Job Discussion Forums

[fromCanada]

Hi,

I apologize in advance if this has topic has been addressed before...

Could someone tell me what type of certification (ie. CELTA) is preferred in Japan? (if there is a preference for one over the other) (In addition to a BA). I know a certificate is not absolutely necessary...but for my case I think it may be especially helpful in terms of getting hired since I'm a Japanese-Canadian.

So far, I have only come across TESL/TESOL type certifcates that one can complete in a weekend or 5 days. (Not interested to be honest).

I was advised to find something with more than 100 hours of in-class training and a couple hours of practicum. Is CELTA the "best" one to get?

Thanks and your comments are appreciated.

[BenJ]

the names can be confusing - my TESOL cert is a 5 week crash-course with the stated number of teaching hours. It all depends on the advertising

[Gordon]

I don't know if the names mean a lot in Japan. Don't take the weekend TESL courses for the obvious reasons, even if the price is tempting. I took the CELTA in Vancouver and it was great. Highly recommend it. There may be other courses out there, but the CELTA is the most widely known and recognized. PM me if you have any specific questions. Where are you living?

[Kestrel]

I took a course offered by the School for Internation Training (based in Vermont) that got me a certificate from them and a CELTA. It was a four week crash course, very intensive, but really good. We had two trainers (one for each certificate, basically) and 7 people, so it was a great ratio. I found the SIT and CELTA styles complemented each other nicely. They offer the course in Boston and in Kyoto, and perhaps in a few other places, I'm not sure.

Tom

[Canuck2112]

I took a 50 hour TESL course offered by Oxford Seminars. To be perfectly honest, the only worthwhile part of it was the teaching practicum at the end. We also received an excellent textbook, called "How to teach English" by Jeremy Harmer. I'm not sure it was excellent enough to warrant $600 CDN though

I do, however, think that having TESL certification gave me a slight edge in interviews. Despite the triviality of the course, it shows employers that you are serious about pursuing overseas teaching.

You didn't mention where you wanted to teach, but if you're going for one of the big 4 (GEOS, NOVA, AEON and ECC) I've heard that having a CELTA can actually be a disadvantage. I get the impression that they want young, inexperienced teachers so they can shape them in their own image. I'm not sure if this is true, but I will say that in two interviews I went to, 3 different people with CELTA certification didn't get invited back to subsequent interviews.

[fromCanada]

Hello,

I posted the original message...so far the big companies don't appeal to me. It probably has something to do with reading too many horror stories! Anyhow, I have Japanese citizenship so I don't need visa sponsorship and I'd rather check out a school before working for it.

I think I will stick with getting a CELTA certificate and going independent.

[Gordon]

[april]

[Mosley]

Canuck 2112 is basically correct about the "factory " eikaiwa being leery of those w/qualifications and/or experience. It doesn't help if you're over 35, either. In any event, good luck!

[Sez]

I have a 6 week TEFL qualification accredited by a UK University and still got offered a job with an eikaiwa - I don't think it always restricts you but obviously I don't have any substantial experience so I think this probably helped.

[PAULH]