Before embarking on your CELTA or TESOL course, it’s important to understand what kind of jobs are out there. In this post we give you a quick overview of the employment opportunities available to qualified English language teachers.
Language Schools
The need to learn English is so great that many adults and children attend courses at private language schools. Courses in English speaking countries are normally during the day, whereas courses in non-English speaking countries generally occur before and after school or work, either in the early morning or in the afternoon and evening. These courses are often not cheap and the learners are motivated to succeed. Because of this, the facilities and resources of private language schools are generally of a high quality and the support for new teachers substantial. Class sizes vary but are generally from 8-15 students, enabling the teacher to adapt the lessons more suitably to the needs of the students.
Primary Schools, Secondary Schools, and Universities
Qualified English teachers with a high-level of English are in high demand in some parts of the world, particularly Asia. People with degrees and TEFL qualifications are sort after, but in some places the demand is so high that a TEFL qualification alone is enough. Classes in these types of institutions tend to be bigger, and so there is less of a communicative focus. Support for teachers is not as high as in language schools, but the rewards are high.
In-company Teaching
A lot of companies with international business contacts provide English lessons to their employees as part of their jobs. Lessons in-company tend to be with smaller groups and one-to-ones which allows for great deal of personalisation, but resources tend to be whatever is in the office or room of the lesson. Despite the lessons occurring in-company, it is not always business English that is needed and knowledge of business is not essential, but may be an advantage.
Private Tutoring
Work in any of the above institutions can be supplemented with private tutoring. Many students are looking for extra tuition to help them personally and these learners can be very specific about what they want. This enables the teacher to cater to the needs of the student fully. These lessons generally take place in the student’s home or a coffee shop and are much more informal.
