Is a TEFL Certificate really necessary?

[ChrisJ]

I am writing this on behalf of my wife. She has a 2.1 degree in Linguistics from University of Wales Institute of Science & Technology. For the past 8 years she has been teaching English in Italy, privately, in schools, and has a contract as a Professoressa at La Sapienza University, Rome.

We will shortly be moving to Geneva and it has been recommended that she needs a TEFL certificate in order to gain employment.

However, looking at course contents, it appears that between her degree and experience, she has more than adequately covered all the syllabi, and is somewhat loath to both spend time and money on something she has already covered - purely to acquire a piece of paper.

Given her degree and experience, is it absolutely vital to have a TEFL qualification?

[Lucy]

Dear Chris,

I understand how you and your wife must feel. I guess you are frustrated and find it unfair that she has been recommended to take the TEFL certificate. I’m sure she has learnt a lot through her degree and teaching experience.

Having said this, some countries have basic requirements for anybody in the teaching profession. I’m not sure what the requirements are for Switzerland; I suggest you find out about this. If a certificate in TEFL is a necessary qualification, I’m afraid the answer is that your wife will need to follow the course, assuming she wants to work with a reputable school. It sounds as if your wife is serious and I presume she wouldn’t want to work with a school that ignores national education regulations. From what you say, I think your wife will find the studying fairly easy and remember, there’s always something new to be learnt.

Lucy