Volunteer Advisor preparing you to volunteer with a guide on TEFL courses

TEFL Courses and teaching English abroad

There are a large number of volunteer projects around the world which include or focus on teaching English as a foreign language to children, and sometimes adults, in areas of the world where thye do not ordinarily have access to such language tuition. As a global language, English is seen as an important part of helping impoverished communities and locations develop and improve. If you are going to be an English teacher abroad then, unless this is only a very insignificant part of your volunteer project, you will most likely be expected to undertake a TEFL course of a specified duration and/or level before you are able to take up your volunteer placement. Such courses are often, but not always, part of the whole volunteer package you sign up for, and are usually very enjoyable to do. Besides which, a TEFL qualification or skill can open up avenues of paid work and travel that you may be very happy to explore.

Which TEFL course?

A TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course is an invaluable tool which can give you lots of ideas about teaching methods and how to teach different audiences and keep them interested. There are a variety of TEFL courses of different lengths and which give different qualifications. Ultimately you will have to decide which is most relevant to you, your plans as a volunteer, and any plans you may have for the future in terms of teaching English as a paid job. If it is something that interests you as a career then a full TEFL certification is certainly something you should ultimately aim towards. If you are just intending to teach English as a volunteer for the short term or looking to travel and teach English as a means of earning some money, then a shorter TEFL course geared towards that purpose would be far more relevant.

TEFL Courses with i-to-i

i-to-i are an established provider of online and weekend TEFL courses with different course lengths depending on what you want to learn and achieve. These courses are certainly worth investigating, especially if you are considering undertaking a volunteer placement with i-to-i or looking to get paid as an English teacher abroad. They not only offer unpaid and important volunteer work as an English teacher abroad, but also list a good number of exciting locations where you could earn a salary by teaching English as a foreign language. This is perfect for exploring some of the more exotic and interesting parts of the world whilst working at the same time.

They also run a free 10 minute TEFL trial taster session which helps you to see whether teaching English as a foreign language is really for you or not. If you are thinking about teaching English as a foreign language and are still a little unsure about it, then give this free test a go and hopefully firm up your mind.

TEFL England Courses and job opportunities

TEFL England host an excellent range of TEFL courses and English teaching job opportunities around the world. Founded by Joe Hallwood, the Guardian newspaper's TEFL expert, this site is run by TEFL professionals with years of experience, so there will be lots of excellent advice and good working practices given here should you take one of these courses.

There are both online and classroom courses offered which last from 20 hours to 130 hours. They run courses across the country at very reasonable prices. You can get a 10% discount by clicking this link and entering the code teflten when you pay for your course online only (look for the 'Book a TEFL course' link to the top right of each webpage).

TEFL England also list last minute places for their courses where you can get a fantastic 40% off by entering the code TEFL40 on the first page of your booking. Check here for these bargain last minute courses.

They also detail a huge range of TEFL job opportunities around the world, both as paid placements and as volunteers.

If you are not sure if this is right for you, TEFL England offer you the chance to take a fun free taster TEFL quiz and question session first before committing yourself to any paid TEFL course.

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