“Even though I was slightly daunted by the prospect of going back to studying and completing assignments after so many years, I thoroughly enjoyed the course, and it felt good to be doing something positive and keeping my brain active following my redundancy.”

Through The TEFL Org, Yvonne then went on to secure a job with a company teaching English online to 5-11 year old students 4,830miles away in China. However, recent legislative changes in the country has meant Yvonne is hoping for alternative opportunities with the online firm.

Nevertheless, Yvonne continues to teach from the comfort of her own home in Bath to 40 students each week.

Yvonne, said: “When I first started teaching, my stomach was tied up in knots before each lesson, and I kept asking myself why I was imposing such torture on myself.

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“I wondered if I was going to have to go through this every working day, but before long I realised it wasn’t happening anymore and I could actually relax and enjoy the lessons.

“A year ago, if anyone had told me that I would be teaching English to overseas children in the future, I would have told them they were crazy, but here I am, enjoying the challenges and satisfaction that each class brings. The saying goes that ‘when one door closes, another opens’ and in my case it’s true. I lost one job that I loved, and I’m so lucky to have found another one.”

Inverness-based The TEFL Org conducted an internal survey with its graduates over the last six months of 2020 through a variety of metrics; from level of education to nationality.

The survey found 29% of people took a TEFL course in order to improve their CV, and there was a small rise in undergraduate and postgraduate degree holders from 2019 looking to gain a qualification.

Jennifer and her co-founder Joe Hallwood started The TEFL Org during the 2008 financial crash from a garden shed.

The employee-owned company is now the world leading provider in TEFL accreditation after it experienced an 81% revenue growth from 2019 to 2020.

The TEFL Org is continuing to grow globally with students from around Europe, the USA and as far as Australia and New Zealand.

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