Will the weekend TEFL course get me a job?
Posted by Joe Hallwood - 17:38 on 28 June 2009
The weekend course gives you the first qualification in TEFL and is the course that most first-time teachers take to get their first job abroad.
The course is designed to give you the skills and confidence to start teaching. After that, you just need to put it into practice. It's the experience of being in the classroom that will make you a teacher.
The course is 20 hours of fast-moving tuition where you get involved in the activities. You not only get a real feel for being a teacher, but you'll also have a good idea of what it's like to be a student.
On the course you will learn how to deliver lessons, gain a clear understanding of what activities to include in your lessons and how to plan and prepare a lesson (have a look at the course contents). These 3 aspects of the course form the essentials to becoming a successful teacher. They will also give you the confidence to start your first teaching job.
So, the course will enable you to step into the classroom for the first-time even if you haven't got any previous teaching experience. But what about getting that first job? In truth, the demand for English teachers far exceeds the supply of teachers. Most English is taught by non-native English teachers who have English as a second language. Students quite
often find it hard to progress beyond an elementary level because of this. Therefore, English teachers are needed to give students an exposure to a native level of English. Quite often the teaching you will do, whether it's in Spain, Thailand or Japan, is giving practise in reading, writing , listening and speaking. This is what schools need native English speakers for. As a result, schools recognise that the main qualification for an English teacher is their ability to speak English fluently.
So why add online courses to a weekend course? This will consolidate what you have learnt on the weekend course giving you greater confidence. It will also improve your CV. A lot of first-time teachers look to improve their language awareness. Since, while we speak the language, knowing the terminology and the rules is often something that we have never really
learnt.
We are often asked by schools and organisations overseas for graduates from our weekend and online courses, have a look at the TEFL Jobs page for the countries we are currently recruiting for.
Useful links
TEFL jobs
Weekend course contents
Online course contents
Past graduates - where are they now
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