TEFL Courses & Certification in Vienna, Austria

Though online TEFL courses are a possibility, most teachers opt to enroll in classroom based courses, so that teaching methods can be learned and practiced in person. TEFL courses in Vienna will instruct you in various aspects of ESL teaching, such as phonetics, grammar, classroom management, and basic teaching strategies. You will also likely have the opportunity to shadow teachers in an ESL setting and also engage in live teaching practice, both with fellow pupils and real students.

TEFL certification courses in Vienna typically last one full month, or 120 hours total of classroom time. Upon graduation you will earn a certificate which will enable you to begin searching for English teaching jobs in Vienna or anywhere else in the world. Many TEFL programs will provide you with lifelong job search assistance upon course completion, so you may have significant help finding employment.

Vienna itself has a fantastic education system so lucky teachers might be able to find fruitful employment locally. Most jobs for native English speaking teachers in Vienna are within business and primary school settings, at least for beginner teachers. Your chances of landing a position with a local public school or private institution are much better if you speak German, as this is the main language for education in the city.

From afar Vienna can look like a fairy tale city; spanning the Danube River at the base of the Alps in the heart of Europe, there is indeed a dreamy quality in the air (perhaps this is what influenced one of its more famous residents, Sigmund Freud, to first engage in psychoanalysis). TEFL students will come to fall in love with the leisurely pace that surrounds them, in an all at once quaintly charming, culturally rich, and architecturally stunning city.

A little over 2 million people (which is nearly a quarter of the Austrian population) live in the metropolitan area of Vienna. Yet, while it is the EU’s seventh largest city by population, the city is well spread out, so the urban density is not as intense as in other European cities of its size. Vienna is also very efficiently connected by a system of buses and metro lines, making transportation around town easily accessible.

Vienna is home to some of the finest museums, palaces, universities, and opera houses in all of Europe. There are also many charming cafes, town squares, and public parks across the city where TEFL students can spend their leisure time. From touring the house of Mozart to partaking in one of the hundred classical ballroom celebrations throughout the year, time in Vienna is sure to be time well spent.

Life in Vienna comes with a price tag, which is imaginably quite expensive. Vienna is one of the wealthiest cities in the world so living costs will not be cheap. Most TEFL programs in Vienna cost between $1,000 and $2,000 to complete, a worthy investment when you take into account the increase in future pay a TEFL certificate will bring you. Most paid ESL teaching jobs in Vienna will begin by paying up to $30 an hour, which is enough to get by living in Vienna, but not enough to save up too much money.

If you are only living in Vienna for the one month duration of your TEFL certification course, than it is likely that your program provider will help you to find housing. Most teachers who stay in Vienna after TEFL certification choose to live away from the city center and closer to the suburbs, as rent is much cheaper and good public transportation makes the commute easy.

English teachers coming from most countries outside of the European Union will only need to obtain a visa if they plan on living in Vienna for longer than 90 days. Austria’s visa policy is more strict for certain countries though, so locate a consulate in your home nation where you can find out more information.

Earning your TEFL certificate in Vienna is a great way to experience life in one of Europe’s most beautiful and refined cities. Beyond the 120 hours of classroom time, you will have the liberty to explore your surroundings, letting the wealth of history and culture that has made Vienna such an important urban center for so long sink in. Teaching is no easy job, but completing a TEFL program in Vienna is the perfect first step towards launching a successful career teaching English abroad.

Read our comprehensive guide on earning a TEFL Certificate in Austria.