Teaching English as a foreign language is a sure way to have success and travel the world! Being an EFL teacher is quite straightforward to do, but what are the skills needed to be a good TEFL  teacher? In this blog, we’ll let you in on the not-so-secret secrets to become just that! 

Here are our top 10 skills of a great teacher: 

Skill 1: Qualifications

First and foremost, qualifications are a huge part of teaching English. You’ll need the minimum requirement of the 120-hour TEFL Certification. Not only does this give you the certificate for visas and higher paychecks, but the TEFL courses come with reference books, peer community, learning materials, and guides to help you become the best teacher you can be. Teaching qualifications are a definite must! 

A third-level education, like a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, will also stand to you. Degrees can help you with visas and paperwork as well. They will also help you if you decide to teach business English as companies love to see that you have a wide range of education. 

Skill 2: Experience

The only way to be perfect is to practice, practice, practice, and becoming a great teacher is no different. After a time, you’ll get comfortable with your teaching styles; what works best for you. You’ll also find out who you prefer to teach and you’ll be able to time your lesson plans more accurately. Only you know how long it will take you to teach something. 

Skill 3: Reading the Room

A skill that is often overlooked is the ability to read the room. One lesson plan that you used a month ago for the same topic may not work again. You’ll have to take into account the average age of the students, the likes and dislikes, and the culture of the students. You can somewhat generalise this to what extent, but the best way to run a great classroom is to get to know the students. Without this skill you may find it confusing in your TEFL teacher career. 

Skill 4:  Bluffing

Spoiler alert! Unfortunately, we don’t know every word in the dictionary. You may from time to time get a question that throws you. Maybe you have taught present perfect continuous in a while, and you have a blank. That’s ok! It happens to the best of us. A great skill to have is to be able to bluff your way out without getting caught. One I remember in school is “That’s a great question! Write that down and see if you can figure it out by yourself until the next class”. 

Skill 5: Genuine Interest

So far our skills have shown us how to become great teachers! However, all of this can be moot if you don’t have the interest needed to be a great teacher. Believe it or not, we would definitely rate this as a skill. As they say, when you love what you do then you’ll never work a day in your life. Another amazing reason to have genuine interest means that you’ll naturally show enthusiasm in the classroom, which brings us to our next skill. 

Skill 6: Enthusiasm

We all know it. There is nothing worse than an unenthusiastic teacher. It can put you off a subject of life! No pressure or anything, but you’ll need to bring your A-game. Students will only learn if they want to. They will only want to learn if they are enthusiastic. And, they are only enthusiastic if you are. They will feed off your energy and you have the power to make the classroom energetic and fun! 

Skill 7: Compromising Skills

As an EFL teacher, your career will be global. Even if it’s online teaching you’re after, your students, peers, and bosses will be from all over the world. There are different work ethics and minimum salaries, as well as classroom ethics, from country to country. This is why compromising skills come in handy as a TEFL teacher! You will need to negotiate contracts. You will need to compromise with your student’s way of learning. 

Skill 8: Chameleon Skills

Similar to compromising skills, this one is vital if you want to work on a global scale. You’ll be encountering many different cultures and ways of life. Something that can really compromise your teaching lifestyle abroad is homesickness or unwillingness to adapt. Your work/life balance is crucial. An important skill for TEFL teachers to have. Happy teacher, happy students! 

Skill 9: Love of Learning 

No, this doesn’t mean the same as enthusiasm or genuine interest. What we mean is that you must have a love of learning for yourself. It’s no secret that teaching methods change over time, as so do teaching etiquette and technology. Great teaching skills need experience. Experience needs time. You must learn to change with the times. Keep up with new methods. Keep up with the kid’s trends and use gamification to be relevant as a teacher. 

Skill 10: Jack of all Traits 

If you are looking to be an EFL teacher for a long time and work up the ranks, you’ll need a little bit of knowledge in everything. Why? Because the best way up is by teaching the higher levels of English and teaching business English. These are higher-paid jobs, but normally require ESP (English for Special Purposes). This means you may need vocab in business areas or vocabulary in certain industries, such as technology. You may also go into territories such as politics and society. Higher level students need to be able to talk about this to reach C1 or C2 level, so as a teacher, you’ll need to know this too.