To get an esl teaching certificate, you need to undergo 7 courses of ESL classes, which can be available online or in actual classroom settings. You also need to have a bachelor’s degree (from any type of course) and a completed application form, along with two letters of recommendation and a statement of purpose of why you want to learn more about the ESL program. This is most often used by professionals who want to be certified English as a second language practitioners, which are often hired to teach non-native English speakers to use the language on a day to day basis. You may also need to prepare your resume, which should contain your professional and academic records as well as a brief profile about yourself. The good thing about ESL classes is that you can take them in your own pace, which means you do not need to resign from your day job. This will help you finance your classes and at the same time, have a ready “playground” for your theories since you can practice them in class immediately. In some schools, this is actually required to better facilitate your learning of the theories taught in class and also serve as the practicum part of your studying. Always remember that your pupils are not native English speakers so understanding things from their context is a great advantage so that you can fully understand each other. It is also good to learn about their native tongue so that you can understand some learning difficulties that you may experience with them.