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Most helpful university degree/major for TESL career?
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What is your suggestion?
English
24%
 24%  [ 6 ]
Linguistics
8%
 8%  [ 2 ]
Education
40%
 40%  [ 10 ]
Any humanities
12%
 12%  [ 3 ]
Any subject
12%
 12%  [ 3 ]
A degree is not needed, just a TESL certification
4%
 4%  [ 1 ]
Total Votes : 25

Author Message
shmooj



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1758
Location: Seoul, ROK

PostPosted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 10:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You wouldn't believe how a BA in Architecture can help you in the classroom but it does....
problem solving
lateral thinking
working within tight constraints
working towards inflexible deadlines
leading a team of specialists
art and craft
conceptualisation
needs analysis
planning
designing solutions to enable others to visualise your ideas

... I never realised this until I sat back and thought about it a few years ago.

Just goes to show that any degree will do really...
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Twisting in the Wind



Joined: 20 Oct 2003
Posts: 571
Location: Purgatory

PostPosted: Tue Jan 18, 2005 12:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's really interesting, Schmooj! Just goes to show that it doesn't really matter the major--just as long as you are taught to THINK!!!
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Guy Courchesne



Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City

PostPosted: Tue Jan 18, 2005 12:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

We had a teacher working with us awhile back...phys ed coach, no degree, a lot of hockey coaching volunteer work. Turned out to be a great teacher who learned on the job with respect to grammar/structure presentation.
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Twisting in the Wind



Joined: 20 Oct 2003
Posts: 571
Location: Purgatory

PostPosted: Tue Jan 18, 2005 1:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, that's basically what I did. Only had a few lit, poetry-writing classes in college, but I guess teaching runs in my blood as both parents and a lot of relatives were teachers, profs, and so I naturally slid into it too without the benefit of any edu classes. However, I'm at the point in my life that if I were to go back and teach ESL/EFL again, I think I'd like to get a cert or Masters of some sort to sort of legitimitize what I had been doing all along.
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carnac



Joined: 30 Jul 2004
Posts: 310
Location: in my village in Oman ;-)

PostPosted: Wed Jan 19, 2005 12:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Now, I'm sure there will be lots of disagreement about this, but here is what I seem to have noticed is the pecking order:
PhD/ApplLing
PhD/Eng
PhD/Educ
MSc/Tesol
MA/Tesol
MA/AppLing
MA/Eng
MA/Educ
BA with Cert
Ba with nothing
Cert with nothing

There is no cheap anything.

Give me salary rates and I'll be happy to rearrange the schedule. And if I left your degree out, I will gladly apologise.
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Twisting in the Wind



Joined: 20 Oct 2003
Posts: 571
Location: Purgatory

PostPosted: Wed Jan 19, 2005 3:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What an interesting BA, Denise! What types of courses did you take for that? I'll bet that really helps in the classroom sometimes!
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denise



Joined: 23 Apr 2003
Posts: 3419
Location: finally home-ish

PostPosted: Wed Jan 19, 2005 4:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Twisting in the Wind wrote:
What an interesting BA, Denise! What types of courses did you take for that? I'll bet that really helps in the classroom sometimes!


Actually, the major was very interdisciplinary. Other than a few core courses, we all branched out. I focused on international development & overpopulation, so my courses were mostly in geography, demography, and political science.

The one thing that I remember very clearly now, and I didn't appreciate it enough at the time-maybe I thought it was too simplistic?- (and still don't put it into practice as often as I should... Embarassed ) is the "no blame" philosophy espoused by one of my professors.

d
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Gordon



Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Wed Jan 19, 2005 4:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

denise wrote:

The one thing that I remember very clearly now, and I didn't appreciate it enough at the time-maybe I thought it was too simplistic?- (and still don't put it into practice as often as I should... Embarassed ) is the "no blame" philosophy espoused by one of my professors.

d


What is that?
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denise



Joined: 23 Apr 2003
Posts: 3419
Location: finally home-ish

PostPosted: Wed Jan 19, 2005 9:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It was in an ethics class. The philosophy, brought back to my attention a few years later by my ex-boyfriend, another Peace & Conflict Studies major, basically says that it's pointless to place blame. Just let go of anger. I think...

d
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Gordon



Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Wed Jan 19, 2005 11:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

denise wrote:
It was in an ethics class. The philosophy, brought back to my attention a few years later by my ex-boyfriend, another Peace & Conflict Studies major, basically says that it's pointless to place blame. Just let go of anger. I think...

d


Where do you let go of anger? I'd hate to spend a weekend where everyone lets their anger go.

Well.....you have said you went to school in California. Wink
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Deconstructor



Joined: 30 Dec 2003
Posts: 775
Location: Montreal

PostPosted: Mon Jan 24, 2005 3:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great teachers are born. You can have all the education in the world and still be the lousiest teacher out there. This is not to say that good qualification should be ignored.

Let me tell you what one should never have:
Any one-month-celta-delta, etc. because they do injustice to the teaching profession by oversimplifying and misrepresenting. They charge you an arm and a leg as you eventually discover that if a month was all it took, you'd really learned much more just by teaching.
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Stephen Jones



Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124

PostPosted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
You wouldn't believe how a BA in Architecture can help you in the classroom but it does....


Does the fact that I designed my house itself mean that a BA in English Literature is useful for building houses. :)

Neither degree can make the guy with the bulldozer turn up on time however.
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shmooj



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1758
Location: Seoul, ROK

PostPosted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 11:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Deconstructor wrote:

Let me tell you what one should never have:
Any one-month-celta-delta, etc. because they do injustice to the teaching profession by oversimplifying and misrepresenting. They charge you an arm and a leg as you eventually discover that if a month was all it took, you'd really learned much more just by teaching.

Rolling Eyes

just where is that one-month DELTA? I've never seen that advertised before.

Are part time ones okay then?
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matthews_world
Guest





PostPosted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 3:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm back here in the States doing a Master's of Arts in Teaching. Which basically is a fast track Master's with state teacher certification thrown in. My area will be TESOL.

My bachelor's degree was French with a minor in German.

I'll probably be looking for uni jobs overseas when I'm finished with my 2-years ESL abroad or teaching in school districts or with the Department of Defense.

I've got a sweet grad assistantship now teaching ESL to incoming university students, teaching 8 1-hour classes a week.

There is life after teaching abroad.

My vote for the poll would be a foreign language degree or a B. Ed
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shmooj



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1758
Location: Seoul, ROK

PostPosted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Stephen Jones wrote:
Quote:
You wouldn't believe how a BA in Architecture can help you in the classroom but it does....


Does the fact that I designed my house itself mean that a BA in English Literature is useful for building houses. Smile

You are very close to hitting my nail on the head. For this reason, I find decon's constant harping on about how useless CELTA/DELTA qualifications are to simply be evidence that decon does not understand what the point of study is.

Does a BA in Eng Lit help you build a house? Absolutely possible! The point is that it isn't what the qualification gives you that is important, it is what you take from it and apply in whatever situation you find yourself. IMO, those who complain about particular qualifications are those who do not actually know how to learn. Those who do not are those who respect that in any situation, someone eager to learn will find something to make their effort worthwhile.
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