Amy Weaver was working as a casino dealer on a cruise ship when she decided to pursue a new career as an English-language teacher. She took an online course – the level 5 Tefl (teaching English as a foreign language) qualification – studying for six months in her spare time. On gaining the qualification, she applied for English teaching jobs online and was soon offered a post at a kindergarten in Kaliningrad, Russia.
“Teaching English has been a great career choice as it allows me to work abroad and also to give online classes from home,” she says. “The work is fun, the pay is decent and I get on well with my students. Getting the Tefl qualification was really useful as it meant I could walk straight into a job and the training was good preparation for when I had to stand up in front of a class for the first time.”
Demand for qualified English-language teachers is booming, with thousands of opportunities available in schools and privately across Asia, Europe and Latin America. Coronavirus lockdowns have driven up demand for English classes and many teachers are making a living by giving lessons online. Classes are typically conducted in English, so teachers don’t need to know any foreign languages. But they need to develop creative communication techniques to teach both adults and children with no knowledge of English.
“I would 100% recommend this job to anyone who loves to be creative, wants to change their daily routine and longs to travel the world,” says Jenny Hemphill, who gives face-to-face and online classes through a school in southern Spain.
The demand for English classes is split 50:50 between children and adults, with a significant proportion of adult teaching being with business executives. So being prepared to work with a range of age groups and levels is a must.
Many language schools and digital teaching platforms require teachers to have the level 5 Tefl qualification, which is regulated by Ofqual. This is equivalent to a higher national diploma (HND) or foundation degree and is on a similar level to other English teaching qualifications such as Celta.
The online training provider The Tefl Academy offers a 168-hour level 5 Tefl course that includes an option of 20 hours of classroom practice. The course can be studied from home over six months. There is also an option to take a 10-hour online teaching practice course with other trainees posing as students. The level 5 course consists of 10 units covering the theory of Tefl, including grammar, pronunciation, lesson planning and teaching methods. All 10 units are assessed by exams and there are also three coursework assignments marked by Tefl tutors, through which students achieve their final grade: pass, merit or distinction.
The level 5 Tefl qualification allows teachers to give online classes wherever they are based. There are a number of digital platforms that link English teachers with students in China, where, it is said, there are between 440 million and 650 million people learning English.
Sarah Rowland, 19, gives online classes from her home in east Devon. “A lot of people think you have to have a degree to be a Tefl teacher and when I started I was really worried that I wouldn’t get a job. But The Tefl Academy level 5 course prepared me for the job and I found I didn’t need any other qualifications,” she says. She teaches children referred via a platform called The Overseas Teacher, which connects English language teachers with Chinese students. She also gives private classes and teaches adults. She says teaching online suits her as it allows her to earn money while studying for a degree.
Meanwhile, Leanne Perry, a media graduate from Nottingham, is enjoying her job teaching English to children in a school on the outskirts of Taipei in Taiwan. The country has been relatively unaffected by the pandemic and face-to-face teaching has continued.
“I decided to set myself a new challenge and build new skills so I jumped on a plane and came to Taiwan to teach,” she says. “I had a degree and a level 5 Tefl qualification. I knew I wanted to leave the UK and do something new for a little while and I thought Tefl would be the best safety blanket if I wanted to earn money while I was travelling. I was only meant to do this for a year, but I think it’s going to be longer.”
A level 5 Tefl qualification kickstarts a career in English-language teaching and opens the way to a versatile lifestyle suited to both lockdown and the world beyond. Find out more at theteflacademy.com
