Job Discussion Forums

[galacticmisfit]

Hi everyone. I've been reading through the forums for a while now and I plan to teach English in the future and I just wanted some advice about my future plans. I don't plan on making a career out of teaching english (but who knows). I really just want the experience of living abroad again and improving my Spanish or possibly learn another language.

background

I'm a 22-year-old female American citizen of Filipino descent from San Diego, California, recent college graduate with a BA in Psychology and Political Science. I've spent some time studying abroad in Spain and speak Spanish (not perfectly, though.) I don't have any teaching experience, only some tutoring experience with international students and conversation exchange in Spain.

My boyfriend is also planning to travel with me. He is going to have a BA in Philosophy and Aerospace Engineering, is learning Spanish and plans on becoming a teacher so he has some teaching classes on his transcript.

Our plan

Certification
Get certified through Oxford. I've found a program in our city for about $800, 60 hours training and has job placement help.

preliminary itinerary
Our initial plan is to teach a year somewhere in South America (we're looking at Argentina) where we can improve our Spanish-speaking skills, teach and save money for travel around South America.

Afterwards, we want to teach for a year in Thailand (or somewhere else in Southeast Asia) in order to travel around the region as well.

Finances
For now, my boyfriend is finishing his degree. We're both working (I'm in nonprofit) and saving every possible dime we can for the next two or three years or until he graduates and we can start our travels. We're aiming for $8,000USD emergency money each per year.

I'm just a little unsure about certain issues:

-Is certification worth it if we have four-year degrees and if we don't plan on making a career out of TEFL? Or are we okay with our BAs?

-Is Oxford a good company for certification?

-Our placement/volunteer programs worth it? For example, alliancesabroad.com, projects-abroad.org, i-to-ti.com, worldteach.org. Are these a good way to get your foot in the door as someone without experience? They seem to be very expensive, non paid positions, though.

-Although English is our native language, do you think our skin color (we're Filipino) will give us trouble in finding a job?

-Also, I want to get teaching experience while I'm in the states if I can but I'm stuck in ideas in how to do this. I can't seem to find programs where I can volunteer to teach English here. If anyone has any ideas..
Well, thanks for your help and your time in reading all this!

[tedkarma]

Good questions all.

First, I think getting certified is a good idea - whether you intend TEFL to be a career or not. It's just decent to get trained to do something - when you are taking other people's money to deliver a product. People in the developing world spend - what is for them - quite large amounts of money for English lessons - why not do the best job you can?
Just my opinion - others will object!

The "international standard" for a TEFL Certification tends to be 100+ hours of classroom in struction and 6-8+ hours of observed teaching practice. While most employers don't/won't care - it might give you the edge for a job you really want. Really, with your degrees - in most countries you'll have no problem.

If you are not going yet - and want an inexpensive way - try American Literacy Volunteers. They'll give you a couple weekends of training - and some practice (that you can put on your resume). They don't teach only reading, btw.

Now, being of Filipino descent . . . - yes, you MIGHT have a few problems - but a large part of the world is coming to realize that America is not all blond-haired and blue-eyed. The best path is not mention it. You are American - period. My wife looks Indian (the country) with very dark hair and brown eyes and olive colored skin - and I have often heard that she doesn't "look" American (whatever the h*ll that is!?) - but it has NEVER been an issue in her consistent and constant employment in EFL overseas since 1992. So . . . maybe not a problem unless you make it one. If asked, answer: "I'm American - see the passport." Not to deny anything - but to deny them the issue.

I work in Korea seven months per year and we are seeing more and more "non-honkey" (can I say that?!) Americans - Hispanic, Chinese, Black, Korean, etc etc - with very few problems. Slowly . . . they are catching on!

In Thailand in particular - avoid the Filipino/a issue - as Filipinos are here in large numbers - and though sometimes quite skilled - are typically offered a significantly lower wage. "See the passport"

Another issue along this line is that few non-Western countries tend to use this hyphenated origin description - it will often confuse people.

Keep things simple.

Just my opinion.

Otherwise - your plan sounds cautious and very do-able. Avoid the volunteer programs - you'll do just fine without them and should be able to earn a liveable wage pretty much everywhere.

Careful - you may find this lifestyle/career addicting. I went overseas with the Peace Corps in '89 - started in TEFL in '92 and haven't really lived back home since then. Be open to the possibility that you will LOVE the lifestyle and career. I do!

[galacticmisfit]

Thanks ted, for you advice, especially about Filipinos in Thailand. I know that sort of thing happens in a lot of other places as well.

Anyway, I have a few more questions about certification. I researched around a little bit more and found that there is American Language Institute and CELTA in my area but they are significantly more expensive than Oxford seminars.

Do you think that oxford will be enough from a resume standpoint with my BA? I plan on tutoring/teaching on the weekends at the local library, hopefully this will give me some practical experience in addition to the certification.

[tedkarma]

Any kind of cert will help dress up your resume, but the real benefit of one of the better cert programs will be the observed teaching practice - without which you'll be a bit lost.

But , yes, it will probably be enough. It is all you need to really get started. Consider taking the full package at a later date if you feel you can't afford it and just want to get your feet wet for now.

A full cert program may also greatly contribute to your job satisfaction - when you read these boards you will (or have already) notice a great deal of unhappiness - often I think (just my opinion!) due to the lack of training and ability to really get the job done.

All that said, I started out without one - but got just as much training as I could from many sources over the last 15 years - and continue getting more even now.