Thinking About Teaching English as a Second
Language?
Here's How To Get Started
There are probably all
kinds of opportunities for you to get started teaching
English as a Second Language, commonly referred to as ESL, right in
your own hometown.
Of course, there are more
opportunities for teaching English if you live in a big city then there
are in a rural area. And of course areas on sea coast cities like
New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Miami and other port towns will
have more opportunities still.
But if you live somewhere in the heartland don't despair.
Although there may not be language schools you may be able to take on private
students.
Private students are a good
idea anyway even if you live in the bigger coastal cities. Not only is
it a good way to supplement your income but it's a
great way to make new friends. Teaching English can be a great home
based business.
Of course, if a taste for adventure is in your
blood there are hundreds of places you can teach overseas. We'll talk
about that later. But first let's look at...
How I Got
Started Teaching English
I actually fell into the job unexpectedly. I went
to Spain, in a pub met the dean of students at an American college in
Seville who was looking for English teachers, went in the next day for
an interview and was hired on the spot.
Because I didn't speak Spanish they gave me one class of advanced
students. They also gave me one class of 12 year
olds which was a study in misery and triumph. (Read the article)
That year living in Seville and teaching ESL was one of the best
years of my life.
I didn't get into teaching English again until many years later when
living in Vancouver, Washington I got a job at a language company in
nearby Portland, Oregon. I taught business English to
executives from Mercedes-Benz of Germany as well as from HewletPackard.
I did this for about 3 years.
Although the pay was good, teaching English one-on-one for 4 hours at a
time was tiring.
Now I'm back in my hometown New Orleans and was teaching English
beginner to advanced level at small private language school. And I
loving it. We had students from all over the world.
But alas now the school is
closed because of Hurricane Katrina and prospects for work are scarce.
But I may be opening an ESL school with another teacher. So we will see
how that all works out.
I made many friends through the school. (I've
become very close with one student from Turkey who invited me to visit
his country. I went and it was fabulous. That's just one of the perks
of being an ESL teacher.)
English
Teaching Qualifications?
And what were my qualifications
for getting my first job? I spoke English and had a
college degree. But the degree was not in teaching English but in
filmmaking.
So you see I knew nothing about teaching English
and not very much about teaching, really. I did have a background in theatre
so I had experience being up in front of
people. And I found some advanced grammar books at a local book store
in Seville.
There were many things about the English language I
did not know and I learned them in the process of teaching. I was
always one lesson ahead of my students!
(So as a teacher you will definitely learn how to speak the language better
and you'll find yourself having to bite your tongue
each time a friend or someone in your family makes a mistake! Do I know
everything about teaching English
? No, but I learn more day by day and I've been teaching for years.)
I got the job in Portland because of my experience in
Spain. I got the job in New Orleans because of my experience in
Portland and Spain.
Maybe...
Maybe I was chosen quicker because of my experience
and I had a degree. But I really think a good working
knowledge of the language (in other words just speaking
English well) and a good attitude are the key for getting work. I think
a college degree in any field helps, too.
Some
Ideas To Get Started Teaching ESL In Your Own Town
1. Teach Privately--
If you want to teach privately you'll need to start with some
materials. Here are some really great books
for teaching English I recommend.
2. Volunteer--
If you've never taught before you might want to get some experience by volunteering.
One good place to start is through Catholic Charities.
Just look in the phone book.
They are always looking for volunteers and it
doesn't matter what religion you are. Just look in the volunteer
section of your Yellow Pages.
Call some numbers, tell them
what you want to do. If they don't have something maybe they can direct
you to an organization who does.
3. Place an ad--
You can take out a small classified ad in your
local paper, maybe a weekly periodical might give you a better rate.
You can put in the ad something like this: "English Lessons. Phone
XXX-XXXX Email:XXX@XXX.com" You don't need anything fancy, just simple
and straightforward.
4. Create a webpage--
If you really want to be ambitious you could create a single
webpage through your ISP. Clearly and simply talking about
your English class with your email and contact information.
I wouldn't list your price
though. You want to engage your potential client
first in a little communication.
5. Charge by the hour--
If you are just starting out I probably would start at $13 or $15 an
hour. Of course if you are in a bigger city like New York, Miami or
L.A. you could charge more.
If you are experienced
$22-25-30 or even $50 an hour or even more
would be appropriate. But again I wouldn't list the price in your
advertisement or webpage. Anyway, you might want to experiment
to see what works better for you.
6. Put up flyers--
Another thing you could do is put up flyers at
local colleges and schools and other bulletin boards around town. Do it
up nice on your computer, nothing handwritten.
It doesn't need a lot of bells
and whistles. Nice, clean and simple is all it needs to be. Printing it
on goldenrod colored paper stock has been proven to
catch the eye.
7. Get some business cards--
Printing up some business cards is a must for
getting your message out. Again, nice, clean and simple is the way to
go. You can print your own cards with some inexpensive business card
software that you can often get when you buy business cardstock.
Or you can also get 250 free
business cards from vistaprint.com
Just put your name in a nice unfancy
font. Underneath put "Teacher" then underneath that put "English as a
Second Language". At the bottom put your phone number and your email
address and your webpage address if you have one.
That's all there is to it. Clean
and simple.
8. Find a school--
Another thing you can do is get out your Yellow Pages again and look
under language schools. Call them up and see if
they have any job openings in their ESL program. Even if they don't,
tell them you want to send them your resume.
Tell them you are willing to do
some substitute teaching and would like to come in to talk with them.
Also, check colleges and universities and ask about
their ESL programs. You might be able to find work if you have a
college degree. Sometimes, any kind of degree will work for teaching
ESL. Some places, though, may require ESL Certification.
Anyway, a nice resume is a good thing to have.
9. Join Toastmasters--
What if you've never had any classroom or teaching
experience? Well, as I said before volunteering is a good way to start.
But...
... here's something that will
help you along really quickly. Not only is this
good for being comfortable in front of people but it also helps with
one-on-one situations.
That's Toastmasters
International. There are hundreds of clubs all over the
United States. These clubs are designed to help people learn the art of
public speaking.
A club only costs a few bucks
to join, usually meets once a week, is very supportive and a lot of
fun. It's a great way to meet new people, learn a new skill, boost
your self-confidence and in many ways improve your station in
life.
I belonged to a club for two and a half years and received tremendous
value from it. I use skills that I learned in Toastmasters
everyday when I teach and also in my personal life. I highly recommend
finding a club near you and joining.
If You Need a Jumpstart...
I've found a great resource for you: How to Teach in Japan Handbook.
Even if you are not thinking of teaching in Japan this ebook is full of
great, useful information whether you are a freelancer or teach at a
school. And it's especially valuable for the freelancer.
As you may know I am very picky
about who I link with and the resources I recommend. And I highly
recommend this valuable ebook.
Do You
Need to Get Certified for Teaching English ?
You could get
certified for teaching English. If you don't have a college
degree getting certified could be helpful. Some
schools in the US and overseas require it. I have taught English at
three different places without certification.
Being Certified does not mean one is a better
teacher. Being a good ESL teacher is all about communicating with the
class, being enthusiastic(not overly and annoying so, though. One can
be quietly enthusiastic.), keeping the students interested by providing
variety.
However, more and more schools
are requiring some type of ESL certification so for more info on that
you can check out ICAL
online English teaching certification.
Above all I believe it's important to be
entertaining, giving students opportunities to talk everyday, having
respect for the students and having impeccable integrity.
(Imagine that, being a teacher and not having to go back to school to
get some kind of qualification certificate. You've lived your subject
your whole life. You live and breathe your subject
on a daily basis.
Before it was invisible like water to a fish
because you were swimming around in English. Now as an ESL teacher you
get to see that water and what it's made up of.)
You could
actually start your own "adventure in teaching English" today...
Well, to be realistic maybe in
a few days. Get a few books that I recommend, put an ad in the paper
and take on some private students. Then to get some
classroom experience you could find some volunteer work and teach a
class.
You could contact a local college or language school in your city and
see if they are looking for substitute teachers.
However, there are some schools that require certification for teaching
English. I've provided some resources for that. There are even places
overseas you can go to get ESL certification. What a great
excuse for a trip!
-----------
And I know someone personally
who makes living teaching in Japan! To get more
information on how he does it click here .
-----------
Click
Here to read about the perks of teaching English as a Second Language.
I love
teaching English. I have been fortunate enough to happen upon really
good opportunities that have been extremely rewarding. If you keep
yourself open and are willing to be flexible some good opportunities
should come your way too.
|