Your Practical Guide to TEFL ,Teaching English as a Foreign Language

Thinking of teaching English as a foreign language? Here’s what you need to know. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the benefits of TEFL, the qualifications available, options for career development and frequently asked questions.

Why Choose a Career in TEFL?

The beauty of becoming an EFL teacher is that people from all ages and all backgrounds can find a suitable teaching post.

Here at the London Teacher Training College, we have trained and seen native and non native speakers of English, from 16 year old sixth formers to retired headmasters, ex-pats, lorry drivers, Oxbridge graduates, gap year students, unemployed, the list goes on and on….

It is a career literally open to anyone from anywhere of any age and background. Having a disability is often not a barrier to teaching English depending on circumstances.

You can teach in a language school, college, University ,privately, from home, online through your computer, one to one, business English, adults and children, full time, part time and seasonal, whether in the UK, your home country or virtually anywhere in the world.
When considering a career in TEFL, a few keys points immediately spring to mind.

  • Recession proof career – the demand for efl teachers is ever-expanding and is forecast to continue indefinitely
  • Full or part-time teaching
  • Freelance or employee
  • UK or anywhere in the world
  • Short or long term
  • A job or a career – you choose!
  • A second career – a new lease of life and a change in direction
  • For some, an opportunity to live and work in the country of their dreams
  • There are more jobs than teachers globally
Explore our TEFL courses

TEFL Qualifications

‘If you speak English you can teach it!’

This is obviously not accurate or logical if you think about it.

As with any area of knowledge or skill, just because a person is able does not mean they can teach it to others. How many of us have experienced a mathematics or science teacher who left us merely confused …

A good training course will equip you with not only the knowledge but also the skills and techniques to be able to stand up in front of a group of students and create the optimum learning environment.

What to look for in a suitable course

  • Endorsement by a recognised awarding body
  • Well established /good reputation
  • Hours
  • Experienced and qualified tutors
  • Ease of contact
  • Student support and after service
  • Job and careers advice
  • Training courses can be classroom based or online/distance learning or a combination of both; full or part-time.

NB: The terms TEFL and TESOL mean basically exactly the same thing; teaching English to people whose first language is not English.

Certificate in TEFL / TESOL

This is the course which most teachers take at the start of their teaching careers.

Initial TEFL/TESOL training courses are normally of at least 100 hours and are at a level 5 on the National Qualifications Framework. These are at Certificate level and are often named Certificate in TEFL or similar.

Most teachers will begin their career with this type of qualification. An accredited Certificate in TEFL/TESOL will normally be sufficient to qualify you to teach in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world.

It should cover the basics which includes the following:

  • How to teach the 4 skills
  • English grammar and how to teach it
  • How to teach pronunciation
  • Classroom management
  • Lesson Planning
  • Methodologies
  • Teaching vocabulary
  • Using course books effectively
  • Teaching young learners and teenagers
  • Teaching Pronunciation
  • Materials and aids

Higher Level Courses

Diploma in TESOL/TEFL

The Diploma in TESOL (level 6/7) is the next level up from the Certificate.

Teachers will normally take this qualification after teaching English for a year or more and now want to stay in the profession more long term, perhaps becoming a senior tutor or a director of studies. Courses at this level go into far more depth and are more academic.

Continuing professional development ( CPD)

Specialised courses are of normally shorter duration and can be of numerous subjects such as teaching young learners, business English, phonology and phonetics, vocabulary teaching etc.

TEFL Questions

Some of the questions which many aspiring teachers ask are answered here.

One of the questions we are frequently asked is what is the difference between TEFL(Teaching English as a Foreign Language) and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).

The answer is simple. TEFL and TESOL are just two acronyms or terms with the same basic meaning. They both refer to teaching English to anyone who does not have English as their first language or mother tongue. TEFL is the term used more in Europe and TESOL is the term used more in America and Asia.

Employers are aware of both terms and treat teachers with a recognised TEFL or TESOL qualification in exactly the same way.

You do not need a degree to enrol onto any of our programs and you do not need a degree to have a successful TEFL/TESOL career. However, there are a few countries where the local Ministry of Education will not grant a work permit to teachers who do not have a degree. The countries concerned are very small in number and currently include Japan and South Korea.

Please contact us if need the latest information on which countries require a degree to teach there

TEFL/TESOL is a global industry and the number of teaching posts or teaching vacancies is continuing to grow year by year. It is a 100 % recession proof industry or profession.

You can teach anywhere around the globe from the UK, to Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australasia, North, Central and South America etc-just about anywhere

Once you are qualified you can apply for any of the teaching positions listed in our jobs page.

We also have a large number of partner schools, some of which are always looking for new teachers to employ.

There are also many agencies that specialise in placing teachers in all corners of the globe.

Many employers also place advertisements on forums and on the internet
Some teachers prefer to contact employers directly by choosing a country or city where they would like to work and then using the local yellow pages or local language schools directories.

Other teachers fly out to the town or city where they would like to work and go door to door seeking a suitable post.

We have been training teachers since 1984, for more than 4 decades and our experience has always been that a qualified teacher of English does not generally encounter any difficulties in finding work

As you will be teaching totally in English you do not need to speak another language in order to be a successful teacher of English.

However, if you are working abroad it makes good sense to try to learn a little of the local language for social purposes

We have come across a few employers who prefer to employ young teachers, perhaps those under 40 years of age.

However, we have trained numerous teachers of retirement age who have gone on to find employment and to enjoy second or new careers in this field
Generally speaking there are absolutely no age limits other than 18-80

Free TEFL Course

Free TEFL Foundation Course

To give a helping hand to teachers everywhere, the London Teacher Training College is offering a FREE online self-study, Foundation Certificate in TEFL course.

Learn more & enrol