Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) can be a rewarding and challenging career. Whether you are planning to teach abroad or online, there are some things that every new TEFL teacher should know before starting their journey. Here are 20 tips that will help you succeed as a TEFL teacher.
1. Get a TEFL certificate. A TEFL certificate is a qualification that shows you have completed a course in teaching English to speakers of other languages. It will help you find better jobs, earn more money, and gain more confidence as a teacher. There are many online and in-person TEFL courses available, so do your research and choose the one that suits your needs and goals.
2. Know your students. Every student is different and has different needs, goals, interests, and learning styles. As a TEFL teacher, you should get to know your students as much as possible and tailor your lessons to their level, preferences, and objectives. You can use surveys, interviews, games, and activities to learn more about your students and build rapport with them.
3. Plan your lessons. Planning your lessons is essential for effective teaching. You should have a clear aim for each lesson, a variety of activities and materials to engage your students, and a way to check their understanding and progress. You should also be flexible and ready to adapt your plan if something unexpected happens or if your students need more practice or support.
4. Use the communicative approach. The communicative approach is a method of teaching that focuses on developing the students’ ability to communicate in real-life situations using the target language. It involves using authentic texts and tasks, encouraging interaction and collaboration among students, and providing meaningful feedback and correction. The communicative approach will help your students improve their fluency, accuracy, and confidence in using English.
5. Teach grammar in context. Grammar is an important part of learning any language, but it can be boring and confusing if taught in isolation. Instead of presenting grammar rules and exercises out of context, you should teach grammar in context using relevant and engaging texts and tasks. You should also elicit the grammar rules from the students rather than explaining them yourself, and provide plenty of practice opportunities for them to use the grammar in meaningful ways.
6. Teach vocabulary in chunks. Vocabulary is another essential component of language learning, but it can be overwhelming if taught as individual words. Instead of teaching vocabulary as single items, you should teach vocabulary in chunks such as collocations, idioms, phrasal verbs, and expressions. This will help your students remember the words better, use them more naturally, and expand their lexical range.
7. Use authentic materials. Authentic materials are texts and resources that are created for speakers of English or real-world purposes, such as newspapers, magazines, podcasts, videos, songs, websites, etc. Using authentic materials in your TEFL lessons will expose your students to real and varied language use, motivate them to learn more about the culture and topics of the texts, and prepare them for real-life communication situations.
8. Incorporate technology. Technology can be a great tool for enhancing your TEFL teaching and learning experience. You can use technology to access a wide range of online materials and resources, create interactive and multimedia activities and quizzes, communicate and collaborate with your students and other teachers online, record and review your lessons, and more.
9. Use games and fun activities. Games and fun activities are not only enjoyable but also effective for TEFL teaching and learning. They can help you break the ice, review previous topics, introduce new topics, practice language skills, reinforce learning outcomes, and more. Games and fun activities can also increase student participation, motivation, and retention.
10. Balance the four skills. The four skills of language learning are listening, speaking, reading, and writing. As a TEFL teacher, you should balance the four skills in your lessons and provide equal opportunities for your students to practice each skill. You should also integrate the skills whenever possible and use tasks that require the students to use more than one skill at a time. For example, you can use a listening text as a basis for a speaking or writing activity or use a reading text as a model for a listening or speaking activity.
11. Teach pronunciation. Pronunciation is often neglected or overlooked in TEFL teaching but it is an important aspect of language learning that affects the students’ ability to understand and be understood by others. As a TEFL teacher, you should teach pronunciation regularly and systematically and focus on both segmental features (such as sounds and stress) and suprasegmental features (such as intonation and rhythm). You should also use a variety of techniques and activities to teach pronunciation such as drilling, minimal pairs, tongue twisters, songs, poems, etc.
12. Give clear instructions. Giving clear instructions is crucial for effective TEFL teaching and learning. If your instructions are unclear or confusing, your students may not understand what they are supposed to do or how to do it and they may lose interest or confidence in the activity. To give clear instructions you should use simple and direct language demonstrate the activity with an example or a model check the students’ understanding by asking questions or asking them to repeat the instructions and monitor and assist them during the activity.
13. Monitor and support your students. Monitoring and supporting your students is an important part of your role as a TEFL teacher. You should monitor your students’ performance and progress during the lesson and provide them with feedback and correction as needed. You should also support your students’ learning by encouraging them, praising them, motivating them and helping them overcome their difficulties and challenges.
14. Use feedback and correction effectively. Feedback and correction are essential for TEFL teaching and learning as they help the students identify their strengths and weaknesses and improve their language skills. However, feedback and correction should be used effectively and appropriately to avoid discouraging or demotivating the students. As a TEFL teacher, you should use feedback and correction that is timely specific constructive positive and balanced. You should also use different methods of feedback and correction depending on the type of activity the aim of the lesson the level of the students and their preferences and needs.
15. Reflect on your teaching. Reflecting on your teaching is a valuable practice that can help you improve your TEFL skills and knowledge. By reflecting on your teaching, you can evaluate your strengths and weaknesses as a teacher identify areas for improvement or development learn from your successes and failures and set goals and action plans for your future teaching. You can reflect on your teaching by keeping a journal or a portfolio of your lessons asking for feedback from your students or colleagues recording or observing your lessons or joining a professional development group or community.
16. Keep learning. Learning is a lifelong process that never ends for TEFL teachers. As a TEFL teacher, you should keep learning new things about the English language, the TEFL methodology, the culture and context of your students, and more. You should also keep updating your skills and knowledge by taking courses, attending workshops, reading books and articles, watching videos and podcasts, etc.
17. Be creative. Creativity is a key skill for TEFL teachers that can make your lessons more interesting, engaging, and effective. As a TEFL teacher, you should be creative in designing and delivering your lessons, using different materials and resources, adapting to different situations and challenges, solving problems, and finding new ways to teach and learn English.
18. Be flexible. Flexibility is another essential skill for TEFL teachers that can help you cope with the unpredictability and diversity of TEFL teaching. As a TEFL teacher, you should be flexible in adjusting to different levels, needs, goals, interests, and learning styles of your students, changing your plans or strategies if something goes wrong or if something unexpected happens, dealing with different classroom management issues, working with different colleagues or employers, etc.
19. Be professional. Professionalism is an important quality for TEFL teachers that can affect your reputation, credibility, and success as a teacher. As a TEFL teacher, you should be professional in following the rules and policies of your workplace, respecting the culture and customs of your students and colleagues, dressing appropriately, being punctual, prepared, organized, responsible, honest and ethical.
20. Enjoy teaching. Teaching is not only a job but also a passion for many TEFL teachers. As a TEFL teacher, you should enjoy teaching English to speakers of other languages, sharing your knowledge and experience with them, learning from them, having fun with them, making a difference in their lives, etc. Teaching English can be one of the most rewarding and fulfilling careers in the world if you enjoy it!
Are you interested in getting TEFL qualified? Have a look at our TEFL courses and start your own TEFL adventure!