Job Discussion Forums

[PAULH]

[Gregor]

I'd agree that paying off your loans would be a good idea, before jumping into ESL abroad, but you don't need to have a lot of money. Hell, you could do it with almost nothing.
First, get the TEFL certificate. No one really cares which one it is, so long as it's face-to-face and includes teaching practice. As Denise said, 100+ hours is what it should say on the paper. Having said that, the best known and tested ones are the CELTA and the Trinity College, London TESOL Certificate. But they can be expensive. There are cheaper options out there. Read on...

Once you have that, the course provider will almost surely be able to find you a job, if you're not too picky about location. BUT! If you want to teach in Latin America, then you should maybe find a certificate course provider there in Latin America - there are many, and as Guy pointed out (I'll back it up, having worked a good number of jobs in Mexico, myself), no one really cares about which specific acronym you have on your paper.
One more thing I'd add to that, though - Latin American employers don't hire over the Internet nearly as much as Asian employers do. Sure, there is a higher demand for teachers in Asia than in Latin America, but it's really more a cultural thing, I think - Latin Americans like to meet you face to face and get a feel for who you are.
I did once find a job in Mexico online. Once. And there are very few, compared to how many jobs are available once you get in country. If you go down to a city of any size at all with a bit of dosh and a TEFL certificate, you'll be fine. You'll find a job and a place to stay.

If you manage to secure a job before you go, then you could go down with no money at ALL. I did this once. As soon as I showed up, my new boss found a place for me to live, and it was a place where the rent was payable per month, but it was FOLLOWING the month I'd stayed there. This is not uncommon in Mexico. It makes no sense, but you need to check your sense at the border, or else Latin America will drive you right up a wall. The whole place is really super chill. VERY easy to get along with, very helpful, very friendly. Mexico more than most, but Latin America is like this, overall. You will be FINE there. You just have to let go of expectations and specific plans. Plans DO NOT work out, and there's no way to know what to expect. If you can do that, you'll LOVE it there...and you'll be fine. Don't worry too much about dinero.

As for affordable TEFL certificates, if the cost is really an issue, get in touch with EF: http://www.englishfirst.com/teacherinfo/training/UK/default.asp
If you agree to go to either China or Indonesia (your choice - and I'd recommend Indonesia), they'll subsidize a great deal of the cost of the course. The course is in England, not the U.S. but getting to England isn't near as expensive as doing a TEFL certification course.
Anyway, EF's course is the Trinity Course. If you have enough money to pay for it, you can do the Trinity, London exams and walk away with one of their certificates. If you don't, well, it's the same course anyway, and it will get you a teaching certificate.
After one year in Indonesia or China (go to Indo! Go to Indo!), you're free to go to Latin America. This is a good course of action if money is a serious issue.
OK. Good luck!

[London10]

I remember being told by a head of teacher training for a TESOL course (who wasn't trying to sell me a course) that the only recognised ones are TESOL (trinity college) and CELTA (Cambridge). I was told that any college offering TEFL courses was dodgy and that it is a dodgy qualification. I would stick with TESOL and CELTA and certainly avoid anything that is online.

[sojourner]

If anyone intends to work in East or SE Asia, they may wish to enquire about doing their CELTA training in Thailand. An organisation calling itself ECC (or EEC ?) runs CELTA courses in both Bangkok and Phuket. It would be considerably cheaper than doing the same sort of course in Canada, the US, the UK or Australia. Also, I believe that CELTA courses in Eastern and Central Europe are cheaper than in the US, etc. In Thailand ,there is some organisation (can't remember the name, off-hand) that has a course called the International TESOL (TEFL ?) Certificate. Many people appear quite happy with it. The guy who runs it (Bruce) was once a Trinity trainer.This course may quite well be much better than CELTA/Trinity - but there would be the problem in that it is not well known by employers outside of SE Asia. There are often messages from Bruce about his course, at Dave's Teacher Training Forum.

Gregor's suggestion re the Trinity Certificate/EF option is definitely worth considering . The Trinity course is just as good as CELTA, but may not be quite as well known. However, I've heard that the Trinity programme is a bit more comprehensive than CELTA, eg segments on the teaching of kids, as well as 1-on-1 tuturing.

Many language school chains also provide training of some kind - but the skills that you may pick up may not be easily transferable elsewhere. Also, such training could quite possibly be based on outdated theories and methodologies. One exception, though, from what I've heard, is the training provided by the Boland schools (in the Czech Republic and China). Some posters to these fora appear quite impressed with their Boland training.

Peter

[denise]

[Gregor]

I got a certificate from New World Teachers, and I used that and that alone to get good jobs for YEARS. It was never a problem. It was a good program.
It bothers me, too, that people would imply that only a CELTA or Trinity College, London certificate are legitimate. It's just not true. Those are often overpriced, and you can get an entry-level TEFL certificate from any number of places. Just look for the 100+ hour course, and the observed practice teaching. That should be FINE.

[spiral78]

I basically agree with Gregor as regards training courses. But I disagree substantially on his endorsement of heading abroad without some savings!! It only takes a little bit of bad luck (medical issue, accident, bad landlord, one pickpocketing incident, one language school that doesn't pay/pays late) and you can end up in a world of trouble if you don't have any savings that you can access at need!!!

As I've written ad nauseum in earlier posts, when I was still on my (generic) training course, I ran into a teacher standing on a street corner with all her stuff piled around her, in tears, trying to beg enough money for a plane ticket home. Pretty scary stuff for a new teacher.

Think about it: while you're on your course, you won't be making any money. Most language schools pay monthly, and that's AFTER you've worked the month. Many landlords want two months' rent up front (one month for security, one month in advance). You really have to be able to support yourself without income for three months (maybe more), and you should always have access to enough cash to buy a plane ticket in case of emergencies. All this is overlooking bad luck like some accident requiring you to pay for any medical expenses (even if you have insurance, in some cases you may have to pay first and then file for reimbursement on expenses) or for some other kind of bad luck like theft, etc.

So, obviously, Gregor had good luck. But it's simply short-sighted and taking silly risks to count on good luck!