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Wildcats in the house
Joined: 15 Jan 2010 Posts: 13 Location: Benghazi
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 1:47 pm Post subject: Where to start teaching EAP in a university? |
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Does anyone have any ideas where might be a good place to start teaching EAP at universities? All the jobs I've seen state that you need previously to have taught at a uni for 1/2/3 + years. But, doh! you can't get a job teaching at uni because you haven't got 1/2/3/ + etc., etc., etc. |
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AjarnIam
Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 95 Location: Thailand
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 1:57 pm Post subject: |
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Teach at a poorly funded univ. that has no idea what EAP or ESP are. Then promote the idea that these types of programs would look great on Uni's brochure...and ta da!!!.....you are now the EAP coordinator...easy.. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 10:26 pm Post subject: |
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Let's start at the beginning.
What is your educational background? |
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naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home
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Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2010 5:04 am Post subject: |
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Where are you planning to teach? I got into a uni to teach after only 1.5 years of TEFLing, in China. I was at a uni in Peru.
I 'd say that you should try to teach higher level courses where you are now, like Exam Prep, Business English, etc.
Teaching private students those subjects will help as well.
I second the idea to start low and work your way up. Try to get into an ok uni, work there for a year or two , then move on to the better ones. Worked for me
One thing. Prestigious unis don-t always offer you the best salaries.
Last thing. Just becausethey ASK for certain qualifications, doesn-t mean that they necessarily HIRE people with those. NOt saying that you should apply if you-re super under qualified, but if you have experience and think that you could handle it, it-s worth a try.
The worst that could happen is that they could say no.
Oh, it-s pretty easy to teach at a uni in China. YOu could start at one, make sure they have EAP courses, and after one semestre or a year, ask to teach those courses. |
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Wildcats in the house
Joined: 15 Jan 2010 Posts: 13 Location: Benghazi
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Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2010 12:14 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks all. My qualifications are first degree, CTEFLA, DTEFLA, and now studying for MA Applied Linguistics, so I know I am not yet super qualified, but I do intend to be at some point I was looking at Korean jobs yesterday - I have heard that some teachers day it is EFL hell, but do you think there are possibilities in unis there?
I know that here in the UK there are nowadays a plethora of all types of shoddy institutions calling themselves 'University of...', usually something grand-sounding, so I think I need one of those over there, wherever 'there' may be
Any ideas? All suggestions gratefully received |
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Dedicated
Joined: 18 May 2007 Posts: 972 Location: UK
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Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2010 7:31 pm Post subject: Re : EAP |
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Are you in the UK? With your DELTA and starting an MA, you might be considered to teach on a university pre-sessional course. This is EAP, teaching the students the skills they need to be successful at university. The 20 week courses start in April. There are also 12/8/and 5 week courses.
The students would be, for the most part ,highly motivated and you would have the materials and support from experienced colleagues.
The universities often have problems recruiting for these courses. I see Birmingham Uni is already advertising on jobs.ac.uk. There will be others too. The cuts in university funding mean that universities are recruiting more overseas students - EAP is booming! |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2010 11:29 pm Post subject: |
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I'd say get some training and experience to go along with your MA, plus crank out some publications. Lots of universities look at all of the above, but especially publications, as requirements.
What exactly did you hope to teach in EAP? I ask because you may face a serious language or cultural barrier with certain courses. |
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Chris_Crossley
Joined: 26 Jun 2004 Posts: 1797 Location: Still in the centre of Furnace City, PRC, after eight years!!!
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 2:30 pm Post subject: Get a DELTA or else no EAP job in the UK at a university! |
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I have been teaching EAP for almost exactly five years in China to university graduates and senior students wanting to go to England to do a master�s degree and I did not have any EAP teaching experience when I first started, although I did have three years� EFL teaching experience, including one year at a state-run primary school, prior to starting.
I have never done a DELTA (or DTEFLA, as it was previously called), nor did I have either an MA in Education nor an M.Ed. in Applied Linguistics when I first started teaching EAP, although I have gained both master�s degrees since starting.
As for the idea of getting anything published, I do not see what that has to do with landing a front-line classroom teaching job! I would imagine, though, that having x years� EAP teaching experience abroad may count for something when it comes to applying for EAP teaching jobs at UK universities, yet a stumbling block that I have come across from personal experience is that at least some will absolutely insist on one having a DELTA. If I were to have 20 years of EAP teaching experience but still no DELTA, I can imagine being told that I am still not good enough to become an EAP teacher at a UK university! |
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denise
Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 2:52 pm Post subject: |
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Do you have a practicum in your MA program? And even if it's not a required element, are there still any in-house English courses at your grad school?
d |
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gaijinalways
Joined: 29 Nov 2005 Posts: 2279
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Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2010 7:03 am Post subject: |
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Chris_Crossley posted
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As for the idea of getting anything published, I do not see what that has to do with landing a front-line classroom teaching job! |
In Japan it's a standard requirement at many unis now where they ask for at least 3 publications.
Why you may ask?
I guess it shows (the unis think);
-commitment
-professionalism
-interest in your field
-gets your name and the unis you work for out there (a bit of PR)
- the research you did for your publication may lead to new ideas for teaching
Think about most other professional positions, people often try to publish to be recognized by their peers and keep up with what is going on in their field. |
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naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home
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Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 4:20 am Post subject: |
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Unis ask for publications. that's just the way it is. Not all ask. But some do. And if you apply to one that doesn't ask for them, it gives you an advantage over other applicants. |
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