In the English teaching world, this question pops up a lot: “Do I really need to get a TEFL certificate to teach English?” And so in this article we’ll try to answer that question and some other questions related to it.
As you might expect, the short answer to this question is “it depends.” Sometimes it’s a “must.” Sometimes it’s a “preferred.” Sometimes it’s a “nice to have.” And sometimes it’s a “who cares?”
(See below for clarification on these frustratingly clever answers.)
When is TEFL certification a must?
TEFL certification is a must when your potential employer says it’s a must. That was pretty easy, wasn’t it?
OK, enough with the cute answers, but that really is the answer. Some employers demand it, and they won’t even consider anyone without one. Some employers, in fact, will not even consider you even if you have a master’s degree in TEFL/TESOL/ESL. (The argument here, presumably, is that a master’s degree is heavy on theory, but it isn’t necessarily very “practical.”)
Employers who demand that you have a TEFL/TESOL certificate of some kind tend to be from more developed nations. For example, many places in Europe will require a TEFL certificate from an accredited organization. More and more, many places in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan are also starting to require a TEFL certification of some kind.
You may also find a few institutions in less developed nations that require a certificate, but these tend to be more prestigious institutions such as universities and the like.
While there is no governing body that controls the ESL/EFL world, the general rule of thumb is that the more developed a country, the more qualifications they will expect you to have. In some countries, for example, in order to get a work permit to teach English, you are required to have a college degree.
Whether or not you are required to have a TEFL certificate, however, is a more open question, and it usually comes down to the individual school/employer—and at times even down to the individual who happens to be sitting in the Director of Studies chair at the time you apply.
Can I get a job at a school that demands TEFL certification even if I don’t have it?
As mentioned above, a lot of times the hiring comes down to one individual … who, against all odds, probably is human in the end and may be willing to listen to you plead your case.
That said, don’t count on it.
If you really, really, really feel you would like to work at an institution that demands a certificate but you don’t have one, you could contact the person doing the hiring and see if you can convince them you’re worth the gamble. (And you have to understand that it IS a gamble on their part.)
If you have stellar, long-term experience elsewhere, and/or you have one of the aforementioned TESOL/ESL master’s degrees, and/or you’ve shown a demonstrable commitment to the field of ESL/EFL in the past, you may be able to convince them. But also keep in mind that even if the person you are talking to actually makes the rules (and therefore can bend the rules), it’s often not in their best interest to do so.
For example, consider the following hypothetical. Let’s say the director has set up a standard that makes a TEFL certificate mandatory. You come along without a TEFL certificate and somehow convince the director that you’re the one-in-a-million exception. You arrive at the school, meet the other teachers, and all is fine. But then somehow it gets out that you don’t actually have a TEFL certificate. Alan, another teacher, who does have a certificate, goes to the boss and wants to know why you were hired when his girlfriend wasn’t. You, like his girlfriend, don’t have a TEFL certificate, and the rule, explicitly stated as the reason why Alan’s girlfriend didn’t get hired, was that ALL teachers must have a TEFL certificate.
Making exceptions to rules can start fires in cracks and crevices no one even knew existed beforehand.
What if they say a TEFL certificate is “preferred”?
If they say a certificate is preferred, then it means just that: Not absolutely necessary, but it is preferred. This means that your resume/C.V. goes to the bottom of the pile. On top of you are all of those who do have a TEFL certificate.
If you don’t have a certificate, then you need to make doubly sure you are doing everything you can to highlight all your other experiences and attributes. It also means you need make sure you are doing an excellent job communicating with your prospective employer. (This should be the case for everyone in any case, but sadly, it’s not.)
Excellent communication means answering emails promptly, using business email formatting, making sure your resume is detailed to the right degree and that it highlights your experience and education effectively.
You should also show an eagerness to give your potential employer more opportunities to talk to you in more depth about anything they’d like. Don’t be a pest, but try to make a personal connection. Ask them if you they would like do an in-person interview over the internet via Skype, Yahoo, MSN, or whatever their preferred chat client is. If they mention a chat client to you, but you don’t have an account with that service, go sign up immediately. In short, make everything as easy as possible for them.
What if they say a TEFL certificate is “nice to have”?
If an employer says that a TEFL certificate is “nice to have” (or something along those lines), this usually indicates you are dealing with someone who knows that a piece of paper is not always the last word on a teacher’s effectiveness.
At the same time, they also know that a certificate is … nice to have. They know there is value there. If you don’t have one, as mentioned in the previous section, you will need to prove to them that you can still be an effective teacher.
The type of person who says “nice to have” may be a little more open to hearing you plead your case.
That said, keep in mind what it is you’re actually pleading. Essentially, you are trying to make the case that you have the knowledge and experience equivalent to what you would have gained with a TEFL certificate.
What if they say, “Who cares?”
Well, first of all, no one is going to say, “Who cares?” If no requirement for a certificate is mentioned, you can fairly safely assume that one isn’t required; however, also keep in mind that a lot of people are actually not very good at hiring.
Like most things, interviewing potential employees is a skill, and like all skills, unless you’re born with a natural talent for it, or you’ve practiced it a lot, you’re not going to be very good at it.
This fact means that your potential employer may not be very good at articulating what they’re looking for (possibly even more so if their first language is not English). This, however, does not mean that they don’t have very particular things they are, in fact, looking for. And even though these very particular things may be “particular” at some level in their consciousness/unconsciousness, you may never hear them spelled out for you.
This means that for you to have the best possible chance at getting the job, you should approach the whole process as if they were asking for a TEFL certificate, and even though you didn’t have one, they decided to give you a chance to convince them to hire you anyway.
In short, even when no TEFL certificate is required, it is still the de facto measure of a good, solid candidate.
Can I get a job if I have a TEFL certificate but no college degree?
This question comes up a lot, and the answer is a double “it depends.” All else being equal, for more developed countries, it is much less likely. Your chances are greater in less developed countries.
And so what’s the final answer? Do I really need a TEFL certificate?
And so the final answer to the “certificate question” is as stated above: It depends. The final “solution” to this problem, however, is much easier than that—simply get a certificate. If you plan on being in teaching more than a year or two, it will open up many more doors for you, make you a better teacher, and be well worth your investment.
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