international teaching certificates (TEFL etc) are they really internationally recognised?

Question

im wanting to travel for a while and one of the easiest ways to fund it seems to be to teach english abroad.. has anyone tried this or obtained a TEFL certificate etc and can you give me any advice or pointers? looking for personal experiences rather than web based research (ive already done it!)

Answer 1

I'm a teacher trainer and I have an M.A. in Linguistics and a TESOL certificate so I think I have a little to say on this.

There are many schools in many different countries that will hire you to teach English just based on the fact that you are a native speaker, even if you don't have any qualifications. However, you may or may not necessarily want to work for that kind of school. If they don't really care about your qualifications, that's an indication that the school doesn't really care that much about the effectiveness of the English learning their students are doing. If you have a TESOL certificate or a degree in Applied Linguistics, more reputable schools will want to hire you. Not to mention that when you get into your classroom, you will have no idea what to do.

Likewise, you should choose a TESOL/TEFL certificate that actually gives you some qualifications. A two-week course that you take online might give you some good ideas, but it's not as rigorous as a course that takes a full year to complete at a university, for example. So a good school will look not only for the certificate you hold but what you had to do to get that certificate, I think. Nevertheless, even a little training is better than nothing.

The upshot is, if you care mostly about having an excuse to travel and aren't planning on being an English teaching professional, you could probably get a job right now. However, if you really want to take the profession seriously (and I hope you do), you should consider getting a degree in Linguistics and/or a TESOL certificate. There are actually some schools that will train you in their programs. For example, a school that works with refugees where I live has a pretty intensive training course which they are happy to teach you, as long as you agree to volunteer for their program for at least six months. That's the kind of training that you could get for free, put on your resume, and use in the future as well.

Here's a good book for untrained teachers who are just starting to work with English language teaching:
PACE Yourself by Dalle and Young

And, whatever you do, never give your passport to the school you are working for when you work abroad. Sometimes schools do this as a way of "holding you hostage" and getting you to work more for them than you would like. Hang onto your passport.

Answer 2

First I would recommend that you find the shift key. The first thing I tell my English students is that 'I' is always written as a capital letter.
A TEFL (Teacher of English as a Foreign Language) certificate is recognised internationally. Once you have the certificate, you could approach the British Council, who run language courses overseas. Many of the world renowned language schools (Berlitz for example) have branches in several countries.
I worked for the British Council in Hong Kong, I don't have a TEFL qualification, but I'm British and had proof that I was a qualified language teacher (French). Small private language schools may not be so fussy, the downside is that they don't pay very well.

Answer 3

It worked for me.

In many places outside Europe just being from an English speaking country is sufficient to qualify you (though I would urge you to do some research first).

Teaching can be a good way of making money and of meeting people, but you have actually to enjoy teaching to be good at it or it can become something of an nightmare.

The TEFL course is an excellent introduction both to teaching and to English liguistics and I´d reccomend it to you. It osts about 800 pounds in the UK, but in some countries (such as Turkey) it is much cheaper and they will find you work too.

Happy travels!

Answer 4

........TEFL certificates are well worth study for, they do give you a worthwhile certification. But it does depend on where you are intending on travelling to. For example f you were going to Japan they will only accept a Degree. But most other places accept a TEFL, so go for it.

Answer 5

I have a Diploma in TESOL from London Teacher Training and have had job offers from all over the world, especially China, India and some European countries. So, yes it is a good qualification if you want to travel.

Answer 6

I have always been told that Cambridge and Trinity College London certificates are the most widely accepted worldwide. I am planning to do mine next summer.

Answer 7

yes

Answer 8

The CELTA is

Answer 9

no