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Hello my darling! I am the TEFL expert you have been waiting for! I've been doing TEFL for 4 years. I've got a TEFL certificate, a CELTA, and I was just awarded a DELTA (the qualification above a CELTA and only for TEFL 'lifers'). I myself have only taught in England but I've got friends and former colleagues who've either taught or are teaching at various locales all over the globe so I can help you out!
1. The type of qualification you get depends on where you want to teach. It is definitely true that to teach in Japan, Korea, or China you don't need an ELT certificate. In fact some companies like Nova and JET (both reputable companies) prefer that you don't have any teaching qualification as they like to "grow their own" TEFL teachers.
In Europe, generally you need at least some sort of TEFL certificate and often a CELTA. In fact, I would be wary of any European school that says you DON'T need any qualifications to teach. These would be the less reputable schools and I would be worried about what the other staff were like, would I actually get paid or could the owners cut and run (believe me it happens with 'shady' language schools), etc.
To teach in Germany, you will almost certainly need a CELTA. Personally this is the qualification I recommend to you. The CELTA is recognized worldwide, and you will have a lot more options available to you if you have one, as many schools won't even consider candidates without it. And you will certainly still be able to get a job in an Asian country if you decide to fuck off to Japan, for example.
Any school that offers training for the CELTA (RSA CELTA) in particular will be a trustworthy school, because the CELTA training program is run through the University of Cambridtge and all the training centres are checked and basically accredited by them. Just make sure that they are actually training you for the CELTA. You can also do the Trinity College certificate in ESOL as it is considered equivalent to the CELTA (CELTA is still more widely recognized, though).
Now, the next question is, do you want to make decent money doing TEFL? If you want to make some serious money (for TEFL), go to Japan or Korea. You'll be able to have a decent living doing TEFL in most of South America or Europe but not great. And, having been working in England for the past four years, I gotta tell you the pay in London for TEFL teachers can only be described as abysmal. I've moved up the pay scale slightly due to seniority and promotions but I still don't make a great wage. So be careful if you come here.
But most TEFL teachers aren't in it for the money. Personally I love it and find it interesting and creative and intellectually fulfilling. I just wish that people gave us "serious EFL teachers" a little more respect for the job we do. That said, there are plenty of teachers doing it for the beer money.
If you have any other questions feel free to PM me..
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