6 benefits of TEFL training you might not have thought of
Whatever you might think, TEFL training isn’t just about honing the grammar skills and ticking the boxes so you can get that job on distant shores. It’s also about developing confidence, mingling with likeminded people, and perhaps even exploring the globe! Check it out…
You become a grammar god
With everything from past participles to sentence syntax to modal verbs to parts of speech covered in TEFL training courses, it’s hardly surprising that teaching grads quickly become grammar gurus in their own right. After honing all the literacy skills you never had time to cover back in school, you’ll develop a hawk eye for missed apostrophes and misused semi-colons. It will be easier than ever to mind your own Ps and Qs in formal situations, you’ll start speaking the Queen’s (as they say across The Pond), and there’s bound to be a great knock-on effect on your writing output too!
You get waaaay more confident
There’s no such thing as a shy TEFL teacher. Or at least, there’s no such thing as a shy TEFL teacher for very long. You might not think it, but before you realise, that once-dreaded lead-in exercise and target language intro will become routine. You’ll start owning the classroom and begin to focus on maximizing effectiveness and discipline. Your TEFL training will prepare you for it, but it’s you who will be the star of the show; shedding those pre-classroom fears and really embracing this new role.
You’ll become more cultured
Whether it’s a taste for the medley of five spice and lemongrass in the Canton kitchen or a penchant for Buddhist scriptures and Khmer temple architecture, the exposure to other cultures offered by TEFL training courses abroad can really help to add more and more fascinating facets to your character. What’s more, by mixing with students and colleagues from all over the globe, you’ll soon become more appreciative of the lives lived across a broad spectrum of societies. It’s an eye-opening experience like no other!
You’ll get to network
From gap yearers to out-of-college graduates to business people eager for an exciting career break, the folk who take TEFL training courses these days come in all shapes and sizes. The upshot is that you never really know who you’re going to be mingling with in your tutorials and classroom sessions. That’s great news if you love networking and seeking out new opportunities where you might not have thought them possible. It’s also great if you just like meeting new people and forging new friendships. You’ll have oodles of grammar exercises to bond over, after all.
You can check off some awesome destinations
Whoever said TEFL training has to be held in dull classrooms back at home? Or conducted over the internet? No sir, not us! At myTEFL, we have a particular soft spot for TEFL training courses held abroad. We’ve got packages that are held everywhere from the palm-fringed beaches of the Land of Smiles to the salt-washed shores of South Africa’s Eastern Cape. That means you can start checking off that travel bucket list even before you take the plunge and find your first job!
You’ll get travel inspiration
There’s nothing like meeting and mingling with a group of likeminded budding globetrotters to kick-start those wanderlust drives. As you chat between teaching sessions, you’ll be able to find out where it is your fellow undergrads are headed. You’ll hear dreams of sun-kissed school yards on the South China Sea. You’ll be told about promised TEFL positions between the rugged tops of the snow-mantled Himalaya. You’ll be inspired by would-be nomads looking to forge a lifestyle of travel and teaching in one. It’s all good.
Are you a TEFL training graduate? Can you think of any more hidden benefits of TEFL training that people taking myTEFL courses might not have realized are coming their way? We’d love to hear about them in the comments below…