Getting Started In TEFL: Choosing A TEFL Course

The demand for English teachers around the worldaccept these.
today is very high, as English continues to be theVery generally speaking, the shorter and less
preferred language in many areas of life, from studyclassroom-based the course, the less accepted it will
and work to entertainment and travel. For thebe by employers around the world. There are some
foreseeable future at least, you will never be short ofhigh quality online courses available, for example, but by
a job if you choose English teaching as a career.definition these do not allow for any actual teaching
So, if you've heard tales from a returning teacher ofpractice, and so are often viewed in a less favourable
the wonders of living and working in Thailand, Brazil orlight by potential employers. Some courses
Morocco and you think it might just be the career forcompensate by teaching theory and methodology
you, how, exactly, do you get started?online, and including a short classroom-based
Well, the first thing to confront you may well be thecomponent to put it into practice.
minefield of acronyms, so let's work through that firstYou can take a TEFL course in many different
of all.countries. Studying in Bangkok or Prague, for example,
ESL stands for English as a Second Language. Add acan give you the advantage of the centre's
T, giving TESL, and you have Teaching English as aconnections with local schools when it comes to finding
Second Language.employment, and some course providers offer help
EFL is English as a Foreign Language. Again, add a T,with finding a job as part of the deal.
and you have TEFL, Teaching English as a ForeignAnother option is an MA in TESOL. As with most
Language.Masters degrees, these take one year or longer, and
Traditionally, TEFL refers to teaching in non-Englishconsequently tend to cover theory and methodology in
speaking countries, whereas TESL refers to teachinggreater detail.
in English speaking countries, to non-native speakersSo, to keep your options as open as possible when it
living or working there. In practice, though, the twocomes to finding employment, the CELTA and Trinity
terms are often used interchangeably, and both areCert TESOL and equivalent courses, or longer MA
covered by the all-encompassing TESOL, Teachingcourses, are perhaps the best options. But there are,
English to Speakers of Other Languages.of course, other considerations. CELTA and Trinity
During your training or job search, you might comecourses can cost upwards of US$2000. This may
across a host of other acronyms, asking you if youseem a big investment if you are not sure yet if TEFL
have experience teaching ESP or EAP, FCE or IELTS!is the career for you.
Don't be daunted by these - there is a link to the mostSo a good first step is to have a look at some of the
common acronyms at the bottom of this article.jobs available in countries where you are interested in
Now that you know a little about some of the jargonteaching, to get an idea of the typical requirements.
you'll be facing, the next step is usually a qualification ofYou could choose a shorter, cheaper course, if these
some kind. The days of being able to secure anare generally accepted where you want to teach, and
English teaching job solely on the strength of being athen study for a CELTA or equivalent after a year or
native speaker, although not entirely gone, are fadingtwo, if you decide to pursue the profession further.
fast. A quick search on the internet for "TEFLThe availability of short, quick courses often raises the
courses" (we'll stick with this acronym for now) willquestion of unqualified or underqualified teachers let
return a mind-boggling selection, of varying content,loose on unsuspecting students! Here, the argument
duration, and quality, and it can be difficult to knowruns both ways:
what to go for.Some maintain that a qualified teacher doesn't
It might surprise you to discover that most TEFLnecessarily mean a good teacher, and that
courses are short. The most internationally recognisedcommunicative skills and enthusiasm are just as
and accepted are the "CELTA" (there's yet anotherimportant in motivating students. Even the CELTA and
acronym for you), run by the University of Cambridge,Trinity courses are, after all, entry level courses,
and the "Trinity Cert TESOL", run by Trinity College,designed to start you off, with the idea that much of
London. Both of these are 120 hour, classroom-basedyour learning will come from experience during your
courses, and include several hours of observedfirst couple of years of teaching.
teaching practice. In other words, they get you in frontOthers argue that just as an unqualified teacher
of students during the course so that you can put intowouldn't be allowed to teach at a secondary school in
practice what you learn. These courses are usuallythe UK or the US, why should it be any different in the
studied over a very intensive four week period, andTEFL field - students are paying to be taught by
involve a lot of work outside the classroom, preparingsomeone with solid training in teaching theory and
classes and writing assignments.methodology. And after all, as a teacher, you'll feel
You'll learn a good deal about teaching theory andbetter equipped and more confident when you step
methodology, and have some chance to put it intointo the classroom in your new job.
practice. You will learn some English grammar, but don'tIt's up to you which side of the fence you choose to
expect to be an expert by the end of the course - thisstand on this one! But whether you study for a week
mostly comes in your first few years of teaching.or a year, it will in some measure prepare you for the
An increasing number of institutions offer courses ofnext step in your TEFL career, when you walk in to
similar length and content to the CELTA and Trinitythe classroom for the first time in your new TEFL job.
courses, and you will find that many employers will