ESL Jobs Career

An ESL/EFL teaching job is highly coveted and in great demand everywhere because of the amazing opportunities it offers to the certificate holders. Not only is it a noble way of earning a living, it gives the teachers a chance to expand their knowledge and widen their horizons by meeting interesting people and experiencing new cultures.

The demand is for native English speakers or for those who have near-native fluency in English because such persons can pass on their language skills effectively to the learners. So whether you are looking for a career change or for a job that gives you time to travel, an ESL job is just right for you provided you enjoy teaching and interacting with different types of people. Good communication skills are of course, a basic requirement. The ability to be adaptable and to be able to adjust to demanding situations is an added advantage. Patience and cultural sensitivity are the other requirements.

The TESOL Café is a very important audio-video mode of job placement that effectively uses the web to show videos from all over the world. Those who participate can post their video resumes on the site for hundreds of potential employers to view and consider. Such resumes have a wider reach and more successful results than the traditional methods of job search that most job seekers employ.

In modern times, teaching is much more than just a profession. It's a life-long learning experience that deeply influences not only the students but also the teacher who through his hard work, commitment and sincerity manages to touch many lives in a variety of ways. That's why a teacher is often referred to as a facilitator, a coach and a guide and if he has the right qualifications and experience, he is valued highly.

Prospective employers have the following requirements:

• Native English speaker or someone with near-native fluency in English
• A college degree holder or its equivalent
• Person with suitable inter-personal skills
• Person who is understanding, patient and sensitive to another culture

The job options for a TESOL certificate holder are:

Schools - teaching children and adolescents from 3 to 16 years. You can of course, choose which age group you prefer teaching and can handle comfortably. You can work on a contractual basis or be a permanent employee, depending on the job offer.

Language Schools - Unlike regular schools these are language centres that offer language courses to a variety of people such as children, housewives, office executives and anyone who wants to improve his language skills. The classes are held 2-3 times a week for a couple of hours or so for a number of months. The teachers are paid on a part time basis or hired as full-time faculty.

Corporate Training - Due to the growth and expansion in international trade and commerce, there's an increasing need for people in business to be able to communicate effectively with those they're dealing with on a regular basis. That's the reason English is now seen as a global language, as a link language which connects people living in different parts of the world and therefore, there's a growing demand for knowing this language in the corporate sector. Companies benefit if their employees make successful presentations and clinch lucrative deals. Corporate trainers who teach business English to such employees are therefore, in great demand and earn handsome amounts.

Voice and Accent Training - The boom in the BPO industry has created a huge requirement for people who can converse clearly and effectively with people living in different parts of the world. However, the problem is that most of the callers don't have the right accent or can't speak English very well. This is the reason, teachers with the required accent and a high level of English are in great demand to train the callers working at BPO centers.

Soft Skill Training - Nowadays the need to stand out in a crowd and to make one's presence felt in the workplace is so great that trainers are hired especially to train people in soft skills. This includes the correct way to dress and present oneself , make small talk, prepare for an interview, cultivate good manners and other things about social etiquette. This is an interesting field of work that a tesol certificate holder can definitely explore.