Practical Courses for Teaching English

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TESOL TESL TEFL ESL

What is TESOL?

TESOL is an acronym that refers to the professional association, the profession and the field itself. It stands for ‘Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages”. There is some confusion over this acronym and sometimes it is interpreted as “Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages” although the official TESOL professional association use the first definition. TESOL is largely an American term and in Canada they tend to use TEFL, which stands for “Teaching English as a Foreign Language”. Within a native English speaking country you may hear the term ESL, which stands for “English as a Second Language”, in a non-native English speaking country you, may also hear the term EFL, which stands for “English as a Foreign Language”.

Why Teach English?

Teaching English as a second language can be one of the most rewarding jobs you can have. It is probably the only job where you can travel anywhere in the world. As English has become the global international language, so has the demand for qualified teachers of English. In fact many governments have formalised learning English as a high priority in their school curriculum. Even in countries where it is not officially high priority, there is still demand from both the business and private sectors to learn. Business English has itself become a very important subject.

Students

The great thing about teaching English is that you have a constant stream of different and interesting students that never fail to surprise you with their stories, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. You will find that it’s a two way process of discovering about different cultures. Just when you think you know about a country there’s always a new student that’s full of stories and surprises. If you look meeting people and have a genuine interest in people then English teaching is for you. You will find many students are kind and shower you with gifts and are generally appreciative. Also the huge diversity of students studying English is phenomenal with almost no age barriers. While the majority of students who visit native English speaking countries is between eighteen to thirty, you will find that within the country non English speaking countries, the age of students may vary in age between two to ninety! They may be primary, high school or university students. They could be businessmen or housewives, celebrities or English teachers themselves! Learning English is often seen as a way to get ahead.

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Visas for TESOL Teachers

You will find that each country has their own specific visa requirements. However in the majority of countries you will find that the governments are behind learning English and offer favourable conditions to teach English. In many countries, governments will grant your visa and there are multitudes of private schools or business that will sponsor it. This means it saves you the difficulty of trying to find a sponsor as well as the cost of the visa, which may run into thousands of dollars. You will also find once you are in a country on a special English teaching visa you will generally have no problems renewing it and can almost stay there indefinitely!

Eligibility to Teach TESOL

Candidates for all courses are required to have a good general education up to the generally accepted level for university entrance. Non-native speakers are eligible to enroll however they must have an IELTS score equivalent to 7 or higher. Please contact if further information is required.

TESOL Job Prospects

Currently there are excellent job prospects in most non-native speaking countries. In particular across asia there are excellent opportunities, in particular China, Korea, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam. The low tax rates and incentives in these countries make this area particularly attractive. There are also good opportunities throughout Europe and Russia, in particular Spain, Italy, France, Czechslovakia and Poland. However make sure you check your ability to obtain a European passport as regulations may be more difficult depending on your visa status. South America also has many opporunities in particular Brazil, Columbia and Chile. There also opportunities in many other parts of the world, it just depends on what country and situation suits you best. Teaching English is one of the few jobs where you can travel and work in an almost any country in the world. You can even obtain work in many English speaking countries but for obvious reasons there is much more competition.

TESOL Pay and Tax

You will also find that you can earn good salaries in most countries and even though you may go with one company you can “shop around” for the best deal once you are there, there’s always a more lucrative deal around the corner. You will also find that most countries offer excellent tax rates for English teachers, many under ten percent. This is because governments are behind English teaching and are always looking for ways to attract new teachers to their shores. You will find that there are also a few countries that offer zero percent tax for teachers! The list below tells you what the typical rates are for English teachers in the following countries. Japan 6% China 13% Korea 5% Saudi Arabia 0% Dubai 0% Taiwan 13%

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