TEFL in Dubai: Elevate Your ESL Career with Regulated Courses

So, when you want to pick a certification for yourself, there are lots of different providers out there. They all claimed to offer a great TFL course, so which ones are the best ones? Well, the problem is that rules change in different countries. Your certification might be perfectly acceptable in Europe, but when you want to come out to the UAE and teach, you will find that your qualification is no good.

Obviously, this makes problems for teachers who want to move around. Thankfully, while different countries have different ideas about what a degree and certification should look like, the one thing that most of them agree on is that you need at least 120 hours of study to be suitably trained for teaching. That’s why we’ve created a 120 hour course. Rather than focus on a specific aspect of teaching English as a foreign language, we instead provide you with the hours of study needed to be accepted no matter where you go.

Obviously, this is just the basic course. You can complete a more advanced version if you want, and this will take 180 hours, but you can get plenty of jobs with just the 120 hour course. We have actually designed it to be completed in as little as four weeks, but every student gets six months by default, so you can take your time and balance your study with other commitments.

The great thing about our courses is that they use a lot of different learning styles. We have written material, audio, videos, and you get to pick which style is best for you. Because we offer so many ways to learn, we encourage you to experiment and use this knowledge to start creating lesson plans in different styles. Everything we do during your course is for the sake of preparing you to go and teach. The only things you will need is a device that can connect to the online platform and C1 proficiency in English.

The course that we provide is made up of 10 different modules that you will have to complete. You can learn using whatever method you feel is best.

During the course, we teach you how to teach other people. We combine the lessons with practical classroom experience, teaching you the basics of lesson plans, and how to lead a room in learning, so regardless of whether you want to teach two people or 20, you have the skills and confidence to do that.

Every student has six months to complete the course. We feel that this is an appropriate amount of time to master your TEFL skill set, and it also means that if you have other commitments you can schedule your studies around them.

So, once you have got your TEFL diploma, it’s pretty much up to you how you choose to use it. We always recommend building up a little bit of experience by doing some volunteering before you start applying for jobs, but once you are ready to start looking for paid work, you have a few different options available to you in the UAE. Let’s take a quick look at what you should know about each one.

Public Schools

Dubai has a public education system, much like any other city in the world. This is where the majority of students will choose to attend school, and it will be a place where English is taught from a young age. This means you could work at a primary school or a secondary school. You can work with most ages in public schools, but you will need to follow whatever rules they have about qualifications. Some of them might tell you that you need a degree, as well as your certification.

International Schools

International schools and private schools are very popular in Dubai, as a lot of children are living in the city with expats or business people who have travelled to Dubai for work purposes. The international school features a broad education that will keep pupils in good stead for most of the world.

These types of places are much more prestigious than your typical public school. The entry requirements will often be greater for getting a job there. However, the salary is often higher than a public school and lots of private institutions give their staff other benefits like paid accommodation or travel costs.

Language Schools

If you are a newly qualified teacher, and you want to start working with minimal qualifications, you should definitely take a look at language schools. Language schools are places where people voluntarily come to learn English as a foreign language, and most of them are older people who didn’t learn when they were kids. They are generally quite agreeable and open to being taught, which makes your life a lot easier.

The only real drawback to something like this is the fact that the work you can get is only normally a part-time contract. This means that you will be offered between 25 and 30 hours each week. If you need more money, then you may have to consider other ways to bring in some extra cash.

Tutoring

If you need to make some extra money, then you can offer tutoring services in the local area. These have the potential to be good ways to top up your income, but it’s important to remember that you will be running a business. You will have to record and declare any money that you make to the local government and pay whatever tax is required. However, it is a good way to bring in some extra cash, especially at the beginning of your career.

If you struggle to find paid opportunities for work in the Dubai area, then it is recommended you try and teach online. Lots of people go down this route and it isn’t difficult to see why this is the case – it can be a good way to teach without being restricted by location. You will often find remote jobs are on offer across the UAE, but they will be subject to the same strict hiring conditions so don’t assume it’s an easy pass out of needing qualifications.

You’ll want to make sure you have a reliable internet connection for something like this, however, as teaching in Dubai can often involve long periods working on a webcam, and the last thing you want to happen is to have a bad connection.

The rules for teaching in Dubai can be strict, but this is to ensure quality and guarantee a good education for students.

You will need to have your TEFL diploma, and also a degree if possible. If you speak English as a native language, this will give you an advantage. Non-native speakers are still welcome to apply for jobs, but can find themselves under more strict scrutiny.

To get the best chance at a successful application for a work permit, there are a few things you should do. First, rewrite your CV to showcase your new TEFL skills. Second, consider a volunteer position. It will help to strengthen your employability, and give you a better chance at applying with a job offer already in hand.

Dubai

Obviously, one good location to teach is the one we’re talking about right now, which is Dubai. With all the culture and modernity you could want at your fingertips, it isn’t difficult to see how Dubai is a great place to start teaching. It offers you a lot of unique options and choices for how you want to do things and you can, with limited exceptions, build any type of career that you want and be able to succeed.

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi is another location which you’ll want to consider teaching English as a foreign language. Like Dubai, it is a cultural melting pot, with many different people and ideas all coming together. It’s well worth looking at what’s on offer for your career.

As a location which attracts some of the wealthiest people in the world, a teaching salary in Dubai has the potential to earn you a lot of money, but it depends on where you work and the experience you have.

The currency of Dubai is the UAE dirham, known as AED, and the typical salary on offer is equivalent to £2400 to £4000 per month. The more prestigious locations have the potential to earn more.

These figures don’t take into consideration the money you can earn from tutoring on the side, which has the potential to kick up extra cash. However, you’ll have to decide on rates for yourself.

Living life in Dubai is possible for most teachers but there’s a couple of things to bear in mind. The first thing that you should know is that living life in a city can be more expensive than living outside of it – however in the case of Dubai it’s worth it to experience all the culture which is on offer.

Something we would recommend is that you eat and live like a local. Dubai is a city of excess – so it probably isn’t surprising that you can get access to just about anything in your down time. However, importing goods and paying for home comforts can come with a high bill – there’s no need for that. You can have a good standard of living while enjoying all that local cuisine has to offer. We’d recommend it, in fact.

Your best bet will be to go and try to rent a little outside the city centre – close enough for a commute. It’ll make a difference with costs and give you a chance to experience the culture all at once.

• Monthly Salary: £3000
• Accomodation: £1800 – £2000
• Utilities: £200
• Meal out for two: £10