English Teacher Education

Are you getting an education and in the process realized that you want to study to become an English teacher? Are you preparing for admission and want to find out everything about the Faculty of Education? Have you decided to change your profession and become a teacher? Then this article is for you.

Start teaching English without education as a tutor. If you plan to get into a school, college or university in the future, then a diploma is a necessity.

Let's look at how you can learn to become an English teacher and in what cases higher education may not come in handy.

About the profession

An English teacher is a person who has the necessary knowledge and skills to help the student learn the fundamental rules and begin to speak, write, tell and express his thoughts in another language. Suitable for open, sociable, non-conflict people who treat children well, understand the problems and characteristics of each age group, and know how to keep the attention of the audience.

Refers to the demanded and respected professions with vacancies around the world.

Where to study to become an English teacher?

Despite the fact that the average salary of an English teacher has remained low for many years and does not exceed $300 in many regions of Russia, the profession is popular. This is due to the fact that knowledge of foreign languages ​​in our time is no longer just desirable, but extremely necessary. Therefore, a good teacher will always find students who are willing to pay for additional classes, thereby increasing their income.

An equally promising career direction is considered to be an English teacher abroad. While one of certificates , people are looking to increase their chances of earning a high salary and are taking full-time teacher training.

The most common places of employment for teachers are:

• specialized courses for people of all ages,
• vocational education institutions (technical schools, colleges, universities),
• general education kindergartens and schools,
• institutions with in-depth study of the language (lyceums, gymnasiums),
• institutions of private ownership.

So, let's figure out where you can get an education "English teacher". Passing scores are calculated based on last year's, as well as the cost of education, so they may differ from the real ones. The table shows prices and points for undergraduate studies. More detailed information is recommended to learn additionally.

How much do you need to study?

The study lasts 4 years - a bachelor's degree and 1.5-2 years a master's degree or obtaining the title of "specialist". In general, you can become an English teacher in 5.5-6 years.

In order to become an English teacher, you will need to pass the exam on:

• Russian language,
• social studies,
• English.

However, in different educational institutions the requirements may differ - you need to clarify.

Is it possible to enroll in another specialty?

It happens that there are no more places for the chosen direction or you have found a cheaper option, but you are not sure whether the future diploma is suitable for teaching. It should be noted that there are several areas that will allow the student to teach others, and this is not only "Pedagogy". Diplomas in such specialties will help you find a job in this area:

• Primary and preschool education,
• foreign philology,
• Theory and practice of intercultural communication,
• Theory and methods of teaching foreign languages ​​and cultures,
• Translation and Translation Studies,
• applied philology,
• Professional business communication,
• educational engineering,
• Methods of teaching foreign languages,
• Translation Theory and Interlingual Communication,
• Teaching philological disciplines,
• Modern foreign languages ​​and literature,
• international cultural relations,
• special translation,
• Psychology of education in a foreign language.

Fallback options

There are several more options to get the coveted "crust". For example, postgraduate education, which involves the development of new knowledge and the acquisition of new qualifications for those who already have a bachelor's, specialist's or master's degree. Duration from 1.5 to 3 years, depending on the program and the rules of the university. Postgraduate qualifications are divided into:

• graduate school
• second higher,
• training,
• retraining.

Another opportunity to get the right to teach a foreign language is to take online TEFL/TESOL. The convenience is that they can be combined with basic studies and work. The duration of the courses (from 120 to 250 hours) and the intensity (access to them is open for 6-8 months) are determined by the person on their own, based on their strengths, capabilities and goals.

As a result, after completing the selected package and receiving a certificate, you can apply for the position of an English teacher in China , Japan , Korea, Thailand, Vietnam , Turkey , as well as European countries. At the same time, previous education and work experience often do not matter, because the main thing is to communicate fluently in English and know the necessary methods , techniques and techniques for transferring information and knowledge.

The TEFL/TESOL certificate also makes it possible to become a teacher for foreigners in a remote format, and it is also the basis for obtaining a work visa and residence permit in another country.

Pros and cons of the profession

If you want to become a truly successful teacher, recognized by the children, the team and the authorities, you have to thoroughly educate not only the students, but also yourself. Comprehensive development, erudition, a modern view of events, orientation in world trends - this is what will help you better present topics and attract the attention of students.

All people value practical knowledge, so you have to think about what else, besides phonetics, grammar and correct reading, you can teach? Modern literature on English shows that children are moving away from boring monotonous exercises more and more.

Now it is important to teach children:

• successfully build interpersonal relationships
• find yourself and something you like in a huge flow of information,
• be able to express their feelings and emotions in an environmentally friendly way,
• interact with other people and groups of people,
• take care of others and the world,
• accept yourself and your characteristics.

What does an English teacher need to know and be able to do?

When working with children, you cannot do without basic knowledge of the psychology of childhood: you have to find the key to difficult children, arouse interest in the subject, and maintain a friendly atmosphere in the classroom.

Each age requires a certain approach and techniques. If we are talking about teenagers, then you need to be patient and try to take into account their interests during the lesson. Here you will need the ability to find and work with relevant information on the Internet and prepare modern didactic material.

The ability to apply a differentiated approach, because in any class there are students with different levels of knowledge.

You should also be able to argue and defend your point of view, treat children with respect, convince them and motivate them in every possible way to improve the level of the language.

Various creative skills can also be useful, so you can develop creative interactive projects.

The inclusiveness of education makes it necessary to find an approach to children with learning difficulties and to be more loyal.

In addition, the teacher must:

• Confident in technology.
• Understand trends and respect the student's point of view.
• Keep abreast of world political and financial events.
• Respect modern fashion and art, know the main trends and genres.
• Understand the peculiarities of the mentality of a particular nation.
• Distinguish the traditions of New Zealand from Scotland and so on.
• Have modern hobbies.
• Understand classical and contemporary literature.
• Be able to find a common language with any age group.
• Maintain current social media profiles.
• Have a neat appearance and be ready to be imitated.

What qualities are important?

The profession involves a number of “soft skills”, you definitely need skills such as:

• Decision making speed.
• Work in uncertain and stressful conditions without loss of quality.
• Excellent memory and attention to detail.
• Smoothing out conflict situations.
• Creative approach to the educational process.
• Critical thinking.
• Non-standard approach to problem situations.
• Emotional intellect.
• Empathy.
• A focus on compromise.
• Reflection.
• Self-discipline.

Often in the questionnaire for the position of a teacher, you can also find such personal characteristics: diligence, patience, respect for children, well-delivered speech, the ability to find an approach to parents and difficult children, fairness, the ability to simultaneously plan and improvise.

What should a teacher do?

Before you apply for a pedagogical specialization, you should find out what your everyday life will be filled with. The main responsibilities will include:

• Conducting lessons according to pre-agreed plans and state programs.
• Drawing up curricula for the semester, year and each lesson separately.
• Checking notebooks, control and independent work.
• Preparing and educating people for their assimilation of the material.
• Keeping records of class attendance.
• Performance monitoring and success tracking.
• Making report.
• Implementation of the teacher's self-education plan .
• Preparation of didactic materials.
• Communication with parents of students.
• Conducting extracurricular activities.
• Ensuring the health and safety of students.

An important point is the constant improvement of knowledge and skills - it is more difficult for today's teachers to surprise and interest children, because they are involved in social networks from childhood, they often learn the news earlier than others and are more prone to boredom. Therefore, the teacher will have to devote a lot of time to be aware of what is important and relevant among young people.

The global goals of the teacher include the formation of linguistic competence - knowledge of vocabulary, phonetics, written skills, colloquial speech. Sociocultural development is associated with understanding the traditions and characteristics of life in English-speaking countries. And, of course, the teacher is required to teach a child or an adult to speak a foreign language in the context of the situation.

Pros of being a teacher

The benefits for which many appreciate their profession include:

• Long vacation - 56 working days and all holidays.
• Relatively short working day (3-4 lessons per day).
• Communication with youth.
• Official design.
• Freedom of action - in most schools and universities you can independently select the methodology and materials.
• Importance and value of work.
• Lack of boredom and routine - you can hold competitions, excursions and diversify the educational process in every possible way.
• A large number of acquaintances - among the parents of students, no one will refuse!
• A real opportunity for part-time work - you can additionally teach children from a parallel class.
• Chance to move abroad on official terms.
• It is also worth adding to the pluses the possibility of receiving a salary of $ 2,500 with a TEFL / TESOL certificate.

English teacher perspective

In state organizations, career growth is associated with obtaining an academic degree, passing attestation and raising a category. In a general education school, you can become a head teacher, director, or go to work in district and regional school regulatory bodies. In private schools, trips with children abroad are possible. In universities, you can become the head of the department, dean or vice-rector.

A tutor with experience can increase the hourly rate and eventually reach an income of more than $1,000 per month. You can become a translator or simultaneous translator, a copywriter for writing texts in English, go into the field of tourism, management, international business, marketing, create and supervise online schools and webinars.

Where are teachers needed?

Good teachers are needed everywhere, but especially in regions with difficult climatic conditions, in private schools, in language courses, and abroad. Many families are ready to invite a nanny or teacher to work at home for children.

On Internet job exchanges, you can find vacancies for remote teachers for foreigners. Domestic schools and universities also demonstrate a shortage of qualified personnel. Most often this is due to low wages. However, if you set a goal, you can find work in other countries where the salary is several times higher with the same workload.

Who else can work with a pedagogical diploma?

• Educator in kindergartens and development centers.
• Conflictologist.
• Corporate educator.
• Coach or tutor.
• Tutor.
• Methodist.
• School administrator.

As a conclusion

If you have decided to connect your life with teaching, you will have an interesting and exciting life, and with the right approach, a high level of remuneration. Even if you are not an applicant and work in a different specialty - remember that it is never too late to change your occupation - special certificates will help you with this.

As in any other business, it all depends on your mood. We wish you good luck!