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I WANT TO TEACH ABROAD - HELP PLEASE !?!
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bernabe3



Joined: 16 Feb 2010
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 7:57 pm    Post subject: I WANT TO TEACH ABROAD - HELP PLEASE !?! Reply with quote

Hello my name is Mike and I will be graduating from Michigan State University in May.
I have decided that before I get a full time job I want to teach (or at least work) somewhere abroad for 3-12 months.
I am looking into the online certification for teaching and don't think that should be a problem. I would like to get paid to help pay for some of the trip.

I really want to go with a group of like minded (maybe similar aged) individuals on some sort of a program.

I would like to go to Australia the most I think but am very open to just about anywhere !!

any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance and I'm excited to be apart of this community!
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash

PostPosted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 8:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have decided that before I get a full time job I want to teach (or at least work) somewhere abroad for 3-12 months.

There are few gigs around for less than a year.

I am looking into the online certification for teaching and don't think that should be a problem. I would like to get paid to help pay for some of the trip.

Hmmm. Not sure what you mean here. But most online certs aren't considered sufficient in many parts of the world. And I don't know of anyone who will 'help pay for part of the trip.' Please clarify what you expect and/or wish for here.


I would like to go to Australia the most I think but am very open to just about anywhere !!


I guess you realise that most Australians already speak English Shocked It's not a big English teaching market - the work is mostly focused on immigrants, and there are lots of qualified Australians to do the work...unlikely anyone will pay for a newbie-level American to come over to do one of the relatively few jobs....

I suggest that you do some research and then come back to us with more realistic questions. Your enthusiasm is definitely a plus and much appreciated, but some additional awareness of what teaching abroad entails will help you to ask more relevant questions - and to get more down-to-earth advice.
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santi84



Joined: 14 Mar 2008
Posts: 1317
Location: under da sea

PostPosted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 9:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Are you eligible for any sort of working holiday visa? You wouldn't be teaching English in Australia (Australia has enough starving qualified ESL instructors), but you might be able to pick up some bar work.
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Glenski



Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

PostPosted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 10:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Americans don't get working holiday visa.

3 months? I'd say forget it. You probably won't even make up your setup costs in that short a time. Try to put in at least a year if you want the experience to count for anything.
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runthegauntlet



Joined: 07 Nov 2009
Posts: 92
Location: the Southlands of Korea

PostPosted: Thu Feb 18, 2010 4:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Glenski wrote:
Americans don't get working holiday visa.


Not true.

http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday/462/usa/

Agreed with the rest, though. Very Happy
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The Great Wall of Whiner



Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Posts: 4946
Location: Blabbing

PostPosted: Thu Feb 18, 2010 8:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure Australia doesn't need English teachers.

NZ, perhaps. Fush N Chups... Wink
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Glenski



Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

PostPosted: Thu Feb 18, 2010 11:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ya learns something new every day. Thanks, gauntlet. Mea culpa.

As for Australia not needing English teachers, why not? They must certainly have a large international population. The US has ESL teachers to handle such, so why not Australia (or Canada, UK, NZ, etc.)?
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santi84



Joined: 14 Mar 2008
Posts: 1317
Location: under da sea

PostPosted: Thu Feb 18, 2010 2:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If I was a recent college graduate with no kids and could take off to Australia for a year, I'd be right on the beach serving drinks! Shocked
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nickpellatt



Joined: 08 Dec 2006
Posts: 1522

PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 7:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would suggest googling companies like realgap and possibly even i-i, who offer short term placements, that often include some teaching training and orientation. Typically, these types of trips tend to attract people of a similar age.

Generally, you wont find many people on the forum who have anything positive to say about these companies though.

There training is often shoddy, and not actually worth anything. It may not even be useful either. Their work placements may also be in places that many teachers wouldnt consider...and if they do offer a salary of sorts...it is often way below market levels....Ive seen programs like this that offer 2000 rmb a month in China, which no one else would take.

They also charge you a hefty fee for using them too. Not really good value, but it sounds more like the type of thing you are seeking.

English speaking countries are not really a likely destination for teaching English though! I couldnt imagine Australia being a possiblity, for the reasons already mentioned.

PS - online courses arent normally worth taking. There may be exception, but they would be few and far between. Again, few people on the forum would say anything positive about them...and many of us are talking from experience. I wasted my time and money on such a course many moons ago.
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itoi



Joined: 19 Feb 2010
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 11:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi there,

My name's Honor and I work for i-to-i. Just wanted to clear up a couple of misconceptions about our courses and job placement service.

Firstly, if you're thinking about teaching abroad an online course is worth taking and will help you find paid TEFL jobs - if you take a look on our TEFL community Chalkboard (http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com) you can chat to people who have done our online courses and then gone on to find paid jobs abroad.

Contrary to what Nick's said here, our job placement service is totally free to use and has opportunities from 6 to 12 months (so there are options if you have less than a year). The schools we partner with offer competitive salaries. Some, such as our partners in South Korea, will also reimburse you the costs of flights when you complete your contract, so you would also get money towards the trip.

Think we're all agreed on Australia though - not the biggest TEFL destination in the world!!
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Glenski



Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

PostPosted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 10:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

itoi wrote:
Contrary to what Nick's said here, our job placement service is totally free to use and has opportunities from 6 to 12 months
Such as...? And where?

Quote:
The schools we partner with offer competitive salaries.
I love that word. Competitive means "no better or worse than the average", right? Sometimes people infer that it means "better than average".
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runthegauntlet



Joined: 07 Nov 2009
Posts: 92
Location: the Southlands of Korea

PostPosted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 2:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

itoi wrote:
Hi there,

My name's Honor and I work for i-to-i. Just wanted to clear up a couple of misconceptions about our courses and job placement service.

Firstly, if you're thinking about teaching abroad an online course is worth taking and will help you find paid TEFL jobs - if you take a look on our TEFL community Chalkboard (http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com) you can chat to people who have done our online courses and then gone on to find paid jobs abroad.

Contrary to what Nick's said here, our job placement service is totally free to use and has opportunities from 6 to 12 months (so there are options if you have less than a year). The schools we partner with offer competitive salaries. Some, such as our partners in South Korea, will also reimburse you the costs of flights when you complete your contract, so you would also get money towards the trip.


Almost every job in S. Korea covers flight costs, so it's not like you're offering anything special.

Of course, there's also that little addendum about you NOT needing a TESL course in the first place to get a job in S. Korea....
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coledavis



Joined: 21 Jun 2003
Posts: 1838

PostPosted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 9:43 am    Post subject: Online qualification Reply with quote

An online qualification is a complete no-no. It is not recognised by employers.
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itoi



Joined: 19 Feb 2010
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 2:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Glenski wrote:
itoi wrote:
Contrary to what Nick's said here, our job placement service is totally free to use and has opportunities from 6 to 12 months
Such as...? And where?

Quote:
The schools we partner with offer competitive salaries.
I love that word. Competitive means "no better or worse than the average", right? Sometimes people infer that it means "better than average".


Our job placement service covers China, Indonesia, Japan, Ecuador, the Czech Republic and South Korea. All the details are here: http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-placement-service/

People can infer what they like, but we'd always advise they do their research before signing up to anything. All the salaries for our job placement service are listed on our website here: http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-placement-service/ and we'd advise people to check these against salaries from other schools by looking on jobs boards to check that they're getting a good deal.

Runthegauntlet, you can absolutely find TEFL jobs without first doing a TEFL cert, but would you want to go into a job totally unprepared and would you do that to your students? It's always better for all involved to do a TEFL course first. We're very open about the fact that you can find TEFL jobs without a TEFL cert - you might want to take a look at this article: http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com/travel-guides/151-Do-I-Need-a-TEFL-TESOL-Certificate-to-Teach-Abroad-

Cole, I think the view that online TEFL courses are not recognised by employers is a tad outdated. They are recognised and do help people secure paid jobs abroad. If you're in any doubt about this, I'd sign up to our TEFL community Chalkboard to meet people who've done i-to-i TEFL courses online and subsequently gone on to find paid TEFL jobs abroad: http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com/
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash

PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 2:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Our job placement service covers China, Indonesia, Japan, Ecuador, the Czech Republic

I don't know the other markets you mention, but I do know the market in the Czech Rep for teachers quite well. An online cert is simply substandard for the region. Prague is something of a training centre mecca, with 4 or 5 on-site centres churning out CELTA and equivalent grads regularly. The job market is tight throughout the region, and competition pretty fierce. I can state with a high degree of certainty that someone coming to the CR with an online cert has a VERY small chance of landing decent work these days. Anyone wishing to learn more about this market should 'check out' the Czech Rep forum below.
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