In our world of university degrees, professional certificates and work trainings it’s easy to feel like you’ll never be done. As if it’s no longer that simple and you’ll still be a student when you’re 73. Though there will always be more to learn, being unsure of your end goal can prove both expensive and exhausting. How much education do we really need before it’s time for life experience to step in and take the reigns?
If you’re wondering if TEFL certification programs are actually worth it, my answer is simple: mine was. If you’re a recent graduate like I was and you’re thinking of teaching English abroad, I completely understand your trepidations. You’ve just spent at least four years of your life and the cost of your would-have-been vacation home on an undergraduate degree. Your major may have even been English or Education. Your hard drive is full of Education papers in APA. So why would you need more training to find an TEFL job overseas?
Teaching English as a foreign language requires unique pedagogical techniques and you’ll be trying to break into an entirely different job market. It’s understandable to want to forego one more month of training but look at it this way: it’s only a month! And it will bring you more confidence in the classroom and better job prospects around the world. It is not impossible to find a teaching position without any training. But I wouldn’t recommend turning your career path into an uphill battle.
My TEFL program was thorough and practical and it gave me a month to become acquainted with Cusco, Peru. I stayed down here to find a job and was grateful to have a month of Spanish and bus routes under my belt. After being offered multiple teaching positions in the region, I chose to work at a brand-new English school. Their program is still developing and I’m one of only three teachers. The personable environment is perfect for me and I’m more than satisfied with the results of my job hunt.
I am grateful to work with predominantly private clients and a boss who is very capable and constructive. My time in Cusco will come to an end in a few months because I am returning to the states to get married. But my fiancé and I plan to escape the Minnesota tundra next winter by teaching English abroad again. One of my biggest takeaways from my TEFL training and job placement process is how much more feasible it will be to make this a reality now that we are both certified to teach English as a foreign language.
If you don’t think a certification program has anything to teach you, you’ll likely be proven wrong. But even if your training doesn’t push you intellectually, it’ll be well worth it when you’re looking for jobs. TEFL programs are a networking opportunity and a month of practical experience all in one. And when you complete your program successfully, your TEFL certificate will become your golden ticket. It is internationally recognized and the first requirement on countless English teacher job applications. If nothing else, being able to say I had the qualification made my time and money spent worthwhile.
But the material covered in my TEFL course was also unbelievably valuable. My TEFL trainer was an excellent mentor who had already seen so much of the globe. After four weeks of English grammar boot camp, I walked away not only knowing what to teach but more importantly how to teach. Practical teaching week even gave me a chance to test out the waters so my first day on the job wasn’t my first time standing at the whiteboard. I was genuinely more excited for our completion celebration called the “TEFL Toast” than I had been at my own university graduation ceremony.
I learned more in one month about teaching a language than I did while earning a Bachelor’s in Education and Foreign Languages. This isn’t to say that I didn’t appreciate the hours I spent memorizing conjugations or planning mock units in corners of libraries but my TEFL training was more directly applicable to the outside world. I knew why I was learning the content and I knew that in less than a month I’d be using it every day. And because I chose a Spanish-speaking country, not only my teaching skills but also my Spanish level has improved immensely.
So, if you’re seeking real-world experience and a job to use it in, I would strongly recommend researching TEFL programs before you start applying to teaching positions. If you surf the web for long enough, you might be able to find a school willing to take you on without training. But there’s a good chance that it won’t be with an employer you actually want to work for. Having looser expectations of their employees is probably an indication that they have a high turnover rate and a lack of options. Not a great sign from your future work community.
But without training and internationally accepted credentials you have less leverage. And this is how otherwise competent and hardworking teachers can get taken advantage of. The more qualified you are on paper the more you can ask of your school or language institute. And there is a good chance that you actually will be more qualified after completing a quality TEFL certification program.
A thorough course should cover ESL techniques in greater detail than any undergraduate Education course. You’ll be given an applicable combination of methodology, English grammar review and lesson planning practice. If you apply yourself, you’ll finish your training with more than a new line on your resume. You’ll have gained the practical skills to successfully run your own classroom.
And a good certification program will also include a practice teaching component during which you’ll be observed by your TEFL trainer. These hours of experience are as relevant as a course can get. You’ll be able to try out your new trade before you even fill out your first job application. Not only will your job prospects be better but your potential to perform well as a first-time English teacher will also be much higher with a little in-classroom experience. So, find a training program that’s the right fit for you and let it lead you to what’s next!