Have you ever thought of teaching English to students in a foreign country? There is more to it than you might think. You can’t just hop on a plane to some foreign spot in the world, find a job and start teaching. Most international places want certified and competent English teachers for their people. Luckily, there is a way you can obtain the necessary skills and certification through a class that has been certified by a TEFL accrediting organisation to travel and enjoy the beauties and wonders of another country while helping those who would like to learn English.
There are various organisations available to help you reach your goal. You can attend classes with a live teacher, or you can choose to take a course online. Some also have a mixture of both, so you can decide what will fit best into your schedule.
Next, you will want to make sure that the TEFL accrediting organisation that provides the certification of the course sets a level of excellence for all course providers. Check to see that courses are taught by experienced and professional instructors with 3 or more years of practical experience in teaching English as a second language. Do the organisations expect the courses to be updated if they have been taught for a long period of time in order to adhere to current standards?
You will then need to find out how much of a commitment your course is expected to make to complete the certification training. Some offer just a membership, while others have gone through a thorough accreditation procedure. Chose carefully! You’ve heard the old adage of you get what you pay for. This may be very true in this case, as fully accredited courses may cost more but will provide more benefits.
Consider also the time you will need to invest in the training. The international standard for accreditation for certification is 120 hours of academic study. The standard course is 4 weeks long, or 20 school days. A part-time class will take about 2 to 3 months. Alternatively you can take an open and distance learning course (with some on-line study), but make sure the qualification includes at least 20 hours of face-to-face classroom time. This will enable you to teach in 150 or more different countries.
When you are done with your training and ready to go out into the world as a professional English teacher, you are going to want a certificate from a TEFL accrediting organisation that will continually provide you with job placement services. If this was one of the strong points of the course you chose, you will be guaranteed many years of a profitable and fulfilling career.