Can You Teach English Abroad Without Being A Native Speaker

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences In a globalized world, where people come and go easily from country to country for different reasons, English has become the first spoken language. Considering this fact, it’s still shocking how not being a “native” has such an impact by the time of applying for a job or hiring someone for it. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Arantza M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. As a non-native speaker who has studied English since a very young age, I can say that it’s quite difficult to be taken into consideration when it comes to applying for a teaching job. I have realized that recruiters don’t focus that much in the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences As a Spaniard in love with languages, I can’t start this essay without saying anything other than, "it’s not who the teacher is, but the will of teaching that they have". Through all these years of learning English, I just know for sure that a learner learns more when they live in and with the language throughout each day. They need to become hooked to it, and it does not matter if the person who transmits this feeling is a native speaker or not. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Andrea M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Nowadays we have much more information and knowledge anywhere we go. It has become easier to learn...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The United States of America, Canada, The United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. If one is not a citizen of one of the aforementioned countries, they are not likely to be considered as a native English speaker. There are certain countries such as the Caribbean Islands, India, Philippines and Singapore in which English is the official language and which use English as a primary language among the citizens. However, they are not recognized as native speakers of English due to various reasons, mainly accent, even though the use of the English language, including both grammar and vocabulary, doesn’t differ too much from British English or American English. This post was written by our...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Are you a near-native English speaker and looking for an English teaching job in East Asia? Beware of the very requirement you will face in countless job ads that can even put you off from applying for any TEFL jobs. I am quite confident that you can guess what that requirement is. Being an English native speaker! According to my personal experience in Thailand, what you might see in all those ads is more about holding the passport of one of the English speaking countries rather than language proficiency and teaching skills. It seems that requiring you to be native to be able to apply is not even enough for them. Sometimes they make it even more frustrating by restricting the list of the countries and narrowing it...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching English abroad is a career more popular than ever. However, with so many options and resources about TEFL available online, there is a lot of false information out there. This post uncovers the seven most common misconceptions about TEFL and clears up any confusion! Wrong! While a degree is necessary to secure a work visa in some countries, there are plenty of countries where it’s not necessary to possess a degree. If you are a native English speaker and have a TEFL certificate, you still have a lot of options on where to teach even without a degree. South American countries like Argentina, Ecuador or Peru, as well as places in Asia like Cambodia or Russia, are perfect to teach English without a degree....  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences In this blog post, we will look at 8 of the most widely held misconceptions regarding the teaching of ESL worldwide. The demand for English Teachers abroad is really high and whilst it's true that it's not the easiest thing in the world to do and maybe you want to go to a country or a place that you have set your mind on a certain location maybe that doesn't work out. You just need to be a little bit more flexible. According to some estimates there are about two billion people in the world speaking and learning English (British council) and those are all potential students. Some of the biggest companies in the ESL industry you might want to look out for when you are applying for...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teaching English as a foreign language can be an intimidating task, especially for non-native English speaking teachers. This is true for many of my coworkers who are homeroom teachers at elementary schools in Japan. English has recently become a formal subject in elementary schools here and many homeroom teachers are intimidated by the sudden responsibility to teach a language they are not fluent in. Many feel that native speakers are better English teachers since native speakers have natural pronunciation and excellent command of the language. Co-teaching with a native speaker can put added pressure on homeroom teachers to speak perfect English in front of their students. Therefore many homeroom teachers feel...  [Read more]

Anastasiia Ovchinnikova TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Back in the days when I was living in China with my British boyfriend, who was born and raised in Oxford, we would always make our friends smile talking about our careers. We always felt it was a bit ironic that out of the two of us, it was me who ended up as an English language teacher. I started to wonder whether he would have been a better English teacher than me, had he decided to work at one of the international schools in China. I feel like it is a common misconception that non-native English teachers (short: NNETs) are not as qualified or skilled in teaching as native English teachers. I've recently gotten disheartened when looking for job openings where they...  [Read more]

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Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Teaching slang and idioms is essential for ESL students and should be an integral part of any ESL curriculum. Learning slang and expressions can help an ESL student understand better native speakers who will almost universally use some slang and some idioms in their natural speech. Studying slang and idioms can also help an ESL student speak more naturally, either compensating for a weaker English grasp or adding to a вstrong English base. The application of studying slang and idioms that have perhaps the most relevance in a classroom and to a teacher is that it can help to elucidate complicated grammar by showcasing how slang twists the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In today’s world, the English language has grown significantly to be a global language. This is because governments from the Eastern and Western hemispheres collaborate from time to time, business transactions are made across the globe and many students wish to travel to English speaking countries to immerse themselves in the culture. Therefore, persons are more interested in learning English in their home countries to better facilitate communication with those in the Western world. Thus, the demand has increased for English teachers. However, it is not enough for a native English speaker to say that he/she wants to teach English as a Foreign language without being TEFL certified. One should become certified...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore TEFL Information Alumni Experiences This is a question I’ve asked myself. I'm looking at it from the point of view of an established foreign language teacher. For years, I’ve been thinking about learning to teach English as a foreign language. I’ve wanted to teach more than just French, so I could find more work, and because TEFL appealed to me. As a French teacher—which is a foreign language, of course—my thought was that I already knew how to teach a foreign language. At times I was even thinking, “Why do I need a course? Shouldn’t I just be able to jump into teaching ESL without additional schooling?” I tried not to be naive in thinking “I could just take all the French teaching and do it in...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker TEFL Information Online English language teaching is one area of the TEFL field that has grown rapidly in recent times and it is only going to become more popular. With this growth comes an increased demand for teachers which is a very positive thing for anyone who doesn’t have a full university degree. While some online employers do insist on a degree, the two most important ingredients when applying for online teaching jobs are generally a TEFL/TESOL certification and in some cases being a native English speaker. For anyone without a degree, the best thing to do is to offer as much else to the employer as possible. As mentioned, a TEFL/TESOL certification is essential (a minimum 120-hour course is usually expected). Other sought...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Slang and idioms are an important part of every language and should be taught to ESL students. Colloquialisms are used in daily conversational English, and teaching them to students increases the efficiency of communication and fluency. They also are used in cultural items as well, such as movies, books, and music. Teaching slang and idioms may also prevent misunderstandings between people. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Vania J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. While slang and idioms may seem inappropriate to teach students, it makes for better communication. Native English speakers use slang and idioms such as "break a leg"...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker TEFL Information Alumni Experiences The 20th century brought in its wake the concept of globalization, changing the dynamics of the world to what we have come to know it as today. As the world continues to move towards becoming a grand global village, many countries, people and things which once seemed so far out of reach are now more readily available and closer to home. Undoubtedly, with the advent of globalization, communication has become paramount to the ways in which we share knowledge and gather or receive information. Why? Because without this, humans will have a much more challenging time building relationships with others be it for economic, social or spiritual gains (just to name a few). This post was...  [Read more]

Gianluca Costa TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Many people have the dream to travel the world. However, it's hard to travel a lot unless you're rich or work for a big international company offering your business trips, right? What do you do about a visa, and what if you don't speak the local language? Fret not; it's actually easier than you think to find a job in an exciting foreign country. If you are a native English speaker or speak English fluently, why not consider a job teaching English abroad? English teachers are always in demand in countries where the English language is not the native language. Before you start your travel, you should consider getting TEFL qualified by completing a TEFL course, like the ones...  [Read more]

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Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences For the longest time, people have separated teaching English from linguistics, which tends to include all their subcategories. However, phonetics, in particular, plays an incredibly integral part of the teaching of the English language. Why is an understanding of phonetics important in aiding the teaching pronunciation, articulation, and intonation? Being able to demonstrate how one changes the shape of their mouth, or the placement of their tongue can be the difference between someone speaking correct English and sounding as close as possible to a native speaker. Without at least a basic knowledge of this concept, how can we as teachers properly explain and display the way our language sounds in comparison...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT TEFL Information You've passed your TEFL course and armed with your new certificate you are ready to head to the classroom. There are thousands of teaching jobs available around the world but where is the best place to look? Many people start online and there is plenty to choose from. Searching for jobs online can be a good way to find jobs when you start looking from home. It is also a great way to suss out the local TEFL job market in a particular country. The downsides about online job adverts are that each position will attract numerous applications and if you are non-native speaker or do not have a listed qualification, the employer may disregard your application without properly considering it. There is also a higher chance of...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore TEFL Information There are many reasons to take a TEFL/TESOL course, not least because it is the best way to enable you to work almost anywhere in the world as an English teacher. The days where simply being a native English speaker was enough to secure a job as an English teacher around the world are long gone and the majority of employers worldwide expect their teachers to have a TEFL/TESOL qualification. Increasingly, those hoping to teach English as a foreign language are required to have a certificate of at least 100 hours if not 120 hours. Having a TEFL/TESOL certificate opens up many more employment opportunities than would be available without one. It is also worth noting that taking the time to study and complete a course...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Language textbooks are a good source for language learners and teachers, especially new language learners or teachers who may not know exactly where to begin. However, while textbooks are a valuable resource, they do not teach students everything they need to know when it comes to interacting with native speakers of the target language. This is because all native speakers use some level of slang in their everyday speech, in the classroom, and even in their workplace. For this reason alone, ESL students need to begin learning common slang they may hear. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Justin W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT....  [Read more]

Federico Riva Teaching Ideas English is increasingly becoming a ubiquitous language. Whether written or spoken, you can see the presence of English even in the most remote parts of our world. Its overwhelming presence does English essentially means it is a lingua franca. It is the standard for global diplomacy, trade, communication, and business. It was not always the case, the French language used to be the preferred language of global diplomacy and trade. As a result of the British colonization of large parts of the world, English has become the lingua franca for all of the former colonies once the British left. Globalization in the last century only made English even more ubiquitous. With the spread of neoliberal economic policies of the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The English language is complex, but it becomes even more so when we consider the differences informality. In most classrooms for second language learners, the ‘formal’ version of English is taught. This is important so that students learn the grammar and vocabulary necessary for proper speaking and writing skills. However, the use of ‘informal’ language with slang and idioms is just as common in everyday life and can vary depending on the region. Both offer unique benefits to the learner, but only the formal style is generally taught in class. More often than not, language lessons focus on the formal use and structure of the English language. This is essential to establish a clear understanding of the...  [Read more]

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Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences As a non-native English speaker, I was very scared of teaching English or even thinking about teaching English at the beginning of my teaching career. But some months later I realized that I have a huge advantage compared to the native speakers: I still remember the difficulties of learning English and I know what might cause problems to my students. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Gabriella S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. So I can always emphasize and slow down when it is needed without being impatient. Learning English requires time, and learning to speak well requires even more time and patience from both the...  [Read more]

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