TEFL Myth #324: If You Speak English, You Can Teach English

I actually saw this headline on the website of a TEFL Training course:

If You Speak English,
You Can Teach English

I guess – at one time – maybe many years ago – this might have been true.  But it is no longer true.

But these days competition in the EFL/ESL school business (your employers) means that the school is going to want someone who can deliver what their students (their customers) want.

As we’ve mentioned before, students/customers make or break a business.  They can walk down the street to a competitor or they can tell their friends what a good school they are going to and bring them on in to join up.  Even many colleges and universities are businesses these days and they have to pay attention to what their customers want.

What Does an EFL Student Want?

They want what all customers want: value for their money.  In many cases you will be teaching people in developing countries for whom the cost of the course is a lot of money.  Money they are investing for their future.   A better job, higher pay, a promotion – good English skills can bring all those things to your students.

Is it really fair to think that because you can speak English that you also have the skill required to help students improve  their English quickly and effectively?  Most new teachers don’t.  Most untrained teachers don’t.  Only some experienced, but untrained, teachers do, but many don’t.

What does an EFL Employer Want?

Happy customers.  Happy students.  How does she get that?  By delivering what the customers paid for.  Skills in English.

Schools get those skills delivered by skilled and trained teachers.   Teachers who take the time to improve their skills – not who assume they have those skills just because they can speak English.

TED’s Tips™ #1:  If you pay attention to the employer/school side of the equation in TEFL, you are much more likely to land a good job.  And one way to improve that possibility is to get some training, even if it is not a “requirement” of the position.

Where to take your TEFL Training

Where is the best TEFL Certification program for you?

People frequently ask me where they should take their TEFL Training. They also ask if it is best to take their EFL teacher training in their home country or in the country in which they intend to teach.

First issue: I usually recommend a TEFL Certification school that I know well and I know the teacher-trainer(s) well. I know the primary trainer is very well educated and has extensive experience in two countries, teaching EFL abroad since 1992 to a wide variety of students.

When I was a teacher trainer I was awakened to just how little experience, training and education many trainers have. One teacher trainer was hired directly from my class to set up and teach a TEFL Cert course for another company.

He had ZERO experience teaching. Wow. I won’t go into any further details, but it wasn’t a pretty picture and that was not a purely unique situation.

Second issue: It is almost always better to take your TEFL Training in or near the country in which you wish to teach. There are many good reasons why.

First, taking your training in your new country gives you some time on the ground to adapt to the culture and get to know your way around, instead of just arriving cold and heading out to look for work.

Also helpful is that TEFL Certification schools usually know the best and biggest employers, who to try first and who to avoid (just as important!).

One of the most helpful aspects of taking your TEFL Training in your new setting is that your observed teaching practice will likely be with students that have similar grammar and pronunciation problems as those you will face on the job. This is important for several reasons.

Every country’s students have different issues with grammar and pronunciation and while this is not a big problem, even well-experienced teachers take some time to get a good grasp of exactly how to solve these problems when they arrive in a new country.

A new EFL teacher, of course, will take much longer. Getting that experience during your training, with an instructor who knows exactly what to do, will make you a much more effective teacher, right out of the box.

It is common in some countries to request a “demonstration lesson” as part of the interviewing process. Don’t you think that lesson will go much better if you already know what kinds of issues are common in the classrooms of that country? Of course!

In countries where demonstration lessons are common, you should have the opportunity to build that lesson and practice it as part of your TEFL Certification training course. You will have plenty of opportunity to build, practice and polish that lesson under the guidance of an experienced teacher-trainer.

How do you think that lesson might go if you are just off the plane and have no idea what the common issues are with local students?

Last but not least, you can job hunt while you are taking your TEFL Certification course and hopefully have something lined up about the time you complete your training.

If you are taking your training in the developing world, TEFL Certification courses are often much cheaper than in developed Western countries are as your accommodation and food costs.

TED’s Tips™ #1: Take your TEFL Certification course in the country where you first intend to teach.

TED’s Tips™ #2: Practice and polish your demonstration lesson during your training.