Some questions about working in the EFL Teaching field

What does one need to start a career in the TEFL field?  How important is it to be a native speaker?

I tried to respond to Bruna Mendes' mess of a question in my Linkdin group "Teaching Concerns"

I am currently undertaking a course on Instructional Design - area in which I already have experience on; however, this one focus on LMS (Learning Management Systems).

The point is:Most members belonging to the TESOL area are native-speakers (actually, I'm the only non-native teacher), and I realise they struggle to make sts understand some pronunciation and other sbjcts when explaining a topic, exactly for being natives and for speaking English as a mother tongue (and, of course, for not having that problem when they were back at school learning English as a first language).

Question (s) - when it comes to TEFL, being non-native and, thus, understanding more deeply sts' problems, should be a plus in this career? Or mastering the language as a native is more appealing in terms of getting hired? Having a TESOL certificate (only) matters? And not having it, and being native - is that ok?

Here's my response:

Bruna,

Sylvia Pleskova, English Teacher?

I'll try to answer some of your questions as well as I can based upon my experiences teaching in Loma Bonita, Oaxaca, Mexico and watching cable television.

* "when it comes to TEFL, being non-native and, thus, understanding more deeply sts' problems, should be a plus in this career?"

Yes, it should be a plus. That doesn't mean that all non-natives can understand students' problems and it doesn't mean that a native speaker is incapable of understanding.

Many Graduate programs in EFL teaching require that Native Speakers of English acquire profiency in a 2nd language.


* "Or mastering the language as a native is more appealing in terms of getting hired?"

Many employers and students desire only to hire native speakers.

That doesn't mean that a non-native will find it impossible to find employment or that a non-native cannot create opportunities for themselves. It might not be as easy, though.

* "Having a TESOL certificate (only) matters? And not having it, and being native - is that ok?"

Sure it's ok... if they can find a job.

There are many employers that will only consider someone with a State issued Teaching Certificate. There are also employers that will only hire people with a Master's degree.

Sometimes natives can get by without having a certificate. Usually prior experience in teaching or having a Bachelor's degree will be asked for in those cases.

I'm sure that it's possible for a Native speaker to get jobs without any education, certificates, or experience.. I wouldn't recommend it as a place to work or as a place to study, however.

I've heard of cases in Mexico where white/blonde women from non-English speaking countries in Europe were employed as English teachers because they "looked" like English teachers.  I also heard that there was a high student retention rate among males in that school.

 In summary,
A native speaker who has a TESOL certificate will have more opportunities than a non-native speaker who doesn't have a certificate.

  Are you a native speaker but would like to visit your possible future coworkers in Slovakia?  This book has been a life-saver, The Foreigner's Guide to Living in Slovakia.  It contains everything you need to know to get off on the right foot with Sylvia.