Everyone remembers the good teachers that they had, and they remember the bad ones too. If you ever have ever thought about becoming a teacher yourself, those are the people who come to mind. It can make the idea of teaching quite intimidating, remembering the teachers who inspired you and those who left you feeling like you would rather be doing anything other than learning about that subject. It can be so easy to question yourself, but you never know: the answers may surprise you.

Teaching English as a foreign language is an increasingly popular choice for people of all ages these days. It can be an incredibly rewarding thing to do, and a way to help pay the bills. But it is easy to understand why a lot of people still feel a little nervous about whether they could, or should, teach English to students.

If you have been thinking about the possibility but you are not quite sure whether it is right for you, or whether you are right for it, then here are a few of the best reasons why you should consider teaching English as a foreign language.

You Can Give Something Back

Let’s start by talking about one of the most important things that teachers do. A great teacher can make a huge difference in someone’s life. You can demystify a subject for people and turn it into something that they can understand and start to access. When it comes to teaching a language, there are so many different reasons why somebody might want to learn. It could be for a job, it could be for a partner, or it could be simply because they have always loved the idea of knowing it. Teaching English as a foreign language can be so incredibly rewarding because you can make a difference in someone’s life.

You Can Make Friends For Life

If you decide to teach English as a foreign language, it will open a lot of different doors for you. It will also give you the opportunity to meet incredible people from all over the world, from all different walks of life. Teaching is a shared experience, and in a world that can feel increasingly isolating, that kind of connection is extremely valuable, whether it’s between you and your students, or you and your fellow teachers. The friendships that you make while teaching can last a lifetime.

You Can Teach From Home

One of the main benefits of teaching English as a foreign language is that you do not need to leave the house to do it. There are lots of courses and schools out there that are looking for teachers who can work flexibly, which means being able to work from home. This is an enormous bonus for those of us who need to fit other commitments around their work schedules, whether that is caring for family members, doing the school run, or even another job. Working from home is in such high demand right now. But with more and more businesses thinking about pushing back on it and bringing their team back in, there are plenty of reasons to look for a job that gives you that flexibility.

You Can Teach While Travelling

Of course, one of the major selling points is the exact opposite of the point above. Teaching English as a foreign language has long been one of the most popular ways for people who love travelling to earn money. If you have a TEFL certification, you can teach English to people all over the world. What is a TEFL certification? There are four different levels, which range from being a certified teacher to having a master’s in teaching English as a foreign language. TEFL certifications are widely respected the world over, and if the idea of teaching abroad appeals to you, you should absolutely look at TEFL courses. Premier TEFL have a wide range of different course options to help you, whether you are a student looking to teach abroad in your gap year or a working professional who fancies adding another string to your bow.

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You Could Learn A Second Language

This point is particularly relevant for anyone who is thinking about travelling abroad to teach English. During your teaching hours, you will of course be mostly speaking and thinking in your native tongue. But when you are off the clock, you will be in the perfect environment to learn something new. There is no better way to learn another language than to throw yourself in at the deep end, and if you are living and working in a foreign country, you will be amazed at how much you pick up, and how quickly you do so. What’s more, learning the language of the people that you are teaching will help you be more empathetic and more able to explain some of the trickier challenges that they might be facing. And let’s face it, English has plenty of its own strange and difficult quirks if you are trying to learn it!

You Can Earn Extra Income

This point feels almost a little crass to mention given the nobility of some of the points listed above, but there is no getting around how important it is, especially right now. The cost-of-living crisis is hitting everyone hard. There have been constant news stories about rising prices at the supermarket, and inflation fears everywhere else, and it seems like barely a week goes by without a new report about how the colossal energy bills are not going to go anywhere any time soon. It is not surprising that a lot of people are thinking about how they can add a second or a part-time job to their schedule, and teaching English as a foreign language allows you to do that. Some people do a couple of classes one or two days a week, and you could even think about teaching conversation.

You Can Add Something Impressive To Your CV

If you are just starting on your career journey, the job hunt can be an incredibly disheartening process. There have been a lot of stories about the job market over the last couple of years, but anyone will tell you that, whether it is up or down, it is always going to be hard to make an impression on recruiters. You will always be going up against people who may have more experience or may have a personal connection to someone at the company in question. What you can do is make sure that your CV stands out as much as possible, and teaching English as a foreign language is the kind of thing that will jump out at people.

It shows that you have the kind of drive it takes to get a qualification and to get out there and use it. It shows that you are interested in giving something back and that you have a sense of adventure about you. Perhaps most importantly, it shows that you are someone who has excellent communication skills. Being a good teacher means that you have to connect with people and understand how you can help them to solve problems. That is not a skill that everyone has. So, think about whether teaching English as a foreign language is the perfect next step for you!

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