Get Pesos!

Welcome back to this installment of the three part series on making a living teaching English. On the previous installment, we discussed a little bit on what the English teaching profession is all about. The market can be huge and there are chances for you to actually make a good living abroad. TEFL teachers are in demand and even in places where the back is slack, a good TEFL teacher can create demand, but we will tackle that on the third part. In this part, we will talk about TEFL Training.

Good training is essential to any occupation and TEFL/TESOL is no exception. There are several pathways to becoming a successful teacher, including generic TEFL training courses offered by institutes, internationally recognized certificates like the CELTA or the Trinity TESOL Certificate, various online courses, and self-taught training programs.

The generic TEFL training courses run the gamut from large institutes like TEFL International and to small programs run by small institutes as a sideline. They all share common modules such as teaching methodologies, lesson plan preparation and most importantly, observed teaching practice with feedback. These programs can really help a new teacher build up the confidence they need to succeed in the classroom. Teachers leave the programs generally satisfied with the knowledge they gained in such a short time. Again, the better programs will last 4 to 6 weeks while some other programs may be as short as a weekend.

Internationally recognized certificates like the CELTA or the Trinity TESOL Certificate offers a chance to complete TEFL Course that is well known and recognized throughout the TEFL teaching world. They are like an international driver’s license. Not all courses are created equal and having a CELTA or Trinity TESOL allows potential employers to easily assess your teaching abilities short of having you perform a demo lesson. Both of these courses are offered worldwide and take 4 weeks to complete with observed teaching practice and feedback.

Some potential teachers decide to embark on an online TEFL certificate. These are of dubious value and serve only two purposes, to give someone a very rudimentary grasp of the TEFL profession and give potential TEFL teachers at least some kind of paperwork to satisfy immigration authorities. Most of the knowledge gained from an online course could be gained with a week spent in a library and a few days of cruising the main TEFL web forums such as ELT World. They do offer guided study, but if you need to have guided study then going abroad may not be what you desire.

Now on to the last way to get the training to succeed in this profession, learn it on your own. There are a plethora of books available on teaching English, just cruise on over to Amazon.Com to check out some of the TEFL books or check out your local library. To adequately take on this pathway, you need at least one good teaching methodology book, one good grammar book, and a good dictionary. These three books will serve you well in putting together some very good lesson plans. Try practicing a few lessons in front of friends to get their feedback. With some trial and error, you will work out a teaching style that works for you. This pathway is particularly suited for freelance teachers because qualifications are not nearly as important as teaching ability.

I hope this has opened your eyes a little bit on training opportunities for TEFL teachers. In this next installment, we will touch upon finding an ideal position. It should be an interesting read as I share some freelance secrets gained from nearly 5 years of teaching in Asia and Latin America. Stay tuned.