Teaching English As Second Language

By Author: Natasa Mukherjee
Total Articles: 20
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TESOL is an acronym for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. There are 2 terms under this umbrella – TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) & TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). A course in TESL will be useful if you wish to teach English to people who speak it as a second language, the mother tongue being their first language. Whereas, TEFL course is perfect for teaching those people for whom English is a foreign language.
In today’s global market, the demand for English teachers is ever-increasing, especially in South-East Asia. Countries like China, Japan, Thailand and Singapore offer high remuneration to people holding a TEFL certification. The prospect for ESL (English as a Second Language) jobs is very good in India right now. India is one of the largest English speaking countries in the world, where English has become indispensable. It is truly our second Lang & there are many Indians whose English is better than their mother tongue. A TESL Certification will open the door to teaching English for you.
A TESOL course covers both TEFL & TESL & it makes you eligible ...
... to teach English anywhere in the world. A course in TEFL will do wonders for your C.V & help you to achieve your true potential as an English Teacher.
Several institutes offer these courses & most of them have an Online/Distance mode as well. This makes it easy for you to complete the course while sitting at home. Moreover, the part-time courses will help you to do a TESL course while you are studying or working. Thus, you end up saving time.
Teaching English as a career will always be in demand. English speaking countries like the U.K, U.S.A & Canada also recruit people holding a TESL certificate to teach immigrants & people who go there to work. The TEFL course will also help you to get a job in Europe & South America, where several countries speak English only as a foreign language. Thus, Teaching English can take you to foreign countries, where you get to visit exotic places & learn about the people & their culture. It is the best way to get a taste of life abroad & since you will be required to speak only in English in class, you can go to places without knowing the native language. This is a unique opportunity as any other job would require you to have some knowledge of the native language of a place. But with TEFL, you can visit new countries & learn about their lifestyle without having to learn a new language. You can even learn their language, if you so desire. So if you wish to travel the world, simple opt for a TEFL/TESL course.
TEFL Certification courses are generally of around 120 hours duration while advanced ones can take up to 2 years to finish & once you get your certificate, the world is yours.