TESOL certification is a way for adventurous people to travel and get paid while doing so. You will experience other cultures as a participant rather than a tourist. Although it is possible to teach English overseas without being certified, TESOL certification provides an opportunity for better jobs and better interviews. TESOL is also somewhat confusingly the name of a professional association for English Language teachers who Teach English to Speakers of Other Languages.
Millions of people in almost every country in the world: adults, teens, and even young children spend hours each week learning English. They may attend classes in private language schools, elementary schools, high schools, universities, or at the workplace. To meet the demands of these students, hundreds of thousands of English language teachers are needed in the large cities of both developed and developing countries. There are probably more openings than people to fill them. Most contracts are for 6 – 12 months and usually require a BA degree from college and preferably a certificate from a TESOL school. Schools which provide TESOL certification also provide help in interviewing and obtaining contracts. In addition there are agencies which assist would be teachers to get jobs and the proper paperwork associated with the jobs. There are jobs available at language schools, private schools, private tutoring, universities and corporations. The students can be children, high school or university enrollees, or corporate professionals.
It’s important to be fully prepared before you are deployed overseas in a TESOL job. Check out these ebooks which will help to prepare you for your upcoming TESOL job:
There are good reasons to obtain TESOL certification and teach overseas:
1. The job market in the United States is challenging. The job market teaching English overseas is much less difficult providing you have a college degree and a TESOL certificate.
2. Travel is exiting and broadening. There is adventure in learning a new culture, meeting new people and seeing new things.
4. It can be an opportunity to save money as many employers provide health insurance and a housing allowance, and the U.S. allows almost $90,000 per year of income tax exclusion . There are of course income taxes in other countries, however many times a school has means to assist its employees in reducing their taxes.
5. Some employers will pay for airfare to and from your country of choice.
6. You do not need to speak the language, although it is an advantage to be able to navigate the culture.
Many American and British English teachers abroad have no specific training in education, although most of them have a BA or BS degree of some type in an unrelated field. Many have not finished a 4 year degree but have their TESOL certification. Although native teachers are available and they are proficient in reading, writing and grammar skills, most do not have good English verbal skills. It is very difficult for native teachers to teach speaking and listening skills as they do not posses those skills themselves. For example, a language teacher in Thailand may never have lived in America or Britain and their speaking skills are less desired by employers; compound this with a teacher’s reluctance to teach speaking skills when they are not confident in their own ability. You have been speaking English your entire life, know the idioms, and are confident in your English speaking. You are considered a fluent English speaker; hence you have a skill that is in high demand world wide. You will need to learn the skill of teaching without knowing the language, however, and this is where TESOL certification becomes important.
The pay varies based on qualifications but is at least enough to handle living expenses and sometimes a little more, especially in Mid-East and Asian countries. It is possible to earn extra money with private tutoring in addition to contracted work. Most jobs do not pay for travel, however some jobs in Asia and the Middle East do. TESOL certification is enough qualification to acquire an adequate salary for living expenses and some travel. It can provide enough for saving in many instances.
This video emphasizes the need to research the subject thoroughly before committing to a job:
This web site will begin your research and help you obtain information about the many ways to get TESOL certification, leads as to how to get jobs, what they may be like and the requirements to obtain them.