How to become an ESL teacher?

What is Teaching English as a Second Language? 

On the surface, teaching English as a second language is a pretty self-explanatory concept. You’re teaching English. In many respects, it is that simple.

ESL teachers instruct students who do not speak English as a first language. They conduct lessons and create a stimulating learning environment while considering students' differences and needs.

For a newcomer though, there’s a lot of industry terminology that can be extremely confusing. What, for example, is the difference between ESL and TEFL? What’s TESOL? And why is it important to know the difference?

Some terms used in the industry are umbrellas for wider concepts. For example, TESOL covers both teaching English as a foreign language, and as a second language. Both might seem interchangeable and they are often used in such a way. However, it’s important to know the differences between the phrases before launching into the world of teaching English abroad.

Here, then, is a guide to the acronyms of the ESL world:

• ESL: English as a Second Language
• TESOL: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages – An umbrella term covering both of the next two terms
• TEFL: Teaching English as a Foreign Language – Teaching English in a location where it is not the native language spoken (e.g. teaching English in Spain to Spanish speakers)
• TESL: Teaching English as a Second Language – Teaching English to non-English speakers in a location where English is the native language (e.g. teaching English in America to Spanish immigrants).
• CELTA: Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages – A teaching qualification provided by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES)
• DELTA: Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages – An advanced teaching qualification provided by UCLES

What skills do you need to teach ESL?

However, a recognised ESL certificate isn’t the only thing you should have. You’ll also need to draw on other skills that you will have learned from your ESL course or other employment experience to help you stand out from the crowd, especially when you’re applying for sought-after roles. 

In addition to a TEFL certification, here are some “soft skills” that you’ll find indispensable when teaching to ESL learners.

Good Communication Skills

This is the foundation skill that any teacher needs to have, no matter the subject. Teaching is about communicating your knowledge to your students in an effective and learnable manner, so without good communication skills, all your other great attributes as an ESL tutor will fall by the wayside.

Teaching English arguably requires even better communication than other teaching roles. This is not only because your students may come from a variety of cultural and linguistic backgrounds, but also because the goal as an ESL teacher is to provide an immersive experience of the language – something which is difficult to do without an excellent grasp of English and the way people use it to express themselves.

Adaptability

As a teacher, nothing will ever go exactly to plan. There’s always going to be something that life throws at you to keep you guessing, so what counts is how you pick up your plan and keep going.

This goes for individual lessons as much as it does for dealing with a new environment, like when relocating overseas to start a new job. If you’re going abroad, you’ll need to acclimate to a wholly different environment from the one you grew up in. Similarly, all students are different, so you’ll need to adapt your approach and your methods as necessary. It’s best to understand which approach fits which situation if you want to achieve the greatest results possible for each student.

Patience

Language learning can be a fraught process for both you and your students. You’ll hear your students make lots of mistakes as they go through the learning process.

Some might also not be learning at the same pace as others, and you’ll often find that what’s easy for one person might not be so easy for another. It’s important to keep your cool even when a student’s struggles might be frustrating you.

If one approach isn’t working, a different way of approaching the topic might serve better, or the student might simply need time to process what they’ve just learned. You don’t want to snap or otherwise show a negative reaction to a student, as this can discourage them from learning – this is where patience really is a virtue for an ESL teacher.

Empathy

Empathy goes hand-in-hand with patience and communication. As soon as you start teaching English classes, you’ll quickly realize that many of your students are struggling with nerves and uncertainty when it comes to learning and speaking in a different language. It can also be difficult for them to understand a different way of thinking when learning English terms, so understanding your students’ challenges will help their learning process go much easier.

Plus, if you can form a connection with your students, they’re more likely to trust you, feel at ease with the learning process, and perform better in their classes. Once you’ve gotten to know them better by building a rapport, you can also better adjust your teaching style to suit their individual learning needs.

A love of learning and sharing knowledge

As an ESL teacher, you’ll probably learn nearly as much from your students as they will from you. 

If you love your work, that’ll be reflected in your enthusiasm and the learning environment you create in your classroom, and that’ll make your students all the more eager to learn from you. Once they catch that passion and love of learning and knowledge from you, the job of teaching quickly becomes a lot easier. 

Plus, teaching English as a Second Language isn’t always easy – you’ll need to truly be passionate about it to stay dedicated to this line of work, even when you’ve had a tough day or are far from home.

ESL teacher jobs

For many, it’s at school, where English lessons are a mandatory part of the education system. Others take up English in higher education, or to advance their career. In some cases, people take up learning English in order to pass exams like the IELTS to move to an English-speaking country. Or, others have had to move to an English-speaking country in times of political strife, and need to learn the language in order to get by.

More simply put, there are a litany of reasons to become an ESL teacher, and a smörgasbord of kinds of students who need help learning the language.

The different types of jobs available to ESL teachers 

The classic picture of an ESL teacher may be the young graduate who goes abroad to teach children in another country, but that’s far from the only option available. There is a wide range of jobs and other opportunities available to ESL teachers, and we’ll explore these options below.