A TEFL certification in this day and age opens you up to a world of opportunities! You could decide to travel abroad and teach English in the classroom – teaching preschoolers right through to high school level. A TEFL/TESL/TESOL qualification also affords teachers the opportunity to work from home or while you travel by landing an online teaching position. You can work under a contract for a company or even as a freelancer teacher.
First, you could be teaching individual students or group classes that may be monolingual or multilingual. The students can be of the same or mixed proficiency levels or ages. Are you wondering what nationalities you could be teaching online? Hop over to this blog post – What Nationalities Will I be Teaching English Online? Both have their pros and cons, but ultimately as an online English teacher, you need to be prepared and adaptable to your online English teaching company’s requirements. Knowing this will also aid you in assessing your strengths, determining your best fit for the type of class, and then when applying to companies who have varied class demographic options.
We can further classify to whom you will be teaching English online into the following:
A1-A2-B1-B2-C1-C2 English Proficiency levels
Online English teaching companies use the Common European Framework of References for Languages (CEFR). This is the international standard for language ability and comprehension, as a means to place students in a proficiency category. If a student is level A1-A2, they are very much a beginner. B1-B2 is intermediate, and C1-C2 is advanced and means they are fluent in the language. You must be familiar with these proficiency levels as it influences your teaching methodology and techniques, lesson content, reward system, etc.
Young Learners
Teaching young learners can be one of the most rewarding of all student classes to teach. Children have an innate curiosity making them ideal, willing participants in language learning. For this age group, teachers need to be patient. Teach with contagious energy and exaggerated intonation. Deliver slower speech and use lots of repetition. Respond positively to the child’s utterances irrespective of pronunciation, and more. Lesson activities will also need to be changed frequently and be exciting and fun to stimulate their interest.
At iTTi South Africa, we recommend taking our 50-hour Teaching Young Learners Specialisation Course. The course delves into teaching key skills, assessment, potential issues, and working with young learners’ parents, thus preparing you for this type of student.
Teenagers
Don’t let the teenage stereotype scare you away from this student class! Teens can be spirited and diligent, each filled with potential for overcoming barriers and excelling in English language learning. When teaching young adults in the making, it’s beneficial to note their interests and encourage them to voice their opinion. They are highly impressionable. If they feel like you are interested in them, they’ll participate with gusto, making lessons both fun and memorable.
Adults
Adults sign up for online English classes for specific purposes, whether for travel, immigration, academics, work, or other personal reasons. There are many pros to teaching adults. This is for reasons such as their longer attention spans, their ability to handle abstract English rules and concepts, and they do not require as varied sensory input as school-age students.
Business English Students
A growing amount of online English teaching worldwide caters to business professionals. For example, training professionals in various industries on the appropriate language to use when dealing with customers. These students, or clients, if you’ve been hired by a corporate company, range in age from early 20s to mid-50s. These students are there to learn with a specific goal in mind and will appreciate your efforts.
While a knowledge of business is beneficial, it’s not a prerequisite to teaching business English. Most likely, you’ll be teaching them appropriate language to use in areas such as introductions, telephoning, presentations, etc.
Enrol in our 50-hour Teaching Business English Specialisation Course that focuses on basic principles in conducting business English classes, developing business materials and courses, and soft skills for Business English.
Are you excited to make a difference in someone’s life?
Then teaching English online is the right career choice! At iTTi South Africa, we train you to teach these various student classes successfully in our TESOL courses. Contact us for more information and register today!
