TESOL Online : TESOL Certification and the Dizzying Array of Teaching Opportunities Abroad

What is TESOL?
It stands for (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) . And for the record, TEFL and TESOL is pretty much the same thing. (You'll be teaching English abroad to students whose first language isn't English, whether you'll be in China, Japan, Korea or some place else. The terms can be used interchangeably.

The World of TESOL
English believe it or not is the language with the highest demand for teachers in the world. Roughly 1 billion people world wide are learning English.

Despite this staggering figure it doesn't mean that anyone can find a job just off the plane. There are enough horror stories about those believing it and returning home - a bit wiser- to stretch to the moon.

TESOL certification is playing a bigger and bigger role in getting hired in many parts of the world. Years ago online TESOL courses and TESOL certification weren't as important as they are now. What has basically happened is that that staggering figure mentioned above has impacted the entire TESOL market and has kicked off a higher grade of professionalism and competition within the English teaching world in general. This in turn has made getting some level of certification a basic starting point for those wishing to enter the wild and wooly world of teaching overseas.

TESOL Online - Where Can I Use My Qualifications?
All over the world in short. Some of the most common countries to find work teaching is Japan, Madrid, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Laos, Peru, Mexico, Brazil, Philippines and the list goes on.

TESOL Online - What Can You Expect From a Course?
For new comers to teaching, certification is a critical first step. Completion of a course will help you be prepared to stand in front of your students with confidence. Teach you how to systematically prepare your lessons. Teach you how to correct student mistakes without damaging student confidence, help you manage the classroom dynamic more professionally. Give you a good working knowledge of grammar and more importantly how to teach it. Give you practical knowledge on teaching pronunciation, basic reading skills, game strategy and in short help you manage your students instead of them managing you.

TESOL Online - How Can a Certificate Help You?
The most obvious advantage is that for those with no teaching experience, it gives you the base qualification to kick start your career in TESOL with your first job.

It adds weight to your resume or CV and allows you to qualify for positions you otherwise wouldn't be able to.

Allows you to experience cultures and all of its pluses and minuses they offer while getting paid to have such experiences.

And for those who wish to fit into the country they intend to hang their hat in, it's an unparalleled chance to learn a second language that would blow away practically any computer based language course on the planet.

TESOL Online - Which Asian Countries Pay The Most?
Of course, pay varies from country to country and from position to position. However in North East Asia, consisting of Japan, Hong Kong, China, Macau and Korea, Japan pays their teachers the most and offers many teachers the chance to save some money and pay off student loans - Way more here on saving money in Japan. However this isn't without drawbacks as the cost of living in Japan is also the highest in North East Asia. China is generally at the bottom in terms of salary with Korea and Hong Kong in between the two.

TESOL Online - A Word of Caution:
One point that bears repeating is the importance of having a clear and more importantly attainable objective in mind when considering a career in TESOL. Preparation via. visiting forums is indispensable for getting ready for a career in teaching abroad and there are a couple of good reasons for this.

Many teachers have preconceived ideas or fantasies of what living and teaching in a classroom in Asia is all about. Reading and asking questions in the forums can help you cut through the minds tendency to paint this career a color it isn't and can help ground you in the reality of what it is. Also taking TESOL online courses can help get you acquainted with the nuts and bolts or mechanics of what a job teaching actually entails.

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