10 tips to getting a better English teaching job

By Colm Downes

This article first appeared on Professional English Online from Cambridge University Press. Reprinted with permission. Colm Downes is the author of Cambridge English for Job-hunting

10 tips to getting a better English teaching job

As the world slides progressively deeper into a global recession it is difficult to predict the effect this will have on the ELT industry and the career prospects for English language teachers around the world. Some private language schools will certainly suffer as significant falls in disposable income leads students to tighten their belts and give up additional private tuition. Many companies will be forced to cut training budgets and have less to spend on language tuition. Where teaching hours fall, competition for teaching jobs increases and a likely influx of unemployed professionals seeking a new career in an industry, well known for being relatively quick and easy to enter, could also mean more candidates for fewer vacancies. However, despite the inherent threats and challenges the global recession brings, the worldwide spread of English language will continue unabated and students will continue to take up learning the language universally regarded as the passport to international employment. Swiftly changing economic conditions will provide entrepreneurial language schools and teachers new opportunities in which to thrive and prosper.Clearly there has rarely been a more crucial time to reassess your ELT career development, brush up your CV, and ensure that your ELT career prospects remain bright. Here are ten tips to getting a better English teaching job, or at the very least, ensuring you remain happy and secure in your current post. 1 Research yourself Researching yourself is the key to finding, and getting, the job that is right for you. Draw a mind map of your strengths and weaknesses, your character traits, what you enjoy doing as well the things you don’t, etc. The process of analysing yourself will help you identify the skills, experience and knowledge you have that employers are looking for. More importantly, understanding yourself better will help you make employment decisions more likely to lead to a successful, satisfying career. 2 Improve your qualifications The most obvious way to develop your teaching skills, and enhance your career prospects, is to gain further internationally recognised ELT qualifications. Experienced English teachers holding an initial teaching qualification may opt to complete an in-service qualification such as the Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults (DELTA) or the Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages (DipTESOL). Qualifications such as this are an excellent way of increasing your understanding of the principles and practice of English language teaching, and providing proof of your ability. An MA in ELT & Applied Linguistics is an alternative qualification with greater emphasis on the theoretical issues which impact upon the field of language learning and teaching.

As well as this there are a range of less well-known specialist ELT qualifications that could give you the edge when applying for your next job, the most well-known being the Cambridge English Teaching Awards and the Trinity College TESOL qualifications. For example, the CELTYL, develops your skills teaching young learners, and the IDLTM, is the one to choose if you’re interested in a move to managerial positions. It is possible to undertake almost all of these courses either full time, in part time modules or online via distance learning programmes.

3 Get involved English teaching can be a very solitary, independent, profession. Once you are in the classroom it is just you and your students. It is often possible to plan lessons at home; sweep into school, deliver classes, and sweep back out again. Indeed, the autonomy the teaching profession affords is without doubt one of its greatest attractions. However, in my experience, positive student feedback alone is unlikely to lead to real career satisfaction or further career opportunities. No matter how experienced or naturally gifted the teacher, fresh ideas have to come from somewhere. Ask to observe while others teach, and invite feedback from others observing you. Investigate and take advantage of any training opportunities. Volunteer to give in-service teacher training sessions and support those delivered by your peers. Spend more time in the teacher’s room and get to know your colleagues. By getting involved, you are demonstrating essential team working skills and a desire to continue your professional development. Remember, your teaching skills, however amazing, are likely to go relatively unnoticed unless you get more involved, and share your experience.

4 Demonstrate your competency These days it is no longer enough to claim you have the skills and experience necessary to do a job; you need to provide evidence as proof. Once you have identified the competencies (knowledge, skills and behaviour) required for a specific job it is essential that you provide examples of how you acted in real situations in the past which demonstrate these competencies. It is important to tailor your CV and cover letter to highlight the competencies essential for the specific position applied for. Similarly, before interviews, you should prepare short memorable stories which demonstrate how you employed these competencies in action.

5 Diversify Teaching twenty plus hours a week of general English is hard work and highly admirable. However, it is unlikely to help you stand out from the crowd, or to enable you to demonstrate a wide range of skills and abilities. I strongly encourage English teachers to take on as many varied classes as possible. You may only spend a week or two delivering a legal English course, or preparing a group for a business English exam, but afterwards you will legitimately be able to claim professional experience in these areas. If a specific area of English teaching interests you, volunteer to take on more work in this area. Once you have more experience, apply for the co-ordinator position responsible for the area if one exists. If it does not, then it might be worth trying to convince your boss of the value of creating such a post. 6 Measure your impact Wherever possible, teachers should try to use impressive facts and figures in CVs, cover letters and interviews. For example, stating you have prepared over 200 students for an IELTS examination, is much more memorable than saying that you have experience preparing students for IELTS exams.

Keep any written evidence, such as course evaluation forms and formal observation feedback, which positively commends your teaching. This will enable you to support claims that your teaching has received ‘outstanding feedback’, which will enhance your chances of promotion or of finding better employment elsewhere. 7 Be honest With only two weeks legal English experience behind me I was once asked if I would feel comfortable taking on the role of senior legal English teacher. After a long pause I said, "I’m very interested in legal English teaching and wish to develop my skills in the area, but, at the moment I’m not confident I’m experienced enough to take on such a role". Two days later I was offered the senior business English teacher post. The e-mail began "We highly appreciated your honesty during the interview and are very pleased to offer you...." Yes, I was lucky, but also feel I got the job primarily because my future boss felt he could trust me. Honestly acknowledging your limitations will impress potential employers and add greater credibility to the professional strengths you claim to have. 8 Become an examiner Becoming an examiner is an excellent way of adding an extra string to your bow, as well being a great way of supplementing a teaching salary. If you have the opportunity to become an examiner (for example IELTS, Cambridge ESOL, Trinity College) then jump at the chance. Assuming you have enough experience, usually three years, examiner training is relatively straightforward and you can be examining in no time at all. Almost all examiners I know enjoy the variety examining brings to their teaching schedules. However, even if you find that it is not for you, examiner status and experience will impress prospective employers and should always be added to a CV. 9 Attend a conference Attending ELT conferences, such as IATEFL, BESIG and TESOL can help boast your career prospects in many ways. In addition to being a great way of keeping up to date with the latest developments in the ELT world, attending conferences will demonstrate your commitment to continued professional development. Conferences are also the perfect place to network with fellow professionals in the field and sell yourself to prospective employers. Asking experienced ELT ‘old hands’ to discuss their career path can also provide valuable insight into career options that you may not have considered. The only thing better than attending a conference is speaking at one; giving a conference talk is an excellent way of gaining confidence and professional respect, as well as being further experience to add to your CV. 10 Develop a plan Writing a personal professional development plan, perhaps drawing on the above, will help you to identify the specific tasks and goals you need to complete to achieve progress in your career. Aim to identify both short-term and long-term goals with time scales included. This will focus your planning and enable you to monitor and assess your professional progress, as well as enhancing your personal motivation.

Colm Downes