You are looking to hire a language teacher for your program, business or community. Where do you start? What should you be looking for?
First off don’t worry! There are many amazing English language teachers out there. However, all have different training, specialities and experiences. All of which will affect how they teach and if they are the best hire for you.
Qualifications
There are a variety of certifications that a teacher can get when training as a language instructor. The most common you will hear about are:
- TEFL: Teaching English as a Foreign Language
- TESOL: Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages
- TESL: Teaching English as a Second Language
- CELTA: Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Others Languages
Another great place to check is the TESL Canada website. They regulate the training programs in Canada and have a page of all of the recommended programs in Canada.
It’s also important to note that the certifications above ARE NOT the same as a certified Canadian teacher. For example, I am both a TESL Teacher as well as a certified Manitoba teacher. I am able to teach both as an English language teacher or in the public school system.
Which brings us to the next thing you need to look for….
Teaching Experiences
The questions you need to ask yourself are:
- WHO will this teacher be teaching:
- Kids?
- Adults?
- Teenagers?
There’s a difference in how each of these groups are taught and not everyone is great with each age group.
- What level of English will they be teaching?
- Beginner (Canadian Language Benchmarks 1-4)
- Intermediate (Canadian Language Benchmarks 5-8)
- Advanced (Canadian Language Benchmarks 9-12)
You need a more experienced teacher for the early levels as you are possibly working with people who have no prior English language knowledge. As well, the advanced are usually people in university, Masters programs, professionals, etc.
- What type of English will they be teaching?
- Is it a general “learn English” program?
- Specialized? (employment, workplace, university, etc.)
Does the Instructor have knowledge and experience in the areas that you need?
All of these are important factors to look at when deciding who you want to hire. However, I do want to point out one thing.
Don’t just look at their English Language teaching experience. Teaching is teaching. I’ve been in field for over 15 years and I can honestly say it’s about 40% content development and 60% classroom management/personality. If you don’t have a teacher that can connect with the group, they aren’t going to learn anyway. So make sure to look at all of their different teaching experiences.
One last suggestion
I would also recommend looking to see if they have their Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) Bootcamp Certificate.
This is a free course run by the Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks. The CLB’s are the language benchmarks that Canada uses to assess language learning. It’s also used in the most funded language programs across Canada.
A person has to put in their own time to get this, so if they have it, it shows initiative and that they are serious about getting the knowledge they need to be a language teacher in Canada.
Now it’s time to start your search! As always I’m here for questions or comments!
