Teach English As A Foreign Language Without Spending Years Your Life In School

What if you want to teach English as a foreign language, but you don’t want to go to Graduate school and spend time and money on a TEFL program? Maybe you’d like to test the waters before you dive in, and see if teaching is for you, before you make a major investment.

There was a time when you could travel the world and get paid well to be an English teacher just by being a native speaker of English. Just because you were born in the US, Australia or another English speaking country, and you are a fluent English speaker, you could get all kinds of high paying jobs teaching English overseas.

Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as it used to be. First off, there is more and more competition for those jobs, especially the ones that pay well. Plus, certain destinations draw more applicants than others. Want to teach in France? So does everybody else! If you have no qualifications or experience, you may find yourself having to lower your standards a little.

For the most part, English schools require their teachers to have a Bachelors Degree in something or other. This is pretty standard. There are some countries, such as Mexico or Brazil, where you can get a teaching job without a college degree, but your choices would be pretty limited. Most countries have visa regulations requiring that you have a 4-year college degree.

While this is the bare minimum, it helps to have experience or qualifications. To get a good job teaching, a postgraduate degree is not necessary unless you are going for a university job.

So, with a 4-year degree and a little elbow grease, you can still make yourself an attractive candidate for teaching jobs. Here are a few things you can do;

- Get some experience. Wherever you live, there are opportunities to volunteer to teach English. Places like your local library or community center may offer English lessons, and they are always looking for somebody to teach. You may be turned off by the idea of volunteering, but if you play your cards right, you might be able to find something that pays as well. A little teaching experience goes a long way, and it will look great on your resume.

- Get a TESOL certificate. There are all kinds of inexpensive, short-term TESOL certification programs. You can get a certificate in as little as one month, and you can do it online. Even a short-term program will give you some valuable skills and also look good to prospective employers. Just make sure that the program you choose is legitimate and offers a real certificate. Do a little research and make sure they’re reputable.

- Take what you can get and job hunt when you get there. You can always get the first job that comes along, and keep job hunting once you get over there. A big company will often offer housing and visa sponsorship. You can always work for a while, get used to living there, gain some valuable experience, and keep your eyes peeled for something better. Many small schools don’t hire outside of the countries, so you have much more opportunity if you are already there. A little teaching experience will put you way ahead of the newbies.

Of course it helps to have a postgraduate degree and lots of teaching experience, but if you’re like me and you just want to get it started ASAP, there are ways to do it. Once you have taught for a while, you can always head back to school for another degree and give your teaching career a boost.