Volunteer Esl Teacher

Teaching English in a voluntary role is a very popular choice with TESOL course graduates. There are a wide variety of different options available, located across many countries worldwide. Below we take a closer look at some of the main questions you might have about volunteer teaching, in order to help you decide where the best places to teach English as a volunteer might be. There are plenty of great reasons to volunteer as an ESL teacher and everyone who does it has their own motivations. Some of the most common reasons include: The bottom line is that volunteer teaching programs are available on almost every continent and within dozens of individual countries. As there are too many different options to mention, the best advice is to do an online search of the countries that...  [Read more]

If you have a TESOL qualification and have been working as an ESL teacher for a considerable time, you might be ready to change direction. There are several options available to experienced teachers and one of them is to become a TESOL course trainer. TESOL trainers are responsible for ensuring that the next generation of ESL teachers are fully prepared for everything that the classroom has in store and it can be a very rewarding career. The pay can often be good and it can also be a route into management or even starting up your own language school. But what do you need in order to become a TESOL trainer? The most important qualification required is to complete a TESOL certification course. This will ensure you have a good insight into the training involved and all the skills and...  [Read more]

Volunteer English teaching has long been an important part of the TESOL world. There are a huge number of programs available, largely in developing countries where access to affordable ESL lessons is not common for the average person. In many of these countries the ability to speak English well can be a huge boost when it comes to getting a better job that offers the chance to improve the lives of entire families. However, while in-person volunteering is still as popular as ever, volunteer teaching via online platforms has really started to take off in a big way. People choose to volunteer for many different and often personal reasons. For some it is simply about helping others in need, while for others it is a great way to get some teaching experience before applying for more...  [Read more]

The simple answer to this question is YES, it is now common for TESOL qualified teachers to work exclusively online while traveling from place to place or while spending an extended time in one location. Internet download speeds continue to increase in most countries around the world, including many that you might think are off limits. There are also plenty of different employers targeting the online teaching market, with more starting up on a regular basis. With countless potential employers and no shortage of possible destinations, there has never been a better time to leave your stale nine to five behind. However, which countries offer the best visas for a long-term stay. Visa length: Up to 60 days Bali has long been a popular tourist hotspot and a stop on the backpacker trail,...  [Read more]

When it comes to teaching English overseas it is typical for schools to look for a commitment of 10 to 12 months from their potential teachers. However, if you only want a short-term position that fits into your summer break, there are certainly opportunities that might work for you. In some cases you will find schools or language centers that are happy to hire teachers on a short-term contract, but in reality most teachers looking for a short deal are better off looking at English summer camps or volunteer positions. During the summer months English language camps pop up in a number of different countries throughout Asia, Europe and Latin America. Working in one of these camps typically involves around one to two months of teaching students that could be aged anywhere from...  [Read more]

To begin a journey in teaching English overseas, what is primarily needed is an eagerness to delve into unfamiliar terrains and a valid teaching certification. The TESOL certificate stands out as the universally acknowledged qualification in this field. These courses often have few entry requirements, ensuring they are open to a broad spectrum of people from all different backgrounds. A foundational prerequisite for enrolling in a TESOL certification course is a proficient command of the English language. This standard holds true for both native and non-native English speakers. If you demonstrate a thorough comprehension of English in its written and spoken forms, you are well-positioned. The global demand for English language teachers is considerable, often exceeding the supply of...  [Read more]

As it is traditionally one of the most stable and wealthy countries in the Latin American region, Chile has long been a popular location for teaching English abroad. One convenient way you can do this is to join the English Opens Doors Program (EODP) that recruits volunteer teachers to work in schools across the country. Through this scheme you will work as a teaching assistant in classes with students ranging from 10 to 18 years old. The highly respected EODP is sponsored by the Chilean Ministry of Education and the United Nations Development Program. It is open to native or near-native English speakers aged from 21 and 35 (exceptions are sometimes made for those outside this bracket). All applicants need a bachelor's degree and funds to pay for their own transportation to and from...  [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]

  There are some other classroom management issues that we need to consider and they may include issues such as writing on the board, giving students individual attention, the use of teacher talk time, the way in which we should give instructions to our students, the building and maintaining of rapport with our students, and finally the one that perhaps most new teachers particularly spend a lot of time worrying and thinking about, is the issue of classroom discipline. So what we'd like to do is to take each of these in turn and look at some of the major issues surrounding these classroom management issues. 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]

There is a very strong market for TESOL qualified teachers right across Europe and there is never a shortage of people looking to fill any vacant positions that come up. Many people from all over the world like the idea of heading to the UK to work as an ESL teacher, however, there are several things to consider before you book your plane ticket to London. The UK is known to have relatively high levels of immigration and a significant refugee population, which in itself creates plenty of work for English language teachers. In many parts of the country teachers are employed to help newcomers get their language proficiency up to a level that is necessary to get by on a day to day basis. However, the vast majority of these positions are snapped up by local teachers, either newly...  [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]

Yes, a level 5 TESOL should be more than enough to get your teaching adventure underway as courses at this level far exceed the minimum qualification standards expected by most international employers. However, navigating the different levels of TESOL certification can be a bit tricky, which is why we take a closer look at this area of ESL teaching in more detail below. The first thing to make clear when it comes to the different levels of TESOL is that there is not a single system that is used throughout the ESL teaching world. Individual countries, regions, teaching organizations, and TESOL course providers are all free to introduce their own system and many have. Despite there being multiple course level frameworks out there, most are based on the same factors: the type of...  [Read more]

This is one of the easiest to answer of all the many questions we get asked by our potential trainees. The straightforward answer is that in most regions the demand for TESOL qualified teachers is very high year-round and in some areas it is even possible to pick from a range of options as the number of vacant positions outweighs the number of available teachers. While for many of our TESOL trainees the aim is to live and work as a teacher overseas, there are also those who intend on staying at home. There are plenty of options for teachers in countries such as Australia, Canada, the UK, and the USA, as increasing levels of immigration have led to a huge growth in demand for English language instruction. Although opportunities do exist in these countries, newly qualified teachers...  [Read more]

TEFL Lemon began in 2014 as an ESL blog on the WeChat platform in China, quickly becoming the biggest ESL blog on WeChat. TEFL Lemon provided English teachers with ELT articles to read and share, as well as free ESL lesson ideas, ESL games and fun speaking activities which TEFL teachers could use in their classes. English teachers in China could also download free ESL flashcards on a variety of themes. Following their success on the WeChat platform, in 2018, TEFL Lemon decided to build their own website to offer their ESL Flashcard Games for Kids, ESL Warmers, ESL games and speaking activities for teens and adults for free to TEFL teachers around the world. You can visit their website here. Not only do TEFL Lemon offer teachers brilliant ESL games and teaching ideas, but they also have...  [Read more]

With increased globalization has come an increase in demand for knowledge of the English language in many parts of the world. To meet this demand, teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL) is a sector of the education field that is booming, especially in the developing world. Essentially, an ESL teacher is a professional educator who works with non-native English speakers who have a desire to improve their English skills either by choice or as an obligation of their employment or wider educational program. Unlike foreign language teachers, ESL teachers generally do not share the same native language as their students. They are also specifically trained in techniques suited to teaching non-native English speakers, such as repetition, drills, demonstrations, and visuals. Although...  [Read more]

There is no doubt that online English language teaching is one area of TESOL that has grown enormously in recent years. New platforms for providing online teaching services continue to appear, offering a wide variety of services to students in countries worldwide. Some specialize in 1 to 1 lessons or speaking and pronunciation, while others focus on specific areas such as business English. Current opportunities within the world of online English teaching are vast and varied, and the future seems to offer unlimited potential. Thanks to this rapid growth, the demand for online English teachers is very high and will only increase in the coming years. One of the main benefits of teaching English online is you can be based anywhere in the world. It is not necessary to fly overseas or...  [Read more]

As the USA is such a big country with a relatively large and steady flow of immigrants, there are always plenty of opportunities available for TESOL qualified teachers. As well as permanent immigrants from all over the world, you will also find there are a huge number of potential students among the country’s millions of migrant workers and the large number of international students who flock to the US to study at colleges and universities countrywide. Business professionals who move to the United States on assignment is another area that is full of possibilities for ESL teachers. Most official English language teaching jobs in the US will require a university degree. Jobs advertised in state and public school districts typically also require a state teaching license or...  [Read more]

Every teacher makes mistakes in the classroom, particularly at the start of their career. As we learn to identify these mistakes we actually become better at our job, unless we fail to recognize these mistakes at all of course. Here we look at some of the most common errors made by new teachers and how to avoid them as we gain experience. Talking too much during lessons is probably the most common mistake made by inexperienced ESL teachers. The bottom line is that ESL students need to take every opportunity possible to speak the language as this is how they make real progress. However, if the teacher dominates the conversation any progress will be cut considerably. Only say what you need to keep the lesson moving forward and avoid chat that is not connected to the point of the...  [Read more]

Due to the ever-increasing numbers of people learning English throughout the world there is now a global shortage of ESL qualified teachers. This is true in most parts of the world, including in the US where sustained levels of high immigration have caused a shortage of trained and experienced ESL teachers. This shortage is particularly acute in states with especially high levels of immigrants and refugees. One report by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) suggests that around one-third of all schools in the US offering bilingual or ESL teaching have trouble filling their vacant positions. The overall demand for TESOL qualified teachers is only likely to increase in the coming years, which is great news for teachers but not so great for schools. There is a shortage...  [Read more]

If we look back on our own school days, most of us will remember some of our teachers more than others. In some cases this will be because they were terrible at their job and didn’t provide the environment we needed to reach our full potential. The worst traits are often things such as failing to listen to students, lacking enthusiasm, and being overly strict. However, most of us will also have good memories of one or more teachers who actually had a positive impact on our school experience. There are a wide variety of reasons why these particular teachers stand out. If you are already teaching or plan to teach in the future, there are several things you can focus on that when added together make up a memorable teacher. If you can manage to add all of these to your everyday...  [Read more]