Teaching in Mexico

A very good question for which I have an answer.

All three are acronyms for the types of intensive courses people can take in order to get a certificate or diploma to teach English, in other countries usually.

Other terms used are teaching abroad, teach and travel, teaching English overseas, ESL, and EFL.

Here is a glossary and description of some of the terminology.

Taken from Teachers Latin America Teach Abroad Glossary

TEFL (Teachers Latin America)- Teacher of English as a Foreign Language (teach abroad certificate course)

This certificate course is world-based (in TEFL), and adds a specialty for use in Latin America. Available only through Teachers Latin America (us!). Often used for teachers in classes in non-English-speaking countries (Mexico, Latin America, China, France, etc.) and several US states with high numbers of Spanish-speakers as ESL students (Texas, California, North Carolina, New York, etc.).

TEFL – Teacher of English as a Foreign Language (teach abroad certificate course)

This certificate course is world-based and is widely available. Designed for use by teachers in classes abroad. This course has no standard length, price, or quality control as many different providers offer this course.

TESOL – Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages (teach at home or abroad certificate course)

This certificate course is world-based and is available usually only in English-speaking countries. Often used for teachers in classes in English-speaking countries or abroad. This course has no standard length, price, or quality control as many different providers offer this course.

TESL – Teacher of English as a Second Language (teach at home certificate course)

This certificate course is designed for use only in English-speaking countries and usually only applied in Canada and the US. This course has no standard length, price, or quality control as many different providers offer this course.

ESL – English as a Second Language

This is used to describe students and classes where English is studied to become the second language of the student. Usually, ESL is associated with English classes taken in English-speaking countries, such as the US, Canada, and the UK.

EFL – English as a Foreign Language

This is used to describe students and classes where English is studied as a foreign language to the student. Usually, EFL is associated with English classes taken in non-English-speaking countries, such as the Mexico, China, and Russia.

What are people doing with these courses? Are they required?

It used to be that a native-speaker from the US or Canada or other English-speaking countries could take a risk by traveling to a foreign land, knock on a few doors, and get a low-paying teaching job. That was a decade ago. Now, mostly through the Internet, language schools around the globe look for qualified and trained teachers to work in their classrooms. While demand for teachers remains high, the competition for the best teaching jobs and opportunities to travel has swelled.

What does such a course do for me?

It depends strongly on where you want to do your course. Every course should prepare you to understand language learners and their motivations in learning English. You should learn how to prepare lessons, how to deliver them to students, and how to gauge results. There are many other aspects you should learn for teaching, but these are the most critical.

What a teacher certificate course is not…

It seems that the world of Teach and Travel is not immune to some of today’s Internet problems. There are many program providers out there, and some that are not quite on-the-level. Teachers Latin America works with rival program providers that we consider to be of good standing in the teach abroad community, in order to provide the best information to all considering teaching abroad. When considering a program, you should always investigate further. Teachers Latin America encourages people to ask more questions and to vary your sources of information. Digging just a little bit deeper, you’ll find whole communities online of teachers, administrators, directors of study, and employment advisors who can help you make good decisions or warn you of problem areas. Teachers Latin America has created the position of Employment and Programs Advisor to help give valuable information to all program participants.

Whether you are considering the TEFL or any other program, here is quick checklist of things to look for and ask about:

How long is the course?

Some courses advertise themselves as Weekend Workshops. While these may be good for those with experience, they are not going to provide you with enough training if this is your first experience

Onsite or Online?

This is not the type of work one can learn online, if this is your first experience teaching. Employers simply won’t look at a teacher who doesn’t have at least some monitored practice time in front of real students.

What do others say about this course?

Whatever program you are considering look around for other opinions, perhaps from previous program participants or experts in the filed. Warnings about certain program providers can often be found under search terms like Complaints or TEFL Alerts. There are a lot of good people out there willing to help…not just Teachers Latin America.

How much does the course cost?

Courses vary widely in price, however, the very old adage of ‘you get what you pay for’ applies just the same. Healthy competition in the Teach and Travel world means prices are usually accessible. Most programs are now in the $900 to $2000 usd range. Some courses, usually those provided in the US, Canada, and the UK, are still a little expensive, up to $5000 usd. What you need to look out for are the ‘fly-by-nights’. These are the courses advertised very cheaply, usually in the too-good-to-be-true sense. Ask yourself why these courses are so cheap and ask others. The answers usually come fairly quickly through a Complaints or TEFL Alerts search.

It all depends on where…

Every valid and valuable teaching certificate program will include a teaching practicum. That means, you practice designing lessons and teaching them to language students. This should be monitored by a trained and experienced observer or instructor. How this is done depends on where you take your course.

Courses in English-speaking countries (The US, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, etc) are numerous and many offer good teaching practice. However, a big drawback to this is that your students to practice upon are either a) other native English speakers enrolled in your course or, b) language students from multiple ethnic backgrounds. Having students from multiple ethnic backgrounds is very good practice. However, this is an ESL setting whereas if you want to teach abroad you will need an EFL practicum. The difference? In most countries where you could teach, there are no multiethnic classes. Consider – a Mexican classroom has only Mexicans. A Chinese classroom has only Chinese. The distinction is important, particularly in the theoretical design of lessons.

If you take a TEFL course abroad, make sure the program offers a teaching practicum, with real language learners and not your classmates. The best way to find this is to ask if the course provider is affiliated with a local language center (many are). This is often where you will do your practicum.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 8th, 2007 at 5:59 am and is filed under Answers to Your Questions, TEFL Course Videos and Pictures, TEFL in Mexico, TEFL Worldwide. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.