Do I Need Tefl To Teach English Online

You are prepared to start teaching ESL online, but is a TESOL certification necessary to get a successful online teaching job? In general, a TESOL certificate is required if you want to earn good money teaching online. Even if it might not be necessary for all online teaching platforms, having TESOL certification will increase your salary and attract more students. The confidence and skills required to teach someone a foreign language, which is no easy task, come from completing a TESOL course. We will go over a few other prerequisites for teaching English online, other than a TESOL certificate. To teach English online, you will often need to fulfill the following requirements: Even without a university degree, there are various platforms where you can work as an English instructor....  [Read more]

Whether you need a TESOL certificate to teach English online will depend on the platform you choose to work for. Some online teaching employers expect their recruits to be TESOL certified and will reject unqualified teachers under the assumption that they lack the necessary skills and knowledge. There are a few employers out there who will take on teachers without any qualifications or you can choose to set up your own online teaching business which also doesn’t require any certification. However, in reality, the majority of students looking for online English lessons typically prefer a teacher who has some relevant qualifications. The worldwide demand for online education programs has gone through the roof in recent years and it is only set to get stronger. As a consequence,...  [Read more]

Spain attracts a large number of ESL teachers from all over the world due to the culture and healthy job market. The type of visa you require varies depending on your nationality, so we recommend that you check with the Spanish embassy website before making any plans to ensure you have the most up-to-date information. Spain is a long-standing member of the European Union so anyone with an EU passport can live and work freely in the country without a visa. However, EU citizens still need to apply for a residency permit and a tax number as soon as they arrive. The application process for this is generally very straightforward and your employer will normally help you with it. The most common route for non-EU citizens is to enter Spain on a 90-day tourist visa that is issued on arrival...  [Read more]

Costa Rica has much to offer those who choose to teach ESL in this part of Central America. A tropical climate, picturesque beaches, exotic wildlife and pristine rainforest are just some of its many attractions. But what visa do you need to live and work in the country? Unlike many other popular teaching destinations, it is technically legal for foreign teachers to work in Costa Rica on a standard tourist visa. Most nationalities, including Americans, Canadians and Western European citizens, are given a 90 day visa on arrival at the airport. Once the visa expires you can simply cross into a neighboring country and then get a new one on your way back into the country. When you first arrive in Costa Rica you are not legally allowed to work until you have registered for a tax number...  [Read more]

Online English teaching is a very popular way to earn a living, either full time from home, or part time while traveling the world. The qualifications for becoming an ESL teacher online vary from one platform to the next, but will often include things like a TESOL certification, a university degree, prior teaching experience, and certain technical equipment. Continue reading to learn everything you need to know to land the ideal online teaching job! To become an online English teacher you will typically need a 120-hour TESOL certification from an internationally recognized and accredited institution. If you want potential employers to take your qualifications seriously and consider you for an online teaching position, you must ensure that your certificate comes from a reputable...  [Read more]

  Our online TESOL courses offer many different features and one of the most popular with our trainees is their high level of flexibility. There are no set times when you have to be online and no fixed timetables for any part of our online courses, which allows you to fit your studies around your own personal responsibilities and lifestyle. You are free to decide for yourself when to study and how much you want to do at any one time. This freedom means you can take one of our online TESOL courses and still carry on with your existing commitments, such as work, family, or study. As there are no timetables to stick to, you can log in to your study dashboard whenever you have a bit of free time and do as much as you can with the time you have. The only real restriction we have with our...  [Read more]

For many teachers teaching English online is an appealing career path due to the convenience of working from home or while on the move. It is your responsibility as an online ESL teacher to teach students whose first language is not English. The four skills of listening, reading, writing, and speaking in English are all part of the job. Teaching English in person is very different from teaching ESL online from home. Forget about using heavy textbooks and photocopying tedious worksheets! Teaching English online is awesome because there are so many cool resources available, such as YouTube videos, blogs, and online ESL language apps and games. However, you may encounter some difficulties when attempting to teach English online. For instance, when you teach a student in person you can...  [Read more]

teaching English online is a rapidly expanding area of the TEFL/TESOL market. Estimates show that beyond 2020 there may be more people learning English Online worldwide than face-to-face. No previous experience or training in education is required to complete this course. The course is designed for anyone who is currently working, or intends to work within the field of teaching English online. On completion of the course, you should have gained a basic knowledge of teachers and their roles, students and their needs, how to manage a classroom and the all-important skill of creating your own lessons, all with specific reference to teaching English online. Further topics of study include the practical requirements of hardware and software needed and how to use this. The course concludes with...  [Read more]

Across the world there are millions of people working as teachers in a wide variety of environments, all of which require certain knowledge, skills, and personal qualities to be successful. This is certainly the case when it comes to teaching English to non-native speakers. Many teachers fail to provide the high level of instruction that their students deserve for a wide range of different reasons, such as not listening to feedback, being overly strict, or simply not having the enthusiasm required. But what are the qualities that are most important for an ESL teacher if we want to produce the best results for all our students? Communication is certainly key in any teaching environment, but when teaching a foreign language it is even more crucial as the teacher often doesn’t speak...  [Read more]

Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) provides a great opportunity for English speakers to earn a good living in almost any country worldwide. However, in order to be eligible for most good-quality jobs you will need to have a TESOL certification on your CV/resume. A TESOL course will give you all the necessary skills and knowledge required to get started in the field of ESL teaching. The only qualification you will need to sign up for a TESOL course with ITTT is to be a native or fluent English speaker who is over 18 and keen to learn what it takes to stand in front of a class of students and achieve results. If you want to become TESOL certified it is best to take a course of at least 100 hours of study, as this is the level of training that most international employers are...  [Read more]

Due to the ever growing popularity of English language learning, the number of TESOL certification providers is also increasing. Considering the fact that there is not much in the way of regulation in the TESOL industry, prospective applicants should be cautious when choosing one. Luckily, there are certain steps you can take in order to check the validity of a program you are interested in. In a nutshell, what you should look at in the first place is the course provider’s accreditation by an independent body. If a TESOL course is accredited by a third party institution, it means their academic standards have been thoroughly checked and recognized. When considering a specific TESOL course, try to carry out some proper research of the provider’s credibility. Start with their own...  [Read more]

When it comes to choosing the best online TESOL certification course you need to consider all the main options, what you want the qualification for, and what you hope to achieve with it once certified. First we will look at all the main online course options. The different types of online courses are easily separated by the average number of hours they require to complete them. Weekend courses: These are often marketed as “taster courses” and are done mainly at weekends to give those who are already employed a chance to see what TESOL is about. Due to time constraints (they usually last about 10 hours in total) there is limited material covered in terms of teaching and learning, but they can be useful to help you decide if doing a full course would be worthwhile for you. Short...  [Read more]

If you have started researching the requirements for teaching English abroad or online you will already know that a TESOL certification is expected by the vast majority of employers who offer comfortable working conditions and a good salary. Your research is also likely to have highlighted the fact that there are many different course providers out there offering a dazzling array of different TESOL course options. So how do you navigate your way towards the right course option to suit your personal circumstances, study style, and future teaching plans? When choosing a TESOL course a good place to start is to decide what style of study will suit you best. If you have existing commitments that you cannot avoid, such as work, other study, or family responsibilities, then an online...  [Read more]

The list of potential teaching destinations for 2022/23 is long and exciting, with something to suit all preferences. The most important factor when choosing where to teach will vary from one person to the next as we all have different priorities. The most important factor for some is the salary on offer, while others are drawn by cultural attractions or even nightlife. We should also acknowledge the ever increasing popularity of teaching English online that has become even more prominent since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. All of the possible options have pros and cons, so take a minute to read through this brief guide to the most common TESOL destinations. The simple answer to this common question is Asia. The Asian continent is vast in size and diversity and it is also home...  [Read more]

If you don’t like the idea of being tied to an online English teaching platform and would prefer to set your own schedule, it is possible to start up your own online teaching business from scratch. Although this is theoretically possible for anyone regardless of their background, in practice you will probably require some amount of previous teaching experience in order to get it off the ground. This is the approach that our former TESOL trainee Bri took and she has shared her story and a range of essential tips via the ITTT blog page. How To Start Your Own ESL Teaching Service  [Read more]

Teaching English online generally requires all the same skills and knowledge as in-class teaching, although you will also need to be confident with the technology involved. Some online teaching platforms operate their lessons via their own software, while others operate using general communication programs such as Google Classroom or Zoom. If you choose to go down the online teaching route you will find that there are just as many different potential scenarios as there are in traditional classroom teaching. You might find yourself teaching only kindergarten children or only adults, or any other mix in between. Your lessons might be strictly one-to-one or you might have groups of various sizes. Specialized courses such as business English are also a common option. As online teaching...  [Read more]

  Strictly speaking the answer is no, you do not have to possess a TEFL certificate in order to find work as an English language teacher. In some countries around the world it is still possible to secure employment simply by being a native English speaker. However, there are several reasons why we would strongly recommend that you complete a TEFL training course before you set off to teach English abroad. In recent years many popular destinations for EFL teachers have begun to tighten the requirements necessary for teaching English in schools and language centers. A recognized TEFL certificate is now required in order to secure a work permit in many countries, whilst the ever growing number of teachers with a TEFL qualification means that employers in the majority of countries...  [Read more]

The world of English language teaching is very fond of acronyms and TESOL is one of the most common. TESOL stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and is used when referring to the act of teaching, as well as the qualification required by teachers wishing to do the teaching. Below are a range of other popular teaching acronyms and their definitions. ESL: English as a Second Language ESL may have had its beginning with the rise of the British Empire in the 15th Century. As more countries were being colonized by Britain the use of English was taught to the native speaking leaders of the country, so they could continue to carry out Britain’s rule after the British left the country. ESOL: English to Speakers of Other Languages. There are two sides to this: the...  [Read more]

As TESOL courses come in a range of different shapes and sizes, the answer to this common question will vary depending on the one you choose. In order to meet the needs of all our trainees, ITTT has developed a set of unique courses that should cover every situation. As you will see below, each individual TESOL course has its own contents of study and its own overall timescale. If you are looking for the quickest turnaround when it comes to your TESOL certification, a short-format, introductory online course might be the way to go. At ITTT we have a 60-hour TESOL course that provides our fastest and most convenient route towards TESOL certification, although this option does come with caveats. Around the world many employers will expect their job applicants to have completed a...  [Read more]

If you have had enough of the usual day-to-day work schedule and are keen to see as much of the world as possible, then maybe you should think about teaching English online. This form of ESL teaching allows you to teach from anywhere with a good internet connection, which means you have no obligation to stay in one place for more than the time it takes to teach your lessons for that day. It will also give you a decent income which you can use to fund your transport, accommodation, and other expenses involved when traveling. This is not that easy to answer as every online teaching platform has its own set of criteria that teachers have to meet. Some companies will require one or more of the following, while some require none of them: If you don’t have a degree, don’t panic, as...  [Read more]