TEFL : Its meaning and significance

Suzanne was a Dutch University student who studied Latin American Language Cultures at the prestigious Leiden University in Holland. Her passion for languages led her to specialise in Latin American Literature. She lived in Spain for a year and travelled in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize before taking up the role of Head of TEFL at Cactus, which she carried out very successfully until her untimely death in May 2006. While she was with us, we asked for her thoughts on TEFL - who applies, for what reasons, and what it can lead to...

"Please explain the difference between the words meaning and significance….

This is just one of many examples of a question of language analysis on which you can expect to be quizzed when applying for a TEFL course. I would explain the difference between these two words by means of the following example: the meaning of TEFL is Teaching English as a Foreign Language. It’s the name to determine the industry of English Language Teaching to speakers of other languages which, with the ever increasing demand for English, can be done almost anywhere in the world. The significance of TEFL however is a completely different matter. TEFL has significantly changed and influenced people from all walks of life across the U.K.

We can establish the effect that TEFL has had on the lives of many U.K. individuals by dividing them in three socio-economic groups. The first group that we will call today’s ‘gappers’ were provided the possibility to postpone the all-important decision of what to do with their lives after finishing their education. For a number of what we can call ‘career-breakers’, who had already chosen their career path but just wanted something different for a while, TEFL meant the break they had always wanted but never ended up taking for fear of the unknown. And finally, a significant number of others, ‘the pack it up and leavers’, have used TEFL as their first step towards starting a whole different life.

The kick-start for all these people has been some kind of TEFL course. The basic 'industry standard' qualifications are called the Cambridge CELTA (Cambridge Certificate of Language Teaching to Adults) and the Trinity TESOL (Trinity Certificate of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). The courses are based primarily on the observation of expert teachers, and on observed teaching practice, and they are usually four-week intensive courses or their part-time equivalents. However shorter and less intensive programmes are widely available. Cactus Teachers and our TEFL Admissions Service provide access to a wide range of CELTA and TESOL courses as well as to good quality short-term courses, and we provide free additional support and advice to those who want to teach English to foreigners, whether as a long-term career plan or as an exciting and short-term experience.

For the first group, today’s ‘gappers’ the world has just become a much bigger place. Whilst formerly depending on other people to decide what they had to do, they now completely rely on their own decision-making skills. Not always an easy task when these decisions are bound to influence the rest of their lives. In today’s increasingly competitive market it is extremely important that the gap between high school and university, or university and the first job, is usefully filled so that it will not turn into a real gap or obstacle in the student’s route to a successful future. And with U.K. graduates becoming increasingly better travelled, future employers no longer content themselves with the simple fact that a graduate has travelled but more so what they have been doing whilst travelling.

Doing a TEFL course is an excellent solution for these young people finding their way in life. Whether this is a shorter TEFL course or a recognised qualification, the course will enable them to combine their desire for travelling and learning about different languages and cultures with a proper job, earning money along the way. This experience will provide them with full immersion in a country’s culture, as they will be meeting the locals in the classroom every day. It will also be an important step towards maturity and independence as they have to sort out everything for themselves, with no one to hold their hand. By the time they go back to the U.K. they will be fully independent individuals, capable of making their own way in life. Recently acquired skills such as presentation skills, and an enormous ability to adapt themselves to new situations, make them an attractive purchase on the job market.

In today’s world, where wars and terrorist attacks seem to be part of daily life, there seems to be a growing awareness of the fact that life is short, maybe too short to spend all day cooped up in an office staring at a computer screen. Many of us have decided that the time to travel to far away places is now or never. For the ‘the career breakers’ and ‘the pack it up and leavers’, a TEFL course can be the first step towards achieving this goal. However, most human beings want some sense of security and the TEFL certificate might be this ‘suit of armour’ that will prepare and protect them for the ride.

You are ready for TEFL if you have a passion for languages, teaching and travelling. You are ready for TEFL if you adapt easily to new and challenging circumstances. And when you are ready to take the plunge trust us to help you add significant meaning to your life. Or meaningful significance - we’re sure you’ll be able to choose by then."

 The Suzanne Furstner Foundation