If one has planned to teach English abroad then there are a few things that they must do. As a teacher, living abroad is definitely a lifetime experience. And if one has decided on that, then they also need to plan on which are the countries they have set as a priority where they want to teach English. Then the next step would be knowing elaborately about what are the requirements that are needed to be eligible as an English teacher in those countries.

In most cases, having a degree from a TEFL/TESOL certification course is a must. But yes, the major dilemma that lies here is that whether one should go for a traditional classroom course or an online course will do as well.

There are many reputable teacher training institutions that offer TEFL courses both offline and online. Here are a few things to keep in mind while choosing one:

• Get to know details about requirements to teach in different countries

When it comes to qualifications to teach English abroad, there is no special one track formula for every country. In fact, requirements ca n always varies from one country to another. For example, in some countries, online TEFL certification was accepted by the school, and teachers did not necessarily need to have bachelor’s degree. But in case of other countries both were required.

• Decide between online and onsite TEFL/TESOL training.

In order to get a TEFL certificate one needs to enrol for a proper course first. Onsite courses do have hands on training and teaching practice facilities. But yes they cost more than the online courses. If one wants to have some teaching experience before going abroad, it is better to go for a full time offline course. But if one already has sufficient teaching experience then they can go for online courses which are widely accepted.

• Take a course of at least 120 hours.

Whether you choose an online or onsite TEFL course, it is recommend to take a training of at least 120 hours. Many TEFL/TESOL training centres, offer courses of a range of hours, and there are plenty of differences in a 40 hours and a 120 hours course. The former one is not at all adequate in order to teach abroad in most of the countries. So, if one wants a teaching job abroad then going for the later makes sense.

• Get some objective feedback on different courses.

Before getting into a teacher training course, one must know about them well. One needs to read about the reviews in case of online courses first and then go ahead and decide on it. In fact, the students who have already availed the course give detailed feedback of the course and how that course has benefitted them in future.

All of these will help one to choose the right TEFL course for one. Before finalising the course, one initially needs to make sure whether they want to teach English abroad at all or not and then approach the rest of it.