Job Discussion Forums

[abufletcher]

In my opinion, it's a losing proposition to plan an EFL career around life in a single country. That may be the reality for those people married to a Japanese national but for the most part EFL is a "gotta go where the job is" sort of job. So far in my career I've worked in the US, the Middle East (three countries), Mexico, and Japan. And my Mexican wife accompanied me to all these places. In our 24 years of marriage she hasn't gotten to live in her home culture for more than 2 years. And I wouldn't discount the possibility of working in China at some point in my life. I'm here in Japan because this is were the best job happened to be for me at this point.

To stay in ESL/EFL you'll absolutely have to have an MA in TESOL or Linguistics. Right now that's the basic qualification. A Ph.D. is overkill if what you want to do is teach EFL overseas at the university level. I'd say that getting a PH.D. is only worth it if you plan to teach "content" courses (of course no one is able to completely escape those "oral English" classes).

I'll also mention that IMHO the day to day job of teaching EFL at the university level is MUCH more professionally oriented in the Middle East (well at least the Gulf) than here in Japan. In the Gulf everyone you work with will have an MA in TESOL or Linguistics. And you will work in a BIG program with LOTS of people. And the programs are much more rigidly structured with assistent academic directors, course coordinators and perhaps even unit and university level testing offices. You'll also do a lot more "serious" EFL/ESP/EAP than the often silly "oral English" we end up teaching here at Japanese universities. For example, in Oman I taught science-support ESP for biology, chemistry, and physics. laboratory report writing, English for Marketing, Academic listening (i.e. how to listen to English-medium lectures), etc.

This is how you build an EFL career. For the most part university level general ed English courses in Japan are a joke of little value in terms of career building. Unless one wants to become an expert at teaching low level skills to large groups of passive unmotivated students.

[abufletcher]

Paul, I'd definitely recommend a stint at a Gulf university if you can swing one. School age kids and a Japanese wife do complicate the picture considerably though.

[abufletcher]

[PAULH]