Do you have any advice for a first time teacher?

[Neil]

hey,

I am going to taiwan in feb, i have a degree, which is fine for taiwan, but no tefl.
and, i have only had a weeks teaching assistant experience. but i have been learning
from English language practice/ teaching books...

i do not have the time or money to do a TEFL course in the UK, is it worth me doing an
online TEFL? or, just going for it. i have been told that my accent, being quite BBC news,
will get me a job easy, which i find hard to believe. hehe
i know that for my first lesson i will have a mountain of notes, but basically i am crapping
myself and would like some advice. i have read the argument on whether is good to have
a TEFL or not... as a piece of paper... but what i gathered is that down to the person
actually teaching, but a TEFL will give a foundation of sorts. Also, from the research i have
done, some schools give a few days training...

can anyone give their guidance?

N

[Lucy]

Dear Neil,

The major benefit of doing a TEFL course will be how you feel about teaching; you will have a lot more confidence if you do a course. Also, if you have done a course (face-to-face or online) you will have more options for jobs you can choose. It's true that some schools take teachers with no training but you will have more opportunities if you have some sort of qualification.

Best regards,

Lucy