Job Discussion Forums

[nighthawk]

Right now I'm trying to get some volunteer ESL work in the city I live in in the US to get some more teaching experience under my belt. Whenever I go to Walmart or the Laundromat I see plenty of Latinos, so I don�t think I�ll have any trouble finding some volunteer work. I don't have a TESL Certificate at this point.

From what I�ve read on Dave�s Caf� it�s my understanding that in order to get the best teaching jobs -- the ones with the highest pay, the least commuting, paid holidays, pay for planning/prep time, help paying for housing, and some type of health insurance -- one must have a Masters Degree in TESOL, so I am seeking information about M.A. TESOL programs. They�re very expensive here in the US, and I�d really need to get on at a university as a teaching assistant to pay for the schooling, and with post-September 11th fears in full force and less foreigners getting into the US it�s becoming harder to find such positions. What schools/programs outside of the U.S. where I could get an M.A. in TESOL from would you recommend? I�m considering the following factors regarding an M.A. in TESOL program: 1) quality of the program 2) cost of the program and 3) the amount of stress that would go along with the program.

1) Obviously I want the M.A. to carry it's weight once I'm looking for work. Mexico is the place I have in mind right now for teaching in, so I�d want it to be respected there, and I�d want it to be respected in the US too because I want to be able to teach here as well -- internationally would obviously be best. 2) And obviously I want to avoid any more thousands of dollars spent on student loans. 3) I want to be in a program where I don't feel overwhelmed, and if I have to take a little longer than most do, then that's better than getting burnt out in my book. I at least want to figure out how to get ready for it, so I don�t get too overwhelmed once I get into it. So here�s my last question I�ve been getting to. What book(s) would you recommend that I get to help me along and to make getting a TESL Certificate and later an M.A. in TESOL less stressful? Thank you.

[Paul G]

Here are some links that you can follow to find out about a number of different distance degrees.

http://www.tesol.org/careers/programs/distance.html

http://www.emich.edu/~linguist/programs/progs-us.html

http://www.bangor.ac.uk/ling/home.htm

http://www.su.edu/sas/tesol/index.htm

http://www.usq.edu.au/

http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/

http://www.surrey.ac.uk/ELI/pg_programmes.html

http://www.ioe.ac.uk/lie/tesoldl.html
http://www.educ.utas.edu.au/users/tle/Tesol/index.html
http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/links/TESL/Schools_Offering_TESL_Training/

http://www.emich.edu/~linguist/programs/progs-us.html
http://www.tesol.org/careers/programs/distance.html


Most of these links go directly to the distance program's pages or to pages with links to distance programs. In some case cases you may have to navigate around the site a little to find the actual distance degree info.

For volunteer work, do a web search for Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA). They run ESL classes and sometimes provide teacher training too.

[Robert Russell]

You could join the Peace Corp--they will train you, place you in a teaching position and give you 6000.00 after two years. They can help you get into an MA Program where you can apply creift from your Peace Corp experience. http://www.peacecorps.gov/indexf.cfm


Here is a volunteer program for working in the Himalaya region.
http://www.hec.org/volunteering/teaching.htm

Good Luck