Skills, Education and Experience
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Skills
- ability to effectively prepare, organize and deliver teaching materials
- knowledge of other cultures
- strong written and oral communication skills
- resourceful and patient
- organized and detail oriented
- creative
- ability to work independently
Education and Experience
Requirements to become an ESL teacher vary depending on where you want to work. In most cases, you need at least a bachelor's degree in a related subject such as English.
Employers may also require you to have a recognized ESL certificate or diploma such as TESL or TESOL. Certificate or diploma programs range from a few months to 1 year in length. They are offered at colleges, universities, and private language instruction schools across the country.
Qualifications
Qualifications
College/adult ESL teachers are not regulated in British Columbia.
There are no mandatory requirements for licensing or professional certification in order to work as an ESL teacher in BC.
ESL Certificate Programs [required by some employers]
- TESL Canada Federation
TESL Canada is the national federation of English as a second language teachers. It provides TESL Canada Professional Certification for instructors trained in Canada. To become TESL Canada certified, you must have a minimum of 100 hours’ TESL/TEFL training, a 20-hour practicum teaching adults, and a Bachelor’s degree in any discipline.
- CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)
CELTA is one of the most widely recognized qualifications of its kind around the world. There are over 2,700 centres in 130 countries that provide CELTA training.