Thinking About Going into Teaching ESL/EFL/ESOL?: Language Learning and Teaching, #1

By Damian Johnstone

Thinking About Going into Teaching ESL/EFL/ESOL?

(Language Learning and Teaching:  Volume 1)

 

Approx. 55 pages.

 

This short book is for you if you are considering going into the field of teaching English as a second/foreign language, whether English is your first (native) language or not.  I have written it with those who are contemplating pursuing English teaching (ESL, EFL or ESOL) as a career option particularly in mind, but it would also be of interest to individuals who might be thinking about engaging in English teaching on a short term or voluntary basis.

 

My purpose in writing this book is to help you decide whether or not teaching English as a second/foreign language is something you might want to pursue.  

 

Based upon my own experience of teaching English as a second language, and my knowledge of the English language teaching field more broadly, I discuss: 

• what it is like in practical terms to be an ESL/EFL/ESOL teacher 
• what the job involves and what to expect
• beyond the practicalities, to give some insight into how EFL teachers think about their task 
• the skills, qualities and knowledge needed to be an ESL/EFL/ESOL teacher
• the kind of opportunities available

I also give some ideas about where to begin with getting into English teaching, and I provide recommendations on how to find out more about the field.  

 

Although the focus of this book is the teaching of the English language, much of what is written will be equally relevant to teaching any language.  So, if English is not your first language and you are interested in teaching your native language to those who do not know it, this book is for you too.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Damian Johnstone
• Release date: Jul 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393589365

Damian Johnstone

Damian Johnstone has a background in ESOL teaching in the UK.  He now works primarily in training and teacher education, with a particular focus on language awareness for teachers and the learning of English as a second language.

Book preview

Thinking about going into teaching ESL/EFL/ESOL?

––––––––

Damian Johnstone

Copyright

© Damian Johnstone 2020

All rights reserved. 

Contents

About the author

Thinking about going into teaching ESL/EFL/ESOL?

Who this book is for

What this book is for

A word on terminology

PART 1:   WHAT IS TESL LIKE, AND WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE DO IT?

What is it like? - Variety

Variety from lesson to lesson and within lessons

Variety of content taught

Variety in skills taught

Variety of tasks within the classroom (organisation and approach to learning)

People

Purpose of task

Intensity level

Variety within a typical day: skills used and activities engaged in

A sample day

What kind of people do it?

Pluses and minuses

Weighing it up

PART 2:   WHAT DO ESL TEACHERS NEED TO KNOW?

Knowledge of English

Knowledge of languages in general

Learning principles (general)

SLA principles

Methodology

Specifics of syllabus, school / institution / exam requirements

How long does it take?

PART 3:   HOW CAN I GET INTO TESL?

Training, qualifications, and the job market

Teaching English one-to-one and online

STARTING POINTS - my suggestions

Do some language learning, and reflect on it

Read

Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

Observe

Talk with ESL teachers

Get training

Maybe start informally 1-to-1 (online or face to face)

A FINAL FEW WORDS

Next steps

More information

APPENDIX  : books and websites

About the author

Born and brought up in England, UK as a monolingual English speaker, I had minimal interest in languages other than English at school and learnt nothing about them beyond just a very few words of French; but a fascination with language was kindled in me when as a mature adult I learnt a bit of Hindi from a Teach Yourself book.

I came into the field of ESL teaching after doing a variety of other things, including a reasonably long period in the rail industry.

Beyond familiarity with the terms noun, verb, and adjective, my only knowledge of English grammar prior to commencing TESL training was what I gained from that casual Hindi study.  Talking about language structure was very much out of fashion in the British education system during my school days!

I worked as an ESOL tutor in the UK for about 7 years, teaching students from a wide variety of backgrounds and nationalities. Now I work primarily in training and teacher education, with a particular focus on language awareness for teachers and the learning of English as a second language.

Thinking about going into teaching ESL/EFL/ESOL?

Who this book is for

This short book is for you if you are considering going into the field of teaching English as a second/foreign language, whether English is your first (native) language or not.  I have written it with those who are contemplating pursuing English teaching as a career option particularly in mind, but it would also be of interest to individuals who might be thinking about engaging in English teaching on a short term or voluntary basis. In this book I focus on teaching groups of learners in a classroom context, which is where the bulk of my experience lies, although one-to-one and online teaching are briefly discussed.

My hope is that by the time you have read what follows you will be in a position to either decide whether or not English teaching is for you, or, if you remain unsure, to know how to find out.

Clearly, English teaching is a diverse field, taking place in a variety of different contexts: in English-speaking countries and in non-English-speaking countries; in low-tech and high-tech conditions; to groups of students who share a common language and to groups of students whose first languages are radically different; to younger learners and older learners; and so on ......

My own background is in teaching English as a second language in the UK, to adult learners from a broad spectrum of language backgrounds; but because this book is aimed at a broad audience of prospective teachers, the emphasis is on the factors that are common to teaching English across the various different contexts.

Although the focus here is exclusively on teaching the English language, much of what is written will be equally relevant to teaching any language.  So, if English is not your first language and you are interested in teaching your native language to those who do not know it, I hope that you will find this short book helpful in thinking about that task.

What this book is for

To help you assess