Do I Need to be a Native Speaker of English to Study a TEFL Course?

People interested in being paid to travel around the world by teaching English are not just those with the native English speaking tongue. Becoming a TEFL teacher is an appealing opportunity that many around the world want to experience and you don’t have to be a native speaker of English to study our course, which is open to all nationalities. The only requirement to do the TEFL Institute course is that you are able to speak English well enough to teach it.

How well do I have to be able to speak English?

You have to be fluent in English to be able to teach it and the minimum accepted standard is an English level of C1 (Advanced). You can assess your level of English on the following websites to see if you meet the standard required:

If you don’t but still want to pursue a career as a TEFL teacher, consider taking a few English lessons at a language school so boost your level. You could do the TEFL Institute’s accredited 30-hour Advanced Grammar for English Teachers course which would, depending on your current level, teach or refresh your knowledge of the grammatical rules of the English language.

If you do have a minimum level of C1 for English, have creative planning skills and are capable enough to teach students how to listen, speak, read and write in English, then you are ready to begin your journey of becoming a TEFL Teacher.

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