Does anyone know about teaching English as a foreign language?

A friend wants to start teaching English as s foreign language. I seem to remember looking into this a while ago and you need some specific certificate. Does anyone know what certificate you usually need , and have a recommendation on how to get it? Any good places to study (low price but good tuition!). Thanks for any clues!

I did mine many years ago with International House (in my case, in Egypt). They’ve still got a decent reputation, and studying abroad could be cheaper, even taking into account flight+accommodation:

http://ihworld.com/teachers/centres/0abd1d334422682b12c36b1042f5cc78/

AFAIK the best courses are Cambridge Celta and Trinity CertTesol.

Dr J

Drop me an email and I can tell you all about the world of TEFL/TESOL/CELTA qualifications what is and what isn’t.

Everybody should experience selling their soul to the TEFL devil.

Ask any English teacher in Wales.

xiphon – Member

Ask any English teacher in Wales.
Surely you just have to shout a bit louder til they understand it? “Do you speaky the English?!”

Also, as with learning other languages, you presumably start with “two pints and a packet of crisps please mate”.

Ask any English teacher in Wales.

I couldn’t speak a word of this foreign Language you call English until I was 10.

I did a Trinity TESOL course in Spain. It was expensive (about £800 twelve years ago) and very intense (12 hour days for four weeks) but well worth it. I had to book in advance but they run courses often, usually every other month, and although you’re not guaranteed to pass it’s unusual not to.

There are loads of more experienced people who are already qualified and who will have already have jobs in schools and/or private students so competition for work is fairly fierce. Schools pay relatively poorly but it’s regular work whereas private tuition (in the right area- quiet at the back please) can pay well but is much more hit and miss. I enjoyed it, except teaching kids after school in a language school which was properly awful. Adults wanted to learn but the kids just pissed about, the little shits. We don’t have kids… 😆

Don’t you need a degree to land a job anywhere but china?

TESOL/TEFL doesn’t (or at least it didn’t) require a degree to be able to work in the EU, the course and being a native speaker (or fluent if it’s a second or third language) are enough. The problem I encountered when I was trying to find work was my geordie accent but I got there in the end and there are quite a few people in Spain speaking English as a second language, pet.

I worked as a TEFL teacher and ran my own language school for 10 years employing about six English teachers a year.

When going through CVs I used to start with the hand-written letter. If it was in good English without too many spelling or grammatical errors it didn’t go straight in the bin. Next came going through the CV for a degree of sorts. After that it was back to the letters and a phone call to have a chat in English and French. I don’t think anyone we employed had a TEFL qualification but several had PGCEs.

Both Madame and I had PGCEs with an EFL mention and most schools we applied to offered us jobs.

Contact the British Council, they don’t require a TEFL qualification but will look for professional experience on the CV. They pay your traveling expenses and a living wage wherever you end up.

Keep bumping the thread till Roter Stern posts.

You called Edukator?? 😉

As has already been said CELTA from Cambridge is the most recognized certificate but there are other equally good certificates that are validated such as the one from Trinity. You will expect to pay a minimum of a grand these days for a four week course but there are cheaper alternatives which are un-validated which means you won’t know about the quality until you are doing the course. There are a lot of cowboy operations out there.

If you want to work in the EU there is no need for a degree but if you want to work in Asia (Japan, China, Korea etc.) a degree is mandatory for the working visa. I have my own school in Germany and in my experience the teachers are all self employed which means you have to sort out your own tax, finance and medical insurance. I have also worked in Asia and mostly the teachers are employed and everything is done for you by the schools and the salary is a little higher compared to the living expenses.

I did my CELTA course 12 years ago in Madrid and I’m still here. I moved on from teaching in businesses and small groups of adults to working in schools as a proper school teacher.

The month of the course I still think is the hardest I’ve ever worked but opened doors to me and helped my awful teaching to be not so awful.

I’d recommend it. Even if you don’t like it you’ve only lost a month and some money, or you could end up living somewhere exotic.

Many thanks for the advice and information, folks – that will be very useful !

I learned English from Mr Brown … 😆

Interesting thread

I’ve been thinking of ways to have a bit of an adventure

You might be interested to check out a website run by a former student of mine:

http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/

Roter Stern,

Have you got a mail address in your profile so I can contact you ?

I’m in Black Forest btw…

I did my CELTA course 12 years ago in Madrid and I’m still here. I moved on from teaching in businesses and small groups of adults to working in schools as a proper school teacher.

Purely being nosey, vonplatz, but where are you in Madrid?

Sister in law taught English as a foreign language in Russia for a few years – earnt some good money privately teaching bored oligarch mistresses. Lived in Spain for a few years teaching now back in the UK.

Roter Stern,

Have you got a mail address in your profile so I can contact you ?

I’m in Black Forest btw…

No problem it’s mikedothullatwebdotde