If you’re wondering whether it’s really possible to become an English teacher abroad without any prior experience or education degree, you’re not alone! In fact, that’s one of the most commonly asked questions by those who are looking to develop their career in TEFL.
The truth is that even without any prior teaching experience, there are literally thousands of opportunities waiting for fluent English speakers who wish to travel and teach abroad.
All you need to do is zero down on the place you would like to teach what kind of overseas English teaching job you’re looking for and the qualifications you need to have to get there.
Every year, more than 200,000 English speakers are recruited as English teachers in a foreign country and more than 90% have no teaching experience or degree in education, or even English. To add more, around 20% of them do not even hold a four-year college degree! With around 1 billion people taking some kind of English class every year, the demand for native or fluent speakers to work as English teachers is quite impossible to control.
You can find English speakers with zero experience in professional English teaching or a teaching degree is teaching in several countries around the world starting from summer camps and kindergartens to public schools, language institutes and corporate training.
Since you have got an answer to the most commonly asked question, let’s find out do you actually need to get an English teaching job abroad?
Do you actually need the experience to teach English abroad?
There are basically two criteria’s that most of the overseas employers look for in any aspiring ESL teachers looking to teach English abroad. The requirements are:
- English fluency
- Bachelor’s degree (any major)
While these criteria could help you in finding a job, you will definitely not be a certified teacher or possess any degree in education (or English, or linguistics for that matter) to teach English abroad.
Watch this video to learn the step-by-step guidelines to legalise your TEFL certificate.
Saying that, it is always beneficial to have a teaching degree from your home country and/or gather some experience in teaching before looking for teaching jobs in a foreign land. If you are looking for a teaching job in countries like the Middle East, where requirements are stricter, you should definitely get yourself certified.
For your knowledge, the most commonly recognized qualification for anyone looking to teach English abroad is a 120-hour TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate.
An international TEFL certification will teach you the skills and methodologies required to be an ESL teacher, lesson planning and classroom management techniques so that you turn into a successful English teacher and confidently face any classroom abroad. By getting TEFL certified, you will also be qualified to teach in thousands of schools and language institutes around the world where they require their English teachers to be TEFL certified.
Always remember, the application process for teaching abroad is done online, therefore your employers won’t be able to see you in person before handing you a classroom full of English language learners. When they hire someone, they would preferably look for someone who they can trust and think is capable of the job. You can build this trust and show them that you’re both prepared and eager to do the job by getting TEFL certified.
Now that you have understood the importance of a TEFL degree, let’s look at few tips that will help you in getting a job, if you don’t have a teaching experience.
When you don’t have real-world classroom experience yet, but still want to get teaching job abroad, here are few experiences that might be helpful:
- Experience working with children
- Experience traveling or living abroad
- Industry-specific experience (like IT or business English)
- Volunteer experience
- Experience in a classroom setting
Employers are always searching for skills related to the students and showcasing those abilities you possess will help you go a long way in finding a great teaching job abroad.
Written By : Angira Mitra
