Re-training in TEFL

moksha76

This year I did the 120 hour online TEFL course. I then taught on Preply. It was OK, but really no more than a side hussle. I now plan to do a CELTA and try and make teaching English as a foreign language my career. I have an MA in literature, so hopefully that will look good on any CV.

I have a few questions, though, and would really appreciate any feedback:

1) Which is the best company to do the CELTA with? DC Teacher Training, International House or Oxford TEFL? 

2) Is it worth it? It's a lot of money and time and stress. Is AI going to wipe such jobs out?

3) Am I too old at 49?

4) I don't want to go abroad. I want to teach either in a language school in the UK or for an online company. Again, is that realistic? Or is TEFL for energetic 20-somethings who want to backpack round Asia (not a tired 50-year-old who just wants to pay his bills!!! ).  

Savvy_Sue

My impression - and I may be wrong - is that teaching in language schools may not give a secure income, and online the same. It may be seasonal, and it may be hit and miss - "oh, not many students have registered so we can only offer you one class this term" followed by "we're really short staffed and need you to teach every day and evening for the next few weeks."

One option might have been adult education through local authority, but I KNOW that's up and down in our area - one minute there will be lots of classes on offer, and then a few weeks later only a handful. 

Some schools / colleges / universities MIGHT employ a dedicated TEFL teacher, which might be worth you investigating, but again it might be hit and miss how many hours would be offered to you. 

Of course, it's going to depend on what the demand is like in your area. Are there many language schools locally? I've just googled my (very diverse) city, and there are fewer than I'd have expected. 

itsthelittlethings

I know from when I briefly tried to do TEFL is that there’s a lot more scope for working abroad. Schools in this country can be a lot more picky. A lot of people go abroad for several years, get the experience, and then come back to the UK and work. Also it’s not guaranteed work. In the summer when foreign students are around there might be work in the high season but there’s not always year round work except for the best teachers.

Marcon

moksha76 said:

This year I did the 120 hour online TEFL course. I then taught on Preply. It was OK, but really no more than a side hussle. I now plan to do a CELTA and try and make teaching English as a foreign language my career. I have an MA in literature, so hopefully that will look good on any CV.

I have a few questions, though, and would really appreciate any feedback:

1) Which is the best company to do the CELTA with? DC Teacher Training, International House or Oxford TEFL? 

2) Is it worth it? It's a lot of money and time and stress. Is AI going to wipe such jobs out?

3) Am I too old at 49?

4) I don't want to go abroad. I want to teach either in a language school in the UK or for an online company. Again, is that realistic? Or is TEFL for energetic 20-somethings who want to backpack round Asia (not a tired 50-year-old who just wants to pay his bills!!! ).  

You've posted on various career 'possibilities' (mortgage broker, sports massage, teaching etc) in the last few years, and each of your posts has included an anxious 'am I too old at....'. At the risk of stating the blindingly obvious, if you keep hesitating, your age is going to be steadily increasing while you continue to dither! I really don't mean that unkindly, but I can't work out why, if you see age as such a factor, you don't at least make some sort of decision and then give it a whole-hearted go.

Your MA might look good on the appropriate CV, but it doesn't necessarily mean you will be a good TEFL - or a happy one. Have you considered training as a teacher of English, possibly for older students? A1 isn't likely to wipe that out in a hurry.

moksha76

Savvy_Sue said:

My impression - and I may be wrong - is that teaching in language schools may not give a secure income, and online the same. It may be seasonal, and it may be hit and miss - "oh, not many students have registered so we can only offer you one class this term" followed by "we're really short staffed and need you to teach every day and evening for the next few weeks."

One option might have been adult education through local authority, but I KNOW that's up and down in our area - one minute there will be lots of classes on offer, and then a few weeks later only a handful. 

Some schools / colleges / universities MIGHT employ a dedicated TEFL teacher, which might be worth you investigating, but again it might be hit and miss how many hours would be offered to you. 

Of course, it's going to depend on what the demand is like in your area. Are there many language schools locally? I've just googled my (very diverse) city, and there are fewer than I'd have expected. 

Thankyou for your reply. The general view seems to be that UK language schools never recovered from Covid and that demand continues to fall. What puzzles me is why there isn't more demand for online TEFL teachers. I mean, if someone runs a language school in, say, China or Brazil, surely it is cheaper for them to employ a TEFL teacher to teach their students online. That way they don't have to rent a building, heat it, etc. Every day more people come online for the first time, the vast majority in non-English speaking countries. Yet I keep being told demand is falling. 

moksha76

Marcon said:

moksha76 said:

This year I did the 120 hour online TEFL course. I then taught on Preply. It was OK, but really no more than a side hussle. I now plan to do a CELTA and try and make teaching English as a foreign language my career. I have an MA in literature, so hopefully that will look good on any CV.

I have a few questions, though, and would really appreciate any feedback:

1) Which is the best company to do the CELTA with? DC Teacher Training, International House or Oxford TEFL? 

2) Is it worth it? It's a lot of money and time and stress. Is AI going to wipe such jobs out?

3) Am I too old at 49?

4) I don't want to go abroad. I want to teach either in a language school in the UK or for an online company. Again, is that realistic? Or is TEFL for energetic 20-somethings who want to backpack round Asia (not a tired 50-year-old who just wants to pay his bills!!! ).  

You've posted on various career 'possibilities' (mortgage broker, sports massage, teaching etc) in the last few years, and each of your posts has included an anxious 'am I too old at....'. At the risk of stating the blindingly obvious, if you keep hesitating, your age is going to be steadily increasing while you continue to dither! I really don't mean that unkindly, but I can't work out why, if you see age as such a factor, you don't at least make some sort of decision and then give it a whole-hearted go.

Your MA might look good on the appropriate CV, but it doesn't necessarily mean you will be a good TEFL - or a happy one. Have you considered training as a teacher of English, possibly for older students? A1 isn't likely to wipe that out in a hurry.

I did re-train in sports massage. It was OK in some ways, but not in others. I also did the 120 hour online TEFL course, which enabled me to teach on Preply. But the work is no more than a side hussle, as I said. When you are 22, you can do a CELTA, decide you don't like it and do something else. You have time and energy on your side. When you are nearly 50, you can't afford to keep re-training. 

Marcon

moksha76 said:

Marcon said:

moksha76 said:

This year I did the 120 hour online TEFL course. I then taught on Preply. It was OK, but really no more than a side hussle. I now plan to do a CELTA and try and make teaching English as a foreign language my career. I have an MA in literature, so hopefully that will look good on any CV.

I have a few questions, though, and would really appreciate any feedback:

1) Which is the best company to do the CELTA with? DC Teacher Training, International House or Oxford TEFL? 

2) Is it worth it? It's a lot of money and time and stress. Is AI going to wipe such jobs out?

3) Am I too old at 49?

4) I don't want to go abroad. I want to teach either in a language school in the UK or for an online company. Again, is that realistic? Or is TEFL for energetic 20-somethings who want to backpack round Asia (not a tired 50-year-old who just wants to pay his bills!!! ).  

You've posted on various career 'possibilities' (mortgage broker, sports massage, teaching etc) in the last few years, and each of your posts has included an anxious 'am I too old at....'. At the risk of stating the blindingly obvious, if you keep hesitating, your age is going to be steadily increasing while you continue to dither! I really don't mean that unkindly, but I can't work out why, if you see age as such a factor, you don't at least make some sort of decision and then give it a whole-hearted go.

Your MA might look good on the appropriate CV, but it doesn't necessarily mean you will be a good TEFL - or a happy one. Have you considered training as a teacher of English, possibly for older students? A1 isn't likely to wipe that out in a hurry.

I did re-train in sports massage. It was OK in some ways, but not in others. I also did the 120 hour online TEFL course, which enabled me to teach on Preply. But the work is no more than a side hussle, as I said. When you are 22, you can do a CELTA, decide you don't like it and do something else. You have time and energy on your side. When you are nearly 50, you can't afford to keep re-training. 

Completely agree - but nor can you prevaricate endlessly. In January this year you posted this:

Is 48 too old to re-train as a TEFL teacher? If anybody has any experience of this, I'd be grateful for their advice. So far as I can see, the CELTA certificate is the best. Is it better to do that online or in a classroom? I have no plans to teach abroad. I'd rather teach it online or in a UK college (assuming I pass).

I suppose another important consideration is AI. Is it worth the money and time to re-train? Or will AI be taking this over at some point?  

Nearly a year later you are still asking the same question.  Posting questions on a site like this isn't 'action'; it's just putting off taking a decision which you, and you alone, have to make. 

What needs to change to enable you to take a decision and follow it through? What is stopping you from moving forward? If you can answer that (to yourself, not publicly), it might be easier for you to take a view on what you want to do with the rest of your working life. The alternative is going round in circles and getting nowhere, which would be pretty horrid for you.

I hope things work out for you in 2026.

kimwp

moksha76 said:

Savvy_Sue said:

My impression - and I may be wrong - is that teaching in language schools may not give a secure income, and online the same. It may be seasonal, and it may be hit and miss - "oh, not many students have registered so we can only offer you one class this term" followed by "we're really short staffed and need you to teach every day and evening for the next few weeks."

One option might have been adult education through local authority, but I KNOW that's up and down in our area - one minute there will be lots of classes on offer, and then a few weeks later only a handful. 

Some schools / colleges / universities MIGHT employ a dedicated TEFL teacher, which might be worth you investigating, but again it might be hit and miss how many hours would be offered to you. 

Of course, it's going to depend on what the demand is like in your area. Are there many language schools locally? I've just googled my (very diverse) city, and there are fewer than I'd have expected. 

Thankyou for your reply. The general view seems to be that UK language schools never recovered from Covid and that demand continues to fall. What puzzles me is why there isn't more demand for online TEFL teachers. I mean, if someone runs a language school in, say, China or Brazil, surely it is cheaper for them to employ a TEFL teacher to teach their students online. That way they don't have to rent a building, heat it, etc. Every day more people come online for the first time, the vast majority in non-English speaking countries. Yet I keep being told demand is falling. 

There are a lot of self learning apps available, plus informal arrangements such as talking to a native speaker online in a reciprocal agreement, these might be contributing to the drop in demand.

moksha76

kimwp said:

moksha76 said:

Savvy_Sue said:

My impression - and I may be wrong - is that teaching in language schools may not give a secure income, and online the same. It may be seasonal, and it may be hit and miss - "oh, not many students have registered so we can only offer you one class this term" followed by "we're really short staffed and need you to teach every day and evening for the next few weeks."

One option might have been adult education through local authority, but I KNOW that's up and down in our area - one minute there will be lots of classes on offer, and then a few weeks later only a handful. 

Some schools / colleges / universities MIGHT employ a dedicated TEFL teacher, which might be worth you investigating, but again it might be hit and miss how many hours would be offered to you. 

Of course, it's going to depend on what the demand is like in your area. Are there many language schools locally? I've just googled my (very diverse) city, and there are fewer than I'd have expected. 

Thankyou for your reply. The general view seems to be that UK language schools never recovered from Covid and that demand continues to fall. What puzzles me is why there isn't more demand for online TEFL teachers. I mean, if someone runs a language school in, say, China or Brazil, surely it is cheaper for them to employ a TEFL teacher to teach their students online. That way they don't have to rent a building, heat it, etc. Every day more people come online for the first time, the vast majority in non-English speaking countries. Yet I keep being told demand is falling. 

There are a lot of self learning apps available, plus informal arrangements such as talking to a native speaker online in a reciprocal agreement, these might be contributing to the drop in demand.

Things like self-learning apps really put me off. How long before AI provides everyone with their own personal AI tutor? The AI world is moving so fast that this time next year there might not be any TEFL teachers. That sort of thing is only going to get better and better. Makes me wonder if I should just re-train as a plumber or go and work in an retirement home.

kimwp

moksha76 said:

kimwp said:

moksha76 said:

Savvy_Sue said:

My impression - and I may be wrong - is that teaching in language schools may not give a secure income, and online the same. It may be seasonal, and it may be hit and miss - "oh, not many students have registered so we can only offer you one class this term" followed by "we're really short staffed and need you to teach every day and evening for the next few weeks."

One option might have been adult education through local authority, but I KNOW that's up and down in our area - one minute there will be lots of classes on offer, and then a few weeks later only a handful. 

Some schools / colleges / universities MIGHT employ a dedicated TEFL teacher, which might be worth you investigating, but again it might be hit and miss how many hours would be offered to you. 

Of course, it's going to depend on what the demand is like in your area. Are there many language schools locally? I've just googled my (very diverse) city, and there are fewer than I'd have expected. 

Thankyou for your reply. The general view seems to be that UK language schools never recovered from Covid and that demand continues to fall. What puzzles me is why there isn't more demand for online TEFL teachers. I mean, if someone runs a language school in, say, China or Brazil, surely it is cheaper for them to employ a TEFL teacher to teach their students online. That way they don't have to rent a building, heat it, etc. Every day more people come online for the first time, the vast majority in non-English speaking countries. Yet I keep being told demand is falling. 

There are a lot of self learning apps available, plus informal arrangements such as talking to a native speaker online in a reciprocal agreement, these might be contributing to the drop in demand.

Things like self-learning apps really put me off. How long before AI provides everyone with their own personal AI tutor? The AI world is moving so fast that this time next year there might not be any TEFL teachers. That sort of thing is only going to get better and better. Makes me wonder if I should just re-train as a plumber or go and work in an retirement home.

I'm fairly sure AI could be used as a tutor now by someone who knows how to use AI. Not AI, but I found babel extremely effective as a language learning provider. 

Your potential choices seem dissimilar, I do ponder what criteria you are making your career decisions on!

moksha76

kimwp said:

moksha76 said:

kimwp said:

moksha76 said:

Savvy_Sue said:

My impression - and I may be wrong - is that teaching in language schools may not give a secure income, and online the same. It may be seasonal, and it may be hit and miss - "oh, not many students have registered so we can only offer you one class this term" followed by "we're really short staffed and need you to teach every day and evening for the next few weeks."

One option might have been adult education through local authority, but I KNOW that's up and down in our area - one minute there will be lots of classes on offer, and then a few weeks later only a handful. 

Some schools / colleges / universities MIGHT employ a dedicated TEFL teacher, which might be worth you investigating, but again it might be hit and miss how many hours would be offered to you. 

Of course, it's going to depend on what the demand is like in your area. Are there many language schools locally? I've just googled my (very diverse) city, and there are fewer than I'd have expected. 

Thankyou for your reply. The general view seems to be that UK language schools never recovered from Covid and that demand continues to fall. What puzzles me is why there isn't more demand for online TEFL teachers. I mean, if someone runs a language school in, say, China or Brazil, surely it is cheaper for them to employ a TEFL teacher to teach their students online. That way they don't have to rent a building, heat it, etc. Every day more people come online for the first time, the vast majority in non-English speaking countries. Yet I keep being told demand is falling. 

There are a lot of self learning apps available, plus informal arrangements such as talking to a native speaker online in a reciprocal agreement, these might be contributing to the drop in demand.

Things like self-learning apps really put me off. How long before AI provides everyone with their own personal AI tutor? The AI world is moving so fast that this time next year there might not be any TEFL teachers. That sort of thing is only going to get better and better. Makes me wonder if I should just re-train as a plumber or go and work in an retirement home.

I'm fairly sure AI could be used as a tutor now by someone who knows how to use AI. Not AI, but I found babel extremely effective as a language learning provider. 

Your potential choices seem dissimilar, I do ponder what criteria you are making your career decisions on!

kimwp said:

moksha76 said:

kimwp said:

moksha76 said:

Savvy_Sue said:

My impression - and I may be wrong - is that teaching in language schools may not give a secure income, and online the same. It may be seasonal, and it may be hit and miss - "oh, not many students have registered so we can only offer you one class this term" followed by "we're really short staffed and need you to teach every day and evening for the next few weeks."

One option might have been adult education through local authority, but I KNOW that's up and down in our area - one minute there will be lots of classes on offer, and then a few weeks later only a handful. 

Some schools / colleges / universities MIGHT employ a dedicated TEFL teacher, which might be worth you investigating, but again it might be hit and miss how many hours would be offered to you. 

Of course, it's going to depend on what the demand is like in your area. Are there many language schools locally? I've just googled my (very diverse) city, and there are fewer than I'd have expected. 

Thankyou for your reply. The general view seems to be that UK language schools never recovered from Covid and that demand continues to fall. What puzzles me is why there isn't more demand for online TEFL teachers. I mean, if someone runs a language school in, say, China or Brazil, surely it is cheaper for them to employ a TEFL teacher to teach their students online. That way they don't have to rent a building, heat it, etc. Every day more people come online for the first time, the vast majority in non-English speaking countries. Yet I keep being told demand is falling. 

There are a lot of self learning apps available, plus informal arrangements such as talking to a native speaker online in a reciprocal agreement, these might be contributing to the drop in demand.

Things like self-learning apps really put me off. How long before AI provides everyone with their own personal AI tutor? The AI world is moving so fast that this time next year there might not be any TEFL teachers. That sort of thing is only going to get better and better. Makes me wonder if I should just re-train as a plumber or go and work in an retirement home.

I'm fairly sure AI could be used as a tutor now by someone who knows how to use AI. Not AI, but I found babel extremely effective as a language learning provider. 

Your potential choices seem dissimilar, I do ponder what criteria you are making your career decisions on!

I meant that AI will never replace a plumber or someone working in a care home.