Getting Started - TEFL/TESOL in the USA

Cactus TEFL goes in search of the answers to some of the questions put to us by our clients in the United States. The information contained here is particularly relevant to you if you're in the USA and considering TESOL/TEFL as a gap year/time out option.

It’s confusing enough for anyone to try and work out all the different TEFL qualifications. Even more so if you happen to come from the States as there seem to be so many more possibilities.

First, about the accronyms used. In Europe as well as other parts of the world, TEFL is one of the main terms used to describe what we do - teaching English as a Foreign Language. If you’re from the States, you might well be more familiar with the term TESOL - Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. The good news is that, when we’re talking about the name of the industry, these abbreviations usually refer to the same thing, so anytime you see TEFL, think TESOL if it helps!

Contents

:: How to get into TEFL/TESOL
:: Which route is best?
:: Can I teach English if I haven’t studied education in the past?
:: I’ve got an MA TESOL - do I need a short course too?
:: What are the different TEFL/TESOL courses available to me?
:: Where can I find work in TEFL/TESOL as a US citizen?
:: Are you sure I’ll get work when I get back to the States?
:: Ready to apply?
:: Need more help?

:: How to get into TEFL/TESOL

It seems there are two established routes into TEFL/TESOL. The first is to take an education or teaching related college degree, and complete an MA in Applied Linguistics or TESOL. The second is to take a shorter TESOL teaching course later on in your life or career path. Back to top

:: Which route is best?

When it comes to teaching English around the world, you’d think it would be obvious, and that the dedicated academic route through to MA TESOL would win outright. Well not really. The MA TESOL is often perceived outside the States as being a little too theoretical, and not hands-on and practical enough to guarantee you’re going to be a good classroom teacher from day one. Sure, you’re more aware of linguistic issues facing your students, but will you have the practical ability to provide lessons to meet their immediate needs? In other words, despite your qualifications, you’ll still have to prove your ability to teach.

The 4-week TEFL/TESOL programmes on the other hand are extremely practical, and your final assessment grade is based at least in part on your performance in the classroom. If you really aren’t cut out to be a good teacher, or you’re not able to take on board what your tutors are teaching you, there is a real chance you might fail the course - hard work alone is not a guarantee that you’ll pass. Back to top

:: Can I really teach English if I haven’t studied education in the past?

Short TEFL programs give you access to TEFL/TESOL regardless of what you have already done with your life. You may have a college degree in a completely unrelated field, such as science or commerce. You may have been working for a number of years without ever thinking of teaching. This is really no problem. When you go abroad with your qualification, it’s good if you can find ways of linking your experience of life and work to date, with your new TEFL/TESOL qualification so you can ‘bring something to the party’ and make yourself a unique asset to the school. This is known as ESP - teaching English for Special/Specific purposes. The most popular is to teach Business English, or at least teach ‘General English’ to business users. Back to top

:: I’ve got an MA TESOL - do I need a short course too?

If you’ve already got say an MA TESOL, then there probably isn’t any point in you completing the kind of 4-week programmes we mention on this site. It might be interesting though to spend some time with teachers who have taken the course, or even try to observe a couple of lessons in a private English school if there’s one in your local city, as the style of teaching here can vary quite considerably from the scenarios you found on your MA TESOL course. Private language schools usually only teach English to international students, who have flown in specially to work on improving their English, staying anything from a couple of weeks to a year or more.

If you plan to come back to the States after a few years’ teaching abroad, and you’d like to move into a position of Academic Director, then you’re also likely to be involved in hiring teachers with either MA TESOL or the 4-week course format. In this case, you might find it advantageous to have done both. Also if you feel your MA was good, but you still have a certain fear of walking into that language teaching classroom, or that you completed the course a long time ago, taking a 4-week option might be a good way of refreshing your knowledge or of giving you the confidence you lack. Back to top

:: What are the different TEFL/TESOL courses available to me?

In the US, the short, 4-week programs on offer are the following:

:: Cambridge CELTA

This is the Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults. You’ll find lots of information on this course on the rest of the website. In summary though, it’s a 120-hour program, with lots of input sessions in methodology, language awareness (grammar), classroom management, modules on ‘how to teach’ different aspects of the language. Weekly sessions culminate in you standing in front of a group of real language students, in your Teaching Practice (TP) session. TP can be tough, and a constant cause for worries and concerns thoughout the course. But it’s rarely as bad as you think, and when it’s over, you get lots of really helpful feedback so you can improve next time round.

Worldwide, the Cambridge CELTA is perceived as being one of the very best initial teacher training qualifications you can take - and is the most widely recognised in the private language school sector, where you’ll likely be working if you’re planning to teach overseas.

:: SIT TESOL

The SIT has been instrumental over the years in its work with cross cultural training and awareness. This fits in well with the spirit of their TESOL course. Over half the Americans travelling abroad on a Peace Corps initiative will be going to teach English. The Peace Corps does issue it’s own initial training programmes, but the SIT go one better. They offer their own 120-hour programme. In the past this has been in collaboration with the Cambridge CELTA, though this is not currently the case, and is a stand-alone qualification.

:: Other TEFL/TESOL courses

We have visited a number of organisations offering their own qualifications and many have been highly successful in adapting either the SIT TESOL or the Cambridge CELTA to the needs of the local market, or in readiness for teaching in specific countries. Back to top

:: Where can I find work in TEFL/TESOL as a US citizen?

One answer to this is “pretty much anywhere where English is learnt as a second language”. This is a half-truth. If you’ve really got your heart set on a particular country, then our guess is that you will eventually find a way of working there. Some countries take more perseverance than others, and may require you to secure specific qualifications, permits or visas.

Our remit at Cactus TEFL is to focus on the TEFL/TESOL courses you can do, advise you to the best of our ability, and then help you to get straight onto selected courses, whenever you’re ready. Information on TEFL/TESOL jobs is, for now, a little outside that remit, so we apologise if you can’t find the specific country or area which interests you. As soon as we have more info on hot favourites, or countries where it seems easy to find work, you can be sure we’ll add them to the site. If you're reading this and have information to share with us, please email [email protected]

Here are just some of the countries or regions we get asked about:

:: Countries of the European Union

Europe remains a popular location for teachers of English from the USA. Although officially it’s impossible to work there without a work permit, many Americans do. Schools are able to pay cash under the table, and many of their clients really want to learn American English as opposed to British English. The reason it can be hard to get the work permit is that schools have to be able to argue that the job cannot be done by a European. With the whole of England sitting firmly within Europe, officials find it hard to believe there are no Brits to teach English and don’t seem to make the distinction between British and American English. It’s not impossible to get a school to apply for a work permit for you, but they are unlikely to do so before they’ve seen you teaching for a while (and like your style!). It is also a risk for schools in busy, competitive towns and cities, because once they’ve kindly helped you to get your permit, you’re instantly very very attractive to all the other schools, and they might lose you to a higher paying school.

:: Japan

Organisations such as JET visit US colleges to recruit teachers. From February, you’ll also find jobs on our new site (see TEFL Jobs) as well as on other TEFL job sites, such as www.daveseslcafe and www.tefl.com. Japan definitely seems to welcome US teachers and the demand for them is considerable - whether you go on an all expenses paid scheme organised from the States, or you pick up work locally.

:: Turkey

It isn’t quite in the European Union - and it might take another 10 years before Turkey is accepted. But the country's desire to ‘europeanize’ means the demand for English will steadily increase. US teachers are welcome there, it’s an incredible place, and one to check out.

:: Chile

Following the recent announcement that, from an official, government level there is to be a drive to take Chile towards bilingualism, it won’t be long before this filters through to a high demand for English.

:: Russia

Moscow and St Petersburg remain extremely popular, but if you’re more adventurous, there is no shortage of locations in which to teach! Back to top

:: Are you sure I’ll get work when I get back to the States?

Nothing is ever 100% certain, but from the private English language schools we’ve spoken to, either a short TEFL course or the MA TESOL and relevant experience seems to be what private language schools are looking for the most, and the more practical experience you have, the better. TESOL rates of pay in the USA seem to be around the 18 - 22 US dollars per hour, and a full weekly teaching contract will be around 25 academic hours. Back to top

:: Ready to apply?

Simply search for a course which interests you, choose a start date, register (1 minute) and download the application form. Take your time completing this offline, and submit it to us when you're ready!

We'll fast-track this to the school for you, who will contact you directly to fix an interview. If all goes well, you could be booked on a course before you know it! The start of a whole new life and career teaching English! Good luck!! Back to top

:: Need more help?

Contact us on [email protected]

or call toll-free from the US/Canada on 1-888-270-3949. Please remember though, that we're in Brighton England (Eastern Time +5) so the best time to call is between 9am and 12pm Eastern time.

We’ll do our very best to help you out. Back to top