What is TEFL and how do I get into it? - Eslbase.com

TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language. What does that mean exactly? The “Teaching” part: Everyone has their own experiences of ... HomeAboutTEFLWhatisTEFLandhowdoIgetintoit? WhatisTEFLandhowdoIgetintoit? byKeithTaylor Lastupdated 26October2021 3comments Ifyou’rereadingthis,you’reprobablyinthefirststagesoffindingoutwhatTEFLisallabout.Maybeyou’veheardofothersdoingitorseenitmentionedsomewhere. Ormaybeyou’vebeenthinkingabouthowyoucantravelandearnmoneyatthesametime,andhaveheardthatTEFLisonewaytodothis. Well,whereveryouheardaboutTEFL,thisarticlewilltellyouwhatit’sallabout. Solet’sstartatthebeginning,withadefinition. WhatdoesTEFLstandfor? TEFLstandsforTeachingEnglishasaForeignLanguage. Whatdoesthatmeanexactly? The“Teaching”part:Everyonehastheirownexperiencesofteaching,andofwhatmakesagoodteacher.TheseideasandexperienceswillprobablyinfluenceyourownstyleofteachingifyougodowntheTEFLroute.Asfortheactualtechniquesandmechanicsofteaching,youwilllearntheseifyoutakeaTEFLcertificationcourse(moreonthislater). Whataboutthe“…EnglishasaForeignLanguage”part? Everyonehasafirst,or“native”language(calledyourL1inTEFL).AccordingtoBabbel,about360millionpeoplearoundtheworldhaveEnglishastheirfirstlanguage.Thismeansthatforatleast7billionpeople,Englishisnottheirfirstlanguage. Forthese7billionpeople,iftheylearnEnglishitismostlikelytheirsecondlanguage(orL2,inTEFL-speak).Yoursecondlanguageistheonethatyoulearnnext,forwhateverreason,afteryournativelanguage.Isay“mostlikely”becauseitmaywellbethethird,fourthorfifthlanguage.InMorocco,forexample,thefirstlanguageisnormallyeitherMoroccanArabicorBerberandthesecondlanguageisFrench,makingEnglishthethirdlanguage,ormaybeeventhefourth,afterSpanish. Withthisinmind,let’sgetbacktoourdefinition.TEFLmeansteachingpeoplehowtocommunicateinalanguage(English)whichisnottheirnativelanguage.Itis,quiteliterally,“foreign”toyouifyoudon’tknowhowtospeakit. FromthatdefinitioncomesEFL(TEFLwithoutthe“T”).Thisiswhatyourstudentslearn–EnglishasaForeignLanguage. ThedemandforEnglishasaForeignLanguage AlotofteachingEnglishasaForeignLanguageisdoneintheschoolsystemindifferentcountries.Buttheamountandqualityofthatteachingvaries,dependingonhowmuchofapriorityitisgiven. AsaresultthereisahugedemandforEnglishlanguageteachingoutsideoftheschoolsystem,anditisthisdemandwhichhasgivenrisetothevastTEFLindustrywhichnowexists.Thesizeandscopeoftheindustryinanyparticularcountrycomesfromacombinationoftwofactors: TherealorperceivedneedforEnglishinthatcountry ThegapbetweenwhatistaughtinschoolsandthelevelandstandardofEnglishrequiredtomeetthatneed. …Andthatneedisnormallyveryhigh. Why?BecauseEnglishis,atthemoment,thedominantinternationallanguage.Itisthelanguageofinternationalbusiness,wherespeakingEnglishisbecominganessentialskillforbusinesssuccess,evenabasicrequirementtosecureajobinmanycases.Itisalsothelanguagemostlikelytobespokenwhentwopeoplewhodon’tsharethesamenativelanguagemeet.OneverypowerfulreasonforthisspreadanddominanceofEnglishistheglobalspreadofAmericanpopularculture,whichbringsEnglishlanguagewithit. So,evenifchildrenleaveschoolwithabasiccommandofEnglish,thisusuallyfallsfarshortoftheleveltheywillneedtostudyinEnglish,maybetravelabroadtostudyinanEnglishspeakingcountry,secureajobthatrequiresEnglish,andsoon. TheTEFLindustry Andthat’swheretheTEFLindustrycomesin. ItstartswithteachingEnglishasaforeignlanguagetokids,whoseparentsrecognisetheirchildren’sfutureEnglishneedsandwanttogivethemaheadstart. Itcontinueswithstudents,hopingtopassanEnglishproficiencytesttoenablethemtogoandstudyintheUSAorUK,orsimplytakinganEnglishcourseintheirowncountry. AnditcontinuesagainwithbusinesspeoplewhoneedEnglishtogetajoborgetaheadintheirindustry,orworkwithinternationalcolleagues. AteachofthesestagesthereareinstitutionswithintheTEFLindustrytoservethatneed.Thereareprivatelanguageschoolsinjustabouteverycountryintheworld.TherearesummerschoolsinEnglishspeakingcountries,wherestudentsfromaroundtheworldcomeforafewweekstoimprovetheirEnglishandmaybetakeoneofthemanyexamstovalidatetheirEnglishlevel.Therearestate-runprogramsgivingclassestoimmigrants,voluntaryorganisationsteachingEnglishindisadvantagedcommunities,universitiesofferingEnglishasaSecondLanguagecourses,thousandsoffreelanceteachersgivingprivateclasses… WhataresomedifferentTEFLcontexts? Sothat,ultimately,iswhatTEFLis:TeachingpeopletocommunicateinEnglishaccordingtotheirneedsandthecontextthey’rein. HerearejustafewofthethousandsofdifferentteachingcontextsyoucouldfindyourselfinasaTEFLteacher: Agroupof7yearoldchildreninaprivatelanguageschoolinVietnam.TheirparentsandguardianshavedecidedtoinvestinextraEnglishforthemoutsideofschool. Aone-to-oneclasswiththeproductionmanagerofacompanyinFrance,atherplaceofwork.Thecompanyhasjuststartedworkinginternationallyandsheneedstocommunicatemoreeffectivelywithherfuturecolleaguesinspecificbusinesssituations. Agroupof10universitystudentsinBrazilatalanguageschool.TheyneedtoprepareforanexamthatallowsthemtogoandstudyintheUSA. Asmallgroupofretiredadults,payingtolearnsomeEnglishtohelpthemwhentheytravel. AnyreasonyoucanthinkofforapersonorgroupofpeopletouseEnglishisapossiblecontextforTEFL.Thisismostofteninnon-Englishspeakingcountries,butthereisahugemarketforteachinginEnglishspeakingcountriestoo.WementionedtheexamplesofsummerschoolsandEnglishlanguageprogramsforimmigrants.AnotherexampleiscoursesrunbyuniversitiesinEnglishspeakingcountriesforforeignstudentswhoneedtoimprovetheirlanguageskillsbeforestartingtheircourse. (InEnglishspeakingcountries,youmightfindtheseprogramsreferredtoasESL–EnglishasaSecondLanguage.Thisis,toallintentsandpurposes,thesameasEFL,buthavealookatthisarticleonTEFLacronymsforthesubtledifferencesinmeaning!) TEFLisveryvaried,andasaTEFLteacheryouhavetochoosewhatsuitsyoubest.Whenyoufirststartoutthischoiceisnormallymorelimited.IfyouwanttoteachinIndonesia,forexample,thechancesarethatyourfirstjobasanewlyqualifiedteacherwillbeworkingfulltimeinaprivatelanguageschool,withafairamountofthattimespentteachingkids.IfyougotoIndonesiawithafewyearsofexperienceunderyourbelt,thisexperiencemaygiveyoumoreoptionsintermsofjobs. WhatdoesatypicalTEFLjoblooklike?What’slifelikeasaTEFLteacher? IfyoulookatalotofTEFLcourseproviderwebsites,theywillhaveyoubelievethatlifeasaTEFLteacherisspenttravellingaroundandseeingthesightsofwhichevercountryyou’vechosen,withabitofteachinghereandtheretopayyourway.Therecanbesomeofthis–theopportunitytoearnmoneywhileseeingtheworldis,afterall,whyalotpeoplegetintoTEFLinthefirstplace. ButTEFLisajob,andwiththatcomeseverythingthatcomeswithanyotherjob.Theremaybeperformancereviews,paydisputes,bitsyouloveandbitsyouhate,gooddays,rubbishdaysandofficepolitics.Aboveall,you’llbeexpectedtoperformwellatthejobyou’rebeingpaidtodo. Butthethingaboutitis,itmaynotfeellikea“real”job,simplybecauseyou’reinadifferentcountry,experiencingadifferentculture.Andthat’soneofthethingsthatmakesitsoappealing. SowhatdoesatypicalTEFLjobinvolve?Well,inthemostcommontypeofTEFLjobfornewlyqualifiedteachers–workingfulltimeforaprivatelanguageschool–here’swhatyoumaybeexpectedtodo: You’llbeallocatedatimetableofclasses,accordingtotheschool’sschedule,andbeexpectedtoplanandteachtheseclasses.Atypicalnumberofactualteachinghoursinaweekisabout25. Theseclassescouldbescatteredthroughouttheday,ororganisedinablockeachday.AschoolIworkedforinJakartablockedallclassesfrom3pm-9pmeachday.SoI’dteach3-4.20pm,4.30-5.50pm,6-7.20pm,and7.30-8.50pm.I’dtypicallygointotheschoolataboutlunchtimetoplanmyclassesforthatday.ThismeantIhadthemorningsoff,butofcourseIdidn’tfinishuntil9pm. AtaschoolIworkedforinBarcelona,classescouldbeatanytimeinthedaybetween8amand9pm.Theseweremainlybusinessclasses,oftenontheclient’sbusinesspremises.TypicallyIwouldworkakindofsplitshift,maybewithaclassortwoearlyinthemorning,alongbreakinthemiddleoftheday,andacouplemoreclassesbetween6pmand9pm. Youmaybeexpectedtocarryoutsomeadminwork,likeplacementtestingofstudents(seeingwhichleveltheyaresothattheycanbeputintotherightgroup)orwritingreports,andparticipateinsocialactivitiesforstudentsorganisedbytheschool. YoumightbeexpectedtoattendsometeacherdevelopmentworkshopsledbytheDirectorofStudies(yourboss)oramoreseniorteacher,andhavesomeofyourclassesobserved,againbytheDirectorofStudiesoraseniorteacher. That’sprettymuchit,butyoucanreadmoreaboutwhattoexpectinyourfirstTEFLjobinthisarticle. Thefurtheryoustray(inagoodsense)fromthisfairlyprotectivelanguageschoolenvironment,themorenon-teachingstuffyou’llhavetodo.Forexample,ifyou’reworkingasafreelanceteacheryou’llbefindingclientsbyyourself,marketingandadvertisingyourteachingservices,decidingyourpricing,maybedealingmorewithadministrativeaspectsandsoon. RoutesintoTEFL SohowdoyoubecomeaTEFLteacherinthefirstplace?Whatarethewaysin? Route1:Justgoandteach Onewayistojustgetouttowhereveryouwanttobeandstartteaching!Thisiscertainlyapossibility,butIdon’tnormallyrecommendit,foracoupleofreasons. Firstly,withoutsomekindofteachingqualification,you’llfinditveryhardtofindwork.GonearethedayswhenjustbeinganativeEnglishspeakerisenoughofaqualificationtofindateachingjob.Itmaystillbepossibleinsomecountries,butyouroptionswillbeextremelylimitedandyoumayendupworking“underthetable”. Secondly,youmightaskyourselfifit’sfairforyourpotentialstudentstopaytobetaughtbysomeoneunqualified.Now,justtobeclear:HavingaTEFLqualificationdoesn’tautomaticallymakeyouagoodteacher,andviceversa.OvertheyearsI’vecomeacrosssomehighlyqualifiedbutveryaverageteachers,andsomebrilliantbutnotveryqualifiedteachers.But,allotherthingsbeingequal,IthinkI’dprefertobetaughtbysomeonewhohasstudiedtheirtradeatleastalittle… Ifyouhavesometeachingexperienceinanothercontext,perhapsinthestateschoolsysteminyourowncountryinanothersubject,thenthiswillstandyouingoodsteadandmaytosomeextentsubstituteforaTEFLqualification.ButinmostcasesIwouldrecommendroute2… Route2:TakeaTEFLcourse WhatisTEFLcertification? ATEFLcertificationcoursetrainsyouhowtoteach,andequipsyouwithaqualificationattheendofit.TakingonewillvastlyimproveyourchancesoffindingworkandgettingsomelevelofenjoymentandjobsatisfactionfromTEFL.ThereisrelativelylittleregulationorstandardisationintheTEFLindustry,andasaresultthenumberandrangeofdifferenttypesofcourseyoucantakeisstaggering:Therearealotofcoursestochoosefrom. WhichTEFLcourseshouldItake? Sohowdoyouchoose? Youessentiallyhavethechoicebetweentakinganonlinecourseoraclassroom-basedone.Onlinecoursestendtobecheaper,butcancarrylessweightwhenitcomestofindingemployment.Thisisstartingtochangethough,asthetrendtowardsonlinetrainingingeneralincreases,andasmoreonlinecourseprovidersfindwaystoincludesomekindofteachingpracticeintheircourses. Buttherearestillalotoffactorstotakeintoaccountwhenchoosingbetweenthetwotypes,andalsowhenchoosingaspecificcourseandcourseprovider,soit’sworthtakingsometimetoresearchcoursesproperly.InthisarticleIlookindetailatthesixmostimportantquestionstoaskwhenchoosingaTEFLcourse,andIwoulddefinitelyrecommendreadingitbeforeyoudecideonacourse. Herethoughareafewoftheonlineandclassroom-basedTEFLcoursesavailable,andyoucanfindmoreinourdatabaseofTEFLcourses. 1.TheTEFLInstitute TheTEFLinstituteprovideLevel5OfqaulRegulatedTEFLcourses,andfast-trackaccreditedTEFLcourses,andyoucancurrentlyget28%offanyoftheircourseswiththecodeESL28.VisittheTEFLInstitute’swebsite 2.OISEUniversityofTorontoTEFL TheUniversityofTorontoTEFListheonlyonlineTEFLcertificationfromaworld-leadinguniversity,withcoursesfrom100to150hours.Ifyousignupforafreeliveinfosession,you’llgetanexclusivediscountonyourcourse.Youcanalsoget20%offalltheircoursesuntilJanuary4th.VisitOISEUniversityofTorontoTEFL’swebsite 3.PremierTEFL PremierTEFLofferLevel5governmentreulatedTEFLcoursesandareoffering10%offanyoftheircourseswiththecodeESLbase10.You’llalsogetafree30hourTeachingEnglishOnlinecoursewithanyTEFLcoursebooking.VisitPremierTEFL’swebsite 4.AVO AVOhave15yearsexperiencerunningCELTAcourseinSofia,Bulgaria,withhighlyqualifiedandexperiencedtrainers.VisitAVO’swebsite 5.TheLanguageHouse TheLanguageHouseTEFLisafullyaccredited4weekTEFLcertificationcourseinPrague,withasupportiveandwelcominggraduatecommunitytohelpyougetaccustomedtolivinginanewculture.VisitTheLanguageHouse’swebsite FindoutmoreaboutTEFL Ifyou’reinterestedinfindingoutmoreaboutTEFL,havealookatsomeoftheotherarticlesinthissection. WrittenbyKeithTaylor KeithisthefounderofEslbase.HehasbeenanEnglishteacherandteachertrainerforover15years. ShareonFacebook ShareonTwitter ShareonLinkedIn Didyouknow… YoucandoaTEFLcourseinmorethan80countriesaroundtheworld,fromAlgeriatoVietnam.Findonehere: AlgeriaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBangladeshBelarusBelgiumBoliviaBrazilBruneiBulgariaCambodiaCanadaChileChinaColombiaCostaRicaCyprusCzechRepublicEcuadorEgyptFranceGeorgiaGermanyGreeceGuatemalaHongKongHungaryIndiaIndonesiaIranIrelandIsraelItalyJapanJordanKazakhstanKuwaitLatviaLebanonLithuaniaMacedoniaMalaysiaMaltaMauritiusMexicoMoroccoNepalNetherlandsNewZealandNicaraguaNigeriaOmanOnline/DistancePakistanPanamaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalQatarRomaniaRussiaSaudiArabiaSerbiaSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSouthAfricaSouthKoreaSpainSriLankaSwitzerlandTaiwanThailandTurkeyUAEUkraineUnitedKingdomUruguayUSAVietnam AsianCollegeofTeachers TeachandTravelinThailandwithTEFLCertificationandapaidinternship. TEFLInternationalPrague 4weekaccreditedTEFLcoursewithjobguaranteeinPrague. Readmore DirectoryofWorldwideESL/EFLProfessionalAssociations CanIdoTEFLwithoutadegree? TEFLaccreditation:Whatisitandwhyisitimportant? 3comments Samy Thankyousomuchforthisawesomearticle.Excellentinformation. Reply Eslbase ThanksSamy,I’mgladthearticlewasusefulforyou. Reply JamesJex Thisischangingthough.AsMarcellaofCIEETEFLsays,“Ourcourseandsomeotheronlineprovidersdo,infact,offerahands-onassessedteachingpracticum.Oursis20hours.Itusedtobeamajordrawback,butsomeofusonlineprovidersareworkinghardtomakesureourtraineeshaveameaningfulpracticumexperience.” Reply LeaveacommentCancelreplyYouremailaddresswillnotbepublished.CommentName* Email* SavemynameandemailaddressinthisbrowserforthenexttimeIcomment IhavereadandagreetotheEslbasePrivacyPolicy * Δ