Job Discussion Forums

[srtab]

Hi, I've been reading lots of posts and come across different information. Also checked out www.teachermexconnect.com. It sounds like it makes things easier if you get certification (also for the job finding help?)

I have a BA in Secondary Education (Spanish) in Arizona. I'm about to finish my first year teaching. I'm going to teach high school here for one more year (so my cerfificate will be permanent, although I've heard a US teaching certificate doesn't matter in Mexico).

I am thinking about job hunting in on my next spring break (March 2007) to try and set up a job for Summer/Fall 2007. I don't want to leave my job here unless I have a decent teaching job lined up for me. I won't be able to take a TEFL course in Mexico before then.

So, I guess it comes back to, how necessary/helpful is the certification to find a job? I would be interested in getting it, but I want to know I would have a guarenteed decent job.

Thanks for any help guys! This forum is great!

[Ben Round de Bloc]

[ls650]

I agree with BRdB. If a school has a position available, they will likely want to fill it ASAP. If you aren't available for three months, and the next teacher to walk in looking for work can start right away, they're likely to hire the one ready to begin.

[srtab]

So, it sounds like, I should job hunt over the summer?

Is it easier then, to take a TEFL course and have that help find me a teaching position?

By decent job, I mean that it's a job with ok pay (I understand that I don't have a lot of experience and none in teaching English), but more important that I'm not miserable with a crazy schedule. It would be nice to work somewhere that I was supported with some kind of curriculum/textbook. It sounds like there are places that don't do that?

Also, would I have a good chance of getting a job somewhere I wanted? I'm thinking of Guadalajara, but I'm open. Just don't want to live in BFE or DF really.

[Samantha]

BFE isn't in Mexico, so no problem there.

[grahamcito]

What�s BFE?

acronymfinder.com says it stands for "Bum Freak Egypt (polite form)"

srtab - Guadalajara is a good place to look for work, there are plenty of opportunities and it�s a very pleasant place to live.

But what do you mean by "ok pay"? English teachers in Mexico generally work hard for very basic pay (especially when starting out).

And about TEFL: in some countries in Latin America, TEFL is essential; in Mexico, you can often find work without it, but it�s difficult and less reliable. The question is "Would I feel comfortable working for an employer who didn�t require me to have it?"

[cwc]

[Guy Courchesne]

I think Grahamcitos's opinions best apply for people who have nothing by way of training or a related degree against those who only have a TEFL course behind them. Green or a lighter shade of green.

Then you can ask yourself about employers and their interior decorating tastes. Thrown to the wolves with not much more than a smirk and a dictionary is not an ideal.

The OP shouldn't have any trouble finding work...maybe not in business EFL, but there are plenty of kids out there to teach. Since DF is out, you wouldn't be looking at the most demanding jobs anyway.

What is BFE?

[Ben Round de Bloc]

[ls650]

[srtab]

Yeah, BFE = Bumfoooook nowhere (AKA Egypt)

Basically, I'm used to sort of big city. I've lived in Phoenix my whole life, and it's fairly big. I just don't want to live in a really small nowhere town.

I guess, I'm skeptical of the TEFL certifications I've read about because 120 hours (or less) of training, although that's great, does not prepare you for teaching.

My major was teaching and I know that what I learned for my BA only barely prepared me for being a Spanish teacher. Teaching languages is fairly complex and it isn't something you could learn in a month course.

I feel like, from what I've seen on webpages, it's a business. My guess is there are a lot of people that have this fantasy of being English language teachers abroad. So, businesses have sprouted up to meet that market. I don't want to sign up for just any certification and I wouldn't want to do it at all, unless it would be really valuable to me.

Valuable for teaching experience and methodology, but also for the job hunt.

Thanks again, you guys rock! And, BTW, I'm a chica.

[grahamcito]

[Samantha]

Grahamcito says:

[srtab]

I'm not saying that TEFL certifications aren't worth it.

By "just any certification", I mean, that I'm sure there are good reputable schools to go to for one and other schools that are in it as a business and do not provide as good of a program. Am I right about this? If so, I would want to do my research so that I don't waste my money at a poor school.

Also, I understand why they make it a one month course. But yeah, I feel like someone who has no other experience and only a TEFL certification behind them is going to have a lot to learn still on the job.

My major was a least language teaching related, so I feel like with that and 2 years of teaching experience, I've got a little more behind me.

And, I'm sure there are also 4 year degrees for TEFL, no? (and things similar ESL, or what not, I'm not an expert on these acronyms ) I just imagine that a major in it would be extremely more valuable than a 1 month course, but that would be even less realistic for a lot of people that want to give teaching English abroad a try.

[MELEE]

I'll try not to rehash, but here are some things no one has mentioned.

1)many of the best jobs in the country are in BFE, I'm from BFE, USA, and now I live in BFE, Mexico.
2) Answer these questions before you make your decision. How long are you thinking (I know life changes your plans on you, it certainly changed mine!) of staying in Mexico? Do you think a couple of years in Mexico will make you a more marketable Spanish teacher? Do you want to perfect your Spanish? Do you want to opt out of the US? Do you think you might continue teaching EFL or ESL later in life, either in Mexico, in the US or why not, in other countries around the world?

If you're in it for the Spanish or assimulating culture(if you want to go back to teaching Spanish), maybe BFE is the best place for you! You'll have more contact with "regular" people. If you think there is any chance at all you will continue to teach EFL or teach ESL in the US, your decisions will want to keep that road open. If you think you'd like to travel to other countries as well, go for a CELTA or Trinity Certificate. You can do the CELTA in Playa del Carmen and there is a school in Mexico City that works with the Trinity Certificates, but I'm not sure if they offer regular courses or only on demand for schools to train up their teachers. The name CELTA is most recoginzable in the world, so if you think you might move on to other countries, go for that. Also people in the know in Mexico know it and I personally think that the people in the know are the ones who will put you on to the best jobs.

If you think you might want to stay in Mexico indefinately or make a switch to ESL in the US, why not look and see if your university, or a local one if you are not near where you went to college, has some add on courses you can take over the summer? Does Arizona do ESL endorsements on their teaching certificates?

You already know that teaching a foreign language is not a cake walk, so your a step ahead of a lot of newbies. If you want to learn some more about how English works, I'm going to take this opportunity to plug my favorite book. The English Verb, by Michael Lewis. Read it! Its great, no other single thing has changed the way I think about English as much as this deceptively thin book!