Teaching English in Canada can be either a career opportunity or a linking job as you focus on adapting to your new surroundings.
This comprehensive guide put together by us is all-encompassing and has all the necessary details you’d need to get started on this career path here in Canada.
Career opportunities for newcomers to Canada vary and are many, but realistically it takes some time after arrival to land that perfect job.
So many people fall back on casual employments while in search of that perfect job.
There are lots of casual employment options to put into consideration in the interim like the restaurant and hospitality industries or Uber, for example, but these options mostly don’t contribute so much towards your career development beyond a quick buck.
This is where the option of teaching English as a foreign language comes into consideration.
Language learning is a key industry in Canada, as other newcomers and international students need to improve their language level.
Lots of small towns, and large cities, boast a wide array of language schools that are searching for enthusiastic English teachers.
English language students in Canada are frequently local residents, but it is also commonplace for groups of foreign students to come to Canada solely to pursue a short English course.
A study permit isn’t needed for international students pursuing study programs with less than six months’ duration, which includes English language courses. I’m recent years, Canada has become a peak destination worldwide for language learning.
Those who can do – teach
Teaching might not appeal to everyone as a suitable career option. However, it is important to note that teaching English in Canada has evolved to take many forms.
While some positions would require a high level of preparation, organization, and specific knowledge – for example, creating lesson plans, managing large classes of students, while taking a pensive approach to grammar and linguistics.
On others, there might be lots of opportunities for language assistants and casual tutoring across all levels and ages.
From tutoring and helping children with homework, to full-on community integration initiatives, to assisting an individual practice English over a coffee, there are multiple creative and exciting opportunities in the language teaching industry here in Canada.
Where to start
If you’ve decided to get serious about teaching the English language in Canada, your best bet would be to get certified.
A qualification like a TEFL or CELTA certificate can be a key to a variety of doors that pertains to options for a job teaching the English language in Canada.
Lots of language schools need their tutors to have such a qualification. Some may even require English as a first language, but this isn’t always the case.
Also, the aforementioned teaching certifications are usually recognized internationally, so you could even get them before your arrival in Canada, either through local institutions in your home country or through an online course platform.
Just ensure that whatever certificate you choose at the end of the day is recognized by Canadian language schools.
You can also train as a teacher in Canada, as TESL Canada has a lists the institutions with TESL-recognized training programs.
However, ensure your status in Canada permits you to pursue such programs: depending on how you got the right to come to Canada and what class of visa you’re on, you may not be eligible to combine work with study.
The Qualifications
Lots of acronyms are basically used interchangeably in the industry, but there are crucial differences between each of them when it pertains to picking a certification course. So, what is the difference between TEFL, TESL, TESOL, and CELTA?
TEFL
The TEFL is probably the most generally-used term, and it refers to ‘Teaching English as a Foreign Language’.
A TEFL certification would be helpful to you in Canada, as it is known to be of a high standard, but consult with local schools before picking this over another certificate.
It is also very crucial to note that in recent times, despite the minimum mandated length of a course being 100 hours, most well-paid positions will request 120 hours of training.
TESL
The ‘Teaching English as a Second Language’ certificate is a very famous choice in Canada because it is tailored towards teaching the English language to non-native speakers in an English-speaking country.
TESOL
TESOL is the acronym for ‘Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages’ and this certification is a more recent qualification that conjoins the approaches of TEFL and TESL.
While it can allow for the certificate holder to tutor English in English-speaking and non-English-speaking countries, it isn’t as widely known or recognized by employers as the others.
CELTA
CELTA meaning ‘Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages is a widely-recognized certification spanning 120 hours of training.
Other kinds of certificates may be provided by a range of varying institutions or websites, but the CELTA is particular to the Cambridge English Language Assessment and is a part of the University of Cambridge.
How to get a job teaching English in Canada
Factually, there are many ways to land an English-teaching job in Canada. Organizations such as TESL Canada often post English language teaching job listings, and so do general job sites like Indeed.ca.
Language schools sometimes advertise open positions on their own sites. You can check out the schools in your target destination to find out more.
Casual online employment listings like Craigslist and Kijiji can also be utilized as they sometimes lead to opportunities.
While this may be a great option for those without a recognized certification, be conscious of scams or sub-standard work conditions that emanate from casual employment sites.
In general, if a language school requires a Canadian-certified qualification, it is most likely a more reputable place to work and it might also pay better too.
Options for remote language teaching can also be found online, as students globally relish the opportunity to learn English from a Canada-based tutor.
As with any other job, the first phase is putting together an outstanding resume and cover letter.
While teaching the English language may just be a means to pass time while searching for a real job, it is still vital to take the job search seriously.
A looking into the future
Glancing into the future, not only can teaching the English language in Canada be an excellent way to meet new people while earning money and getting to grasp a new life and environment, it could be that competitive advantage needed to develop an outstanding resume and impress potential employers.
Having Canadian work experience in a field like teaching that requires strong social skills such as communication, teamwork, and organization can lead to doors or opportunities in a host of other fields.
Landing a job teaching the English language in Canada can be as much about who you know as what you know, and networking in Canada is undoubtedly a large, vibrant English language teaching community that can lead you to an unexpected career opportunity.
Salary of English teachers in Canada
According to ca.talent.com, the average salary of an English teacher in Canada is $22 CAD hourly and $43,216 CAD annually.
There you’ve it, our all-encompassing guide to teaching the English language in Canada, we hope this guide would be of great help to you. if it was, please share it across your social media platforms. Good luck!
