What are the international standards?

Meeting international standards - sounds like a big thing doesn't it? And there are lots of TESOL Courses out there that consider themselves to "meet" international standards, but what does this actually mean?

Here's the thing - there is no set of written standards for international TESOL qualifications, however, there are some general global expectations around TESOL Courses. Our research tells us that while the requirements for English Teachers can vary vastly between countries and institutions, they generally expect a person to have completed:

✓ Practical placement - usually with a minimum of 6 hours of practice teaching
✓ A substantial number of course hours (not just a 1-day course)
✓ Training with a reputable provider whose name they've heard of or is verifiable

This is just a minimum, general expectation. There can be other expectations if you are planning to teach English at higher levels (e.g. at a university) and some different countries will hold higher expectations than others for their English Teachers. ​

Australian Standards

In Australia, teaching positions are much more competitive than overseas or online teaching positions, however, once you are qualified to teach in Australia, you will find that you'll be able to exceed the international expectations in most other countries and online providers. Your existing qualifications and teaching experience (volunteer or paid) play an important role in what types of positions you could potentially hold in Australia. 

Australian ELICOS Standards
​In Australian ELICOS centres, employment eligibility and conditions for teachers and certain other English language college staff are regulated by the federal government through the Department of Education. Specifically, the ELICOS Standards 2018 set out that ELICOS teachers must:

• have a degree or diploma of at least three years full-time or equivalent (teaching or other)
• have a suitable TESOL qualification or qualification that contains TESOL as a method
• have appropriate TESOL teaching experience or be formally mentored by a senior staff member with this experience.

​There are further requirements for teachers who teach on English language programs in the primary or high school sector. Similarly, there are further requirements for those teachers who teach on English language programs for students under the age of 12.
(Source: ELICOS Info - https://www.englishaustralia.com.au/our-sector/teaching-in-australia)

Australian NEAS Standards
​Teachers in NEAS endorsed ELT Centres are required to hold at least the following qualifications:

• a recognised degree or equivalent * and
• a recognised TESOL qualification **; or
• a recognised degree in education with TESOL method ***

*1. a recognised degree or equivalent - NEAS affirms that a Bachelor degree or equivalent is at least three years full-time (or its part-time equivalent) in length. Teachers holding a degree or equivalent from overseas institutions should contact the relevant State or Territory education authority or Department of Education and Training to confirm local equivalence.

**2. a recognised TESOL qualification - A TESOL qualification results from a program of study having all of the following characteristics:

• no less than 100 contact hours, or the equivalent in Distance Education programs, with a content focus on English language, language learning and TESOL teaching (note: our Certificate IV in TESOL is 580-650 hours, depending on elective and our Diploma of TESOL is 1300 hours) 
• a practical component including at least six hours practice teaching in TESOL to actual students (not to classmates), supervised and assessed by a teacher who is qualified as per these requirements (note: all of our students complete practical placement in authentic ESL learning environments)
• is a recognised qualification delivered by an education provider registered with government as being eligible to deliver nationally recognised qualifications (note: we are an Australian Registered Training Organisation, RTO No. 30173) 

***3. a recognised degree in education with TESOL method - A degree in education or teaching with TESOL method includes a Bachelor of Education with TESOL method.
(Source: NEAS Info - https://neas.org.au/resources/career-advice/#neas-teacher-qualifications)

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