What It Takes to Become an English Teacher
Before you are even ready to talk about the requirements of what it will take to teach English, you must first figure out for yourself if teaching is the right career for you. You might think that teaching would be a fun thing to get into, but it is not the career for everyone. It is very important that teachers are fully engaged with their job because making an impact goes beyond clocking in, teaching lessons, and clocking out. You will also have to invest some time into getting the proper credentials, so you want to be sure before you fully dive in. Maybe you are better suited to be an English tutor, where you do not need as many prerequisites and can lessen the commitment. You will only find out if you put the time into assessing your own talents and interests and making sure that they align with being a good teacher.
For one, you have to have strong social skills. If you are introverted or do not like working with people, this is not the right career for you. Teachers must engage the unengageable, which means that they need empathy and patience to be able to find the right solutions to reach through. Teachers need to care more about the success of students than their own success because those inevitably go hand in hand. If you feel like you fit the profile, you might take next steps by actually getting some experience. You can dip your toe in the pool by volunteering in a school, shadowing a teacher, or substitute teaching if you are willing to dip your whole foot in.
It may seem like you have already done a lot of steps, but this is where it all begins. You are going to need a bachelor’s degree to get into teaching and if you are going to get into teaching English, you want your major to be something in English or a related field. Something with writing in it is a good way to make sure that you are in the wheelhouse. After you get that degree, you will still need to get your teaching certification. It is not always necessary to get a master’s degree unless you are looking to get into teaching at the college level, but it might still be a good idea to get one if you want to be the most competitive on the market.
Many schools require one more standardized test like any graduate program and the one for teachers is called the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators test. It is usually suggested that you take the test during the same time that you are getting your bachelor’s degree, but you can take it whenever. Just make sure that you study. That way, the student can one day become the teacher. Once certified, you might find a great number of opportunities available to you. Schools love to hire new teachers because they are cheapest. Your lack of experience can work to your advantage. That said, making sure that you have as much classroom experience as you can, in whatever form, is vital to standing out as a imminently hireable English teacher. source: https://englishtutornearme.weebly.com/