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Can you teach english with just a tefl certificate?

 
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Coldnorth



Joined: 28 Jun 2018
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:36 pm    Post subject: Can you teach english with just a tefl certificate? Reply with quote

Hello,

I just received my tefl certificate. However i am a non-native speaker(Germany) and i also dont have a bachelors degree. Is it possible for me to teach english abroad or do i have to start working on my bachelors degree?

Best Regards

Coldnorth
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash

PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What type of TEFL certificate? They range from online to 120 hours in person. Reputable certs include supervised teaching practice with real students.

A German native with or without a BA will be definitely limited as an English language teacher; there is a LOT of competition from native speakers of English everywhere. Why not consider teaching German?
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Coldnorth



Joined: 28 Jun 2018
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 1:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

spiral78 wrote:
What type of TEFL certificate? They range from online to 120 hours in person. Reputable certs include supervised teaching practice with real students.

A German native with or without a BA will be definitely limited as an English language teacher; there is a LOT of competition from native speakers of English everywhere. Why not consider teaching German?


I did an level 5 online course(168 hours) at Tefl Academy.
English is much more demanded then german. So i want to teach english now.
Maybe later i will teach german.
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash

PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 2:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I did an level 5 online course(168 hours) at Tefl Academy.


They have a pretty website. Did the course involve supervised teaching practice with real students?
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Coldnorth



Joined: 28 Jun 2018
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 2:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

spiral78 wrote:
Quote:
I did an level 5 online course(168 hours) at Tefl Academy.


They have a pretty website. Did the course involve supervised teaching practice with real students?


No they didn't. But i have some teaching experience.
I worked as a tutor for 2 months if this can be counted.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 2:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Coldnorth wrote:
i am a non-native speaker(Germany) and i also dont have a bachelors degree. Is it possible for me to teach english abroad or do i have to start working on my bachelors degree?
....
I did an level 5 online course(168 hours) at Tefl Academy.

Be aware that native speakers without a BA are limited as to where they can legally teach. Additionally, TEFL Academy's online level 5 TEFL cert won't help you compete for jobs; many employers consider online TEFL certs substandard compared to certs that entailed in-person training and supervised and assessed teaching practice with a classroom of real students (e.g., CELTA, Trinity CertTESOL).

So no, an online TEFL cert, lack of a BA, zero classroom teaching experience, and a German passport will greatly limit where you can legally teach English. Plus, your earnings will be skimpy. Teaching German (with a degree) may be a better option if you want to teach abroad.

What are your plans in terms of a career or expectations regarding TESOL?
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Coldnorth



Joined: 28 Jun 2018
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 3:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What are your plans in terms of a career or expectations regarding TESOL?[/quote]

I read on internet forums that countries in Asia(cambodia) or South America(Colombia, Brazil) also employ non-native speakers but i guess there is a lot of stuff written on the internet.
Guess i have to start working on my degree.
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash

PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 4:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think that you may want to reassess your goals overall before starting a degree program.

Even with a BA, a native speaker of German will have a tough time to find English teaching positions. There are MANY native English speakers on all job markets these days, and many learners prefer to study with native speakers, though whether that is always better is certainly debatable.


If I were you, I'd research where German language is in demand and aim there.
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Coldnorth



Joined: 28 Jun 2018
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 6:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nomad soul wrote:
Coldnorth wrote:
i am a non-native speaker(Germany) and i also dont have a bachelors degree. Is it possible for me to teach english abroad or do i have to start working on my bachelors degree?
....
I did an level 5 online course(168 hours) at Tefl Academy.

Be aware that native speakers without a BA are limited as to where they can legally teach. Additionally, TEFL Academy's online level 5 TEFL cert won't help you compete for jobs; many employers consider online TEFL certs substandard compared to certs that entailed in-person training and supervised and assessed teaching practice with a classroom of real students (e.g., CELTA, Trinity CertTESOL).

So no, an online TEFL cert, lack of a BA, zero classroom teaching experience, and a German passport will greatly limit where you can legally teach English. Plus, your earnings will be skimpy. Teaching German (with a degree) may be a better option if you want to teach abroad.

What are your plans in terms of a career or expectations regarding TESOL?



Does it mean that online courses are useless? A friend of mine did his course online and is teaching in china now(he is a native speaker).

I have a friend in China who works at a school and she told me that they even hire people from Nigeria, India or Pakistan. If you are White it is even better because most chinese people believe every white guy speaks english. Only in major cities like Shanghai or Shenzhen it is really hard to get work for non native speakers.
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash

PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 6:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Does it mean that online courses are useless? A friend of mine did his course online and is teaching in china now(he is a native speaker).


In countries where demand for teachers is high, online certs are generally accepted. In more 'desirable' countries where the job markets are slanted in favor of employers (because many people want to teach there) online certs are generally below the entry level standard.
You'd have a hard time finding an English teaching job in Europe with an online cert, for example, as it's a competitive market.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 7:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Coldnorth wrote:
I have a friend in China who works at a school and she told me that they even hire people from Nigeria, India or Pakistan. If you are White it is even better because most chinese people believe every white guy speaks english. Only in major cities like Shanghai or Shenzhen it is really hard to get work for non native speakers.

Times have changed. To qualify for legal TEFL work in China, a BA and a passport from an Anglophone country are required. Several years ago, Chinese immigration started cracking down on foreign teachers who didn't meet these work visa requirements. Head to the China forum to ask about the current teaching situation for job seekers without a degree as well as for non-native speakers.

Seriously, if the ability to work abroad in different regions is more important than being limited to handful of countries as an EFL teacher, focus on German teaching jobs.
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suphanburi



Joined: 20 Mar 2014
Posts: 916

PostPosted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 12:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

OP:

There are several issues that you face.

1) the visa issue.
Some countries require a NES passport to be legal. As a German national you will never overcome this issue.
Some countries require a Bachelor degree to be legal.

There are very few countries outside of your home country / region (where you don't need to worry about a visa) that you can get by with both the wrong passport and lacking a degree and still work legally.

2) Qualifications and experience.
You are NNES therefor you need to make up for it with proof of English proficiency (TOEIC or IELTS test) and a decent TEFL/TESOL cert.
On-line certs are usually only sufficient for visa purposes. Employers who actually care about it will discount them as meaningless.

3) While you can find work in many countries as an English teacher based on a white face and being able to make English noises it usually won't be legal. Teaching in China without a degree means working as a teacher but not having a proper "Z" visa. Most are dodging around it on business visas as "interns". This is illegal and should a crackdown occur you will have no legal recourse and your embassy cannot help you.

MAKE SURE you have / can get a proper visa or stay in the EU.
Immigration detention centers are never a nice place to stay.

.
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