The benefits of a TEFL, TESL, or TESOL certificate when looking for an ESL teaching job cannot be overstated. Although it may technically be possible to get an ESL teaching job without traditional certification, you will likely find that the types of jobs available to you will be severely limited. For example, if one day you hope to be able to teach English in any of the most popular European countries, such as France, Germany, Italy or Spain, you will find that your chances are almost non-existent without a TESOL or equivalent certificate. . However, you may be wondering why you need a certificate to be able to teach English abroad. There are many reasons, but perhaps the most important is that it demonstrates a level of competence in a highly specialized field.
Teaching ESL is not like all other forms of teaching. There are many unique challenges and techniques that an ESL teacher will need to take advantage of in order to be effective, and many of these are taught in TESOL certificate programs. A potential employer can be sure that certified teachers will meet certain standards, and they can also be sure that the teachers they hire will be equipped for the more unique aspects of the job. In most cases, an actual face-to-face interview with your employer is not practical. They will have little to do before making a decision about whether or not to hire you, and the confidence that comes from selecting among certified TESOL teachers offers employers some peace of mind.
However, as I said before, it is possible to get an ESL teaching job without the TESOL certification. In some rare cases, there may be little or no difference between a job offered to a non-certified teacher and one offered to a certified teacher. However, in the vast majority of cases, the non-certified teacher will be offered a job that pays less and includes fewer benefits than the job offered to a certified teacher.
Aside from these practical concerns, there is the benefit of making connections with others in the ESL field. When you take a certification course, you often connect with people whose job it is to help you find a position that suits your desires and skills. Finally, most TESOL certification programs will give you access to boards and job listings that might not otherwise be available to you.
