In TEFL, a Diploma is a qualification for people with at least two or three years of relevant job experience and usually an initial teaching qualification. A Diploma such as the Trinity DipTESOL or the Cambridge DELTA can get you credit for an MA in TESOL, TEFL, ELT or Applied Linguistics.
The biggest potential problem with lack of staff is a lack of tutors. Even with only 8 to 12 trainees in a course, there should be at least two full-time tutors so that you can get different perspectives on your teaching and there is always someone to go to when you have problems planning your lessons etc.