Do I need TEFL to teach at an international school?

Let's start with that acronym, TEFL is Teaching English as a Foreign Language. If you've been researching overseas teaching for a while you'll definitely have run up against this one. Whether you need one to get a job teaching abroad for an international school all depends on what kind of credentials and experience you already have...

A TEFL qualification is easy to get and can be a quick way into teaching jobs abroad. If you don’t have a teaching qualification, then you probably don’t have any other option. With a TEFL certificate you can teach the English as a Second Language classes that are offered at most schools catering to international students.

Based on my experience doing both, teaching EFL or ESL at an international school is preferable to teaching at a private language school, I'll talk more about this in future posts. So plan your job-hunt accordingly.

Also, if your experience is all in mono-lingual and mono-cultural situations, then getting a TEFL qualification to add to your current credentials will only improve your chances. It will show recruiters that you are prepared for the issues you’ll encounter in your multi-cultural classes abroad.

As I said you can quickly and easily upskill with a TEFL certificate. You don't even need to leave the comfort of your own home! I've assessed some online and 'vacation' courses that you can utilise to get yourself a TEFL certificate.

Read more about online TEFL courses, and courses you can do abroad...

International schools and TEFL