Free Teaching English as a Foreign Language for Dummies by Michelle Maxom

good or right.
    Believe it or not, students love it when their teachers correct them. I mention this because new teachers are sometimes too polite about this as they think that students may be offended. In my experience, students want to know where their errors lie and what to do about them.
    30 Part I: Getting Started in TEFL

Chapter 3
    Examining Courses, Qualifications
    and Jobs
    In This Chapter
    ▶ Deciding on your level of teaching
    ▶ Signing up to the right courses and training
    ▶ Gearing your work to the salaries available
    ▶ Finding work
    Gone are the days when a native English speaker could set off with a rucksack, arrive anywhere in the world and expect to be greeted with open arms by eager language school owners. Such scenarios are still possible, but the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) industry has moved on, so you need to put a little more thought into it before you start packing. In this chapter I show you how to take your first steps in TEFL by deciding whether you need training, what kind to choose and how to go about finding a job.
    Teaching the Teacher
    From intensive weekends to master’s degrees, so many TEFL courses exist out there that it’s a job in itself trying to decide which one is right for you.
    Before you set out to teach, get a decent dictionary and the best grammar book you can fit in your case (see Chapter 24 for some suggestions).
    32 Part I: Getting Started in TEFL
    Finding your level
    In the world of TEFL there are four or five levels of ‘teacher’. Deciding whether you want to earn enough to keep you in beer money whilst on your travels or whether you’re looking for a long-term career helps you decide what kind of training is appropriate.
    The various types of native and proficient speakers of English working fit into these categories:
    ✓
    The opportunist who has no training in EFL or any other teaching qualifications but needs to find work.
    ✓
    The teacher who has a basic level of training amounting to 20 hours or fewer. He’s been introduced to the overall principles of TEFL.
    ✓
    The TEFL initiated teacher who has completed a certificate level TEFL
    course of about 100 hours.
    ✓
    The teacher qualified in another subject who needs to learn the principles of teaching EFL. At this same level are people who have studied the English language extensively, perhaps having a degree in English literature or linguistics, but who have no experience of teaching.
    ✓
    The TEFL qualified teacher who has a diploma or master’s-level qualification in EFL.
    Don’t underestimate the responsibility teachers have. Once you’re facing 20
    eager students who’ve parted with their hard-earned cash hoping that you can change their lives, it’s a little late for regrets.
    Get some training or do your own research but never walk into a classroom completely unprepared. A little training is better than none at all.
    Being an unqualified teacher
    Most language schools belong to professional bodies, which set criteria for teaching staff so that there’s a level of quality control. This means that usually you can’t find paid work in an English-speaking country without a well-recognised teaching qualification. However, there are exceptions to this if the school runs its own training programmes for would-be teachers. Charitable and state-run organisations with volunteer programmes sometimes welcome people willing to share their knowledge with others and you get some teaching experience in return.
    Chapter 3: Examining Courses, Qualifications and Jobs
    33
    If a school trains staff to use its own teaching methods, you’ve a better chance of finding work with them without a teaching qualification. Big chains like Callan and Berlitz employ staff in this way, depending on the location.
    On the other hand, if you’re travelling to a part of the world where there are few native English speakers in residence, but the locals have some disposable income, you’re more likely to be