Recently, we hosted a webinar to discuss the topic and question we get asked almost daily: “Where can TEFL take me?”. Our outstanding managing director, Rosie, teamed up with a couple of our diligent Academic Assessors, Jacob, Rachel and Luke, to discuss the question. Throughout this webinar, the gang answer some questions from the live viewers and discuss various topics from the differences between CELTA and DELTA qualifications to their own TEFL experiences. Of course, the discussion can be found in this article, but if you are more of a visual learner, you can check out the video recording HERE.
Meet the team
Luke O’Dea – A Premier TEFL Academic Assessor who began his TEFL journey when he was 18 years old in Argentina. After completing his internship, he loved Argentina so much that he decided to travel around the whole continent of South America – and what a journey he has had.
Rachel Hammond – Another Premier TEFL Academic Assessor who started her venture into the world of TEFL 7 years ago. Thanks to TEFL, Rachel has achieved a personal goal that she set herself: to travel to 30 different countries before she turned 30. Travel is Rachel’s passion, so being able to achieve this goal through TEFL has been so rewarding for her.
Jacob Thomas – Our Premier TEFL Academic Director, who is in charge of all courses and assessments. Jacob began his TEFL journey in 2013 with a trip to Thailand, where he instantly fell in love with the country. After years of teaching English in Thailand, Jacob decided to return home, start a family and begin to develop his career.
Teaching as a Non-Native English Speaker
One of the viewers kicked off the session with a question about teaching English in places such as Japan and South Korea as a non-native speaker. We recently published a blog about teaching English as a non-native speaker, which you can read HERE. Rosie explains that the teaching requirements can vary depending on the country that is searching for English teachers. It is also down to the various visa requirements that may be set by the government, making it more difficult to employ non-native speakers as English teachers. However, there are many countries who accept non-native speakers as English teachers – you can find a short list in the blog post mentioned above.
TEFL Summer Camps
Many people show interest in teaching English through summer camps, such as our internships in Germany and Romania. Luke mentioned a key point here: that many TEFL graduates find teaching in a summer camp to be a great introduction to teaching in TEFL. These camps are short in duration ranging from a couple of weeks to even 3 months. This is beneficial as you will need a lot of energy for these camps, working with the children from morning to night through various activities. The best time to apply for these camps is usually the months of January through to April – so get your application ready!
Teaching in China
Following this, a viewer asked a question about teaching English in China. Rosie offered some great insights and recommended our previous webinar which was with a company called Giraffe Inspire. There is more in-detail discussion about teaching in Shanghai in that webinar if you would like to check it out. However, Rosie brushed over some key points such as the government restrictions with special PU Letters which grant teachers the right to work in China. We also hear that the salaries in China for English teachers is looking promising at the moment, so apply while positions are still available!
Later on, another question is asked via the chat about teaching online in China. Unfortunately, there is limited opportunities for teaching children online in China. However, there are various opportunities to teach adults online. There are also positions available located outside of mainland China, in places such as Hong Kong and Taiwan. There are also many attempts to work around government regulations such as jobs where you can teach drama to children through English.
ESL Training & Placement
We have a wide variety of internship packages available on our website. These include a 120 hour TEFL certification as well as your teaching placement. Just recently, we have been able to re-open our internship to Myanmar – how exciting! After 2 years of not accepting TEFL teacher due to civil unrest and safety reasons, Myanmar has opened its borders once again and is now accepting applications. Would you like to visit Myanmar? Apply HERE.
CELTA vs. DELTA
What are CELTA and DELTA certifications? Jacob sums them up splendidly. CELTA is simply a globally recognized level 5 certification. This will allow you to teach almost anywhere in the world. DELTA on the other hand is further up the scale. This certification is something you would aim to achieve when you have completed your CELTA and have had many years of teaching experience. A DELTA will grant you the ability to work in higher paying jobs such as an assessor, a manager or a director at a school. Jacob recommends not rushing into getting a DELTA and encourages gaining the teaching experience first.
Spain: Everything You Need To Know
A few questions came up in regards to Spain so all of them will be discussed here. To start, we were asked if there were any special preferences that companies might have when hiring English teachers. Rachel took the lead with this, considering she has the most experience with Spain. Spanish teaching companies are currently only searching for teachers who have the legal right to work in Spain. So whether you are in Spain already or in the EU, this is for you. However, there are also some companies who will work with you if you need assistance with securing a visa to work in Spain.
To work as a TEFL teacher in Spain you do not need a degree, however they do expect a minimum of 120 hours of training, which we offer HERE. Although some schools will require you to have some teaching experience, not all schools will.
Rosie then offered some final advice for anyone who wishes to teach English in Spain. She said: start by searching where in Spain you would like to go. Then, research the teaching academies in the surrounding area and get in contact with them. As well as that, you could search jobs boards online such as ESL Café or TEFL.com.
The United Arab Emirates
Rachel answers a question submitted by a viewer about the UAE. There are countless package deals which are extremely attractive to TEFL teachers. Many schools will offer accommodation, flights as well as a tax-free salary to English teachers that work in the UAE. Tis is an amazing experience to those who are qualified and experienced in teaching English.
Team TEFL Highlights
Luke – Luke shares that his favourite moments from his TEFL journey were shared with the people he met along the way. From host families to locals and even other expats, Luke enjoyed spending his time with like-minded and welcoming people along the way. Of course, he recommends the internship that he completed for lasting friendships and the opportunity to explore South America.
Rachel – Rachel admits that TEFL helped her to realize that travel is her passion. Not inly this, but TEFL gave her the opportunity to travel to 30 different countries and achieve her dream. Because of TEFL, Rachel could explore Serbia, Macedonia and Georgia. Her top TEFL moment was when she worked in a Swiss summer camp and every day she would walk past Lake Geneva and Mount. Blanc. How incredible!
Jacob – As for Jacob, his favourite moments all come from his trip to Thailand. He believes everything about Thailand were his favourite parts – so cheesy yet we agree. Flavorsome food, welcoming people and eager students created what Jacob describes as “paradise”. Think you’d like to visit? Check our some of our internship opportunities available there – HERE.
If you have any outstanding questions, feel free to contact us via phone or DM on social media – we’re always happy to help!
The post Where Can TEFL Take Me? appeared first on Premier TEFL.
