If you can believe it, another year has come and gone. 2023 has rolled around while some of us are still trying to get our heads around 2022. As with any new year, we’re bursting with new year’s resolutions for ourselves in an attempt to better our lives. For some people, they are toying with the idea of turning over a completely new leaf. They are considering teaching English abroad in 2023. The question is: TEFL 2023: Is it still worth doing?
Read more: How Useful Is A TEFL Qualification?
Is there a demand for TEFL teachers in 2023?
You know what we’re going to say: obvs! But let’s break it down.
There is still a definite demand for TEFL teachers in 2023. There is a huge pent up demand for TEFL teachers as countries have opened up after Covid restrictions and the jobs market is booming!. There are a reported 375 million English language learners all around the world. Approximately 100,000 TEFL jobs open up every year.
Now that online learning has become so popular, the market for TEFL teachers has opened up even more.
Read more: English Language Teaching Statistics
Why should I teach English abroad in 2023?
There are more reasons to be involved in TEFL 2023 than you can shake a stick at.
Travel. It is an easy, flexible way to travel the world and earn a living. Imagine being able to choose where you live and what kind of work you will do? With TEFL you can.
Lifestyle. For the most part, TEFL teachers live very comfortable lives. They live modestly and save money to pay off debt back home, or they live like kings and queens off generous teaching salaries and cheap costs of living.
Money. Teaching English can be a very lucrative job. If money is your aim, there are certain countries you should target with your TEFL job applications.
Read more: Top 5 Countries That Pay The Most To Teach English Abroad
Flexibility. Many TEFL teachers live and teach abroad. But there’s no reason you can’t teach online and live wherever you want. You can even work from home if you don’t want to leave mom (!). Or why don’t you live in Mexico in May and Jamaica in June? It’s totally up to you.
Experiences. Living abroad and meeting people from different cultures broadens your horizons. Being a TEFL teacher is guaranteed to change your life.
Up-skilling. Teaching English gives you transferable skills which will help you in any future career. Communication skills, public speaking, time management, people management, language skills – these can all boost your CV if you ever decide to leave the classroom!
Career growth. But why would you ever leave?! TEFL can be a career. You can teach different age groups, different nationalities and different fields within English. You can later move into teacher training, management, lecturing, blogging, or materials development.
Read more: 13 Different TEFL Jobs For TEFL Teachers
Community. Teaching English introduces you not only to students, but also to other TEFL teachers. Happily, TEFLers are all cut from similar cloths, so you’re bound to make friends with like-minded people.
Networking. Wherever you are teaching you can forge relationships with your students, other teachers and other people in your community.
Why is getting TEFL-qualified important?
Interested? Then you should do a TEFL course and get TEFL-qualified.
You might think it’s not necessary to get a TEFL certificate, but you’d be wrong. A TEFL qualification opens the doors to TEFL jobs all over the world. Any teaching job you can get without a TEFL qualification is likely to be badly unpaid, a horrible job, or both.
A good TEFL course will teach you the foundation of teaching English as a Foreign Language, provide an overview of English grammar, show you how to lesson plan effectively, and give you ideas and tips for the classroom.
Read more: The Basics Of Teaching English As A Foreign Language
When should I take a TEFL course?
With The TEFL Academy you can choose to do a Level 3 120-hour course or a Level 5 168-hour course. Then there are 30-hour top-up courses you can add to your qualification – Teaching Business English, Teaching Young Learners, and Teaching Online and 1:1.
(Side note: When you sign up for a Level 5 course with The TEFL Academy you will be given access to all three of the top-up courses absolutely free!)
As for when you should do a TEFL course, you can do it whenever you want. Our courses are flexible enough to be done even while you are working or studying. You have 6 months to complete the course, but how quickly you do it is entirely up to you.
As for when you should take the TEFL course, consider when you want to be teaching abroad or online and work backwards. Be realistic about how long it will take you to complete the course and allow a few months to apply for jobs and sort out your paperwork.
We say: Do your TEFL course as soon as possible to get you started on the road to TEFL!
Read more: How Quickly Can I Get A TEFL Certification?
Where should I take a TEFL course?
That’s the beauty of TEFL. These days the quality of online courses is equivalent to full-time face-to-face courses. But with online courses you can do it in your own time at your own pace, from wherever you want to be. Flexibility is the name of the game when it comes to TEFL.
Let us know if you have any questions. See you in the classroom!
