There are various routes to becoming an English language teacher.
We explore how we offer a service to help you to find the most suitable English as a foreign language teacher for your needs.
Finding the best teacher
An English teacher who is a foreign language expert will help develop the student’s verbal and written comprehension skills.
There is a global supply given that English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world.
English is widely considered to be the major language for higher education. Hence, the most famous global academic institutions, such as Oxford, Harvard, Cambridge and MIT, only consider students who can speak good English. It is also vital for admission to all the American Ivy League universities.
English as a foreign language teachers can:
- Identify elements impacting the performance of learners or students.
- Improve both written and oral communication.
- Enhance overall learning.
Qualifications of an English language teacher
There are various qualifications needed to acquire before teaching English to people who use it as a foreign language.
TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language): TEFL programs are designed for teachers/educators who plan to go overseas to teach students in a nation where the primary language is not English. The standard requirements for work in TEFL are a university degree and a teaching qualification. The person needs to have a TEFL certification in order to teach EFL in private language schools overseas or private language educational institutions in the UK. These applicants do not require any formal experience or qualifications to enrol on a TEFL course. If a person can speak English well enough, they can easily receive a TEFL certificate.
TESL (teaching English as a second language): similar to TEFL, TESL prepares educators to teach English to non-English speakers. To qualify as a TESL teacher, the individual will need at least a postgraduate degree in any discipline, a degree in language or linguistics, or a TEFL certification. Good knowledge of vocabulary and grammar is also desirable. However, there are no fixed criteria as different countries have different requirements.
To receive a TESOL certificate, the individual will need to:
- Complete TESOL training.
- Communicate in native or near-native English.
- UK bachelor’s degree, a first or upper second (2.1) classification.
- Or the equivalent for an overseas qualification.
- Minimum of two years’ full-time English teaching experience..
Finding the best TEFL teacher
Well qualified
An important aspect to look at before hiring an English teacher of a foreign language is their level of qualification. Check whether the teacher is qualified in TEFL, TESL, etc. and always ask for certification so that the genuineness of the qualification can be verified.
Qualifications criteria will also illustrate whether the teacher is ready to take responsibility for teaching English as a foreign language to non-native students.
Experienced in dealing with non-native speakers
A teacher of English as a foreign language should have experience in dealing with students. Having the proper amount of experience enables the teacher to learn how to address the student’s nerves and to know where the student needs to improve.
The experience also helps improve communication skills. Sufficient experience will allow the teacher to notice certain facets about the non-native English learner, which inexperienced teachers of EFL may not understand.
Knowing multiple languages
A sign of a good teacher of English as a foreign language is knowledge of diverse languages and cultures. This way, the student will feel confident communicating with the teacher.
Knowing different languages helps the teacher to be empathetic towards their students as they can connect linguistically. All problems that the student may face can be easily resolved once the teacher knows the language, and as such there will be no problems while the lessons are being taught.
Length of course
A non-native speaker usually has a time limit when they learn English as a foreign language as they are learning for a purpose. Hence, a good English teacher of a foreign language should have plans for teaching English within various different time-frames.
They should also be able to switch between their techniques for teaching English based on the demands of the foreign students. This way the student will be able to finish their English course on time.
