Which Tefl Courses Are Accredited

Within the world of ESL teaching there is little in the way of common regulation so course providers are free to offer whatever courses they wish. For the trainee, this can make it difficult to know which courses are the best and which are best left alone. On the positive side, there is something you can do to check the overall quality of the course and its contents. If the course you are interested in has been accredited by an independent body then it is fair to assume that it will be of reasonable quality. Put simply, an accrediting body is an independent third party who reviews the standards of a course provider and gives them their accreditation if they are satisfied with the results of that review. By visiting a course providers website it should be easy to find any...  [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]

Due to the ever-increasing popularity of English as a second language, there are dozens of great options when it comes to picking a destination for teaching abroad. There are popular destinations on every continent (maybe not Antartica), where jobs are widespread and the quality of life you can expect as a teacher is above the local average. However, there are some places that are easier to get set up in than others. We have looked at a wide range of criteria such as job availability, the visa process, average income compared to average outgoings, how welcome you will feel on arrival, and even the local cuisine, to come up with the following list of great destinations for teaching English abroad. To provide a range of options we have limited it to one country per region. There are...  [Read more]

Although Romania might not currently be top of the list of destinations for many teachers, it is well worth considering as it has one of the fastest growing populations of English language learners in the region. The majority of jobs are found in the main cities, but you should make time to explore the idyllic countryside that makes up much of the country. Romania?s most famous region is undoubtedly historic Transylvania, where ancient castles inspired Bram Stoker to write his masterpiece, Dracula. Salaries for ESL teachers in Romania are relatively low when compared to many Western European countries at around $500 to $1000 per month, although teachers with experience might be able to earn more. While these figures do not sound a lot, a low cost of living means that your salary will...  [Read more]

TESOL stands for: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, which is also commonly referred to as TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). Whilst these two terms have slight technical differences they are generally used interchangeably within the industry to say the same thing. The first distinction in certification types comes about from the differences between an in-class course, an online course, and a combined (or hybrid) course. In-class courses are undertaken at a physical location, somewhere in the world. These locations are typically in countries where English is not the first language, but many people are learning it. This means there are plenty of English language learners (ELL’s) available for real teaching lessons, which is a very useful addition to these...  [Read more]

TESOL courses vary in length from a few hours over the weekend all the way to the pinnacle of educational certification, which is the doctorate level. Here we will briefly describe the different courses available, their content, and why you may wish to take them. Typical course duration: Five to fifteen hours Typical study components: An overview of TESOL. What a typical 120-hour certification involves. Employment opportunities by country. Introduction to teaching skills and language awareness. Use of certification: Can be used as ‘Continuing Professional Development’ (CPD) credit. Useful to get an idea of what TESOL involves without paying out for a full course. Typical course duration: Forty to sixty hours Typical study components: There are three generally recognized...  [Read more]

When it comes to English teaching careers, most of our ESL teachers take the plunge for life-changing experiences, personal growth, embracing new cultures, and giving back to local communities. However, you can also get paid well to teach English abroad and many of our graduates go on to earn a decent living. Just keep in mind that a high salary isn't the only financial variable to consider when determining how much ESL teachers make. Other factors to consider include the local cost of living, extra benefits, and saving opportunities. The salary for teaching English abroad varies, but you can expect to make a good living. Your salary will be determined by your position, qualifications, and the country in which you teach. Teachers in high-paying countries can earn anywhere from $2,000...  [Read more]

  Regardless of which type of beginners you are teaching here are our top 10 tips for the teaching of beginner classes. 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. In unit 4, I studied the present tense. The chapter was divided in 4 parts: present simple, present continuous, present perfect and present perfect continuou. Then, I analyzed their forms, usages, student typical errors and some teaching ideas to put into practice during the activate stag. ...  [Read more]

No matter where you plan to teach English, the chances are that there will be a wide range of potential age groups to choose from in your chosen destination. So how do you know which one is best? Put simply, there is no best age group for teaching English as every teacher has their own preference. Many ESL teachers choose to only work with young children as they suit the high energy level and focus on fun that often accompanies this age group. Others prefer to teach adults as the calmer and more academic approach is more to their liking. As we have already seen, English is commonly taught to people of all ages, from as young as 18 months, all the way up to the oldest members of society. This wide range of students is typically broken down into three main groups of learners: Teaching...  [Read more]

The basic answer to this question is No, it is not necessarily easier to teach English to any particular age group. Anyone who has spent time in different types of classrooms will know that there are many clear differences between teaching adults and teaching young learners. Different age groups have different reasons for being in the classroom, levels of motivation and discipline can vary considerably, and learning styles can also differ. Due to these differences, each age group will require a teaching style that is tailored to their needs. Below we look at some of the main differences between teaching young learners and teaching adults. One of the most important factors when teaching young learners is to keep them interested and motivated in whatever the day’s lesson is focused...  [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 first thing to appreciate, regardless of which country you are talking about, is that within any country there are vast differences in job opportunities and pay and conditions. Within any single country there are distinct areas which we could divide into three categories: 1. Urban 2. Sub-Urban (or Provincial) 3. Rural As you may expect, the level of opportunity, typical salary, and benefits, all decrease as you go down the list. A first world city such as Tokyo will be a vastly different teaching experience to a rural hamlet on a hillside in Cambodia. Many economically challenged areas will not be able to afford English teachers at all and jobs in these areas tend to be for volunteer work. If we look at mainstream job opportunities in urban environments this will give you an idea...  [Read more]

While preparing for your overseas TESOL adventure you will probably have plenty of things to think about and organize including travel arrangements, visas, vaccinations, and a leaving party or two. Even if the only thing you have to do is pack your bags, you still need to decide what to take with you and what to leave behind. Despite the fact that most people now own a mobile phone with a built-in camera, you might still want to consider investing in a separate, high-quality camera. Mobile phones are reliant on their battery life which can often be quite short if you are away from a powerpoint and taking a lot of pictures. It is worth remembering that during your time away you are likely to do plenty of exploring, often in areas that are short on mobile charging stations. One...  [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]

  The two words "lay" and "lie" are often confused for each other, which is why we decided to break down the differences in this video. "Lay" is what is called a transitive verb. That means, it needs to be followed by one or more objects. A good example sentence would be "I lay the book on the table". As you can see, lay is followed by ""on the table"". We couldn't only say "I lay the book." as it would be incomplete. This means it is transitive. "Lie" on the other hand is an intransitive verb. That means it doesn't take an object, for example "I lie down". Most errors have to do with the past tenses of the two verbs, as the past tense of "lie" is "lay" while the past tense of "lay" is "laid". Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online...  [Read more]

  Despite the many things the countries in Europe have in common there are plenty of ways in which the customs and cultures differ and each country has its own unique way of doing certain things. As an English teacher and visitor, an understanding of some of the manners and behavior of people in your chosen country can go a long way to improving your experience of teaching English abroad. 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...  [Read more]

  Some and Any are two words that often cause confusion, which is why we have decided to take a closer look at the difference of the two words in this video. Firsly, some is a determiner used for positive statements while any is a determiner used in questions and negative statements. Consider the following situation: I asked the teacher if he could give me some paper. I said ‘Excuse me, have you got any paper?’ Unfortunately, he didn’t have any. The first statement is positive and therefore requires us to use some. The second sentence is a question and therefore, we need to use any. The third and final sentence is a negative statement which also requries us to use any. It's worth noting that we do sometimes use some in questions and we also use any in positive statements. For...  [Read more]

  We are going to move on to the second of the productive skills, which is writing and, again, we'll have look at the background, too, and create a typical lesson for a writing skills session. One of the things to be aware of in a writing skills lesson is that writing tends to be more formal than spoken English. So, there will be some differences between the two, such as writing very often uses less contracted forms and so on, but having said that there are many similarities between the two particular skills. So, many of the considerations that we had for a speaking skills lesson will also apply here to a writing skills lesson. Within writing skills itself there are some sub-skills that we may want to teach and those sub-skills could include, but are not limited to, hand writing...  [Read more]

  So, we'll focus first of all on a speaking skills lesson and perhaps a starting point for this would be to ask a question which is: Why do we speak to each other? The reason that it's important to ask ourselves this question is that whatever answers there are to this should be present in our lessons. So, why do we speak to each other? Well, there are a multitude of answers to that but when you boil them all down to their essence, they probably actually come down to one or two things. We communicate to each other by speaking because of either a need. We need something. We want something or a desire to achieve something. 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...  [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]