Teach English Abroad – TEFL Teacher Training

Do I Need TEFL Training to Teach English Abroad?

English teaching wannabes and newbies ask me these questions frequently:

1. Is TEFL training required to get the job I want?

2. Do I have to have it?

3. Would it make a difference to employers if I had it?

If you’ve been waiting impatiently for the answer to just those questions, here they are: 1. sometimes, 2. sometimes and 3. yes.

Some countries require a Teaching English as a Foreign Language(TEFL) certification before they can approve your papers to work legally. Thus – before you can work in Thailand, Indonesia and a few other places, you must have completed a TEFL course.

That said, most countries don’t require any TEFL training at all. However, even in those places the best employers will prefer their new hires to have had training before they start work. So, in fact, getting TEFL training may your first hop in leap-frogging up the food chain, work-wise.

New TEFL teachers shouldn’t forget that, even if many countries and jobs don’t require training at all, teaching abroad shouldn’t be about getting by with the minimum effort and just doing a lackluster job. Doing a good job is good for you, too.

Will TEFL Training Really Make a Difference?

There are several ways in which you may benefit from TEFL training. The first is that many employers will pay higher salaries to teachers who have had good training. While this might not be much on a monthly basis, over a year or a semester it will add up. TEFL certification courses tend to easily pay for themselves in only one or two years. Add to that the idea that you’ll land a better job with a TEFL certificate than without training and you might be seeing an even better return on your investment.

Doing it Right is the Right Thing to Do

Those are the good practical reasons for getting yourself some training. There are also some ethical, moral and emotional issues to consider.

The first is that you owe it to your students. In most foreign countries, your students are paying a lot of money to sit in your class. Wouldn’t it be fair to them if you knew what you were doing? Getting a TEFL certification is the first step to being a better teacher.

Lest you think I exaggerate, I do realize teaching English overseas isn’t brain surgery or even rocket science, but it does require skill to do it well. As long as you are changing your life by heading overseas – why not do it right and feel good or even GREAT about the service you provide to your students?

The days of just showing up at a TEFL, “chatting with the students for an hour,” and collecting your money are long gone. Language schools these days would like you to provide some real teaching in their classrooms. And students can intuit when a teacher knows what they are doing – and when they don’t.

It Just Feels Better

One of the best reasons for getting yourself some training is that you will find preparing your classes much easier and you will enjoy your work more knowing that you are providing a quality service and not just grabbing someone else’s money. Best of all, you will sleep better at night.

It’s about doing it right – and feeling good about it.

Now . . . not everyone can afford the tuition for a full-blown TEFL certification program, not to mention taking four to six weeks off work to complete it. So, in the following post we will talk about some good alternatives to the commercially available courses.

TED’s Tips™ #1: Get some training. You will enjoy yourself more and do a better job. Remember how lousy teachers really turned you off when you were still in school? Yeah, don’t be one of those.

TED’s Tips™ #2: If you can’t afford the “Full Monty” of a four-to-six-week course, check out alternatives in the next post.

: Teaching Internships in China

Teaching Private Classes: Making Money on the Side

Sooner or later. Usually sooner. Every teacher of English overseas is going to be offered the “private” job, the teaching job “on the side” that is separate from your main job.

Some teachers will have been looking for the offer, hoping to increase their income. Others weren’t interested at all, but the offer came anyway.

Teaching Private Classes is Usually Illegal

In most countries teaching “on the side” is illegal unless expressly written into your working papers. Often it is also prohibited by your employment contract.

But the offers can be quite lucrative and, in some cases, you may even double your regular income – or more. More than a few teachers use private teaching as a way to significantly increase their earnings.

Don’t do anything Illegal

We can’t recommend that you do anything illegal. You will, however, find that the risk in some countries is almost non-existant, but in other countries employers and authorities are vigilant. Vigilance is not usual though, thus teaching privately tends to be quite common in many countries.

How do These Jobs Come About?

Most often you will be approached directly by someone wanting a private teacher. I even had, in at least two countries, my employer arrange them for me. I didn’t ask for them, they asked me to take the classes and teach them!

If you are looking for this kind of work, be patient. Schools and students tend to be a bit wary of newcomers and like to wait to see if you are a reliable and competent teacher. Offers don’t typically come immediately, but they do come.

One Warning Though

If you intend to take private classes and are teaching illegally, it is best to keep quiet about your classes. People who become a bit too boisterous and too obvious can find themselves in trouble.

TED’s Tips™ #1: If you decide to take private classes, do so discretely and – in most countries – you’ll never have a problem. Again, however, we recommend that you keep yourself 100% legal. 😉

: Teaching Internships in China

Want to be a GREAT EFL Teacher?

Here’s how . . .

Value Education

While many people from Western countries place more emphasis on “street skills” than formal education, most of the developing world knows that a good education is the way out of poverty. As a result education is often much more valued than in Western countries.

A teacher who does not value education is biting the very hand that feeds them. Why do you think students are filling classes wanting to learn English?!

Respect your Host Country’s Culture and Values

Students and host country teachers will often ask you what you think of their country and culture. Say only positive things. What would you think of a foreigner visiting your home country who ran off a long list of things they didn’t like? Not much I am sure.

While we all know that our own country – which ever country that is – has flaws and problems, no one really likes to hear it from a foreigner.

Have a TRUE Interest in the Success of your Students

Students, employers and even other teachers just KNOW if you are interested in the success of your students. There are people who are just play acting being teachers and then there are people who are really teachers. Real teachers want their students to succeed and do what is needed in the classroom to help them do so.

Students pretty much intuit your interest in their success and your desire for their growth is infectious. From your energy, they get excited about what might be possible in their lives if they make a bit of effort in your class.

KNOW How to Teach and Follow the Method

There is a method to the madness that is EFL teaching and students progress at a much better rate and learn much more if that method (or a good variation of it) is followed.

There is a good reason why every TEFL training course spends so much time on teaching you methodology and lesson planning and that is because “flying by the seat of the pants” teaching just doesn’t work. Just “chatting with the students” pretty much teaches them nothing.

If you don’t have some training before you head abroad, you are likely doing your students a great disservice. Learn how to do what you need to do to help your students succeed. It’s not rocket science.

TED’s Tips™ #1: Being a great teacher requires only that you be sincere about your task and respectful of your students, their country and culture. Do it right.

: Teaching Internships in China

Is Teaching English “Incredibly Easy”?

Wishful Thinking on the Web . . .

There are a few myths about teaching English out floating around on the Internet that should probably be addressed here. I responded recently to a discussion topic over at Lonely Planet where someone stated – exactly this:

[Teaching English is] . . . incredibly easy because it’s your first language (I’m assuming) and your students will have very poor language skills so any knowledge you can give them will help.

I felt a need to respond and wrote: I will be the first to admit that teaching English is not rocket science, but is work and is not always “incredibly easy” just because you speak it as your native language. AND – not all students have “very poor” language skills. Some are counting on your help to get into quality and even prestigious universities in Western countries. If you don’t know what you are doing – you can, in fact, inflict a fair amount of damage on someone who has paid you – often generously – for your help.

The same poster also wrote:

I choose to believe that people with the dream to travel will succeed.

Now, that is wonderful thinking and I like to think that way too, but I wrote this in response:
I really like that, but teaching English is a JOB. It is WORK. It is not travel. It does pair well with travel and seeing the world, but first and foremost it is a job. There are responsibilities that go with it. Namely, that there is usually a classroom of students who have paid good money to sit in a room with you. Often, what is for them a LOT of money. Suggesting that it is easy to meet their needs and help them succeed – by virtue of wishful thinking – only hurts the students and potentially gives future teachers some bad guidance on which to make a decision to move to the other side of the world.

TED’s Tips™ #1: Some marketing organizations that are trying to sell you TEFL training even have TRAVEL in their name – some don’t even mention teaching! TEFL is a job first and foremost. It can be a super wonderful job that affords you the opportunity to see the world. But the job and your students need to come first. As Zig Zigler’s famous quote goes: If you help people get what they want, you will get what you want. And in TEFL, that is very very true.

: Teaching Internships in China

Travel and Teach English or Teach English and Travel?

Or . . . how those TEFL recruiters and some TEFL certification companies can mislead you.

I am always a bit dismayed about the advertising I see on different recruiting and TEFL certification training websites.

Particularly the ones that tell you that life teaching English abroad is one big party of traveling and seeing the world. Some even include travel in their name, but nothing about teaching!

They hardly mention – Oh yeah – there is a job you need to go to every day and do a good job at it.

Now, I am happy to tell you that I headed overseas to see the world. But in 1989 when I went, I fully realized that I was taking a job and it needed to be performed well. Not that I was traveling and sometimes might need to work.

To have a successful life abroad you need to flip Travel and Teach English around to say: Teach English and Travel.

Your J-O-B needs to come first.

What Employers Would Like to Hear

Every now and then employers of English teachers would love to hear how much a teacher candidate enjoys TEACHING, how important it is to help their students improve their English skills and how rewarding you might find that to be.

All that said, I have done an amazing amount of traveling and seeing the world in my 21+ years abroad. Perhaps the best way to look at it might be with Zig Ziglar’s famous statement: If you help enough people get what they want, you will get what you want. And notice that the helping people get what they want – comes first.

TED’s Tips™ #1: To have a successful life abroad, you need to put your JOB first. Life overseas offers so many opportunities to experience cultures AND to travel that you can pretty well assume that those things will come with your job.

TED’s Tips™ #2: Head overseas with a strong commitment to your job and your students and everything else will fall into place. Head overseas with your travel plan number one and you might be surprised how quickly things fall apart and you are on your way back home.

: Teaching Internships in China

Some FREE TEFL Resources

How to Teach English Abroad — A Ten Week Plan to Landing that First Job Teaching English Abroad

TEFL Boot Camp is offering a couple free eBooks to help introduce you to the TEFLing world.

The first is the old stand by How to Teach English Overseas for sale for US$9.95 over at TEFL eBooks – but free through TEFL Boot Camp. The book is essentially a ten week guide to getting yourself a job and heading overseas.

Easy to do if you know how. Difficult if you don’t and this eBook takes you through the whole process – even applying for a passport if you don’t have one yet.

You can sign up to get this eBook free.

The second free eBook on offer, they send it to you about a week later, is a great job search guide called Teaching English Abroad: What you Must Know for an Effective Job Search.

The last guide is called Seven Secrets to Success Abroad. It is more or less a review of things that I have seen over 20 years overseas – that make people succeed or fail.

It is a guide to intercultural adaptation and success – which believe it or not – is just as important as your teaching skills.

Secrets of Success Abroad — How to Succeed Abroad

Many people come apart at the seams overseas, but this book will help you see things from a different perspective.

HERE is where you sign up for all three eBooks. Go get ’em – loads of free help.

TED’s Tips™ #1: Free Resources – you can’t ask for a better deal. I wrote all three of these eBooks and they have lots of good tips in them.

Experienced Teacher Teaching English Abroad

Heading Abroad to Teach English

A teacher with a graduate degree proposed this topic:

I am looking into teaching English abroad (of course!). I graduated last year with a Master of Arts in Teaching. I’m looking for information about teaching in the Middle East, as paying off my student loans sounds like a very enticing idea, and I do like challenges.
I have a few questions for you.

First, would I be qualified to teach at a university in the Middle East if I were to be TEFL or Celta certified (but without a Master’s in TEFL)? (And if so, where can I look to find those job opportunities?). Second, are there areas or countries in the Middle East in which it would be more acceptable to be a young woman living on her own?

With an MA in Teaching and a TEFL certification I would think that you would qualify to teach just about anywhere. However, most countries in the Middle East will require at least a couple years experience.

Students in that part of the world can be “difficult” to say the least and schools like teachers that are a bit seasoned and able to deal with the problems that come up. UAE is one of the more liberal countries though your school will probably decide where you live as it will likely be a part of your employment package and you’ll not likely be “a young woman living on her own” – you’ll probably be in a compound of some sort.

For starters get the TEFL Certification and head to Korea where you can also probably land a university job and save almost as much money but without the difficultly of Middle Eastern cultures. Once you have a few years experience and if you want to save even a bit more (but probably get less paid time off) then head to the Middle East.

TED’s Tips™ #1: Get some experience before heading to the Middle East. Conditions can be difficult there and it is better if you have been around the block a couple times before getting into the mix.

Teaching in the Middle East – for Good Money!

Teaching English in Saudi Arabia

A recent TEFL training graduate recently asked me about teaching in the Middle East and specifically in Saudi Arabia. Since we talked a bit about ESP the last couple of weeks this might fit in as another specialty area.

Would I recommend heading to the Middle East to make good money for a new teacher? No. Read on . . .

The better jobs in the Middle East – not just Saudi Arabia – tend to require a relevant graduate degree and usually a minimum of 3-5 years experience – usually more than less. Students in that part of the world can be difficult to work with and schools there tend to prefer more experienced and older teachers as they know how to deal with such difficult students.

The culture can be very argumentative and students can be quite spoiled and sometimes view teachers as servants. Therefore, you’d better have an excellent handle on how to deal with discipline problems BEFORE you go.

The lifestyle is not easy to adapt to, but that is quite an individual question. Some people adapt well to different cultures and not to others, but the failure rate of teachers who went to Saudi Arabia while I was there was high, even though schools tended to be very careful and thorough in their selection process.

They culture of Saudi Arabia in particular can be very difficult to adjust to. It is important to do some reading on the country and visit forums of people who live there to understand better. There, for example, is no such thing as “dating”. It is against the law with very harsh penalties. No movie theaters. No night clubs, no nothing. And on and on.

Wages were good because they had to be good to get and keep only the best of teachers who could survive the culture and handle the discipline problems. I spent five years in Riyadh Saudi Arabia and it was a real education about things we have no idea about in Western Christian countries.

I taught at the university level and I met a few people who taught at the high school level and it was generally thought to be “hellish” – I wouldn’t even try it and that is likely where you might end up with just a TEFL certification and only a BA/BS degree. Even the students at language schools are difficult. So, be aware that wages are high for a reason. And there is a reason why they hire only seasoned and well experienced teachers. Because the culture will chew up and spit out the inexperienced and underqualified rather quickly.

Now, there are some people who like the culture and parts of the Middle East are a haven for gay men – as it is a man’s world – though it is a bit underground. If that is your world then you might want to explore further but I don’t know that world. I went and left as a married heterosexual. If you are a single male, realize you may well live in that subculture and be housed and sometimes room with members of that subculture. If you are married, as I was, you are housed in different housing settings for married people and families.

Do know though that the local culture, as a result of a lack of recreation and/or sexual outlets, is high tension and argumentative. Especially in SA, as a male you will teach and be allowed to interact ONLY with men. My wife taught a branch of the same school where I taught, yet in five years I was never allowed, nor would I ever be allowed, to set foot in her school. She visited mine only once – when the school was closed – on a tour with other female teachers to visit the library.

That said, can you break into that world to teach? Probably, but it will depend on your qualifications and experience. And your goals or ability to adapt and survive in a very different and difficult culture.

All the above said, once I had spent a couple years in Saudi Arabia and learned the best ways to deal with the discipline problems, my time there was virtually trouble free. I thought, before I went, that I was an experienced and tough teacher, but I came out the other end much more experienced and much more capable of dealing with difficult discipline issues.

TED’s Tips™ #1: My statements about teaching in that part of the world are strong, but it is not a place for the weak.

TED’s Tips™ #2: Get a few years experience under your belt before heading into the culture of the Middle East to teach.
It’s not bad, it’s just different.Very different.

What’s up in China? Learn what kind of jobs are on offer if you would like to Teach English in China Discipline is NOT much of a problem in China!

What TEFL Training Courses Don’t Teach You #3

They don’t teach you how to apply what you have just learned to your job search skills.

This is important. And the next post on this same topic is important. But only if you are looking for a job or are thinking of looking for a job teaching English abroad.

A man I was working with recently became upset over a conversation with a new employer. He was in the process of getting his visa paperwork set up, but had experienced delays in getting his health exam (required in many countries) completed.

When he contacted me she reported that his new employer was possibly going to fire him or at least cancel his new contract if he did not complete the health exam by the following Wednesday.

Wow. Big problem if you have quit your job and are packed and ready to head across the world.

Well . . . it didn’t quite sound right so when I checked with the employer – who was not a native speaker – the message was different. The message was “hurry up!”

How did this miscommunication happen?

Where did good communication break down and how might you avoid or solve such an event?

Where it broke down was that non-native speakers of English often don’t know how to express themselves strongly. How to press a point assertively and appropriately. They need to be taught such things (did they tell you that in TEFL Training?) and almost every experienced Business English trainer will have spent considerable time on exactly that topic.

Somewhere in the communication with the boss, the boss implied or somehow communicated more than what she intended. And the teacher-to-be took the English quite literally and seriously and assumed that he was about to be fired.

You can’t do that!

(take things too seriously) Do you see how easily this could have become a disaster to the new teacher? And even a major problem for the employer as they would have found themselves short a teacher come the new semester?

TED’s Tips™ #1: If you intend to be a language professional, you quite need to learn how to interpret what is said to you by non-native speaker supervisors and colleagues (and your EFL students) and to seek clarification if something doesn’t seem to make sense to you or seems to be an exaggerated or inappropriate response to a situation.

TED’s Tips™ #2: Check the suspect statement by repeating it back to the speaker and then rephrase it and ask if that is what they meant. If it is still confusing, ask again and rephrase again. YOU are the teacher and the communication may well need to be sorted out and you are the person with the skills (we all hope!) to figure it out. Consider it a challenge!

Don’t let these little things get in the way of your new life teaching English abroad. They are too easy to avoid.

What TEFL Training Courses DON’T Teach You #1

Be Prepared for TEFL Freedom

One of the most frequently asked questions I get when I am placing people in schools in China is this: Will the school have already prepared lessons and lesson plans for us?

Well, after I stop chuckling . . . my usual answer is, “No.”

But really the answer depends on where you are going to teach. In China with only a BA/BS and a TEFL certification you can land a university teaching position. With only a TEFL Certification OR only a degree language school positions are available.

Here is my real life response to someone who is taking a position at a university (more about language schools next time) who asked specifically:

I was wondering if I should bring teaching materials with me, and how much flexibility will I have to use my own materials?

My response:

I’ve taught in four countries and frankly ALWAYS preferred my own materials to the often irrelevant and unfocused materials that were usually offered (if any were offered at all!). Some schools do have some decent materials, but most don’t.

How much flexibility? Probably a LOT and hope for a LOT. Usually schools that have a well-defined and pre-designed program are rigidly holding on to what are often terrible materials and a curriculum that doesn’t work well for their students.

Colleges and universities, especially the ones with small EFL programs, usually just expect that you know what to do and give you the freedom to do it. I have rarely encountered even a decent syllabus after working at eight different colleges and universities in those four countries. Very large English departments though are more likely to be better structured and organized.

I don’t mean my criticism of schools to be negative – it is in fact very positive – as the freedom tends to allow you to build exactly what is needed for your students. Nothing is worse than being forced to teach a very structured program that doesn’t help your students at all.

Now, sometimes a school will give you a book, the book somebody used last year. Sometimes you will be expected to use it as the campus bookstore ordered it and sold it to all the students already. So you use it a bit and add in your own materials and gradually fade out of the book. You will need to use their book a bit, so the students don’t complain about being sold the book – practical considerations! Next semester you get to pick the book.

How the world really works

I had a teacher contact me once, looking for a job because he was about to quit the job he had just taken. His comments were: The school is very unprofessional – they told me to just develop my own program.

What?

Yeah, in my mind the PERFECT teaching position! And he was going to quit!

Be happy for the freedom you will have in a position that offers it.

Certainly in most Asian countries and especially at smaller schools you will be offered a lot of freedom and the school will expect you to know what to do. Especially as they are often paying you more and sometimes much more than the non-native speaker local teachers.

TED’s Tips™ #1: LOVE the opportunity to release your creative skills in the classroom. So few teachers in the world have that opportunity.

TED’s Tips™ #2: Teaching is a profession. Treat it like one. Roll up your sleeves and get to work.

Do I Need TEFL Training?

English teaching wannabes and newbies usually ask several questions here:

Is TEFL training required to get the job I want? Do I have to have it?

Would it make a difference if I had it?

. . . and the answers are: sometimes, sometimes and yes.

Some countries require a TEFL certification before they will approve your legal working papers. Thus – before you can work in Thailand, Indonesia and a few other places, you need to complete a good TEFL course.

Most countries don’t require any TEFL training at all, but the better employers will prefer their new hires to have had some training. So, in fact, TEFL training may be required for a move up the food chain or even give you the ability to start out in a preferred position.

And while many countries and some jobs that don’t require any training at all, it shouldn’t be about just getting by with the minimum and, if you are lucky, just doing a mediocre job.

Will TEFL training really make a difference?

You bet! There are several ways in which you may benefit from TEFL training. First is that many employers will pay a small premium to teachers that have some good training. While often not much on a monthly basis, it adds up across a year and tends to easily pay for itself in only one or two years. Add that to the idea that you can probably land a better job than the one you would get without training and you might be seeing an even better return on your investment.

Those are the good practical reasons for getting yourself some training. There are also some ethical, moral and emotional issues to consider.

The first is that you owe it to your students to get yourself some training. Students, in most foreign countries, pay a lot of money to sit in your class. Wouldn’t it just be fair to know what you are doing?

While teaching English overseas is not “brain surgery” or “rocket science”, it does require some skill to do it well. And as long as you are changing your life and heading overseas – why not do it right and feel good or even GREAT about the service you provide to your students?

The days of just showing up at a TEFL job and “chatting with the students for an hour” are long gone. Language schools these days would like you to provide some real teaching in their classrooms. And students almost intuitively know when a teacher knows what they are doing – or not.

One of the best reasons for getting yourself some training is that you will find preparing your classes much easier and you will enjoy your work more knowing that you are providing a quality service and not just skating by on someone else’s money. Best of all, you will sleep better at night.

It’s about doing it right – and feeling good about it.

Now . . . not everyone can afford four to six weeks of not working and the costs of a full blown TEFL certification program. In the following post we will talk about some good alternatives to the commercially available courses.

TED’s Tips™ #1: Get some training. You will enjoy yourself more and do a better job.
Remember how lousy teachers really turned you off when you were still in school? Yeah, don’t be one of those.

TED’s Tips™ #2: If you can’t afford the “Full Monty” of a four-to-six-week course, check out some of the alternatives we will talk about tomorrow.

TEFL Teacher Training

Teacher Training for EFL TEFL ESL Teachers
Teaching Methods for Teaching English Abroad

We are only a couple days old – please come back soon when we will be up in full force.

Meanwhile – you can check out our sister publication: TEFL Newbie a website for both TEFL Rookies and people just thinking about a life abroad.

Come back soon – you’ll be glad you did . . .