4 Surprising ESL Teacher Statistics During COVID-19

17Sep 2020 by ESL Expat No Comments

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In the year that COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of our lives, there are lots of questions out there around the English Language Teaching world. The impact that COVID has had on the world has been profound and you could definitely say that ESL teachers are figuring out how to respond to the past year.

To get a better understanding of where the industry is at the moment, The TEFL Academy undertook a significant survey. The information coming from the survey tells us that with new restrictions and considerations in people’s lives, many are equipping themselves with TEFL qualifications to take up jobs teaching English online for the first time.

This is due to the increase in online English teaching work that is now available, coupled with the emergence of “working from home” being the norm for so many people around the world.

With all of these things being considered, here are 4 key findings that emerged from the survey.

52% of teachers surveyed become TEFL qualified post-COVID

Responders were asked if their TEFL journey began or become TEFL qualified before COVID reached your country of residence? This was almost an even split but the majority of people (52%) said that they started their journey after COVID became a feature of their lives.

The desire to upskill was the biggest motivation to become TEFL qualified

The TEFL Academy asked those who have just completed or purchased a TEFL course, what motivated them to do it? The two biggest motivating factors were using the free time that some people experience during lockdowns and also those who were looking to embark on a journey of teaching English abroad.

TEFL teachers are still keen to travel

Are people still motivated to travel abroad (when it is permitted to do so in their region) despite the COVID situation? The answer was overwhelmingly yes! New and experienced TEFL teachers are still keen to travel the world.

82% of TEFL teachers are planning to teach online

The world has become much more “au fait” with digital communication and work in the past few months. Our survey results in total really drive home the point that qualified and aspiring TEFL teachers are ready and willing to take up online teaching jobs.

As we have all come to learn in the last number of months, everything we do and know is subject to change. But one thing is not changing. People desire to learn English as a foreign language and for people to learn how to teach it! The TEFL Academy’s market-leading TEFL courses are truly the best way to get qualified to teach, in whatever way that our new world presents you with!

Can you relate to these findings?

You can read The TEFL Academy’s findings in full here.

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