For avid language learners, homestay experiences allow them to explore the globe and better appreciate their language of choice. For hosts, homestays offer a business opportunity that ensures flexibility, versatility and financial rewards. We make no secret that you don’t need any qualifications at all to design a great homestay program and deliver it as intended. But could teaching qualifications help your homestay business thrive even more?
Here we explore the teaching qualifications that can increase homestay success, so you can make your homestay experience a profitable and rewarding career choice.
Why become a homestay teacher?
A homestay teacher differs from a homestay host. Homestay hosts offer accommodation, meals and an environment where students can study language. A homestay teacher provides all this and personal tuition to accelerate language learning. Homestay teachers hold professional qualifications to teach a language to non-native speakers.
Becoming a homestay teacher is a great career to pursue after teaching. Gaining teaching qualifications now to take your homestay to the next level is also an excellent step forward. Providing formal language lessons will make your homestay more attractive to guests, provide an improved program that helps you attract more positive reviews and ultimately enable you to charge more for the experience.
Which teaching qualifications should I opt for?
You may not want to start again by heading back to university to pursue the traditional route into teaching, by gaining a degree and Qualified Teacher Status. Fortunately, there are many qualifications that you can obtain on a part-time basis or in your spare time to gain the formal qualifications needed to enrich your homestay business.
To become a Lingoo homestay teacher, you must hold a recognised EFL or ESL qualification to teach English as a foreign language. Accepted EFL or ESL qualifications include TEFL, CELTA, DELTA, or TESOL. Experience in teaching is also highly desirable.
EFL or ESL – what’s the difference?
Finding the right teaching course for you is the key to success. Most formal qualifications are categorised as EFL or ESL, but what’s the difference?
Successfully completing an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) course qualifies you to teach students in a country where English isn’t the native language. An English as a Second Language (ESL) qualification gives you the formal skills needed to teach English in a country where English is the primary national language. Teaching English as a second language and as a foreign language require different teaching styles.
TEFL, CELTA, DELTA, or TESOL?
Like ESL and EFL qualifications, Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA), Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults (DELTA) and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) are different in a variety of ways.
TEFL refers to all training courses and certificates provided by a TEFL school or training program. TEFL qualifications are generally required by language schools looking to enlist English teachers. TESOL qualifications give teachers the skills to teach English to non-native speakers in native English speaking countries. This acronym is more commonly used in the United States and Australia.
CELTA refers to a specific TEFL certificate accredited by the Cambridge Assessment English, a non-profit assessment organisation and non-teaching department of the University of Cambridge. DELTA is an advanced TEFL qualification that can be taken by qualified English teachers to learn additional skills and techniques.
Which is right for me?
With the vast range of teaching qualifications available, determining the right option for you as a homestay host isn’t easy. TEFL Org UK provides a succinct answer to this question:
‘It depends on what you want to do and what you require for your course. Do you want an intensive course that will take a few weeks of studying full-time? Consider a CELTA course. If you need more flexibility around a job or other aspects of your life, consider a TEFL or TESOL course. All courses will give you the high qualifications and training needed to be a good English teacher…’
Find out more details about the required teaching skills here, and become one step closer to joining the Lingoo Homestay teacher network.
