To TEFL or not to TEFL? A quick summary for the international teacher

As an international IB PYP teacher, I am often asked if I am TEFL certified and what benefits this certification may offer a qualified teacher.

The short answer is yes. I got my TEFL certificate three years into my career. I have since taken several courses that assist with teaching English as  foreign language. But before I go into the reasons why I chose to become TEFL certified,  let me give you a wee bit of background.

What is TEFL?

TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language. It refers to a course that you can take, either online or in-person to learn how to teach English to non-English speaking students/children who speak English as their second or even third language.

Within 2 years of graduating from university in Scotland, I applied for my first position as an international teacher. I was winging my way to Abu Dhabi with only 2 years of teaching experience under my belt and a whole lot of excitement; new culture, sunshine,  international students, travel and a step into the international teaching career that I had planned.

However, once the honeymoon phase of sunshine and new culture wore off, my reality was that I had 14 children, with 6 different languages, 9 of whom had  varying abilities with English and their young, inexperienced teacher (moi) didn’t have a clue how best to approach their needs. Teaching degree or not, I was NOT prepared for teaching English to children who did not speak English. This was where TEFL stepped in.   (This post contains affiliate links.)

Did TEFL help with my career?

My first year teaching in a foreign country was, to be frank, not my best year ever. It wasn’t that the school was a problem. Not at all. The problem was that I wasnt equipped to do the best job possible for these children. Tears of frustration from my students AND myself were not uncommon. And so, once back home in Edinburgh for the summer, I enrolled myself into a TEFL course and spent six weeks of rigorous learning in preparation for my return to Abu Dhabi and the new school year.

Nowadays you can take a TEFL course  from the comfort of your own home, wherever you are in the world. Quality online courses abound.

Now, keep in mind that this was before internet. ( Yes, I am THAT old!) Those classes consisted of bussing into the city five days a week for 6 hours a day, for six whole weeks.

Old school or not,  I learned a whole lot:

• Introducing non-English speakers to the English language
• Understanding how we learn language.
• The basic complexities behind multilingualism
• Practical classroom strategies for teaching English as a foreign language
• Assessing English as a foreign language
• Integrating English as a foreign language.

                            

Armed with my new found knowledge, I headed back for my second year as a teacher of international students.

Do you need TEFL to teach internationally?

Many schools will hire you without a TEFL certificate if you are a native English speaker. However, keep in mind that in most cases you are probably going to be hired as a full-time teacher, teaching wholly in English with all of the responsibility that the position demands – planning differentiated learning experiences, teaching academic language, assessment and generally doing your utmost to provide the children with the best education possible.

Teaching English well to non-native speakers is not an easy job and going into it without any sort of training is doing a disservice to your students.

A TEFL certificate wasn’t required in my first overseas school but  it helped me to improve my practice working with ESL children and, in subsequent job interviews, it helped that I had this additional qualification on my C.V. So, to answer frankly, TEFL is not required by all schools but it can only help. If you are better equipped to teach English as a foreign language, it could put you ahead of the competition and bring your best game to your students.

Looking for more information?

Premier TEFL is a company based out of Ireland. I find that their website offers so much great information and even a quick quiz to help you to decide if TEFL certification and international teaching would be right for you, right now.

You can visit their website below and take a look for yourself.

If you’re interested in getting started with a TEFL course through Premier TEFL, they are offering a discount to readers through this link.   

. Let me know if you do decide to jump into your TEFL certification OR if you’ve already taken a course, please share how it has benefitted your teaching.  I’d love to follow up this article with comments and insight from others out there in the field. There are so many of us looking for that international adventure. Happy trails!