Explore 6 English Language Teaching Niches With Bridge Graduates

Are you a prospective English teacher feeling unsure about which types of learners you should teach? Or, maybe you’re an experienced teacher looking to expand your student audience? Different specializations – from teaching youngsters to teaching legal English – can help you carve out a new career path or stand out as an ESL teacher. Below, six Bridge graduates show what’s possible when you find your TEFL niche and the advantages of teaching these specializations.

Belinda Peyrelongue, from Malaysia, teaching legal English in France

Belinda worked as a lawyer in the U.K. for years before relocating to France and shifting to teaching English, specializing in Business and legal English for French professionals and lawyers.

How did you build the essential skills needed to teach legal English?

My foundation in legal English was solid from the start, backed by a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the UK and completion of the Bar Finals as a non-practicing barrister. Ten years of experience working in a law firm gave me the skills to teach legal English with ease.

Crafting exam questions and grading papers came naturally to me. My passion for the subject has kept me current with legal matters, even after branching into teaching.

What are the benefits of this niche?

Teaching legal English keeps me connected to the legal community and lets me help professionals and students enhance their English skills, even though I no longer practice law.

I assist them in

• improving legal vocabulary
• understanding jargon
• preparing for effective communication with global legal practitioners

This includes participating in meetings, phone conversations, and drafting emails that are clear to native speakers. I thrive in this niche by integrating general English with legal and Business English, finding great satisfaction and fulfillment.

Eddy Salgado, from Nicaragua, a specialist in customizing English courses

Eddy started his EFL teaching career in an online classroom and has always sought professional development opportunities. His commitment to lifelong learning also led him to land a teacher-trainer role at a university in Nicaragua.

How did you start building the essential knowledge and skills to design custom English courses?

I started building my skills through the Specialized Certification in Designing Custom Courses. Beyond the course content, I also received valuable support from my tutor, who answered each question whenever I needed clarification and provided me with feedback at the end of the course.

One thing I want to highlight is that, in addition to gaining valuable knowledge from the course content, I was able to design my English course for teenage students, and my tutor motivated me to implement it. The course ultimately helped me create an effective course for my niche.

How have you benefited from this niche?

The biggest benefit is that my students can use English in their everyday contexts, allowing me to design lessons tailored to their specific learner needs and vocabulary. I achieve this by identifying their target goals and analyzing their needs through surveys, interviews, and other methods.

Designing your own course also helps you gain a deeper understanding of what students truly need to learn and the most effective teaching methods for meeting those needs. You make learning both relevant and meaningful by simulating real-life contexts where they will apply their knowledge – something students will genuinely appreciate in your lessons.

Learn why conducting a needs assessment for teaching English can help you plan better lessons and courses.

Simone Webb, from the U.S., teaching medical English

Simone runs her own online English language school, Honed English. She provides General English classes to adults who speak English as a second language and Medical English classes for nurses and other healthcare workers.

How did you build the essential skills needed to teach medical English to nurses?

I built the essential skills needed to teach medical English to nurses by acquiring a Master’s Degree in TESOL, gaining over ten years of experience teaching adult English language learners, and understanding the pain points of nurses who speak English as a second language.

What are the benefits of this niche?

One benefit of teaching medical English to nurses is working with a specific group of professionals who share similar struggles, goals, and working environments. Their similarities help them relate to each other.

Nurses can immediately apply the English communication skills they acquire in their work environment, benefiting not only themselves but also their patients, patients’ families, and coworkers.

Ready to launch your independent teaching business? Here are some reasons to go for it.

Ruth Nabaasa, from Uganda, teaching Business English

Ruth teaches online from her home country and specializes in helping her adult Chilean learners with Business English.

How did you build the essential skills needed for teaching Business English?

A friend and I completed the IDELTOnline™ and thought it would be good to have a specialist field. We looked at all the specialized courses, and both felt that the Specialized Course in Teaching Business English would be the right one to prepare for this field. At that time, I truly felt that I would have increased contact with people in the corporate world who needed to learn English either because they had relocated to an English-speaking country for work or because they had frequent interaction with English speakers in and outside of their companies.

Completing the Specialized Course in Teaching Business English gave me the confidence and skills to teach learners in different fields in the corporate world. One lesson I still remember from the course is that Business English teachers should acknowledge that their learners may be more knowledgeable in certain areas of their field. Nevertheless, Business English teachers should still move with confidence, knowing they have all the language skills required to teach their students effectively.

Learn more about the essentials of teaching Business English online and in person.

How have you benefited from this niche?

• I love teaching adults, and teaching Business English has allowed me to meet and connect with adults of different ages and nationalities. Adult learners have a wealth of experience and learning, which they bring with them to the Business English class. This truly makes teaching them a unique and fulfilling experience.
• Business English students are some of the most highly motivated learners. Every teacher understands how vital motivation is to keep students learning and growing. Teaching a class of highly motivated individuals is an added benefit. Everything you use to enrich their learning experience and teach them effectively (technology, music, games, quizzes) goes a long way.
• I get to experience a whole new world as I interact with each student and learn more about their work. My perspective has grown, and my world has grown broader as I have taught human resource managers, marketing executives, and data analysts. I was even pleasantly surprised when I got to teach students working with a big pharmaceutical company during the pandemic – it was interesting to hear what was being done to produce an effective vaccine.
• Teaching Business English helps me to travel the world and experience different cultures and jobs from the comfort of my home. I look forward to visiting these countries in person in the near future.

Joshua Sohn, from the U.S., teaching military English in Saudi Arabia

Joshua taught for several years in South Korea before landing an opportunity to teach English to Air Force and military personnel in Saudi Arabia.

How did you qualify to teach military English?

I qualified for teaching military English by having a Master’s degree in Education, a U.S. teaching license, and six years of international teaching experience. Most companies require a Bachelor’s in English, a CELTA certification, and five or more years of teaching experience, though none of these is mandatory. No prior military experience is required, but unfortunately, companies in the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia, are looking for males under 60 years old from the U.S.A., Canada, or the U.K.

My experience working with the military is only in Saudi Arabia, and most of these contracting jobs are in the Middle East, including places like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, and Oman.

Learn more about how to become an English teacher in Saudi Arabia.

What are the benefits of this niche?

The benefits of this niche are:

• Working for a U.S. company
• Getting paid in U.S. currency
• Earning an above-average salary
• Enjoying a tax-free salary
• Working with adults
• Having rewarding teaching opportunities
• Not all, but most companies provide housing on a western compound, a car (shared or personal), insurance, vacation, paid sick time, flights, and access to the APO (Army Post Office)

Thinking about teaching abroad? Find out how much you can make on a typical TEFL salary.

Uchechukwu Wezeali, from Nigeria, teaching phonics and phonetics

Uchechukwu used to teach English at secondary schools before deciding to start his consultancy organization that focuses on teaching phonics and phonetics to schools and EFL teachers.

How did you prepare for teaching English phonics and phonetics?

Studying Linguistics as an undergraduate trained me in phonetics. Then, I started teaching speech to secondary school students. That was appropriate; there was no challenge. Over time, however, I needed to teach both primary and nursery pupils.

I soon realized that what I taught secondary-level students didn’t apply to nursery learners. So, I began studying online how to teach early learners. My training in phonetics helped me build the skills to teach phonics in no time. I soon realized phonetics and phonics are two sides of the same coin.

Now, I teach every category. I also train teachers of primary and secondary education.

Use pronunciation games to teach kids, teens, and adults.

What are the benefits of this niche?

• You stand out as a specialist in phonics and phonetics. When students struggle in this area, schools know to reach out to you. I experienced this in 2013 when a school invited me to help teach two Spanish female students who couldn’t read or communicate in English.
• This specialization also gives you a competitive edge as an English teacher.

Ready to open doors to your own teaching niche? Explore Bridge’s Specialized TEFL courses and find the path that fits you.