Do you need another language to work in TESOL?

Question

I'm considering taking English Language and TESOL jointly at University and I'm wondering if this would be enough to qualify me for a job teaching TESOL either overseas or over here? I've never actually learnt much of another language, so apart from very few spoken Japanese phrases, I'm stuck with using only English.

Answer 1

To be a TESOL teacher here in the United States, it is not always necessary to know another language well as your communication and focus will be on English. Nevertheless, many programs highly encourage you to learn another language. You won't always have a chance to use it with your students (who will speak many languages) but it will make you a better teacher having gone through the language learning process yourself and learned to analyze language from a different perspective.
If you hope to teach English abroad, a second language may be necessary based on the teaching situation and country you are going to.

Answer 2

An undergraduate degree in TESOL won't get you very far. You could work in a private language school, but that's about it. To work in a public school you would also need teaching certification, and to work in a university you would need a Master's degree. However, if you're seriously interested in a career in TESOL then an undergraduate degree is a GREAT place to start, and it will make obtaining your further qualifications a lot easier. Combining it with English is good because English is a teachable subject area if you want to get teaching certification or a Bachelor of Education degree.

Speaking a second language isn't essential to getting a job, but it definitely helps you understand your own language. We take a lot of our own L1 for granted, and sometimes it's difficult to make the grammatical connections without knowing an L2. For example, you might find it hard to explain the difference between "I will eat" and "I am going to eat" unless you can compare it (in your own head) to "Je mangerai" and "Je vais manger" in French. For jobs in the public school system and universites you will need some grasp of the local language, but most private language schools don't care.

Answer 3

No. TESOL stands for teaching English as a second language. In order to teach English as a second language, you need to be fluent in English only.

Answer 4

You definitely don't need another language. To work abroad, you would need the CELTA or Trinity teaching certificate and in many countries, you don't even need a degree.