Some good reasons to Teach English as a foreign language

People teach English as a foreign language for many different reasons: -

1. It could be to earn extra money and teaching is something you feel you could do, even if you have no experience. A few extra pounds in your pocket are appealing and almost anywhere or whoever you teach, you will earn more than the minimum wage.

2. Do you need extra money but find it difficult to get out to work for instance, if you don’t have a car or have young children and need to be in the house to look after them? If so, consider teaching over the internet. See Teaching over the internet. Many mums work part time and earn a reasonably good hourly income with very flexible hours.

3. Would you like to travel? If you are considering taking a gap year and want to find some work to support you while travelling but have no experience teaching, consider taking a TEFL course. There are TEFL courses which are run over weekends and will give you the necessary insights into what to expect and how to look for work. You can also take online TEFL courses which are cheaper. This is a valid option for people looking for a career break too, people of all ages find work teaching English or a language abroad either short term or in some cases, long term.

4. Many people look at teaching EFL as a way of deciding whether or not they want to take a PGCE into teaching. Tutoring students one to one on a subject you enjoy can lead to finding out if you could do this work full time and whether or not you would find it enjoyable. I have had several people respond to adverts about taking short term summer students. The respondents have a degree but have not used it for some time because of either family commitments (had children) or changed career because they no longer enjoyed what they were doing. After taking a 20 hour TEFL course and subsequently, a student, found they loved the work. They then returned to college full time to take a PGCE and are now fully fledged working teachers.

5. Keeping a hand in. If you are a teacher but have left the profession to have children or other family commitments, then working for a summer school or taking some private foreign language tutoring can be a good way of keeping your CV up to date and earning a little extra without compromising family. Consider also Teaching over the internet as this can be worked around your daily life.

6. Housebound. With today’s technology you may find it difficult to get out but that does not limit you to mentally staying indoors. Again Teaching over the internet can open up a whole wealth of opportunities to you. You might have to sit in your living room physically but why not find students who are in exotic locations in the world? Its not just the teaching which will broaden your mind, find out about your students country, culture and customs and earn money at the same time.

7. If you have had a career and are looking to change, experienced tutors with for instance, a strong medical background, can earn £30 to £60 per hour and are in demand if they are good at their job and will find pupils recommending them to others.

8. Are you looking for something flexible which could earn extra money and fit in around your children? Again, consider using VOIP, teach over the internet or actually take a student in to live with you for a couple of weeks or months and teach at set times each day. Younger students can actually come with you on shopping trips and other family activities, integrating just like another family member. Make the situation work around you and be paid for it.

9. Teaching in a school overseas for the summer can be a brilliant experience. If you are looking to learn a language such as Spanish as well as taking a year out and experiencing another culture and earning enough to get by, this may be what you are looking for.

The great thing about teaching nowadays is that with mobiles and telephones and the internet, teaching is very flexible. More and more tutors and pupils are turning to the internet as a means to communicate and finding it flexible and cost effective. For instance, instead of having to drive to a pupil, you can teach in your slippers and at any time of day or night when you can fit in an hour or so. Using Skype or some similar software means this is an inexpensive & easily organised option.

Obviously, once you are in a real life situation, with real students, it is different in-so-far as your students will not understand you in the same way your English speaking classmates on the TEFL course did. However, they won’t know that you are new to teaching, neither will they understand that you are making mistakes and if your content is interesting, they will be back for more fun, games and knowledge that they have learnt some English and will continue to do so in your classes.

 

 

Bookmark this page: Add to your del.icio.us bookmarks Digg! LinkedIn

Reddit StumbleUpon Toolbar Technorati

Twitter