A glance at a clothing boutique, a brisk walk down city streets, or an earful of automated customer service messages is proof positive that we live in an ethnic melting pot.

Our world has stretched its borders and every person wanting to take advantage of that shift needs to know how to speak English. If you want to be the person that teaches them, you need the TESOL.

Knowing how to read, write, and speak another language is no longer a trend of the future but a way of life for the present. The knowledge of another language and culture is a powerful leveraging tool in every sector of society, and that means there are huge opportunities for English teachers overseas. But even beyond the career potential, the TESOL can open your eyes to other cultures. Studies show that children who are multilingual grasp concepts more quickly, and even the elderly are increasing their very quality and span of life by using natural forms of medicine that hail from continents beyond North America.

Given the impact that world customs are making within our borders, the TESOL exam comes to the fore in preparing for a career teaching English overseas, locally, or just to retain a global outlook on life. While foreign speakers can access self-help curricula, it is helpful to have an instructor, because a person-to-person guide makes the language come to life in a way that far exceeds the textbook experience.

The question arises about the need to take the TESOL exam. Here are some things to ponder:

To Thine Own Self Be True. Taking the test is a sound tool to assess your actual level of linguistic competency. Once you have this knowledge, you will know your strengths and weaknesses with respect to the language.

Talk the Talk, make the coin. Taking the TESOL will equip you to effectively teach a world that wants to speak English, leading you to a career that can take you through Asia, the Middle East, Europe and beyond. Many of these nations can be places you earn a lot more money than you're used to at home.

Taking Care of Business! Gone are the days of only conducting business on the West Coast and East Coast. The real movers and shakers see as many possibilities in India as they do in Indiana. Making a mark in the marketplace can be done as people expand the scope and breadth of their linguistic skills.

While training others to speak a native language and embracing world culture is favorable, there is another consideration to be made. As the test is administered and the vast majority becomes multilingual, more competition may arise in the marketplace. Those who were once seen as a ?cut above the rest? ? based on their command of several languages ? may now be deemed average. There is also the possibility that the mixing of ethnicities may cause the discrete differences to be lost in a sea of cultural compromise.

Nonetheless, it is difficult to ignore the truth that stares us square in the face. This truth is that our world has now become our next-door neighbor. The choice is up to us. Only we can decide whether to open the door or to remain behind closed doors. It's that decision that will dictate whether we make the grade and ultimately pass the test.

The bottom line is simple: Millions of people need to learn to speak English. They'll pay you to teach them. And the TESOL is the first step to making that happen.