Things to consider before becoming an ESL/EFL teacher

Teaching English to non-native speakers of the language can be both fun and challenging. But before you decide to become an EFL teacher, here are a few questions you need to ask.

Do you like people?

If you don’t like interacting with people or aren’t patient enough to answer their questions, you can’t be a good teacher. Teaching a foreign language can be more difficult than teaching math or science. Since learning a new language requires a great deal of time and effort, you can’t expect your students to make quick progress. ESL teachers have to deal with people all the time. So you need to be able to like people.

Do you want to start on your own?

If you are planning to start teaching English on your own, you probably don’t need any TEFL certificate. You just need to be proficient in the language. If you are confident of your skills, tell the people in your locality that you are teaching English and interested students will contact you. Once you build your reputation as a good teacher, things will only get better. Working on your own has many benefits. You can decide how many hours you want to devote to teaching. You can also decide who you want to teach. If you believe that a particular student is not good enough, you don’t have to admit him/her.

Do you have the right set of skills?

If you don’t want to start on your own, you can consider teaching at an ESL school. If you intend to work for an ESL school, you will need an advanced degree or a TEFL Certificate. Some schools only recruit teachers with prior teaching experience. The best thing about teaching at an ESL school is that you have a secure source of income. On the flip side, you can’t decide who you want to teach or when you want to teach. You may also have to teach large classes. This can be quite frustrating at times.