English is an international language, being the most spoken and used language all around the world makes it one of the most in-demand and important languages to learn. Especially for students, if you are someone who dreams of working for a multinational company or studying abroad, you need to have a good command of English. And learning English becomes more important when it is not your first language, as we know there are many countries whose first language is not English, for instance in India, in such cases students are taught English as a second language in schools. ESL teachers are the ones who teach English to the students.
In this article, we are going to know all about Who ESL teachers are? What do they do? and How can one become an ESL teacher? So keep reading the article.
Who are ESL Teachers?
ESL teachers mean English As Second Language Teachers, they are the ones who teach English to learners whose first language isn’t English, the learners for ESL teachers can be anyone from school going students to working professionals. The job of ESL teachers is to teach English to them, they teach students from the very basics, then to the advanced level to the specialisation level. Students learn from reading and writing to communicate in English, ESL teachers can teach students in schools, colleges, and private tuitions or can teach online independently.
What do ESL Teachers do?
The ESL teachers need to create special course material and lesson plans to the needs of their students, as mentioned above that ESL teachers have to teach students of all levels and have to teach from basics to specialisation in English, they have to make separate lesson plans, assignments, course books etc. If ESL teachers are teaching in schools and colleges they have to take extra classes and if they are teaching working professionals they have to adjust as per the learners’ schedule. They have to keep upgrading their English language knowledge to keep students up-to-date. The major responsibilities of ESL teachers are:-
- To create and distribute personalised course material to students
- To them, the basics of writing and reading English to communication skills (speaking and listening).
- To assess students’ progress and give them proper feedback and assistance.
How To Become an ESL Teacher?
Just like there are requirements to become a teacher of any subject, there are some for becoming an English teacher. There are a few steps to take and courses to do for becoming an ESL teacher. Let’s have a look at what one has to do to become an ESL teacher.
Complete the Bachelors: The very first thing that you have to do is to earn a Bachelor’s Degree preferably in the education field or related to the English language. Doing a bachelor’s in teaching or English language inculcates the teaching skills in pupil-teachers and they gain more knowledge about the English language.
Take the ESL Training: This is an important step toward becoming an ESL teacher, after earning a bachelor’s degree it is necessary to take ESL training. Getting ESL training will teach you all the crucial methodologies and skills that you would need to create a career as an ESL teacher, through this training you will not only gain in-depth knowledge of the English language but will also learn how to teach it to different learners. As we know ESL teachers teach every learner from all age groups, and to teach every learner in the right way to meet their learning demands ESL teachers need to learn to be flexible and aware of things like cultural and language differences. Under this training, you also learn how to create personalized course material, assignments and schedule classes for different learners using tools like timetable maker so that you can teach every learner effectively.
Get your License: To become an ESL teacher at schools, universities or internationally you need to obtain a license of a certified ESL teacher. For earning the license you have to give a state or national level exam as per the requirements stated, or some universities and countries ask for a master’s degree in English, so consider doing masters too.
