A TEFL certificate is mandatory by many international institutions if you want to teach English abroad.

With a TEFL certification, teachers can:

1. Qualify for teaching jobs. The minimum requirements to show abroad are a Bachelor’s degree in any area and a TEFL certification.

2. Gain the skills required to teach abroad. A TEFL certification prepares you to be an expert in English skills, arrange lessons for foreign language learners, refresh your understanding of English grammar linguistics ideas, and more.

3. Stand out in job applications: In a condition where the hiring school has not explicitly listed a TEFL certification as a requirement, it's always helpful to set you apart from candidates who are not TEFL certified.

4. Earn a higher salary with more reputable schools. Teachers with a TEFL certificate qualify for teaching positions with more reputable schools, which suggests better benefits and better salaries.

Reading the above points, you can easily make out that a TEFL certification is of utmost importance and is needed if you want to teach English abroad.

Today we are here to provide you with some tips to prepare for the TEFL exam 2021.

1. Organize your schedule: It is very crucial to have a proper schedule when preparing for any exam. You have to make a few decisions like whether you will be dropping your job/studies and concentrate completely on your exam or will you manage both things simultaneously. Whatever you decide always remember that it is a one-time investment and will bring you profitable returns your entire life. Do not let your TEFL preparation be on the back- burner. Decide what schedule works best for you and go on following. If you decide to take a month’s course, it becomes pretty obvious that you will have to work hard for that one month and put other things on the side. On the other hand, if you choose to go for a long course, let’s say 6 months, it will give you time to easily prepare for your exam at a slow pace.

2. Review your grammar rules: Since you are going to be an English teacher soon, it becomes very important for you to know grammar rules. Yes, we know that it is very difficult even as a teacher (who is an expert) to remember all the grammar rules but it is what it is and you need to have your grammar in check before your exam. When it comes to English grammar, you may have a difficult time remembering and explaining every detail despite knowing most of the rules.

But, fret not!

Here is an idea to give a quick review before starting the TEFL training. You can either buy some grammar guides which will help you revise all the grammar rules or you can simply go to YouTube and watch videos!

3. Prepare your resume, transcript, and other requirements: It is always a good idea to have all the things required during a job in the interview process in place beforehand. Considering the times we are in now, your interview might just be over a Skype call and not offline so it would be a good decision to prepare yourself according to the digital interview world. You can practice your interview. If you want you can also get in touch with a TEFL advisor who will guide you for the interview.

4. Look over your pre-course material: If you choose a good TEFL course it provides you with some pre-course material that you can go through before beginning with the course. Always go through the material provided as this will give you an insight into what you are going to learn in your course. It helps boost your confidence and you have a feeling that you are prepared for the course.

5. Practice Public Speaking: A teacher is no less than a public speaker and everyone will agree to that. So it becomes crucial for you to practice your public speaking. If we are being honest, students always see through a confident teacher and they know if a teacher is nervous. It shows.

Even if you’re an introvert, you'll fake it ‘til you create it! Now time to hop around town making speeches to strangers about why you would like to become an ESL teacher abroad - well, maybe not that, but you got my point.

6.Volunteer to teach English online: We are all pretty much stuck at our homes right now and the teaching has been going on online only. This is a great opportunity for you to volunteer for some online teaching. This will help in so many ways!

It will help you get some experience and learn some valuable skills, all helping to build your resume. There will even be many volunteering opportunities in countries that have reopened their borders.

7. Take advantage of your TEFL trainers’ expertise: Your TEFL trainer is someone who has been in this field for years and probably knows the best about this field. Take full advantage of that. Ask as many questions you want to, related to the course, related to living abroad and job opportunities available. You never know what you might learn!

These were some of the tips that we had for you for preparing for your TEFL exam in 2021. It is a very important part of your career so don’t take it lightly and put in your best efforts! There are various courses available online but you can go for the Henry Harvin course which is a very good course. You can find the course on our website. Whatever you choose, always remember to choose the best which will serve you perfectly.