There comes a time in all our lives when we need (and usually want) to upskill ourselves. When we feel a bit stagnant in the current situation in our lives and we know there is more for us to do. For many of us, that came to a head last year when we came to understand the limitations of our jobs or we realised that we weren’t in love with our work anymore or we just got bored with our lives.
Thankfully, there is a job you can do which will both upskill you and earn you money. Plus, you don’t need to give up your day job just yet, because it’s totally feasible as a side hustle to start, until you feel comfortable enough to go with it full-time.
And that job is teaching English as a Foreign Language.
Becoming a TEFL teacher is easy enough to do. All you need is a TEFL course from an internationally-renowned, accredited TEFL provider. Do the course and you will find out how to teach English as a Foreign Language to learners of all ages, nationalities and English levels. You will learn teaching methods and techniques, theories of learning, classroom management and lesson planning. You will even be given a crash course in English grammar – so you don’t need to worry if you weren’t paying attention in English class!
With your TEFL certificate in hand, you are free to find yourself a job – anywhere in the world, or on your couch. The flexibility of TEFL is what draws many people to this career. If you want to teach abroad, you can find yourself a job in Bali or Budapest. If you want to teach from home, you can easily teach students from all over the world from the comfort of your living room. Or if you want the best of both worlds, you can be a digital nomad, living in whichever city you choose and teaching English online.
Many teachers start teaching online because they choose to teach while they still have their day job, which is a great idea. You’ll be able to earn some money to save for your ticket abroad and also get valuable experience in the classroom.
But that’s not all that teaching English as a Foreign Language can offer you. Teaching will upskill you in many ways. You will indirectly learn time management and the importance of punctuality. You will learn professionalism. You will learn adaptability when it comes to planning lessons for different learners and flexibility when it comes to carrying out those lesson plans. No two students and no two lessons are the same, which will force you to become more resourceful and creative.
And the cherry on top: living abroad will make you more independent and resilient. You will become more open-minded as you experience different cultures and interact with different people. And if you learn the local language, you can add that to your resume too.
If this sounds like what you’ve been waiting for but you just didn’t know it, then go and download the World Factbook 2021 from The TEFL Academy. It’ll tell you everything you need to know about living and teaching in over 100 countries across the globe.
Well, what are you waiting for?
Salman is a prolific environmental writer, and has authored more than 500 articles in reputed journals, magazines and websites. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable energy, waste management, sustainability and conservation all over the world.
Salman can be reached on salman@cleantechloops.com
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