Teaching Without a TEFL Certificate
Here’s another question about teaching that I’ve often been asked: What can you do if you don’t have a certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL), or any experience but want to teach in Slovakia? Does someone like that have a chance in finding a job?
Of course, everything depends on how much time you have to prepare. A TESL certificate can take from a few weeks to a year to obtain, depending on the program (I completed 12 units in linguistics, at my university to get my certificate and it took me a year). Several universities across the US have an American Language Institute (ALI) which trains ESL teachers in a few weeks.
Note: You don’t need to be a native speaker of English to teach ESL but of course, you do need to have a good foundation of the English language.
If you don’t have the time to get a certificate or don’t live close to a university where you can get certified, the next best thing is experience. Do a search in your town or city for a school that teaches English to immigrants and call them up to ask if you can volunteer there. Ideally it would be best if you could have at least one semester of volunteer experience.
While you are gaining experience volunteering, collect material that you may possibly use one day to teach your lessons. It’s also a good idea to come up with a lesson plan or two. Some schools you are applying to teach at may want to see an example of lesson plans you have.
Good luck!
2 Comments on “Teaching Without a TEFL Certificate”
Hi Margarete. This is an amazing site. My partner and I want to move to Bratislava to teach English. We are both New Zealanders and are currently working on a TEFL 100 hr certificate. I am just wondering when you think the best to get a job is? We know September is best, but we want to leave a little later in the year, or even early 2010. Also, what do you think the pay would be like at present, is there a chance to saving enough to travel around Slovakia? Thanks.
April 30th, 2009 at 04:41 AM
Hi Amy, In my experience, if you would like to work starting at the beginning of the school year (September), the best time to apply for jobs is to start looking from March. Schools begin recruiting then until about May. On the other hand, for private language schools that teach mostly adults year-round, it really doesn't matter when you apply for a job. Hope that helps.
May 1st, 2009 at 06:18 PM