How to become an EFL teacher

Описание: The most reliable independent advice on the best qualification to get to teach English. I’ve been in English Language Teaching since 1987, and my focus for the last fifteen years has been on teacher training and teacher recruitment. A lot of people waste money on TEFL courses so this video answers the questions:
Could I be an EFL teacher? and
What’s the best way to become an EFL teacher?

Anyone can be an EFL teacher, providing they’re an educated native speaker or have ‘native-speaker competence’. Subject knowledge and teaching skills can be learnt, so not knowing much about grammar rules initially is not a barrier.

To be a good teacher you need to be able to inspire your students to learn. This requires an enthusiasm for your subject, a lively and outgoing personality, a natural talent for explaining things and a good deal of patience.

There are a range of TEFL courses out there all offering different qualifications at different prices.
The two main ELT qualifications with worldwide recognition offered in the UK are the CELTA – that’s Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults awarded by UCLES, and the Cert. TESOL - Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages awarded by Trinity College London. These have, are usually done intensively over four or five weeks and always include observed teaching practice with real students. The cost of these courses is usually around twelve hundred pounds. Cheaper online or weekend courses don’t meet the British Council’s criteria: the British Council says that to be considered as a valid certificate in ELT or TESOL the qualification must:
1) be externally validated by a reputable examining body
2) contain at least six hours’ supervised teaching practice
3) contain at least 100 hours of ELT input.

Which part of the world do you want to teach in?
Most TEFL work is abroad, but there is work in the UK in the summer. Outside the UK the general rule is: the more developed the country, the stricter the laws concerning the employment of EFL teachers. In practice this means that teachers without recognised qualifications and with little or no experience can find work in places like South America, the Far East, Eastern Europe and Africa.

How long do you plan to do it for?
If you’re planning to spend two or more years teaching abroad it might be better to do a CELTA or Cert. TESOL course because either of those qualifications will give you more flexibility and will give you an edge when looking for a job. You need to look at the money you spend on an accredited qualification as an investment which will pay you back over time.

So to sum up, these are your choices:
1) A CELTA or Cert. TESOL course, costing about £1200, plus accommodation and travel
2) An online course costing anything from £99 to £360, or
3) A weekend course costing anything from £145 to £200 plus accommodation and travel