5 reasons 2020 is the year to teach English online with TEFL certification
If there was ever a time to plan a career change to teach English online with TEFL certification, 2020 might just be it! Not only was the sector in a good place to begin with, but new advancements in technology have combined with the impact of COVID to create oodles of opportunities. (Of course, you’ll still need that 120-hour TEFL certification to get started!)
COVID-19!
Unless you haven’t checked the news in, what, three months now, you’re sure to be aware that something did end up coming of that virus a few folks were warning about at the end of 2019. Yep, it’s pretty much taken over the world! Lockdowns, shutdowns, company closures, social distancing – it’s all going on. Of course, that’s had a knock-on effect on the TEFL industry, with loads of teachers stuck inside and unable to even make it to their place of work.
Online tutoring, on the flip side, has really come into its own. Thousands upon thousands of children who would otherwise be learning their vocab and grammar in school are now looking to brush up remotely, meaning there are more vacancies than ever before for those wanting to teach English online with TEFL certification.
2020 marks a big year for the internet
This year is set to be a big one for that thing we like to call the World Wide Web. Stats show that the end of the decade marks a milestone, seeing more than 57% of the planet’s population hooked up to a consistent connection. That, in turn, equates to about 4.3 billion regular users. And that, ladies and gentlemen, means a whole load of students (read: customers) for those looking to teach English online with TEFL certification.
The arrival of 5G
As Intel so tersely put it: “5G is set to change the way we live and work.” It’s just so darn fast – 20 times what we’re used to with 4G – that it is certain to revolutionize the way we use mobile devices, on-the-go browsing, streaming, and all the rest of it. That’s going to work wonders for the world of online teaching. Where once the speed of connections was a major sticking point for English learners in lots of countries, upgrades in digital infrastructure will now open a whole world of online opportunities. Everything from face-to-face conversation sessions to multi-student classes could become easy to set up, no matter where you are.
New apps that are perfect for teaching
Having a good internet connection is just the first step in creating a workable environment to teach English online with TEFL certification. You also need the software. Once upon a time, that was all down to Skype. But then came third-party programs like FaceTime and WhatsApp, along with company-developed interfaces. However, 2020 is seeing the growth of systems like Zoom, which are changing the way we do video conferencing forever. Not only are they excellent at cutting lag, but they’ve got awesome tools for the language tutor, from screen sharing to file transfers and chat boxes.
A natural growth of online English teaching
COVID or no COVID, online teaching was booming. It’s a sector of the TEFL industry that’s been on a steady upward curve since it first started. 2020 was set to be a big year, as the estimated number of English learners around the world surpassed 2 billion and growth for digital language services was at a steady 6% per year. To put it another way, online teaching was in a good way before lockdowns. More and more web-based schools were popping up every year. Salaries were on the up. Jobs were in abundance.
Can you think of any more reasons why 2020 is the year to teach English online with TEFL certification? We’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below. Alternatively, if you’re keen to get started, check out our teaching online information page.