If you’re thinking about teaching English abroad, you might have plenty of questions, but there’s one thing you probably already have strong feelings about: whether or not you want to teach children or adults.
Teaching young learners can be extremely enjoyable and rewarding, but it (understandably) may not be the best fit for everyone. It’s no secret that commanding a classroom full of kids or teenagers – especially ones who don’t speak your language – can be a challenge. So if you’d prefer to work with adults, teaching business English abroad may be just the thing for you!
Whether you already have experience in the workplace or just graduated with a bachelor’s degree, there are plenty of opportunities out there for teaching business English. You just need to make sure to prepare yourself properly for this TEFL career path. So we’ve rounded up a few tips to help you get started. Let’s look at them at a glance and then dive in deeper.
How can you start a TEFL career teaching business English to adults?
- Do a TEFL course with a specialization in teaching business English.
- Highlight your business English expertise on your resume.
- Find the right teaching job for you – whether it’s abroad or online!
Do a TEFL Certification course with a specialization in teaching business English.
First up, you’ll need a TEFL certificate. Yes, even if you already have professional or teaching experience, you still need a TEFL certificate because teaching English to business professionals is no easy feat.
Whereas young learners can be won over with games and fun activities, positive relationships with adult students are often based on mutual professional respect. Your students will want to see that you know your stuff as a teacher, so choosing the right TEFL course is the best way to prepare.
A good place to start is to look for a TEFL course that’s associated with a respected university, like the OISE University of Toronto TEFL Certification. Taking a university-level TEFL course doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have to go in for lectures. You can still study online, but have peace of mind knowing your TEFL certification course is legitimate. Plus, you’ll get to add a professional qualification from a world-renowned university to your resume.
Once you’ve found a course that interests you, do some deeper research. Any good TEFL course should provide detailed course information online, including reviews from former students. But it’s worth looking up external TEFL course reviews as well to get some real, unbiased opinions!
For instance, you can find great reviews for the OISE University of Toronto TEFL course on TEFL Course Review OISE TEFL, Go Abroad and Go Overseas.
Next up, it’s time to specialize!
Teaching business English requires a unique approach. You’ll be working with highly motivated students and teaching them specific skills that will have a direct impact on their careers. This can be deeply interesting and also hugely rewarding. Just imagine the difference you can make coaching someone for a big interview in English, helping them find the words to connect with colleagues, or giving them the confidence to speak up in meetings.
With so much on the line, the best way to prepare yourself and your students for success is by doing a TEFL certification with a specialization in Teaching Business English.
Highlight your business English specialization on your TEFL resume and Teach Away profile.
Once you’ve built up your teaching skills, it’s time to show them off! The first thing you’ll need to help you find the business English TEFL job of your dreams is a killer resume.
Even if you have no professional experience, there’s plenty of valuable information you can include when creating a TEFL resume. In addition to your education and the teaching skills you’ll gain with your TEFL business English specialization, you can also list any international experience you may have. And don’t forget to include transferable skills, such as public speaking, organization and/or leadership.
If you do have professional experience, now’s the time to talk it up. Any real experience you have in the business world will make you a huge asset to your future students, so go into detail about the fields you’ve worked in and the different roles you’ve held in the workplace.
Finally, your TEFL job search will probably take place online, and your resume will be your employer’s first glance of who you are as a professional. Take time to make your resume the best it can be, and pay attention to formatting, spelling and grammar. Don’t forget that you’ll also need to craft both a strong resume and cover letter once you start applying for specific jobs.
If this sounds a little overwhelming, don’t worry, there are plenty of great resources out there with tips on how to write a resume/CV for teaching English abroad. A little research can go a long way.
What about my Teach Away profile?
So glad you asked! As well as using the Teach Away website to search for jobs, you can also contact schools directly through the site so, resumes and cover letters aside, building a complete teacher profile is a great way to catch a TEFL employer’s eye. Completing your profile gives recruiters a well-rounded idea of who you are and what assets you can bring to their school.
Find your dream job teaching business English abroad (or online).
Once you have a killer TEFL resume ready to go, it’s time to start looking at postings on TEFL job boards.
English is the international language of business, so you’re sure to find that business English teachers are in demand all over the world. If you don’t have a country in mind to work in, think about the professional fields that interest you. If there is a particular industry you are interested in connecting with through teaching, it’s worth researching where in the world these industries thrive and focusing your job search there.
While you’re job hunting, make sure to read job postings very carefully and only to apply to language institutes that specifically focus on teaching adults, such as Wall Street English.
If you’re not ready to move abroad right away, teaching online can be a great way to ease yourself into a TEFL career. Although most online teaching companies focus on teaching young students, iTutorGroup is a great example of a company that also caters to adults and offers online business English tutoring.
Start your TEFL career journey today!
To sum up, business English to adults is a thriving TEFL sector and one that can provide meaningful, intellectually stimulating work for many teachers who want to focus on teaching adults around the world.
If you know that you want to teach business English abroad, choosing this TEFL course specialization will give you the skills you need and set you up for a successful job hunt. All teachers have different strengths and working in a role that suits you will help you bring out the best in your students and yourself.
Start your TEFL journey today by enrolling in a 120- or 150-hour online TEFL certification course that lets you choose a specialization in teaching Business English.
