Brought to you by The TEFL Academy
The opportunity to teach English as a foreign language at home and abroad is proving more and more popular.
Teaching English abroad holds appeal for travel enthusiasts who have either decided to take a year or two out after college to have ‘an experience’ in some far flung destination or for those who have a nice nest-egg built up in their mid-to-late 20s and want to venture further afield.
Competition for teaching jobs in other countries is heating up and quality schools are looking to recruit qualified people. So it’s important to recognise that it’s not enough to just be a native speaker and go into a school and wing it. People are looking for teachers who are highly qualified and you have to give yourself the best chance to stand out amongst the crowd.
Anyone considering going travelling or who would love to try teaching should to be aware that TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) is a viable and cost effective way of helping to achieve both of those ambitions.
It’s open to anyone and the fact is, you’re never too old to TEFL.
Under the illusion
Some of you are probably thinking ‘Hang on a minute, what good is it to pay for a private teaching course and have to leave home to work? What do I do when I want to come home?’
Well, it’s a good question because not all companies and institutions that provide courses to teach English as a foreign language can only be used abroad. Many people are under the illusion that TEFL courses only provide a qualification for teaching outside of Ireland. This is not the case.
The TEFL Academy course is one of the most recognised teacher training courses in the world and they’ve brought a higher level of accreditation to the industry (Level 5), which is an equivalent to CELTA and Trinity Cert. This means you can teach English online, provided you also have a third-level degree in your pocket.
They’ve also dropped their Level 3 courses, making them the only course provider to be Level 5 only.
Anyone who is considering teaching abroad should take a look at the hugely in-depth TEFL Factbook put together by the TEFL Academy, which provides a whole host of useful information on each country, including cost of living, expected wages and the kind of benefits offered.
Some employers prefer a significant portion of your TEFL qualification to be face-to-face rather than purely online, and by choosing the combined version of their course, you’ll get 20 hours in the classroom and 148 hours of online study.
The aim of the 20-hour weekend classroom course is to take you through all the basics of TEFL. You will get the opportunity to learn through group work and gain peer-to-peer teaching experience and generally just build up your confidence so teaching a class will be no issue for you.
You’ll have to complete 10 mandatory units, all of which are exam assessed and you’ll have up to six months to complete the online course, but most students manage to complete the course in as little as four to six weeks.
It’s designed to cover every aspect of teaching English, from planning your first lesson to applying for your first TEFL job abroad.
Prices for the full combined course start at €340 but there’s also a fully online version available from €235.
Short-term solutions
If you’re serious about getting a recognised qualification and the opportunity to teach English as a foreign language, it’s clear that avoiding the amazing discount deals which are regularly bandied about in online adverts is advisable.
A weekend or online course will provide you with a certificate and the possibility of a short-term solution to employment, but with a growing number of applicants for teaching jobs abroad, it’s advised to hold as many aces as possible.
So, before you jump two feet first into a TEFL course, stand back and think about your reasons for doing it. Where do you want it to bring you? Is it the dawning of a new career for you or is it just a stop-gap? Then think about what you need from a course to give yourself the best possible chance of getting the job you want.
If you’re thinking of travelling or teaching abroad, TEFL is a viable and cost effective way of helping to achieve both of those ambitions, for more information visit The TEFL Academy.
Brought to you by The TEFL Academy
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