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Switching academic fields: From anthropology to ESL, Advice
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spiral78

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

Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 5:39 pm Post subject:

Quote:

From what you are saying it seems as though your degree would have more weight that your experience, is that correct? What about publications and other professional activities? I plan to spend at least three years in East Asia before relocating elsewhere and was just curious if and to what extent these years of experience would facilitate other opportunities?

Experience in Asia isn't entirely transferable to other parts of the world in many cases. In a very general sense, the Asian EFL scene is quite specific to Asian students/culture/expectations. What works well in one region of the world often doesn't succeed in other places. This is why degree and other qualifications matter more than actual years of experience when relocating to a different region.

Another issue is that simply having taught without specific teaching related qualifications doesn't guarantee that you've done it (more or less) well. I haven't read through the entire thread, but I deal daily with university professors who teach solely by virtue of their content knowledge. Their teaching skills are a very mixed bag. In our university, the value of pedagogical knowledge is becoming greater, and our experienced professors make some effort to learn more about how to teach well.

Even teachers with certification/licenses to teach content topics benefit from EFL training. The approaches and methods used for language teaching differ fairly substantially from those used to teach content in the students' first language.

EFL teaching/App Ling related qualifications definitely matter. Publications are secondary in most cases.

esl_prof

Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 2006
Location: peyi kote solèy frèt

Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 6:32 pm Post subject:

seyz wrote:

I have one starting point though. What would carry more weight on a job market? Would it be publications or a MA in TESOL/Applied Linguistics?

It depends on which job market. Here in the States, for example, publications would definitely be the priority if you were seeking positions in a college/university department of linguistics or, possibly, teacher education where you'd primarily be teaching courses to prospective ESL teachers. For university IEPs or community college ESL programs, you'd definitely want to pursue the MA route (though, not necessarily complete it as I'll clarify below) whereas publications likely wouldn't mean much. Many community colleges will often consider candidates with MAs (or presumably PhDs) in a related field plus 18 hours of graduate credit in the discipline to be taught. Likewise, I have colleagues who have taught in university IEPs with MAs or MFAs in English literature or creative writing but had completed additional graduate coursework in TESOL and brought significant international teaching experience to the table. If you have solid administrative experience (which you alluded to in your initial post), another option might be to pursue administrative positions, either chairing a community college ESL program or directing a university IEP.

Your challenge, as I see it, is that you want to position yourself for as much flexibility on the international market as possible, but universities in diverse places like Japan, Saudi Arabia, or South Africa are going to have widely different requirements and expectations regarding what they want in a foreign-hire. Some will place more value on your actual credentials (e.g., CELTA/DELTA/MA TESOL), others will prioritize your research, and some may even give equal weight to both.

I think your best bet would be to post inquiries to the country-specific forums for places that you might be interested in eventually working as well as networking on some more academically-oriented forums such as those on the Chronicle of Higher Education or, preferably, forums that are more oriented towards the international job market. Given your language skills, you should probably look into forums specifically targeting Japanese and Korean academics as well.

Unless you've got the time and energy to move forward in advancing both your formal credentials and your research agenda, you may simply have to choose one path over the other with the understanding that choosing one will narrow your options in some areas while broadening them in others. Unfortunately, in this day and age of hyper-specialization, you may simply not be able to do it all.

Last edited by esl_prof on Sun Apr 26, 2015 6:52 pm; edited 1 time in total

esl_prof

Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 2006
Location: peyi kote solèy frèt

Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 6:47 pm Post subject:

buravirgil wrote:

I wonder if this thread will sustain respectful dissent...

I certainly hope so! Thankfully, that seems to be the case so far. I appreciate you making it a point to affirm (both in this and other threads) the areas in which we do share common agreement.

buravirgil wrote:

I'm unsure you haven't conflated careerism with academic accomplishment (expressed as "genuinely committed" and "trajectory") and troubling when casually expressed as "couldn't make it". I'd argue they've already "made it". I agree with most everything else expressed as practical, but was irked by what I've quoted.

I think that's a fair critique and the OP would do well to take that under consideration as s/he thinks through his/her future career plans. My comments are largely informed by my experience with U.S academic culture and, while one could make the case (as you already have) that they are misguided, I think I've accurately articulated how the academy (at least in the U.S.), rightly or wrongly, will perceive the OP as s/he attempts to crossover to a new academic discipline.

That being said, I claim no expertise in these matters and could certainly be mistaken. I'd be curious to read what others have to say on the matter. Perhaps a more important issue here is whether or not what I've said about U.S. academic culture, assuming I'm correct, actually applies to the academic culture of the countries that the OP is interested in working in.

nomad soul

Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 6:49 pm Post subject:

buravirgil wrote:

And though the Middle East lays claim to the "highly qualified", few reports are best practices are implemented. I'd like NomadSoul's take on the issue(s) I've raised. I believe she successfully applied her expertise and I know I was uncommonly lucky to have achieved what I did. As well, the ME howls for western PhD holders, but by many reports (and from a western perspective) for appearances only.
On Preview: NomadSoul, faster than my fingers...

All the PhD (TESOL and Applied Linguistics) holders at Saudi the university foundation year program where I worked were from Pakistan, KSA, Jordan, Malaysia, Egypt... They also had a CELTA---one had a Delta. The exception was a PhD in TESOL holder from the UK who had a very small EFL teaching load because she also taught in the university's teacher education program. However, the other PhD and MA-degreed teachers did more than just teach. We headed and participated on committees on curriculum and materials design, conducted in-service workshops, supervised extracurricular student activities, participated in focus groups, mentored and observed Saudi pre-service TEFL teachers, and so on.... pretty much what teachers in US university IEPs do. So those posters on the Saudi forum who claim direct-hire employers' requirement for a TEFL-related MA is overkill obviously only teach and nothing more.

seyz wrote:

Thanks Nomad Soul. In response, I don't have any particular expectation. As I mentioned in my reply to rtm, location is quite important. I think that TESOL would open up more opportunities globally than would an anthropology degree. In a country like Saudi Arabia or UAE, English teachers are in greater demand than anthropologists (or at least I would think so).

From what you are saying it seems as though your degree would have more weight that your experience, is that correct? What about publications and other professional activities? I plan to spend at least three years in East Asia before relocating elsewhere and was just curious if and to what extent these years of experience would facilitate other opportunities?

Anthropology---if it's even a subject in ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia---would be taught in Arabic and by a Saudi. Moreover, it would focus on Saudi culture only and not on any Western "ideals" of culture. Keep in mind that the kingdom embodies a closed society which frowns on music, enforces a strict gender segregation law, and where free speech is a punishable offence.

In terms of TEFL, requirements are set by the country's Ministry of Higher Ed, which mandates that the applicant's degree must be directly related to the field he/she is hired to teach in. That's the first criteria item followed by the number of years of relevant experience. Publications related to TEFL and linguistics as well as membership/active participation in TESOL Arabia will interest prospective employers, but that won't compensate for having an unrelated degree. However, Saudi contracting companies have some flexibility in hiring TEFL teachers and will recruit those with unrelated degrees as long as they have a valid TEFL qualification (i.e., a CELTA, Trinity Cert TESOL, or equivalent TEFL cert). Obviously, having a cert rather than a relevant degree equates to a basic teaching position (often as a warm body in front of the classroom). Plus, contracting companies are middlemen more interested in making a profit than promoting education. By the way, UAE university TEFL jobs require at minimum, a relevant MA and 3 years TEFL experience at the tertiary level. But Oman might be a possibility.

Some food for thought.

seyz

Joined: 17 Feb 2013
Posts: 43

Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 7:10 pm Post subject:

nomad soul wrote:

Yeah that is sort of what I presumed. I wouldn't think an American Ph.D. holder would be able to just walk right into any anthropology department around the world and start teaching. I would imagine the demand would be much stronger for English teachers than anthropologists just about anywhere in the world. Thus, from the standpoint of job flexibility it would seem as though TESOL would open up many more opportunities across the board.

Quote:

Perhaps a more important issue here is whether or not what I've said about U.S. academic culture, assuming I'm correct, actually applies to the academic culture of the countries that the OP is interested in working

I think this would also be a good idea to look into as well since there appears to be great variation. As I stated earlier though, I am not necessarily fixed on any one country or location but rather would like to ideally have as many opportunities available as possible. I think within the next few years I would have to obtain a clearer picture of this and begin making more efforts to determine what is necessary for where I want to go.

scot47

Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2015 9:15 pm Post subject:

Anthropology as you know it in the US or indeed in the UK does not exist as an academic discipline in many parts of the world.

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