TEFL in The USA - What Opportunities Await You?
It might not be your first choice when it comes to considering where your TEFL journey will take you, or it might not have even crossed your mind at all, but there are some great opportunities to teach English in America. While English is the official language of North America, there are many other languages used there which create great job opportunities. Typically, the EFL and ESL students are those who have immigrated to America and choose to seek lessons to improve their English. Usually these types of students are learning English for specific purposes. This could be for work or professional purposes - maybe to help run their own business or to do their job. They might also want to learn English to help integrate themselves into society or to aid themselves logistically. You’ll find that most English classes are taken through libraries, private language colleges, community centres or colleges. You might also find that students are preparing for the TOEFL, which is a prerequisite exam for international students applying to American universities. So, what opportunities await you?
Types of jobs
Volunteering: Often, classes taught at public libraries run because teachers are volunteers. It’s easy enough to find opportunities, just search for literacy volunteers in the area you’d like to be. Volunteering is great for those with limited TEFL experience.
Online tutoring: A great path if you’d prefer to work on a more individual basis. You’re able to search through adverts for EFL teachers, and provide your tutoring services at a price set by you. The nature of online tutoring means you have all the flexibility that becoming a digital nomad offers. You choose where and when you’d like to work, and you can also control how many clients you take on. This is a great option for those wanting to explore America, whilst earning a living. However, it can be difficult to build up an initial client base, so experience is key. It’s also important to consider that with some online tutoring, there is no set curriculum and you are required to create personalised lesson plans for your clients. Take a look at our Online EFL Teaching positions here.
Programmes: There are a lot of great programmes in America which take out the stress of creating your own curriculums. Take a look at AmeriCorps, who offer a variety of jobs relating to EFL/ESL. Some great examples of jobs you could do with AmeriCorps include creating lesson plans for refugees, developing life skills curriculums or becoming an English Language Support coordinator.
Schools: You could work in public, private or language schools. However, you will need to consider that to work in schools you have the right qualifications, and this differs from state to state. TEACH.org is a great resource for checking requirements for each state.
Things to consider
One key thing to consider before you choose to teach in America is the cost of living. This varies greatly depending on where you choose to go. Bigger cities, such as New York and Los Angeles, have significantly higher costs of living. This could influence what type of job you choose and where you choose to do it. Payscale has a great resource that you can use to look at the cost of living in different places in America.
How can I become a TEFL teacher in America?
Check the requirements for teaching in the state you’d like to work in. Volunteer roles usually require no qualifications and little experience. Similarly, for online tutoring, you’ll need your UK-TEFL Certificate, but you might not always need a bachelor's degree.
For school teaching, you will almost always need a bachelor's degree as a minimum alongside some teacher training. You will also need to undergo a background check and probably have a licence to teach in America.
Some great websites to search for jobs include Participate Learning, Go Overseas and Teaching Abroad.
