In this article from our guest authors selection the TEFL Training World website discusses how you should go about getting started in the profession:

TEFL?

TEFL – what does it mean? TEFL simply means Teaching English as a Foreign Language. This acronym describes everything to do with teaching English as a foreign language – the industry, the courses and qualifications and the profession.

Different types of people approach TEFL at different points in their lives. Some are on gap years, others on career breaks, others as a permanent career and yet others who see it as means to earn money and travel the world.

A lot of the people who start out doing TEFL on gap years or career breaks end up doing it permanently.

The next question must be ‘How do I become a TEFL teacher?’

How do I become a TEFL teacher?

The days of just turning up in a foreign country and landing a TEFL job on the strength of being able to speak English are slowly becoming a thing of the past. As the market has matured, the need for qualifications has become essential.

Before you consider taking a TEFL course you might want to think about where you are going to teach. Different countries have different rules regarding minimum qualifications of teachers. Some countries accept just a TEFL qualification while other countries will only accept a TEFL qualification with a degree. Qualifications may differ depending on the type of school you are going to work in, an International school may require a PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education).

Choosing a TEFL course

There are hundreds of different courses to choose from, ranging from 4 week full-time courses to short weekend courses to online courses. The choice is overwhelming!

Do some research before choosing your TEFL course. If you know where you are going to teach, check what qualifications are needed and accepted in the country (or countries) you are going to.

Let’s have a look at some of the different types of courses on offer.

4 week full-time courses

The most well-known courses available fall into this category: the CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) and the Trinity CertTESOL (Trinity Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). These courses are generally offered full-time over a four week period (there are also options to take these courses part-time, for example at weekends, over a longer time period).

If you take one of the above mentioned courses, you fill find that they are recognised worldwide and nearly all language schools would employ you on the strength of one of these qualifications.

There are other four week courses available with a similar structure and syllabus. As long as these courses are 120 hours long and contain six hours of teaching practice, then they will probably secure you work in most language schools.

A typical day on a training courses of this nature would look something like this:

Morning session 1 - input (language analysis), break,

Morning session 2 – input (phonology), lunch, afternoon session 1 – teaching practice, break, afternoon session 2 – feedback.

The rest of the day would be spent lesson planning or completing written assignments.

Four week courses are intensive (hard work) but, if you are willing to put in the effort, worth it.

Short courses

If for any reason you can’t take a four week course, then a shorter course might be the option for you.

People choose the shorter courses for a number of reasons but primarily because of the shorter duration (usually a weekend, 2 or 3 days long or a week) and the cheaper cost. Although in the short term the savings on time and money might seem like a good idea, if you are going to teach for any length of time you will eventually have to take one of the longer courses.

Shorter courses are a great introduction to TEFL and some even give you some form of teaching practice. Generally, you can’t fail these courses but will receive a certificate of completion which can be used in making job applications.

If you are planning to use TEFL as a means to keep travelling, then a shorter course might be the one for you.

Online courses

A third option would be an online TEFL course. These courses can give you an introduction to TEFL. Online TEFL courses are generally the cheapest way of getting a TEFL qualification and usually you can complete them without giving up your current job.

The downside is that online courses don’t offer any real classroom experience (no teaching practice and no observation of other teachers). Online courses might not be recognised in the country or countries you are going to teach in.

Online courses can offer modules on areas like teaching English to young learners and teaching business English. If you plan to specialize in any of these areas, then an online course might be a good starting point.

Starting points

Search for information on TEFL courses:

www.cambridge-efl.org

www.trinitycollege.co.uk

About the Author

TEFLTrainingWorld.com is dedicated to getting those interested in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) the information they need to know.

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The topic drew very little in the way of comments, although these are among the few incisive statements made by the lovely forum members. ‘I expect there will still be a demand for English, but I think the demand for native speakers will go away,’ suggests Justme. Bindair Dundat, meanwhile, notes that ‘there will always be a need for talking monkeys.’ TheLongWayHome echoes these sentiments: ‘Hopefully the rest of the world will catch on to what they do in Scandinavia and this sorry profession will die on its arse. Dancing monkeys will be on the dole. Sheikh Inal Ovar, most poignantly offers the following summation: ‘Regardless of the state of the TEFL industry elsewhere, there’ll be no TEFLers in the Gulf when the oil runs out.’

A new poll will be along to pique your interest as soon as I can think of a topic worthy enough to follow this epic.

I’d really love it if you join David’s ELT World Facebook Group, by the way!

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If you’re not sure what sort of things we’re looking for, I suggest you download the first issue to get some ideas. Basically, though, feel free to contribute anything you want relating to the field of TEFL, TESOL and teaching English by any other acronym.
 

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One way in which to improve the English education system in Korea is to mandate background checks. As university transcripts are required to obtain a teaching position in Korea, so should criminal background checks.

Degree verification is another way in which to improve the English education system in Korea. Foreigners wishing to teach English as a foreign language in Korea should be required to submit a degree verification form from their university to the education ministry before entering the country.

Quite standard stuff, if you’re of the opinion that you’ve nothing to worry about if you’ve done nothing wrong. Such measures don’t if you ask me, need to be an intrusion of privacy. He further discusses the issue of employing only those with the requisite qualifications:

In order for English education in Korea to improve, the ministry will need to hire qualified instructors and abrogate their obsolete hiring process.

Instead of allowing anyone holding a bachelors degree in any discipline to teach, the ministry needs to tighten the requirements to only allow those holding language related degrees (e.g. linguistics, education, English, etc.) or certifications (e.g. TEFL, TESOL, etc.) in teaching English as a second or foreign language to teach the English language.

Again, I don’t see any reason why such measures shouldn’t be mandatory around the globe, and I’d argue that a lot of the problems prevalent in our profession are because of the willingness on the part of both organisations that employ unqualified teachers and the teachers themselves to operate in such conditions.

One point Rafael makes which I haven’t seen nearly enough of is his idea of an induction into the local culture:

Korea should remedy this problem by implementing required training programs to those new to the country. Training programs should not be ambiguous. Instead, they should be pertinent. A good training program includes the following characteristics:

An introduction to Confucian ideology (the predominant way of thought in Korea).

Communicative challenges (such as cultural, socio-cultural, psycho-cultural, and environmental influences) one will face while in Korea.

Simulated obstacles that are most likely to be experienced by foreigners.

Handouts which include important phone numbers and commonly used Korean phrases.

A training program such as the one just outlined would help alleviate the pressures many foreigners face when first arriving to Korea and assist in acclimating the foreign teacher to his or her new surroundings.

I think it would be great if all countries had such a system, although I don’t think I’ll live to see the day when it becomes a reality.

Read the full article here.

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My first destination is New York where friends await. Then it’s Montreal and Vancouver before I head to South America for two months. In Argentina I’m taking the biggest leap outside my comfort zone by volunteering to teach English and learning Spanish. I did a TEFL course in January, so I know what it’s like to stand in front of a class of expectant students who believe that you’re about to tell them something useful. Radio, I realised at that point, has the advantage of not allowing me to see the audience. As for the Spanish, I’m trying to get ahead by listening to 16 Linguaphone CDs. I almost booked a guesthouse in Lima without resorting to lo siento, habla usted inglés? (I’m sorry, do you speak English?) but in the end I gave in. And, of course, the reply was “yes, how can I help you?”, spoken with only a hint of an accent.

Read the full article here. Seriously, though, good luck to him. I’m looking forward to what he’s got to say after his little excursion.

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Anyone stuck in our profession will quickly be able to identify the kind of situations that are described so well here, such as the horror felt teaching air traffic controllers how to give directions (I’m not joking, read it for yourself), as well as the great insights in to day-to-day life in Brazil.

I like this blog so much I subscribed to the RSS feed:

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This article is worth a quick look, if only to see the other career paths which are deemed comparable to teaching English.

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Brazil: Finding the Money to Find a Job Part 1

One of the hardest lessons many of us foreigners learn here in Brazil is that there is always a disorderly queue of individuals happy to relieve us of some of our hard earned cash, by fair means or, more often than not, foul. I suspect the account I‘m about to relate may be familiar to some readers, who in a state of unemployed desolation like me, fell for the idle promises of hungry sharks poised to devour novice surfers dipping their toes into the Brazilian job market for the first time.

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