Should I take a TESL course?

[LinLin]

I have a masters degree in elementary education from the U.S., but would like to start teaching English as a second language. Do I gain respectability by gaining a certification?

Thanks for any advice you have!

[Lucas]

It depends where you want to teach. Some schools will accept your MA in elementary education, but you should have some credits on teaching EFL/ESL.

[lauralene]

Hi there

I think it is very useful to have a TEFL degree. it opens a lot of doors. I got my degree form TEFL CHINA in Yangshuo and I can now teach anywhere in the world. Without a good certificate you can only work for very unprofessional schools and your salary will often be very low.

[Alex Case]

Yes, you should take a TEFL certificate. Some schools won't employ you without one, especially ones that get so many TEFL qualified people applying it is hardly worth them spending to time to work out whether your MA is relevant or not. More importantly, it's a totally different kind of teaching and people with previous teaching experience sometimes find it more difficult to adjust without training due to being stuck in their ways, so you need to learn how to do it