Tefl Without Degree

This is one of the most common questions asked by our TESOL course trainees and the answer is quite simple. Yes, you can teach ESL without a bachelor’s degree. Anyone who is TESOL qualified will have a wide array of destinations to choose from all over the world, regardless of their previous educational record. If you have a degree in any subject you will certainly have a few more options, but non-degree holders are in no way excluded from ESL teaching in many parts of the world. In recent years some countries have made it compulsory for foreign teachers to have a degree if they want to obtain a work visa that allows them to work legally as an ESL teacher. This is most noticeable in Asia where some of the biggest markets for teachers such as China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan...  [Read more]

Spain is popular with foreign ESL teachers for many reasons including the consistently booming job market, the easy going culture, the warm climate, and the great food. Jobs can be found all year-round in many areas, but are you eligible to work there legally? The simple answer is no, you do not require a degree in order to legally teach English in Spain. There are no government requirements for teachers to have any kind of academic background and the demand is so high in many areas that employers are equally unconcerned about your degree status. Generally speaking, schools in Spain prefer native English speakers in their classrooms as this is what most local students are looking for. However, they will not simply hire you on that basis without having completed some form of teacher...  [Read more]

With a population of 1.4 billion people spread throughout a huge geographic area, China always has a vast amount of opportunities for foreign ESL teachers. However, there is one question that teachers continue to ask: The answer to this question would have been yes until quite recently. Although individual schools are still not concerned with whether their teachers have a degree or not, it is government restrictions that have made the difference. It is now an official requirement for teachers to have a degree in order to be eligible for a Z (work) visa. As every teacher needs this visa to work legally, the answer is no, you cannot teach legally in China without a degree. If you don?t qualify for a Z (work) visa, you can visit China on another type of visa such as an L (tourist) visa...  [Read more]

Although there are several countries around the world that require teachers to have a degree in order to qualify for a work permit or visa, there are still many other great destinations where employers are happy to take on teachers without one. Often the key is to be flexible about your destination and to go where the demand for your services is high. Whether you have a degree or not, completing an internationally accredited TESOL certification course before you start applying for jobs will undoubtedly help you in your job search. The vast majority of employers worldwide now expect their potential teachers to have undergone some form of formal teacher training before they set foot in the classroom. Unfortunately, the regulations have been tightened in China in recent times,...  [Read more]

The simple and straightforward answer to this question is: No, you do not need a degree to take a TESOL course or to land a teaching position abroad. While it is true that having a degree means you will have a wider choice of job options, those without one still have plenty of great options available in a wide range of countries across the world. Whatever your academic background, teaching English in your home country, overseas, or online is still a very realistic option. Whether a degree is required to teach English is usually determined by the authorities of each individual country. Some countries where ESL teaching is very popular have imposed restrictions on foreign teachers that insist they have a degree in order to qualify for an official work permit. In these situations,...  [Read more]

If you are TESOL qualified and you have a university degree you will have a huge choice of options for teaching English all over the world. For those without a degree, the options are more limited but still plentiful. Recently, some of the more popular countries for teaching English abroad have begun to demand that teachers have a degree in order to qualify for a work visa. In particular, some of the big Asian markets for teachers such as South Korea, Japan and Taiwan now require a degree to obtain the necessary paperwork to stay and work long-term. Most of the high-salary Middle East countries are also difficult to crack without a certain level of formal qualifications. Despite these examples, there are still many options open for non-degree holders if you are flexible in where you...  [Read more]

In some countries where teaching ESL is popular there is a clear path for obtaining a work visa or permit that allows you to live and work long term, while in others the process can be overly complicated, expensive or simply nonexistent. However, as the demand for teachers is so high in many countries, the need for a work visa can often be ignored by employers. The truth is that thousands of people are currently working as ESL teachers in countries worldwide without a formal work visa or work permit. In two of the most popular ESL teaching destinations in Europe, Italy and Spain, it is very common for Americans and other non-EU nationals to start work as teachers with nothing more than a tourist visa in their passport. A standard tourist visa is valid for 90 days and there is no...  [Read more]

  Through our popular partnership program it is possible for anyone to earn some extra income without having to do much at all. All you need to do in order to earn cash from ITTT is to refer people to us who might be interested in taking a TESOL certification and teaching English online or overseas. Every time one of your referrals signs up for an online TESOL course or pays a deposit on an in-class or combined course, you will earn a 30% commission on their course fee. If you like the sound of making easy money with minimal effort, why not join our partnership program today? For people who run their own website or blog, or those who regularly contribute to any other sites, we can provide special banners or embedded text that you can add to your content that will automatically send...  [Read more]

Due to an extremely high demand right across the world it is not only possible to teach English online without any previous experience, it is actually very common. As long as you have completed a good quality TESOL certification course, having no previous classroom experience is generally not a barrier to starting a new career as an online English language teacher. If you work as an online English teacher you could potentially be teaching students from countries all over the world, but luckily you do not need to be familiar with all their native languages. This is possible by using the common teaching method known as total immersion. The simple premise of this method is that English is the only language used by both the teacher and the student for the duration of the lesson. The...  [Read more]

Yes, it is entirely possible to teach English abroad without any previous teaching experience. In countries across the world there is a huge demand for English language instruction and often not enough teachers to fill the available positions. Every year, tens of thousands of teachers go abroad to work in schools and language centers and as few as 10% of these will have had any form of prior classroom experience. Regardless of the country you are working in, you will almost certainly teach your students using the method known as total immersion. This worldwide teaching method simply means that English is the only language used in the classroom, from the start to the end of each lesson. The fact is, most students are unable to move to an English speaking country in order to be...  [Read more]

In order to compare our range of TESOL courses with other qualifications we have developed our course-level framework which runs from level 3 to level 7. On this scale most employers will expect their job applicants to have completed a level 4 course as this includes at least 100 hours of course study. However, if you want to start your teaching journey further up the ladder, a level 5 course would put you in a level of certification that is above the average for TESOL qualified teachers worldwide. Unfortunately, there is no one single framework that represents the different levels of qualifications available within the world of ESL teaching. At ITTT we have developed our course-level framework using the same basic criteria as most other countries or organizations, i.e, what type of...  [Read more]

The Southeast Asia region continues to boom in terms of demand for foreign ESL teachers and Vietnam is no exception. In recent times the salaries being offered have begun to improve as schools look to attract more teachers to the country. Within just a few years, Vietnam is likely to become one of the most popular teaching destinations in the region. Official work permits for teachers in Vietnam are restricted to native English speakers who have a bachelor?s degree. It is also common for individual employers to insist on teachers having a TESOL certificate of at least 120-hours duration. Classroom experience might also be required when applying for jobs at the very top end of the pay scale, although these are small in number. Often you can bypass this requirement if you conduct a...  [Read more]

If you have done any research into teaching English in Europe it is likely that you have read something about the Schengen Area that is made up of 26 countries with a combined population of over 400 million people. Set up in 1985, the Schengen Area has essentially removed all border controls between member countries allowing the free movement of people within the whole area. Prior to this, anyone wanting to travel between any country in the area would need to go through full passport checks at every border they wanted to cross. Now TESOL teachers are free to travel at will across the Schengen Area without any restrictions. Please note that the Schengen Area should not be confused with the European Union which is a separate institution. Once you have entered any country that is a...  [Read more]

  Hannah took ITTT’s 120-hour online TEFL course without tutor support. In her TEFL review video she gives a brief overview of her experience on the course. During the course she studied classroom management, grammar, lesson planning among other topics. Although she struggled with the final project the feedback she received was good and Hannah highly recommends the course. Are you ready to live and teach abroad? Click here and get started today: https://www.teflcourse.net/?cu=YTDESCRIPTION Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that...  [Read more]

  Andra is from Indonesia and is studying for his master’s degree at a university in Malaysia. In this TEFL review, Andra tells us how he has been teaching English to primary and secondary school students for more than two years. Andra points out that students’ parents will have more confidence in their child’s teacher if he or she has a recognized teaching qualification and this is one of the reasons he decided to take the 120-hour online TEFL course with ITTT. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly...  [Read more]

  Mira is from Australia and completed the 120-hour online course without tutor support with ITTT. In this TEFL review she tells us how the flexibility offered by ITTT’s online course meant that Mira was able to complete the course at her own pace, fitting her study time around her busy work schedule. She completed the 20 units within four and a half months. Mira has learned a lot from the course including lesson planning, student assessment, vocabulary and grammar and is looking forward to putting all she has learned to use in the classroom. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching....  [Read more]

We understand how difficult it can be to sort through the various TESOL certification courses on the market. That is why we are here to explain the various TESOL course levels. The general characteristics of the frameworks are frequently linked to a variety of elements, such as the total number of study hours, the type of certification, whether or not the program includes a practical component, and the study technique used (full-time or part-time study). A level 6 TESOL course is near the pinnacle of the framework, making it one of the most advanced TESOL credentials available. An undergraduate or bachelor's degree is equivalent to a level 6 TESOL qualification. Better-paying teaching jobs, whether online or abroad, are easier to find with this level of TESOL certification. A level 6...  [Read more]

  Justine took the 120-hour online course without tutor support from ITTT. In her TESOL review video Justine tells us that overall she found the course to be very helpful, easy to understand and easy to navigate. Because she took the course without tutor support Justine made sure that she reviewed the course materials thoroughly to ensure that she understood the information presented and as such feels that she learned a great deal from the course. Justine notes that the response times to any questions she had were promptly answered and would recommend this course to anyone looking for a TESOL qualification. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units...  [Read more]

  Ruth lives in Nicaragua and took the 120-hour online TESOL without tutor support from ITTT. In this TESOL review video Ruth discusses what she enjoyed about the course. She found the course units to be simple and easy to follow and particularly liked the teaching ideas that the course provided to help her teach language concepts in more varied and interesting ways. She also benefited from the job help provided at the end of the course. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving...  [Read more]

  In this TEFL review, Boh discusses his experience on the 120-hour online TEFL course without tutor support from ITTT. He found that the course exceeded his expectations with plenty of information covering both grammatical features of the English language and strategies for dealing with different students. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next. This chapter distinguished the present tenses really wel. I believe this may be really challenging for...  [Read more]