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The Most Common TEFL Questions Trainees Ask (Answered Honestly)
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December 18, 2025
Starting a TEFL course often brings a mix of excitement and quiet panic.
While trainees may enrol to learn how to teach, the questions they ask during training usually go far beyond lesson planning and grammar rules.
Can I really get a job? Will I earn enough? What if I’m not confident in front of a class?
Based on real conversations with our trainees, TTA trainer Josh answers the most common questions people ask about TEFL, teaching abroad, and what life after certification actually looks like.
“If I don’t have a degree, what can I do to get a job?”
The people who have made me proud in this job are those who tackled it without formal qualifications. I have a friend who attended my course in 2020 — she went to Cambodia with zero qualifications or experience, relying only on a can-do attitude and sheer tenacity. She paved her own path, teaching in Spain, Indonesia, and Bahrain, seeing the world while making a living.
Obviously, having a degree can make finding jobs easier, but that doesn’t mean you can’t succeed without one. Remember, people with degrees have made sacrifices to earn that piece of paper, and with some elbow grease and dedication, you can also find a job abroad.
And remember, the most important qualification for teaching English as a foreign language abroad is a TEFL qualification.
Read more: Can I Teach Engish Abroad Without A Degree?
“What are my chances of getting a job if I’m shy and introverted?”
I get this question a lot, and I also see employers putting out ads asking for “outgoing” teachers to join their team. Yet some of the best teachers and trainers I’ve seen are introverts.
Being an introvert in this job can actually be a bonus. During interviews, future employers look for qualities beyond what’s immediately visible. In my experience, reliability and the ability to connect with students matter more.
It’s easy to make a mediocre lesson seem amazing with energy and a loud voice, but the introverts I’ve worked with create systematic, well-structured lessons with focus and intensity — and students love that.
Read more: TEFL Job Interviews: Insider Tips For Success
“How can you teach if you have a soft voice?”
I struggled with this when I started out. I had to practice projecting my voice and endured several bouts of laryngitis. Some schools supply microphones nowadays.
Having a loud voice is great, but students often listen better when you speak at a lower volume — so it’s really a balance.
I always warm up my voice before teaching. And don’t forget to take care of your voice by keeping hydrated during your lessons.
“Why are the average contracts for 12 months?”
Most employers feel that you only find your feet to full capacity after a year. There is also the consistency aspect: students and parents get attached to teachers, and you get to know the students better. It’s awkward for your students and your school if you leave your job mid-year. If you only stay for six months he process of training (for the employer) and adapting to a new teacher (for the students) must start from scratch.
Even if you work at a language centre which doesn’t follow academic years, it’s preferable for teachers to stay for at least a year to foster stability within the school and familiarity for the students.
Additionally, if you know the school and all its ins and outs, you’ll be more comfortable in your teaching role and can focus on developing your teaching skills.
Staying at a company for two years is usually beneficial for both the expectations of the students and the employer. This is why many schools prefer their teachers to stay more than one year. Many offer end-of-contract bonuses and re-signing bonuses to encourage teachers to stay for longer than 12 months.
“Am I allowed to moonlight when I go abroad?”
Like learning a new language in a new country, most of us are all fired up before we go and say things like, “I’m going to do five lessons a week and put in ten hours a day…” But once the job starts, you’re often just keeping up and surviving.
Realistically, when you start teaching abroad, you’re not fully prepared, and you’re usually not allowed to take on extra work without the school’s permission.
Read more: Survival Tips For Your First Day In The EFL Classroom
In some countries, your visa won’t allow moonlighting.
When I lived in Korea, we were given the option to do additional official work where we were employed, and the pay was pretty sweet.
A colleague of mine in China wanted to moonlight and asked the boss about it. He ended up offering her another role: teaching Korean to the Chinese and foreign staff at the school. So, when in doubt — always ask first.
“What to do if your school asks you to be dodgy?”
This is a tough situation to be in, which is why there’s an emergence of TEFL-focused lawyers in some countries. On one hand, the school expects loyalty… but the law is the law.
Always keep receipts. Whenever the school does or says something questionable, save screenshots, export chats, and keep records. In some countries, like China, breaking the law has far worse repercussions than crossing an employer.
I was once in a position where the owner of a school told me that if the police came and asked questions about other teachers (some of whom were from countries not on the visa list, and others taught on student visas) I should tell them they were from England or Australia.
That would have made me guilty of perjury. I asked them to send the request on WeChat so I could keep it as evidence, then submitted my month’s notice.
“What if there’s conflict between you and a colleague?”
Keep in mind that everything can be blown out of proportion due to several factors: the language barrier and culture, adjusting to a new environment, and egos — especially when teachers, both foreign and local, feel the need to defend their territory.
Be the bigger person and handle the situation respectfully, even if you feel you are right.
Handling it directly between the two of you is the best approach. Involving managers, headmasters, or owners can exacerbate the situation and turn a minor issue into something much bigger. I’ve seen this time and again: most conflicts are just misunderstandings. Talking through the problem and separating feelings from facts can improve the working relationship and may even gain you a valuable ally.
“What if I have to plan a lesson from materials that are no good?”
I’ve encountered this situation several times. The employer would give me a picture and a few words, and then expect me to deliver a 45-minute lesson from something that could be covered in five minutes!
Well, that’s exactly why you do a TEFL course — and why you should write a proper lesson plan. The key is to expand the material, and this is where Dr. Google can come to your rescue. You can use the picture as a starting point and build a full lesson around it: include a proper warmer, pre-teach the vocabulary, introduce a grammatical structure, let students complete a task, and perhaps discuss the picture.
When you’re a bit more experienced, you can try your hand at Dogme or Teaching Unplugged, which involves teaching a lesson without any materials!
Read more: What Do You Learn On A TEFL Course?
“How do you handle teaching unexpected classes?”
In ESL you should always try to be flexible.
Sometimes you might be asked to teach a class you weren’t expecting to teach – if a colleague is sick, for example.
When a situation like this arises, you can, of course, refuse — but it will almost certainly come back to haunt you later. If you take it in stride and don’t let it affect your mood (even if you can’t teach it exactly as you would with proper prep), it will show the employer that you have tenacity — and they might reward you in ways you don’t expect.
Usually, classes being dumped on you happen because other teachers call in sick or bail, and the situation says more about them than about you. Being reliable will open doors for you.
If you’re asking these questions, you’re not behind — you’re exactly where most TEFL teachers start. Teaching abroad is a big step, and it’s normal to want clarity before you take it.
The good news is that thousands of teachers have asked the same questions, taken the same leap, and gone on to build rewarding teaching experiences around the world.
With the right preparation, realistic expectations, and a recognised TEFL qualification, those early doubts turn into confidence faster than you expect.
Author Bio
Accreditation & Quality Assurance
The TEFL Academy was the world’s first TEFL course provider to receive official recognition from government regulated awarding bodies in both the USA and UK. This means when you graduate you’ll hold a globally recognised Level 3 (120hr) Certificate or Level 5 (168hr) Diploma, meaning you can find work anywhere and apply for jobs immediately.
