Teaching English as a Foreign Language for Dummies (10 page)

This area of the market has far less quality control than taught courses.

However, the College of Teachers is one body which accredits distance TESOL

(Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) courses as does ACTDEC, which is specifically for distance courses in TESOL. Courses accredited by these bodies offer a reasonable standard of professionalism and someone to talk to if the course or course provider falls seriously below your expectations.

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What the course covers

Most distance certificate courses run along the same lines as taught courses (see information in the preceding ‘Signing up for a certificate course’). You usually have assignments or work books to complete and get feedback from a designated tutor.

Some course providers work in collaboration with a school so that trainees can get practical experience in the classroom, at least through observing others if not through teaching lessons themselves.

How much it costs

Prices vary widely depending on what the course has to offer. However, you can expect to pay up to £400 for a course with about 100 hours tuition.

Contact TEFL Training (www.tefltraining.co.uk) for introductory weekends in the UK and mainland Europe and distance courses. This is a well-established organisation with very professional tutors.

Going for a diploma course

After you’ve been teaching English for a couple of years and have decided to make TEFL your career for some time to come, you can consider doing a diploma course. This means demonstrating deeper theoretical knowledge and more practical ability than holders of a TEFL certificate.

If you’re going to invest your time and money in a diploma course, stick to the most well-known courses for the country you live in. In the UK these are the Cambridge DELTA and Trinity DipTESOL.

What you can do with this certificate

With a diploma, you can now call yourself a fully qualified EFL teacher. You’re in a position to apply for most DoS jobs (Director of Studies) and ADoS

(Assistant to the DoS) roles too. Employers usually require officially recognised teacher trainers to have this qualification and schools accredited by more prestigious bodies such as the British Council need to have a certain ratio of diploma qualified teachers on staff, so this makes you more desirable to employers. You can legitimately ask for a pay rise once you have your ‘dip’

so that you’re set apart from the initiated teachers.

You can study a diploma intensively over about three months or by distance learning over a year or two. However, with both the Trinity diploma and the DELTA you need to sit an exam and have your teaching assessed internally by your course provider and externally by the awarding body.

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Part I: Getting Started in TEFL

Although you’re expected to have a degree before applying, if you speak to the course provider and demonstrate how competent you are, there’s a chance that the provider may accept you on the course without one. You can’t get away with a lack of experience though. So, make sure that you’ve been teaching for two years, and mostly to adult classes.

Some universities give you credit points towards a degree if you have a recognised diploma, which means that you may not have to study as many modules, and this is particularly helpful for mature students returning to full-time education.

What the course covers

This course goes into far more depth than the TEFL certificate.

You teach and you’re sometimes observed while you teach. You also observe other experienced teachers and submit coursework.

The DELTA is a modular course, which sometimes offers you more flexibility about what you study and when. The three modules you need to study are:

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Understanding language, methodology and resources leading to a three-hour written exam.

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Developing professional practice leading to course work, written assignments and a lesson that is observed by a moderator.

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Extending practice and an ELT specialism (such as teaching business English, younger learners or one to one lessons) leading to a research project.

On a Trinity diploma course, even distance learning trainees have to undertake a practical block where you teach lessons in preparation for the classroom teaching part of the exam. You’re regularly observed by a tutor who gives you detailed feedback and helps you analyse your own lessons. The exam is actually a lesson in which you teach while being observed by the Trinity moderator, so you need to prepare meticulously.

You also sit for a 30-minute interview with the moderator during which you show your understanding of pronunciation (phonology) and the theory behind what you do in the classroom.

Most course providers give you work books that follow the Trinity stipulated syllabus along with extensive reading tasks.

How much it costs

A diploma course usually costs about £1,500 for the course and exam fees.

Don’t forget to factor in accommodation and travel costs if your course
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provider is another city and you need to commute or stay over for a week of teaching practice. In addition, the reading list includes some essential books, so get yourself a library card or be ready to cough up. You can probably recoup your money within 18 months as your salary increases.

Schools often need diploma qualified teachers to meet their quotas and raise their prestige. So, before you get out your cheque book, speak to your director of studies about funding for your diploma course. You may have to sign a special contract agreeing to stay at the school for a specific period of time after you pass, but you can save yourself hundreds of pounds if your employer pays some or all the costs.

Another point to keep in mind is that the reading lists for diploma courses are rather long and expensive. Who really wants to keep all those books after the course is finished anyway? So ask the school to buy them and then they can keep them in the teachers’ room for the next diploma candidate who comes along.

Staying in for in-house training

Schools that have their own unique methodology often offer in-house training in their method. These programmes offer several advantages:

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You know that the training course exists because there’s a need for teachers. So, providing that you impress the trainers, you usually have a job waiting for you.

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The school probably has its own materials and course books so you don’t have to use too much imagination to come up with lesson plans.

It’s all done for you.

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Schools like these are also more likely to take a chance on someone who has no formal qualifications; ‘the proof of the pudding is in the eating’ as they say.

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Some of these schools are also part of an international chain so you can transfer from one place to another using internally advertised vacancies and contacts.

It’s not all good news though. Some people find schools with a strict methodology a bit stifling to their creativity. Teachers sometimes get bored and want to move away from the prescribed material, which may not be allowed.

Professional development programmes are one of the hallmarks of responsible, caring TEFL employers. So there should be opportunities to improve while on the job. Hopefully the director of studies has a budget for seminars and conferences for teachers and even if money is tight, it’s usually possible 44
Part I: Getting Started in TEFL

to set up peer observations where teachers watch each other teach and offer constructive feedback.

Ask about ongoing professional development at the initial interview if you’re applying to a larger school.

Banking on Salaries

So the question is: can you get rich in TEFL? To be honest, it’s unlikely.

However, it’s not all bad news. What TEFL jobs lack in riches, they certainly make up for in charm and interest. So this job is for people who like people, who like travelling, or at least meeting travellers, and like sharing knowledge.

Due to nature of the job, it’s pretty difficult to give you an hourly rate that translates to all the places in the world where TEFL teachers work. Let me put it like this: the average full-time job should pay enough for you to share a decent flat, eat out once a week and take the odd day trip. Now, by a full-time job I mean 25 to 35 hours a week depending on the teaching method.

Consider the amount of time you spend preparing when you’re deciding whether an hourly rate is appropriate. Some teaching methods require no preparation at all whereas others require about 20 minutes preparation per hour of teaching for an experienced teacher. Your timetable may also include teaching the same lesson to more than one class and this reduces preparation time as well.

As a measure of comparison, in central London where language schools are plentiful and range from shady visa factories to prestigious colleges, the hourly rate for teachers ranges from an appalling £8 per hour right up to around £25 per hour, depending on the job. The average is £10 to £15 per hour. Business English and one-to-one-tuition organisations often pay more but fewer teaching hours are available.

Teaching is a very full on job, so don’t be tempted to adopt the same hours as an office worker. You’re better teaching one or two private lessons a week on the side than having an extended timetable every day.

Before accepting a job, find out whether you have to pay your own local taxes and whether the salary advertised is gross or net. Ask about the location of your classes too. If you have to travel around town to teach your clients, you need to agree on travel expenses. You can also expect an employer to pay for your flight if you’re applying for a job abroad from your home country.

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By the way, you should ask about holidays and seasonal closures because in some countries the schools close for three months a year during the summer in which case you’ll need to save up or find another form of income.

Finding Work

The most common way to find a TEFL job in any country is by using www.

tefl.com. This excellent website has various search options and a facility for entering an online CV so that you can respond to jobs adverts in an instant.

TEFL.com advertises dozens of summer school jobs from March onwards.

This is a good way to get your first teaching job in EFL. Summer schools employ teachers with a range of experience and qualifications for a few weeks or even three months at a time. You may have to move away for a while but most offer subsidised accommodation.

Even if you haven’t got your teaching qualification yet, you can apply for a job as an activity leader or a similar non-teaching role. This gives you experience in being around groups of foreign language students and puts you in contact with people in the industry.

Another option is to use the contacts of your TEFL course provider.

Employers very often have close links with schools and colleges in the UK or other English speaking countries. Ask your tutor about job vacancies early on in your course and you may just get a head start on your classmates.

Two newspapers in the UK advertise TEFL positions regularly: one is
The
Times Educational Supplement
which comes out on Fridays and the other is
The Guardian
, which publishes an extensive Education section on Tuesdays.

Some larger chains of language schools have job opportunities worldwide.

Keep in mind that the academic year starts in September, so start sending these organisations your CV in the summer. Apply in March and April for summer jobs. In most cases you write to the director of studies and include a brief covering letter.

I have seen too many CVs wind up in the bin because of poor grammar and spelling. So check and double check before you send yours off because if your English is poor, you don’t stand a chance of getting a job teaching English. And try to make your CV as relevant as possible by emphasising experiences where you travelled, learned a foreign language, taught someone or managed people.

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Part I: Getting Started in TEFL

Potential employers you can try include:

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English First, known as EF advertises scores of vacancies worldwide.

Take a look at their website www.ef.com.

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Language Link has vacancies in Europe and Asia. Its website is www.languagelink.co.uk.

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Wall Street Institute International employs graduate teachers without a TEFL certificate in their schools around the world. See www.wsi.com for worldwide vacancies.

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Avalon School have a network of affiliated schools throughout Europe, Brazil, Poland, China and France, and its main branch in central London.

Email [email protected] with your CV. You must have a

degree and TEFL certificate to apply.

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VSO – short for Voluntary Service Overseas – offers placements in Africa and Asia, preferably to graduates. Salaries are modest but VSO provides accommodation and you can apply for various grants. See www.vso.

org.uk. You need to be under 68 years of age to apply.

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International House has an excellent reputation for teaching worldwide and operates in about 30 countries. Contact [email protected] for vacancies if you have a recognised TEFL certificate.

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Bell International operates in 18 countries. It advertises vacancies on its website at www.bell-worldwide.com.