Teach English in Nanchenji Zhen - Huai'an Shi

In today’s society it is a lot more common and accessible for people to travel and work internationally. A very common way for people originating from western countries go about entering the international workforce is through teaching English. Especially for native english speakers, English teaching can be a rewarding career that comes with the added benefit of living in a new country or region and gaining new culture experiences and understanding. Many positions will take English teachers without prior teaching experience because they are a native speaker, however for individuals who want to seriously teach English and become teachers that their students can go to as a resource, taking a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) course can be a vital starting point to their career. A TEFL course helps individuals to become better teachers by teaching the basics of English grammar, helps teachers to be more aware of cultural differences, and acts as a resource for materials whether for the classroom or for job-hunting purposes. First of all, if a teacher is going to teach English as a foreign language they need to understand English grammar and various ways to go about teaching it. Even though the teacher may be a native speaker that does not guarantee they can explain the how and why a sentence is formed. A native speaker will naturally know how to use verbs in their simple past, past participle, present participle, etc. forms but most people do not know those forms actually have different names and rules. Teachers will not be able to explain to a student how a rule works when they only know it by instinct alone. This is where a TEFL course will break it down and put those rules into words that teachers can reference and see how English works from a students perspective. Not only do the students benefit but teachers can also see how they use the English language and the more the teacher knows and understands the better they can teach to their students. Besides becoming an expert on the English language, many of these jobs will take teachers to regions such as Asia where there are huge differences in cultures. A TEFL course helps new teachers to become aware that there are going to be differences and it is important for the teachers to research what is appropriate. Teachers cannot assume that schooling in one country is going to be the same as their home country and they may have less authority when it comes to things such as discipline. On top of that there may be language barriers and although the students are learning English, having a language barrier on top of a cultural barrier may make things difficult for teachers. TEFL courses also raise important questions for teachers to consider before they pick a country. Will their gender or background affect how they are treated? How is discipline handled? What kind of living situations and resources are accessible in that country? The appeal of going overseas to teach and live in a new country is exciting and people might forget what the actual situation will be like once they get over there and start teaching. However, a TEFL course helps a teacher to make realistic considerations before they start working. Finally TEFL courses are great resources, not just for learning about English grammar but actual resources for the classroom and the teacher’s development. A TEFL course can give lists of various reference books as well as online source materials for teaching in the class. Additionally there are resources for teacher development for example, how to write a resume, how and where to post for a job, and how to write lesson plans. When it comes to learning how to lesson plan it helps develop the teacher so not only do they have a guide during the class but they can use it to make goals for themselves and track progress. Lesson plans can also help teachers to foresee possible problems with a new learning point and brainstorm ways to overcome those problems. However this is just one of the various ways a lesson plan can help. Overall there are many things teachers can learn from a TEFL course, whether its grammar, about resources, or about developing themselves. A TEFL course introduces many topics that provide a great base for completely new teachers so they can be confident teachers in whichever country they work.However it can also give new concepts and techniques that experienced teachers have never encountered. All in all, if an individual is considering teaching English in another country they should take into account the benefits of taking a TEFL course and the added benefits it will provide toward their career.