As you might know, I follow an English and Creative Writing degree course at Manchester Metropolitan University in England. I’m starting my third and last year in September 2017, hoping to get my bachelor degree in July 2018. The dream is to get a writing/editorial job straight after university, so why am I following a TEFL course this summer?
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What is TEFL?
TEFL means Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Getting your TEFL certificate basically allows you to teach English as a certified English teacher anywhere around the globe. Being bilingual and having learned English as my second language, I think I’d make a great teacher for those who want to learn English as their second language too. I also love the idea of not being stuck in one place to do your job. I know a writing job gives you that kind of freedom too, but knowing I can always fall back into teaching calms me down a lot.
Why Follow A Teaching Course Outside Your Bachelor Degree?
Like I said before, my dream job would be a writing job. That could be for a magazine, blog or eventually publishing my own novel. I also know that getting a writers job straight out of university can be kinda tricky.
Especially because I don’t really have the option to move back in with my parents after I finish university, I do need to get a job to pay my rent and my bills. I also think it can never hurt to expand your knowledge on a topic that might help you in the job market. My degree will definitely help me with finding a teaching job, but having a TEFL certificate gives you so much more options. Even though I’ve not finished university yet, I think it’s good to start thinking about your options on time!
Why become an English teacher?
I want to stay in Manchester after graduation, which means I will need to get a full-time job that pays enough to live there without the financial support of my parents. If I can’t get a job into writing straight away, I would still love to work with intensively with the English language – rather than getting another bar job or retail job. (Nothing against
Where do I follow this TEFL course?
Because I’ve been travelling a lot over the summer, I’ve chosen to follow an online course instead of going to classes every week. I’m very close to finishing the course and I’ve really enjoyed the online aspect of it. I’ve been able to plan in when I study myself and when I needed help there was always an online chat to talk to a teacher.
There are different ways of getting your TEFL certificate, but I ended up going for the 120-hour course on https://www.theteflacademy.com/. I’ve currently finished all the exams and am working on the two final assignments, which include lesson planning and creating some of your own teaching materials. It’s been really interesting! Especially because this is the way I’ve been taught English, I
Obviously, I’m not going to look for a teaching job straight after getting my certificate (which I should hopefully get in the next few weeks, after finishing the assignments). I’ve still got one year of university left and want to focus on getting good grades in my course and spending as much time with my friends as possible. However, I am thinking of providing small English-teaching services as part of my website as soon as I officially am a teacher!
What do you think about having a plan B for after university? And what about your opinions on teaching English as a foreign language? Let me know in the comments!
Hi! I'm Nele (Nayla), a Dutch travel journalist who has lived in Manchester, UK for the last 6 years. On The Navigatio, I share my love for urban tourism and soft adventure travel with my free itineraries and travel guides. I run this website full-time while exploring new cities and sharing my favourite places with my readers. Read more.22 Comments on How to become an English teacher online
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This is really interesting and it’ll definitely open more doors for you within your field of work! Thanks for sharing x
Kayleigh Zara 🌿www.kayleighzaraa.com
Thank you for your comment! I’m very excited to see where this will lead me!
What a fantastic idea, and such a great way to expand your resume and skills in the field you love! Teaching is so rewarding, too. And how nice that you can do this course from home!
xx
Emily
emilyhallock.blogspot.com
Thank you so much! It’s been so nice being able to do it from home, especially now I’m travelling a lot! I’d never thought I’d be this excited to teach one day! ^_^
Ohhh my sisters doing a TEFL course along side her degree! She studies french, Spanish and Portuguese and is living in Portugal for the next year. I think the fact English is your second language would make you a fab teacher! Good luck with it!
PaleGirlRambling xo
Wow that’s amazing! I hope she’ll do well in her degree ^_^ Thank you so much!
This is such a good idea! Doing a TEFL course will make you look SO much better to future employers as well as they will know that you haven’t just shown an interest in English but you have done everything you can to make sure you are one of the best of the best. Brilliant idea to do a course as well as your degree x
Claire | clairesyear.com
Thank you so much, this is such a lovely comment to read ^_^ It definitely calms my anxiety down a lot knowing I have a plan B for after university!
What a great idea! I’d never even considered this and I’m going into my second year of university. It will definitely be something I consider in the future.
Good luck with your studies.
Thank you! What do you study at university :)? To be honest, I hadn’t really thought about it in my first year at all! But knowing I finish so soon I got a bit worried haha!
I nearly went to that Uni! This is a really interesting idea, it’s not something I’ve really considered before. It must be very rewarding for you!
It really is! ^_^ I’m actually kinda shocked I am enjoying it so much, never thought I’d enjoy teaching!
My cousin is a TEFL course too haha.it really is a great way to open doors for good jobs and good opportunities in the future.I really love your writing btw. xx
That’s awesome! Hope your cousin is doing well with their course! Thank you so much!
Ah good on you for thinking outside the box! I’m about to go into final year of university in September too, good luck girl!
Thank you so much! Ohhh it’s so scary isn’t it! Good luck to you too!
I really wish I was as motivated as you, this sounds so wonderful!
Awww thank you so much!
I definitely think having a plan B is smart! When I graduated university last year, my plan was to get a full-time job. Like you, I’ve been working restaurant and assistant type jobs since my teenage years so that wasn’t an option for me. Ultimately, getting a full-time job didn’t work out, but instead, I ended up going back to school for a master’s degree, which I think will open up more doors for me. I really am glad I made the decision I did and I think you will too!
One of my friends did it and she enjoyed it so much! I’m sure you will and do too x
This is such a great idea to do alongside things – my brother actually did one and ended up teaching in China! Good luck with the rest of your degree hun! x
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I never even thought of this! I wish I knew about it when I was at uni. I will still look into this though, maybe it’s something worth trying out. Having a plan B for after uni is so important – you may think it’s easy to get a job with a degree but it’s really not. Don’t know about all the fields but I’ve been struggling ever since graduation. There’s no harm in making a plan B just in case something doesn’t work out.
Julia xx
theglassofclass.com