English Teaching: What You Need To Know

TEFL is a fantastic opportunity to travel, see the globe, and earn money teaching English, but it can be confusing. With this short TEFL beginners guide, we’ve reduced back to the basics to help you get started with everything you need to know about TEFL.

This certification will allow you to teach English to people who speak it as a second language. This means, for example, that you will be able to teach immigrants, expats, and study abroad students. You can teach English to elementary school pupils or adults who want to improve their accents. There are many options, and you may build a career out of teaching English because there are so many institutions that offer job placement assistance and program maintenance.

Teaching English abroad

What is a TEFL certification?

It means that the person who holds a TEFL certification is qualified to teach English as a Foreign Language. It’s one of the most well-known international teaching qualifications available, and it’s respected by employers all over the world. If you want to secure your dream teaching job, be a part of a fantastic community, and open up a world of adventure, you’ve come to the perfect place! TEFL certification is your ticket to a world of possibilities! Your abilities will always be in demand as one of the world’s fastest-growing educational fields- sign us up! You’ll be kept busy whether you use your TEFL certification as a full-time job or as an extra source of income.

What is the best TEFL course?

One thing to look out for in a TEFL course is that the TEFL company offers an Ofqual-regulated Level 5 TEFL certification. This means the content, teaching, and materials have been examined carefully and are of high quality. A qualification regulated by the UK Office for Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) can be awarded to learners. Another alternative is an externally accredited certification; however, you should make sure that you get at least 120 hours of training, which is the industry benchmark for employers worldwide

Do I need a degree to teach abroad?

In general, you don’t need a degree to teach English abroad or online. Our certification stands alone and you can get employment without pairing it with a degree. However, it can be sometimes a school preferability for their teachers to have a degree. More importantly, for some countries, it is a visa requirement, meaning you cannot obtain a work permit without a Bachelor’s Degree or higher. Some of these countries include China, Japan, UAE, and Vietnam.

Our advice is if you have your sights set on a certain country, look into the visa requirements first before putting time and effort into finding a job there. This will save you time and disappointment. If it is a school preferability, and not a visa requirement, there is sometimes some leeway. If you are in the middle of completing a degree or have an associate degree, then we would suggest applying and trying your best. Most schools will look for at least a high school diploma or equivalent.

What do I need to teach TEFL?

Fluency in English and a TEFL certificate are the most crucial requirements for becoming a TEFL teacher, along with a lot of enthusiasm, great self-motivation, and a lot of flexibility. One thing to look out for in a TEFL course is that the TEFL company offers an Ofqual-regulated Level 5 TEFL certification. This means the content, teaching, and materials have been examined carefully and are of high quality. A qualification regulated by the UK Office for Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) can be awarded to learners. Another alternative is an externally accredited certification. However, you should make sure that you get at least 120 hours of training, which is the industry benchmark for employers worldwide.

The amount of TEFL certification you’ll need to work as a TEFL teacher will be determined by your unique circumstances. A 120-hour, Level 3 TEFL certificate, for example, may be sufficient if you have extensive prior teaching experience or are only going to conduct a short stint of volunteer teaching. If you want to work as a paid TEFL instructor all around the world, you’ll need a Level 5 TEFL certificate or TEFL diploma. You will also need to be a natural English speaker for some TEFL positions, notably in Asian nations (ie speak English as your first language and be a citizen of the UK, USA, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia or South Africa). Similarly, some TEFL employers require a bachelor’s degree in addition to your TEFL certification.

What should the duration of the course be?

Most employers want a minimum of 120 hours of training, so if you want to be in the best possible position to find work, this is what we recommend. A 120-hour certification will ensure that you’re ready for your first teaching position.

Do I need another language to teach TEFL or other qualifications? Talking with locals

What can I do with a TEFL certificate?

As a TEFL qualified teacher, the world is your oyster. Our 120 hour TEFL certificate is fully accredited and internationally recognized.  If you are looking to teach in your home country at a language center or would like to go to the UAE, we would suggest you doing our higher level qualification, our 180 hour level 5 TEFL course, as this is the requirement in such competitive countries.

Is this course completely online? How flexible is this course?

All courses are all done online and no travelling is required for the tests. Except for the 10 hour Virtual training, you can log on at any time. There is a 6 month deadline to the courses, but you can contact us for extensions.
The 10 hour Classroom Methodologies course is now virtual and done through Zoom. You will need to be available and online during your chosen times.

Accreditation

If you’re going to spend the money, time, and effort on a course, you’ll want to know that the certificate will be recognized internationally, which is where accreditation comes in. The TEFL Institute is fully accredited by the TQUK (center number: C00…) and ACDL. Our 180 hour Level 5 TEFL course is regulated by OFQUAL

You should be able to quickly obtain information on a provider’s accreditation on their website. We recommend researching the certifying agencies listed.

On the job assistance

How self-sufficient are you? This is crucial to think about because some employers provide more assistance than others. In certain Asian countries, for example, it’s typical to have your accommodation covered in your contract and to receive assistance with the visa process. If this type of assistance is important to you, it might help you to limit down the countries where you might look for job – and if it isn’t, it can offer up some intriguing opportunities in areas that are off the main path and demand more independence!

An internship is a wonderful alternative if you need a lot of help during your first TEFL position. Our TEFL internship programme makes your experience abroad simple. Rather than organising a new job overseas yourself, why not let our team do it for you? We have links with over 200 schools globally to secure you a position in your chosen country. Our paid TEFL internship packages are the perfect way to get qualified and start teaching English abroad. Take your pick from any of our destinations and get 120 hours of accredited TEFL training so that you’re prepared for your exciting new adventure. Plus, you’ll get support from our team of TEFL experts every step of the way. 

South Korea

Read about the experiences of students.

We train thousands of teachers each year who go on to teach all across the world. Some of our fantastic alumni have written fantastic pieces for our blog on their TEFL experiences teaching English! the memories they’ve made and the people they’ve met, and they want to share it with you! We highly recommend reading for plenty of useful ideas and insights into the field of TEFL from real teachers. You can hear from our students by clicking here

As a renowned and international TEFL provider, your mind will be at ease when choosing the right course for you!
The TEFL Institute offers two primary TEFL qualifications to choose from with many additional high-quality courses to add to your resume. If you are not sure which course is right for you, our team is happy to help.

The only way to be able to start teaching English abroad is by taking the initiative to do so. So let’s get started! This means doing some research, earning your TEFL certification with The TEFL Institute and planning your new adventure. Be practical and structured, but don’t be afraid to expand your horizons and take risks. Moving abroad is supposed to be an experience, so go for it!

For information on how you can get TEFL certified and start your new adventure click here!

  • Categories

    • TEFL methodology is a practice where ESL teachers use certain proven methods in the classroom or online. In other words, they are general approaches to teaching English as a foreign language. These methodologies evolve and change with time as they adapt to the outside world and ever-changing lifestyles and technology. 

    Keeping up with the times can be tough and that’s why we always suggest that everyone do some bit of CPD (continuous professional development) training throughout their career. There are lots of specialist courses available to help you along the way and the courses themselves evolve and get updated. If you have done a teaching English online course a few years ago, you might consider doing another one as technology has advanced so much. 

    The 7 teaching methods are explained in the blog above. These are methods that we feel work the best with the ESL industry and can be adapted for any type of learning, from vocabulary expansion to grammar skills. 

    There is no best method for teaching English as a foreign language. This depends on you and your teaching styles. You’ll also need to take into account the age of your students, the level of English being taught, and the size of the classroom. The most common one you’ll hear about is the PPP method. However, here are a few things to avoid when finding out which style best suits you. 

    We define a TEFL teaching method as a process, procedure, or way something is done or implementing a plan. While on the other hand, we would say that a teaching strategy is a goal, set of actions, or plans to achieve one aim or something.

    Your teaching strategy will be different for each class. To find the best one, you’ll need to first outline the level of English, the age of the students, and the size of the classroom. Some teaching strategies include: 

    • Classroom management: This is number one and has its own strategies and methods within it. Establish class rules on day one of your new classroom. 
    • Flexible seating: Making your students comfortable in the classroom is vital to their learning. Flexible seating will help them with this and ultimately create an effective learning environment.  
    • Active learning: A discussion break in between classes will help keep the students engaged throughout the lesson and create an interactive learning environment. 
    • Response to intervention (RTI): This should be done on day one of the academic year with a new class. Knowing the learning and behavior needs of the students early on will help you decide which teaching methods will work best for the entire class. 

    The literature component in English is aimed at enhancing students’ language proficiency. It is also geared for the purpose of generating the flowery part of the language that is a personal response from students. Some methodologies for this include: 

    • Information-Based Approach: For example, explaining the content of the literature to the class. 
    • Personal-Response Approach: For example, encouraging students to express their feelings about the text. 
    • Language-Based Approach: For example, setting language activities in a literature lesson. 
    • Paraphrastic Approach: For example, rephrase the piece of text in simpler language to help the students understand. 
    • Moral-Philosophical Approach: For example, ask students about the values they’ve learned from the text.
    • Stylistics Approach: For example, getting students to mark any significant linguistic features in the text.



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