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shayfic
Joined: 22 Feb 2003
Posts: 11
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 Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2003 10:04 am Post subject: TEFL For Non-Native ??? |
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I am not a native ( although I lived in England and I have a clear accent ), I have a college diploma and I right now teaching in primary school in thailand plus prive school.
I have noticed that the better payed jobs demand native speakers, does getting a TEFL certification will make it easy to me ??
Is it worth at all for non-native to invest such big amount of money for TEFL in order to improve my working possibilities ??  |
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Tabitha Smallpiece
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 23
Location: Bangkok Thailand
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| Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2003 12:05 am Post subject: |
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Shayfic , you state you have a ''college diploma ", fine however you may find it indeed useful if you wish to travel furter afield to complete a T.E.F.L. course , remember there are many options open to you in that particular field of study.  |
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shayfic
Joined: 22 Feb 2003
Posts: 11
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| Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2003 8:12 am Post subject: |
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| Yeah, But my Diploma is regarding Computer Science. But Does the TEFL beat the "Native demand" obstacle for non-native ? |
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Ajarn Miguk
Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Posts: 227
Location: TDY As Assigned
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| Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2003 12:18 am Post subject: Beat It |
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| While it may not always "beat the Native demand obstacle," it has been known to assist those in such a situation. |
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sigmoid
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 1276
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| Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2003 4:22 am Post subject: |
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| Does the TEFL beat the "Native demand" obstacle for non-native ? |
Well, a TEFL cert certainly won't hurt your chances of getting a better position, but I think most places that advertise for a native speaker really need a native speaker.
On the other hand, is your "college diploma" a degree? If it is, then contact universities. If not, consider getting a Bachelor's degree. That may be more useful to you. Although many university positions require a native speaker, I've met a number of non-native speakers who teach in universities, especially private universities. |
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Waldorf Salad
Joined: 03 Apr 2004
Posts: 56
Location: Saigon, Vietnam
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| Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2004 2:05 pm Post subject: |
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| So does this mean that non-native speakers can teach English legally in Thailand? I have a masters degree in Psychology, 5 years teaching experience in Taiwan, but I'm not a native speaker. What are my chances in Thailand? |
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Sheep-Goats
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 527
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| Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2004 4:17 pm Post subject: |
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| shayfic wrote: |
I am not a native ( although I lived in England and I have a clear accent ), I have a college diploma and I right now teaching in primary school in thailand plus prive school.
I have noticed that the better payed jobs demand native speakers, does getting a TEFL certification will make it easy to me ??
Is it worth at all for non-native to invest such big amount of money for TEFL in order to improve my working possibilities ?? |
One question mark is plenty.
Anyway, getting a TEFL certificate will demonstrate to your employer that you're serious about teaching English and will probably help somewhat with your actual teaching. In no way, however, will it clear a native speaker hurdle -- the native speaker thing is a customer demand issue. Thai students want to learn English from someone who sounds like Dan Rather, not someone who sounds like Fidel Castro. In many cases a non-native speaker actually has skills that will be much more useful to language learners (usually because he or she is closer to the actual process of learning English themselves) -- but, especially in Asia, they want a white, native-speaking face to magically abosorb their English from.
Whether the TEFL is worth it or not depends on how much you can spend, how long you plan to teach English, and how much it costs. In your case, I'd reccomend a CELTA over a TEFL certificate despite the costs -- you'll want as stearling a certificate as possible. That beign said, a CELTA won't get you out of the sweatshop you're working in now.
| Bart wrote: |
| So does this mean that non-native speakers can teach English legally in Thailand? I have a masters degree in Psychology, 5 years teaching experience in Taiwan, but I'm not a native speaker. What are my chances in Thailand? |
Well, there are plenty of Thais teaching English legally here. Native-speakerness isn't a legal issue, it's a student demand issue. In your case I'd reccomend staying in Taiwan and taking your vacations in Thailand. If you have a sincere love of teaching and Thailand, your best option would probably be to move here and open a branch of a language school, in all honesty, and hire native speakers to work for you.
You'll find that your lack of native-speakerness closes most all the doors that your MA opens (as far as English teaching goes) -- an unfortunate situation.
Last edited by Sheep-Goats on Wed Oct 13, 2004 4:27 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Sheep-Goats
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 527
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| Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2004 4:21 pm Post subject: |
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| sigmoid wrote: |
| Although many university positions require a native speaker, I've met a number of non-native speakers who teach in universities, especially private universities. |
I don't know about that one -- I'm sure it's possible, but probably not a reliable enough path to go back to school over.
All of the non-native speakers I've met here who were teaching at universities were not teaching English. Most had a MA or MBA and were teaching a subject in their field. |
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Waldorf Salad
Joined: 03 Apr 2004
Posts: 56
Location: Saigon, Vietnam
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| Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2004 4:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Thanks for your reply. Yes, I have a sincere love for Thailand and teaching. Opening a school is something I've been thinking about. Do you have any idea what the minimum would be that you have to invest in something simple? And how hard/easy is it in Thailand to make a decent living as a school owner? |
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Sheep-Goats
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 527
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| Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2004 4:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Bart wrote: |
| Thanks for your reply. Yes, I have a sincere love for Thailand and teaching. Opening a school is something I've been thinking about. Do you have any idea what the minimum would be that you have to invest in something simple? And how hard/easy is it in Thailand to make a decent living as a school owner? |
That question is really out of my depth. I suggest you contact some of the language schools here and ask them how much a franchise costs. (I suggest a franchise because I assume you don't have a business background -- if you do you might be able to roll your own here.) The only piece of real business advice I have about Thailand is that every farang I know here who owns a business or property has a Thai partner, not because of convenince but because of legal necessity (the split is usually 49%, 49%, 2% in limbo). I've heard the phrase "one million baht" thrown around for a cheap English school before.
The folowing chain seem to be doing well here, and they have a franchising page (no, I don't work for them):
http://www.englishfirst.com/partnersinfo/default.asp
I reccomend you ask about the ins and outs of opening a school at the http://www.ajarn.com/ discussion board -- I'm sure someone on there runs a small school and can give you much more useful info. |
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