Foreign language
teachers can work domestically or abroad.
Foreign language certification refers to professional certification offered by private language learning companies that recruit in English-speaking countries and send certified personnel to remote locations to teach English to foreign students. In the United States, teaching a foreign language domestically typically requires a different skill set as well as a college degree that reflects study in the foreign language.
TESOL Certification
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Inc., or TESOL, as the organization is more commonly called, provides secondary certification. The most basic level of certification offered through TESOL is a TEFL certificate, based on a four- to six-week full-time course with more than 100 classroom hours. Many TEFL certificate programs also have a practicum component as well. Other versions of TESOL certification are offered in conjunction with brick-and-mortar educational institutions such as England's University of Cambridge and Trinity College London.
Educational Requirements
Candidates for foreign language teacher certification will need a bachelor of arts or science degree. According to the TESOL website, a university degree is a basic prerequisite to obtain many overseas work permits. Educational background in other teaching specializations can also be helpful, as can university level study in a particular foreign language.
Teaching Foreign Languages Domestically
Teaching foreign languages domestically requires a university degree with an education major, however professional requirements vary widely among employers. Teaching foreign languages domestically requires both a command of the language in question and teaching proficiency. Those with a teaching credential may find work in traditional classrooms. Those who have strong language skills but lack a teaching certificate are more likely to find a position teaching a foreign language to adults or working as a private tutor.
How Eliminating Language Barriers Improves Profitability
Language barriers impede profitability by making it difficult for native English-speaking managers to convey directives to non-English speaking workers and vice versa. It can be beneficial to offer English as a second language classes to workers as a fringe benefit of employment, however in terms of logistics and cost it can be more efficient to have managers learn the native language of the employees. With an internal plan addressing the language barrier, companies save money on the cost of interpreters and are better able to integrate foreign employees within their organization. At the domestic level, businesses with management able to communicate in a foreign language can tap into an immigrant workforce inaccessible to other companies.
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