Teaching is a specialised occupation. Not everyone has the personality or the aptitude to be a teacher. TEFL teaching is not the same as, say, teaching Maths or History. There are a few qualities TEFL teachers need to have and which TEFL employers look for in potential employees.
TEFL teachers should be:
- passionate
- communicative
- organised
- creative
- adaptable
- patient
- approachable, and
- professional.
Your potential employer will expect you to be enthusiastic and optimistic: Motivation is an important quality. TEFL employers will want to know your motivation for choosing a career as an TEFL teacher.
They will want to know if you view TEFL teaching as just another job or if there’s a deeper motive that has led you to this particular career. If your reason for TEFL teaching is just to use it as a vehicle to travel around the world, it would be better not to mention it.
You should be able to demonstrate that you would be committed to your profession, your school, and your students: TEFL teachers who are committed to their profession maintain a high degree of professional and personal integrity.
A commitment to the school would entail compliance with the rules and regulations of the educational institution and the ability to put the good of the school before personal betterment, for example, you wouldn’t leave your school in mid-term by taking advantage of an exit clause in your contract so that you could take up an alternative TEFL teaching post that is far more lucrative. In short, a committed teacher would be a loyal teacher.
The TEFL employer will expect you to be highly organised and efficient . You will be expected to show that you are capable of organising your teaching and non-teaching duties in such a way that your teaching duties do not impede or prevent the execution of your non-teaching duties, and vice versa; for example, not making a lesson plan because you still have to urgently complete school reports. You will be expected to be knowledgeable about TEFL: both in theory and in practice. You will also have to show that you are creative and flexible in your approach to classroom teaching.
Do you think you have what it takes?
Read more: What qualities do EFL employers look for?