Being an English Teacher is not an easy job. First, you have to start by learning the language (as every teacher has to start by learning the subject that is going to be taught) and then, you need to come up with strategies to teach your lessons and make your classes enjoyable.

So, are there any ways to improve your English teaching skills? Of course, there are, and lots of employers will value you more once you become a skilled teacher.

1. The first thing that you have to think about is that teaching is not something that you can easily do if you don’t really love it. The work that a teacher has to do is a lot, so you have to feel motivated if you want to take this career seriously.

2. Then, I recommend you to become a “Sherlock Holmes”. People love people who know a lot, and people love enlightened teachers. They become prototypes and role-models, so if you start reading a lot about English (its history, the history of the countries that speak this language, famous people related to it, etc.) or even about other topics, your students will start to see you with another perspective.

3. It is also a good idea to create your own assessment materials, based on what you teach and letting your imagination guide you. If you only evaluate your students with worksheets or related materials that are found on the web, you’ll increase the chance of having students who copied the answers, not to mention that they won’t have a good idea about you and your professionalism.

Also, keep in mind that every English school has its own system of evaluation, so you’ll have to learn to work according to those methods. Downloading materials from the internet will help you to guide yourself and improve some ideas, or even to do a class if you couldn’t plan for some reason, but don’t make it a habit.

4. Here’s where planning becomes an important part of teaching. A good teacher is always prepared and plans the lessons along with its activities to explain, practice and summarize. Every lesson plan is going to change not only based on the English level that you’re teaching but also depending on the characteristics of the group. If you love what you do and if you read new things every day, you’ll be writing the best classes ever!

5. Technologies are also going to be your friends. Resources such as music, movies, videos, games, internet, etc., are great helpers when it comes to teaching and getting your student’s attention, no matter the age of the group or the level. Just try to adjust the activities to the group’s requirements.

6. Speaking with your workmates is a good resource too. Exchanging ideas and experiences is going to help you and them to come up with new resources for teaching English.

7. You can try all of these tips, but remember that the most important resource that you can get is the TESOL/TEFL Certification. You can obtain this certification through UNI-Prep Institution, which is an American organization that can offer you TESOL Certificates and Diplomas (they differ by the number of academic hours that every course has: the Certification has 120-hours of classes and the Diploma offers you an extended course with 250-hours) with everything that you need to teach English. These courses will give you the chance to apply to better job opportunities and ask for better salaries, as they turn you into a professional and qualified ESL or EFL Teacher.

One of the advantages of being an English teacher is that you can work everywhere around the world, from Tokyo to California, and without even staying in one place too much time.

1. Freelance Locally or Online- Freelancers are one of the most popular jobs nowadays. This type of job can be found on the Internet and is an excellent way of teaching English while you travel around the world. First, because you can have clients in any place in the world and work from your computer, with an Internet connection, you can teach online from anywhere on the globe. Second, because you can also look for a job in almost any country in the world, you have the option of moving there and working for a few months before you find another job and moving to another place.

In the first example, you can ask for online payments, through sites like PayPal or Payoneer. With this system, you only need to create your account (for free) and done! You can have access to that money immediately and it’s a form of payment that is reliable and trusted all around the world!

Being a freelancer is a comfortable way of working, and most of the time you won’t have a “boss”. If you get to have your own business and create your own webpage or blog, you can choose your own clients, and set your own price. The rates will vary on your experience, qualifications, clients and place where you are working, and prices can go from some “cheap” lessons (maybe $5 an hour) to some more qualified lessons worth $30-50.

2. Teach English Online – Teaching English online is a growing field. One site that offers you to do this is Cafetalk, a company from Japan, where you can work with your own schedule, and your own rates. You only need to create an account with your profile details, have a simple interview and then you can start working. At the beginning, you’ll get paid 65% of the fee that you charge, and as you get more experience and time working there, you’ll obtain up to 85% of your rate. The rest of the percentages are taken by the site to finance their costs of running the business. The site offers their own system of payments, so you won’t have to create an account in any of the online payment systems explained earlier.

3. Teach in Different Countries – Many English teachers choose to work for a maximum of 1 year in each country. After 1 year, they move to another country. This is another great way to teach English while traveling the world. A great website to find your next teaching job is ESL Jobs Lounge, where you’ll also find lots of different options to teach English both online and in almost every country in the world. The site also has a filter to choose the country where you want to find the job, and this is great because you can look for a job before moving to a place if you prefer face-to-face sessions.

4. Save Money and Travel – Teaching English is a lucrative career. Many English teachers are able to work for 1 year and save up to $10,000 during that year. They then use the savings to take a few months off and travel to various destinations. Once they are running out of money, they find their next job in a new country and work until they have saved to travel again.

Want to start living an exciting life? Travel and be a freelancer!