What is an TEFL course?

TEFL courses are teacher-training programmes that have been designed to provide English language teachers with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to teach English as a foreign language. They come in a number of shapes and sizes; from intensive one-month onsite programmes such as the CELTA to programmes that can be done completely online. The online TEFL programmes themselves have a number of options ranging from the 100-hour certificate, which is a basic requirement for many jobs in Asia, to the 250-hour Level 5 diploma, equivalent to the CELTA. While many may prefer to do an onsite TEFL training course, for some it’s just not possible to find the time or money. An online TEFL course holds a lot of value in Korea, and they are simply more convenient for most people and far cheaper.

Three ways an online TEFL course can help you in Korea

1. Stand out in an increasingly competitive job market

Teaching in Korea is becoming increasingly competitive. The number of native English teachers applying for jobs here, especially in the bigger cities, is on the up while the number of schools employing native English teachers is in decline. Don’t be put off by this, though, as there are still great jobs to be found all over Korea—it’s just not as easy as it once was. To land a good job, you need to make sure that you stand out from the crowd, and an online TEFL course certificate will certainly do that. Not only will it make you stand out in a saturated market but also show employers that you are serious about teaching English as a foreign language. On top of that, it could give you more leverage when negotiating a higher salary.

2.Get a public school job

As well as making you an attractive job candidate, having a TEFL certificate is now a requirement for native English public school teachers. Public schools tend to offer better conditions for native English teachers such as longer vacation, less teaching hours per week, and more overtime opportunities. What’s really helpful is that some online TEFL course companies provide free job assistance for those who recently completed the course—OnTESOL, for example, collaborates with Korean Horizons for job assistance, one of the most well-known public school recruiters in Korea. WeTeachKorea have also worked with Korean Horizons in the past and we vouch for their quality of service.

3. Become a better teacher for your students

No one likes feeling unprepared to do a job, and in the classroom students certainly don’t like it when a teacher looks ill-equipped or low on confidence. Completing an online TEFL course will provide you with the valuable skills needed to prevent this from ever happening to you. You will learn how to run a class effectively, deal with different learning styles, plan lessons, and teach the four language skills. On top of that, you will learn different methodologies and approaches in English language teaching to help establish your own teaching style. All of these skills are necessary to help create an environment and atmosphere of learning that will not only be rewarding for you as a teacher but most importantly for your students.

We recommend taking a look at the many online TEFL courses available at www.ontesol.com

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