Job Discussion Forums

[Gosta]

Dear all,

I'd like to do an MA TESOL next year, but am a little confused by the sheer quantity of courses available. Could anybody recommend a course? I'd be willing to study in any English-speaking country.

Many thanks,

Dino

[nomad soul]

Dino:

A few years back when I started thinking about getting a graduate degree for my career change to TESOL, I literally worked backwards to figure out which program/courses would best meet my interests and career goals. That is, I first went through ESL/EFL job boards on many sites and read ads from employers based in countries I was interested in working in. I focused on the academic qualifications and other skills employers were looking for and made a list of those qualities. ( I knew that I would eventually move into corporate training after my TEFL career, so I wanted a grad degree that wasn't so specific to TESOL.) After checking out ads, I then began the tedious part of my educational program search, which involved sifting through TESOL.org's list of universities and colleges that offer degrees and certificates, in order to find a match for myself. (You may need to find a similar site in the UK if that's where you plan to study.) I eventually decided on an MA in Teaching (MAT) with a TEFL emphasis, which will allow me to drop the reference to TEFL from my resume when I transition back into corporate work. Overall, this "backwards" strategy worked well for me and gave me a better sense of what I needed and how I should proceed by making it easier for me to map out an actual plan for my educational goals.

I'm sure you'll get suggestions from others on this forum to check out, but you can also proactively get started by making a list of what your career objective is, your strengths and weaknesses, transferable skills, and academic interests. That way, you won't spend so many frustrating hours spinning your wheels when you begin to scrutinize educational programs.

Good luck!

[Gosta]

hey, many thanks for your advice, seems like a good way to narrow down my search.

[Mr. Kalgukshi]

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=90313&highlight=