Job Discussion Forums

[jezebel]

With so many different teaching positions, there's got to be some specialized opportunities out there. Sure, I can understand how someone with a PhD can get a university position... potentially in an area broader than just ESL.

But what about if you have other experiences (hobbies, skills, job or academic experiences) -- are there job opportunities to pursue these? I've seen a few postings for people with business experience to work in a corporate ESL setting. And I've heard about medical ESL for healthcare providers. Are there other specialized settings? Scientific teaching settings would be especially interesting to me, but maybe other people are interested in hearing about other specialized settings. Have you heard of any opportunities like these? Are there certain countries where specialized teaching positions are more common?

[Henry_Cowell]

jezebel,

Well, then, what ARE your more specialised skills, experiences and 'hobbies'? Science? What field(s)? What level of expertise? What experience? If we knew, we could better answer your question.

[Sheep-Goats]

http://www.google.com/search?q=english+for+specific+purposes&sourceid=firefox&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

The term you're looking for is "English for Specific Purposes" and it's a well developed and documented aspect of EFL.

Job training or "Survival" English is probably a good field to specialize in if you're looking for EFL work in your home country. Test prep is easily the biggest money maker in the ESP category, I'd imagine, but Business/Presentation English has to be close.

[tedkarma]

The OP's question is a good one. Many people don't explore the possibilities enough - in my opinon.

I've certainly met many EFL teachers with good backgrounds in science or even engineering - who had not sought out schools and universities with their specialty - where they would be much more valuable - and enjoy themselves much more.

People with business experience/education also ought to do the same. I have an MBA along with my M.Ed. and luckily it has broadened my opportunities. Not always - but it is a treat when you can do something a little different - and it tends to keep you much more interested in what you are doing.

[jezebel]

now how does a person find a job teaching ESP? i see lots of postings for general ESL jobs. But is it possible to find an ESP job from abroad, or is it the sort of job where you'll have to pay your own airfare, head to your target country, and hope to come across something when you get there?

[Henry_Cowell]

jezebel, the "S" in "ESP" is for "specific". I again request that you supply some specifics of your own background so that responders can answer your questions. For example, what might qualify you to teach ESP?

Your initial post included the following:

[jezebel]

biomedical science.

[Glenski]

It has been my expedrience in Japan that ESP jobs which offer interviews abroad are just as scarce, if not more so, than regular EFL jobs. You just have to scour the ads and probably visit the country to get interviewed. You'd be surprised how many people without ESP training/education try to get ESP teaching jobs based solely on their technical experience alone, and are already teaching regular EFL.

[merlin]

First off, most hte ESP books I've read are worthless.

I sometimes wonder if the authors have ever actually taught an expert in a field. These people know the vocabulary - even in English and probably know the difference between "macro" and "micro", etc.

Lets say you pick up an ESP for information technology book. I kid you not lesson 1 is explaining what RAM, ROM and CPU mean. I'm sorry but I have yet to meet a computer expert who doesnt know what these mean, no matter what their native tongue. So in general burn the ESP texbooks.

What they need help with is stringing these vocabulary together into something that approaches the level of sophistication of their target audience.

Suprisingly these experts usually don't need help with their area of expertise but need help with things like adjectives, adverbs, connectives and cohesion and so on. They might get stuck with words like "good" when another word better describes the kind of good he wants to describe.

You want to know my most common question?
What do you mean by _______?

Oh, don't place all your eggs in one basket. Specialization isn't a good idea. Just make sure you're INTERESTED in the field and research it real hard for about a week or two or less intensively for about a month or so - just so you know what they're talking about and can ask thought-provoking questions.

I personally have taught people in the following areas plus half a dozen or more that I can't remember. the lessons start with them explaining what they do and from there we branch out into the skills they need to develop.

Management
Human resources
Transportation
Manufacturing computers
Warehousing and logistics
IT
Cryptography and Information security
Law
Peacekeeping
Military Pilot
Air traffic control
Passive surveillance systems
Intelligence and counterintelligence
I'd better stop there

The thing is you learn as you go and it's more important to ask the right questions to give them the opportunity to speak while you listen to the content, learn something and always take notes on what they need to do better linguistic-wise.

Not so difficult as you'd expect.

[chola]

Hi. Does anyone know about technical/trades English teaching? I am a hairstylist with technical experience in Film/theatre as well as the usual hairdressing schenanigans. Do you think it would be possible to teach those in the viusal/beauty trades? Has anyone ever heard of this b eing done?

[Henry_Cowell]

...

[Henry_Cowell]

ESP is still English teaching. You should be qualified to teach English to teach ESP. Experience as a hairdresser or a a biomedical scientist does not, in and of itself, qualify you for anything in English teaching.

Here's an analogy:

Dave is a good carpenter. He has 20 years of professional carpentry experience, plus a diploma in woodworking. Does that, by itself, qualify Dave to teach the course "Mechanical Drawing for Carpentry" if Dave has no idea how to teach mechanical drawing (even if he's made some drawings himself)?

As previous posters have said, if you want to teach English to hairdressers or to life sciences students (or to nurses or whomever), you should first get certified to teach English.

[chola]

I'm sorry. I should have clarified my qualifications. I have a degree (B.Sc.), a TEFL/TESL diploma and teaching experience in addition to the hairdressing/theatre/film skills.

Any other TESL/hairdressers out there? Any ideas about how I could find a market niche?

Thanks all for responses and info.

[merlin]

You'll need to hook up the other end of your horse if you want to go somewhere.
Find the market first - what's in Demand? Then and only then do you try to figure out how to supply a service based on your uniqueness. The world is full of people unsuccessfully trying to sell what they want to sell rather than what the customer wants.

Unless you have a million to spend on marketing and advertising of course, in that case you can create the need so carry on.

[chola]

what about "build it and they'll come.."