Many online English tutors wonder if they should get certified. To answer this question, we asked our tutors with certification whether they’d recommend it. Overall, we got a positive answer along with some advice to keep in mind the gap between TESOL training and online tutoring.

Note: TESOL stands for “Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Another commonly used term is “TEFL,” which stands for “Teaching English as a Foreign Language.” We will stick to TESOL in this post.

Benefits of Getting Certification

The tutors we interviewed highly recommend getting certified. TESOL programs help teachers prepare for classroom teaching and cover topics such as classroom management and how to simultaneously teach students at different levels and learning paces. As a result, such certifications open up countless offline teaching opportunities around the world.

But what are the advantages for us, online tutors?

One advantage of TESOL training is that it helps us become more aware of different teaching methodologies, which helps us tailor our teaching to different students and content.

• As Tutor Addie (🇷🇴) shared, “An important takeaway for me was the difference between teaching deductively and inductively and when to choose one approach over the other. For example, when teaching higher-level grammar, I might choose the deductive approach; that is, introduce a grammar rule and have them apply it to different situations. Higher-level grammar tends to be too difficult for students to figure out inductively (i.e. on their own).”
• This online tutor found her TESOL course immediately applicable to her tutoring: "The speaking and pronunciation sections were particularly useful since my students are adult learners at high-beginner to intermediate level who want to practice speaking and pronunciation. For example, I frequently use the “identify (the sound), compare (the sound with a similar sound), produce (the sound)” technique to work on pronunciation."

In addition, TESOL training can make us more aware of individual students’ learning and psychological needs.

• Tutor Armee (🇵🇭) mentioned, “One thing I learned was that we have to make sure our students feel comfortable and not tense. If they’re intimidated, it doesn’t matter how good they are; they won’t be able to participate well in class.”
• Tutor Zajie (🇵🇭) echoed this view, saying “It’s not enough to tell students to do X, Y, and Z. You need to know their needs and show that you’re interested in them, to be able to teach them effectively, and that’s what I learned from my TESOL course.”

Yet another tutor said that she got a TESOL certificate for professional development reasons. “It’s an investment in myself,” Tutor Michelle (🇯🇲) explained. “If I want to do something, I want to do it well.”

Limitations of Certification

However, keep in mind that there’s no “silver bullet” to becoming a perfect online tutor, and TESOL is no exception.

One limitation of most TESOL courses is that they are designed for prospective classroom teachers, which is a separate (though related) profession from tutoring. This means that some of the course content won’t be useful for us. For example, you won’t need to learn classroom management if you’re just planning on tutoring one-to-one!

In addition, students often seek out tutoring services to prepare for standardized tests, boost their fluency, or get customized feedback that they aren’t able to get from a classroom teacher. Yet, most TESOL courses don’t cover these topics or don’t do so in depth.

This is not to mention that skills fundamental to online tutoring, such as basic computer literacy or engaging kids not in the same physical space as you, aren’t found in most TESOL courses.

That said, some TESOL providers do now include online tutoring or test prep skills in their curricula. For example, IG Canada’s TESOL course has a lesson on “Online teaching techniques TPRS / Skype class with Mexican students.” So make sure you check each course’s curriculum carefully!

One final caveat is to check that your TESOL program is properly accredited and accepted by employers. As one tutor shares (🇵🇭), “Be wary of TESOL providers who do their programs at places like hotel conference rooms. Some of these providers’ certificates are not regulated by TESOL.org or accredited by some institution of higher education, and I’ve heard of tutors paying a lot of money for these certificates, but realizing that these didn’t qualify them for the jobs they wanted!”

So before you invest in a TESOL course, make sure to check out TESOL.org’s advice on evaluating TESOL programs here.

👋 That’s it for now!

To recap, there are pros and cons of getting a TESOL or TEFL certificate. The pros are that certification opens up doors to jobs around the world, deepens your knowledge of teaching methodology as well as individual student needs, and equips you with a basic understanding of linguistics.

The cons are that many training programs do not cover tutoring (especially online tutoring) or aren’t properly accredited or recognized by employers, so make sure you check each course carefully before making a decision!

Hopefully that gives you a better idea of whether you want to get certified! Happy tutoring!