Get Your ESL Certification

ESL Certification, you may also know as English as a Second Language Certification.

When I lost Engineering job in Dallas Texas options that I looked into was teaching English overseas. There was the beckoning of traveling to foreign countries and the escape of the crazy job market. It was a form of escapism. I checked into teaching in Hong Kong and Taiwan and I checked into International Schools. I tried to understand new terms and acronyms and certification requirements.

A few terms I learned were EFL, ESL, CELTA, TOEFL,TEFL.

All of this stuff brought out my skepticism, especially all of the online programs spewing the ease of online ESL certification with minimal effort.

When I lost Engineering job, I was dating a woman and decided to stay in America. We decided to get married & since she is Vietnamese, the idea of teaching never sort of went away.

The idea took 1 or 2 years to simmer. We visited China, Malaysia and Vietnam and checked out teaching opportunities.

While I was traveling, I was introduced to a College principle in Ho Chi Minh City who gave me help and direction. He helped me to break into teaching English without wasting my time or money.

Since my friend and mentor, the principle, had gotten his CELTA years before. I then chose the same path and set a goal to receive my CELTA Certification.

How come we have to have these ESL certs to teach English? The simple answer is, the governments mandate it. Students have previously paid a lot for low quality English teachers.

There are a lot of back packers passing through Vietnam. They are native English speakers passing through town traveling and looking to make a few extra dollars.There are those that are have abused the system. Being a native English speaker is not enough anymore.

Which is a good thing! Speaking English, playing a guitar and games with students doesn’t cut the mustard. The locals want better!

Just a warning, not all certifications are equal. If you don’t have a certification or a low quality certification, you will have trouble finding work at quality schools. Bad schools may hire you, but the pay will be low and the working conditions may be substandard too.

In some cases a substandard school may refuse to pay you and you will have little no recourse.

My advice is get a reputable ESL Certification.