TEFL advice
WHAT IS TEFL?
TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language and is a general term used to encompass a variety of roles within the profession.
Sheltering under the TEFL umbrella you will find EFL, TESL, ESL, ELT, ESP, EAP, and a host of other confusing acronyms for the various branches connected with teaching English to people who are not native English speakers.
WHY BECOME A TEFL TEACHER?
Many people find themselves considering a career (or increasingly a career break) in TEFL for two main reasons:
- An interest in teaching
- A desire to live and work "abroad"
For many people the opportunity to live and work in another country and to immerse themselves in another culture is the main attraction, but it is important not to forget that for your students (and employer) the teaching is just as, if not more, important. Don't get carried away with romantic images of sipping cappuccinos in the Piazza di Trevi - teaching is hard work, (and we've not even come to the horrors of TEFL salaries yet!).
Of course it is not all hard work and very few other professions require just four week's training and allow you to travel the world as you earn a living. It is possible to pursue a successful career in TEFL with opportunities in academic management, teacher training, materials design and/or writing, EFL publishing, EFL marketing and even, god forbid, EFL recruitment (if you are really bad in the classroom).
Even if you plan to teach for just a year or two before returning to a "real job", the skills required and gained from surviving and thriving in a foreign culture will prepare you for just about anything that you could subsequently choose to do.
HOW TO BECOME A TEFL TEACHER
If you are just considering the possibility of living and working in another country as a teacher it is important to research the following things:
Qualifications required
A quick search of the internet will be enough to entirely confuse you when it comes to getting trained. A quick peak at tefl job websites will further muddy the waters as many schools will be happy to employ you as an English teacher based on the fact that you look like one. It is one of the sad aspects of the industry that many "schools" around the world will ask for no formal qualifications other than blond hair/blue eyes.
However, any serious school will require their teachers to be professionally qualified. This means having a Cambridge CELTA certificate, a Trinity TESOL certificate or equivalent. A course is considered equivalent if it is at least 100 hours taught (not distance learning/online) with at least 6 hours observed teaching practice (with classes of real students - not peer teaching) accredited by an external body. Anything other than this will not be acceptable to most of the more reputable organisations. See below for more details on finding a recognised tefl certificate courses.
In some locations you may also need to have a degree for immigration purposes (this is not applicable in Europe but comes into play for a lot of South American, Asian and Middle Eastern countries) as well as a teaching certificate - check before you pay for a course.
Location
Think about where you want to go. Is there a demand for teachers there?
If you are reasonably flexible you will find work, but if you will only
consider one country or one city and there isn't a great demand for EFL
teachers there you may be left sitting at home. Check some TEFL websites
for an idea of the work available before arranging a training course. Think
about the timing of the course and how this will fit in with employment
- academic year dates and visa application procedures (it can take up to five
months for a visa for certain
countries) will influence when you can apply and start working.
There is a high demand for newly qualified teachers in the Far East (mainly Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea and Vietnam) and Eastern Europe (mainly Russia, Poland) with experience required for Western Europe (mainly Italy and Spain) and the Middle East.
Like any job you will need to weigh up the factors involved - location, contract, type of teaching - and make a decision based on your priorities.
Students
Who would you like to teach? Many people are attracted to TEFL because they would like to teach but hate the idea of teaching children. Unfortunately there are fewer and fewer TEFL contracts which do not feature at least a small proportion of children's classes. In recent years the ages of the students in TEFL has become significantly lower, and the proportion of YLs (Younger Learners - remember this, they may sneak it past you in a contract!) within a timetable has increased.
The good news is that teaching children is fantastic fun (though you may not think you want to do it) and that teaching children EFL is not like teaching GCSE woodwork - the classes tend to be smaller, the children usually better behaved and classroom management is easier. It is possible in EFL to specialise in a particular age range/sector (YLs, Business English, English for Academic Purposes) but as a newly qualified teacher you are likely to be given a general timetable with a bit of everything - including YLs - so be prepared.
Salary / Cost of Living
It is really really difficult, but you will have to think in local currencies when applying - don't change everything into pounds sterling. Apart from the fact that it'll just depress you, you also need to remember that 500 GBP will go a bit further in Lima than in London - think about whether or not you need to save/send money home or just support your lifestyle while abroad.
Investigate the local cost of living and accommodation/travel costs - the highest salary offered (in sterling) will not always guarantee the best standard of living - it will depend entirely on your location. Some people are prepared to sacrifice the finer things in life (food, warmth etc) to live in Barcelona for a year, others work out that they can buy 500 bottles of vodka and a million cigarettes and plump for Siberia for nine months. It really will depend on you and your needs/ desires/ expectations.
HOW TO FIND A TEFL COURSE
Type in "tefl course" in your preferred search engine. Prepare to be confused. Most recognised TEFL courses are one-month full time, although a part-time version is also available. We really would advise anyone thinking of teaching English as a Foreign Language to avoid the weekend, distance learning or online courses available. They are cheaper/easier but they will restrict your options later and you would be better advised to bite the bullet and pay for an accredited course now. There are two main accreditation bodies for TEFL courses:
- University of Cambridge
Courses accredited by the University of Cambridge are available at:
www.cambridgeesol.org/teaching
- Trinity College, London
Courses accredited by Trinity College are available at:
www.trinitycollege.co.uk/
