Collaborative post
Raising a family is hard work, and there’s no doubt that it also takes its toll on your finances.
During these times of rising costs, many families are finding it hard to cover the monthly bills, let alone budget for a family holiday and save up for unexpected expenses.
If you’re looking for ways to generate extra income, part-time work could be the best option. Part-time work enables any stay-at-home parent to combine looking after the children with the financial means to do so. One flexible career that stands out is that of a TEFL (or Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teacher.
Read on to find out more about getting started as a TEFL tutor online. We’ve covered five essential tips to set you off on the right path, and make the job one that is successful and long-lasting.
Get TEFL certified
Before embarking on a career as an online TEFL instructor, it’s well worth investing in a reliable TEFL course. This not only ensures that you begin with all the information you need, but it also places you at the top of a TEFL recruiter’s list.
Whether you’re thinking about teaching placements in Japan, or staying much closer to home to teach English online from the comfort of your own house, obtaining a genuine TEFL qualification is the number one way to be in the know about all things TEFL. As the courses are run by experienced staff who know their way around the world of TEFL, it’s not difficult to see why places on these programmes fill up fast.
Be open to new ideas
With a TEFL certification under your belt, you should be ready to get going with your new career. However, many new TEFL tutors say that their first few months on the job are among the hardest, and there are a few reasons for this.
First up, adapting to any major life change is hard, and a brand new field of work is no exception. Secondly, TEFL lessons are all unique, and this can take a lot of mental energy to get used to at the beginning.
Fortunately, help is at hand in the form of some simple advice from many former and current TEFL professionals. Being creative is often rated at the top of any TEFL teacher’s to-do list. This could be in the form of finding a new solution to an existing problem, like how to teach modal verbs or the very latest phrasal verbs.
Technology has opened the door to learning and teaching in ways that could not have been imagined even twenty years ago. This enables a TEFL instructor to harness the capacity of the digital world, to make content more relevant and meaningful for modern learners. On top of that, virtual applications have streamlined much of the administrative side of teaching. What would have taken hours a few years ago can now be done at the click of a button.
Embrace individuality
Although going it alone can be hard at first, the rewards of working for yourself can be significant. This is the case for any TEFL teacher, as they have to perform tasks such as lesson planning, teaching lessons, and assessment, all by themselves. There is, therefore, an opportunity for the new TEFL instructor to make the most of this chance, to really focus on their unique strengths.
For some, teaching lessons on creative writing will be their niche, and they could help learners from all corners of the planet to get in touch with their inner author. Others will be more at ease with spoken debates and discussions which unlock the full potential of students who may have previously felt uncomfortable with oral tasks. Discovering the distinct upsides of your unique approach is yet another benefit of doing much of the work solo.
Work around your schedule
Every parent has a different timetable for their kids. Some are early birds, waking up and raring to go at the crack of dawn. Others are night owls, staying up until all hours but making up for it by rising later in the morning.
Teaching TEFL online can be adapted perfectly to any parental schedule. This is because learners are studying from all over the world, at all hours of the day. For instance, a student from Japan might wish to study in the evening, but that could be a morning class for a TEFL teacher based in the UK.
Conversely, a student from Brazil may be up and ready to study first thing before work or school, which could dovetail nicely into a late afternoon class for a UK-based TEFL tutor. Whatever time of day you are available, there is likely to be a student ready to pour their energy into learning English. A flexible parent who is qualified to teach English online should be able to make the most of this, and find time to fit in classes that work for them.
Adapt life lessons
As a parent, every day is full of wonderful – and occasionally painful! – life lessons. Children are often better at teaching their parents what they need than many adults would care to admit.
These aspects of parenting can be used in real life TEFL lessons. For one thing, they can make great conversation starters with other parents who are learning English for work or study purposes.
Alternatively, the kinds of things that young children tend to enjoy are rather global, whether it be the idea of learning through play, all the way through to experimenting with language as they progress. This makes the idea of teaching younger learners online appealing to a TEFL tutor who is also a parent.
Having read this post, do you think being able to teach English online could be a rewarding way to generate part-time income for your family?
Catherine
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