How To Be Qualified Without Qualifications

Being an ESL teacher even if you are not from any native English-Speaking countries.

What do we mean by the world’s qualifications?

In this paper-driven world, we are often bombarded with certain things we are required to have.

What are those?

University degree, certificates, license, recommendations from people, etc. etc.

The list could go on depending on which field you want to enter. As an online educator teaching English to foreign students, I faced this similar struggle of being turned down or ignored by countless schools. The major reason of it was my race. I am an Asian and in spite of the English language being highly used here, my country is still not considered to be a native one in this aspect. Secondly, I did not have a degree in Education because I was too focused in studying arts back then before I realized my true calling to be a teacher. In spite of my accumulated years of experience as an online teacher, I settled myself into admitting that there is no equality in this world. Furthermore, since I am not a passport holder of any of these countries " US, UK, AUS, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland or South Africa, my chances of teaching in a classroom as an English  language teacher abroad became slimmer.

I often wondered what qualifies one to be a teacher?

Everyone could teach, but not everyone is a good teacher.

What about those people residing in the poor communities where livelihood and schools are undeveloped yet they have this genuine desire to teach and reach out? Does that make them less qualified than those who are already working as a teacher yet their mindset is about getting a good salary and not really reaching out to students?

In my years of teaching, I’ve met two kinds of educators. One who will go an extra mile to help a student and the other who are only there to talk and get their monthly salary without being concerned of their students’ progress.

Whether you are a parent concerned of your kid’s education or you are a language learner, you would definitely want to get the best quality of education you can have and this is not just because you want to get the most of whatever amount you have paid for to learn the language but because you want to learn as effectively as possible.

So what if you are not a passport holder of any of those countries I mentioned above and your University degree is not related to Education, Communication, Linguistics or Literature yet you have that strong desire to teach?

Here are the four key steps I took that might also help you if you are in the same boat as me.

Know Your Language.

Even if you are not born in the country where the language you wish to teach is their native tongue, it does not mean you can’t be fluent. An educator once told me that there is a subtle difference between being a native speaker and someone who knows how to explain why this expression is like this or why the grammar is like that. Even if one is a native speaker, it does not necessarily mean this person will be able to explain the student’s grammar questions or pronunciation dilemmas. Why? Because often times, when we speak in our native language, we tend not to care too much about such details. Because we know people around us would still completely understand us and they would not mind whatever small errors we make. So if you want to start teaching in this field, regardless of whether you plan to teach your native language or not, it is very important that you know your subject inside and out.

I’ve had students ask me how I am able to become fluent in English and I always tell them that it did not happen overnight. It is the totality of my experience from talking to several foreign exchange classmates I had back in my University days and engaging to American customers eight hours a day, five days a week, for a year as a customer and technical support. I had those to back me up before I started to answer my calling to teach. And even after I have started, I would often find myself answering complex grammar queries from my students. Sometimes, I would go blank and I would end up asking myself, “Yeah, why?” This prompted me to keep learning all the different aspects of the language I am teaching. Knowing the language you want to teach will give you an upper hand and it will instill confidence to your students. They will learn to trust you simply because you know your subject well.

Start Small.

You may start dreaming of wearing semi-formal clothes, teaching inside a class full of students, going on school trips or checking tons of exam papers but reality is if you don’t have those qualifications above, landing a job in a foreign school would be hard. Therefore, start small. Start with what you can reach. You have to build your credentials and experience. If you can go back to school and earn that degree in Education or Linguistics, then go for it! But what if, by certain reasons, you cannot? 

Don’t fret! You can still start teaching as a career.

One of the best way is to be an after-school tutor. This is where students would find people who could help them with their school homework, projects and teach them the subjects they find it difficult to learn. Although this job may not necessarily be centered to teaching languages but you can have a real time, face-to-face experience on how to deal with different kinds of students and learners. This will help you develop your patience and understanding which are the key qualities of being an effective and good teacher.

You may also apply in one of the many online ESL websites. Most of them are lenient and won’t require you to submit a lot of documents except for you to have a neutral English accent and a stable internet connection. This is a very good start especially if you are still currently transitioning from your old career to being a language teacher because some companies would allow you to work at home and they give you the freedom to take full control of your schedule while still being paid. You will definitely get a good dose of experience with this and it will not just develop your teaching skills, but you will learn to be more disciplined and your interpersonal skills will flourish.

Establish Your Connections.

As you keep the path of being a language teacher, you will encounter many different students from different countries, culture, race and backgrounds. Some of them may end up being your loyal students who would want to keep going back and learn from you. You may even develop good friendship among them. This depends, of course, on how you would wish to establish yourself in this profession. As for me, I do not wish to just be a teacher when a student and I are in session, but I would often help them by giving them other means to contact me personally whenever they need immediate help. Why? Simply because I am also a language learner myself and I know how difficult it is to find someone who could answer my language queries for free and real-time! 

Because of this, I was able to gain good friends among them and through the word of mouth, this eventually became the ticket for me to be able to teach in a real classroom setting. They say life is a boomerang. What you give away, you get it back too. In this case, I have always been happy to help my students as much as I can in their language journey and they were able to help me by recommending me to schools.

Keep Evolving.

You may be satisfied with how your job as a language teacher is going amidst not being an Education major or a citizen of those native English countries, but what’s next?

If you have established yourself as an online teacher or as a teacher in school and you are happy with it, then it is good. You can keep going with what you have right now and nothing is wrong with that because no matter what, you will still be able to keep evolving as an educator through your increasing experiences.

Or you can get a TESOL certificate to up your qualifications. Acquire all the necessary certificates and if you can, take additional classes in the University.

Yes, you’ve heard it right. Even native English speakers who wish to teach to certain countries has to have this. You are not alone in this area.

Why do we need it? Because there is no denying that the door of opportunity will open wider for you and it may help you travel from one country to another as a language educator if that is the next path you wish to take. Several countries out there will prioritize people from native English-speaking countries and that is the reality. We cannot compete with that because you cannot change your race in a snap. If you are an Asian like me, your next tool is to prove that you have what it takes.

And Remember...

Language is something we all have to deal with day by day as long as we can speak. Just remember that no matter what your circumstance is, even if you are not born from a native English-speaking country, you can still be a great English language teacher. Do not restrict yourself. Do not let the absence of those qualifications define who you are as a teacher. If you have the heart for the language and you have the passion to share it by teaching, go for it! There are many ways to reach out. After all, we all need a passionate teacher who loves the subject he or she is teaching dearly.