Job Discussion Forums

[Thomcat]

Hi all,

My name is Thomas. I am 41 yrs old, have a bachelor's degree in Spanish and History, which were completed last May. I have a little experience teaching ESL, 100 hrs. or so, and a little less tutoring Latino kids in an afterschool program. I don't have any ESL certification, and am hoping not to have to get it due to finances.

What I am hoping to do is to teach English in Latin America or Spain for approximately one year. My goal is to get experience teaching while gaining fluency in Spanish, which I am already close to having. Then when I return I will go for my masters in education, hopefully teaching both ESL and Spanish somewhere at K-12 Level.

I am leaning towards going L. A. due to finances and the fact that Spain appears more difficult to pull off for Americans. I have been pondering this for a long time now but haven't really progressed past that stage. I have many questions, but I will try to pose just a few. What are some of the best ways of choosing/researching which country to teach in? Due to my minimal experience will I be able to teach effectively without certification? I guess in general what I want to know is what is the best way to get this plan moving ahead past the contemplation stage. I really want to do this. Thanks!

[Guy Courchesne]

First up, go post this in the various Latin American forums. There is a lot of country info there as well as job contact lists.

Even with that minimal experience, you are probably fine to land a decent job just about anywhere in Latin America, at the university level. A TEFL cert will help you with practical skills, and will make some difference on jobs, but not enough that you should worry about it.

[Pollux]

Why don't you just apply for some jobs south of the border and see what happens.

Can't do it never got anything done. You've heard this before, haven't you?

[Thomcat]

Thanks for your replies. They are very helpful, especially since this can be a little overwhelming. I think my biggest obstacle now is saving enough money to get me over there and sustain me for a little while. I would really like to get certified with TOEFL or something similar, but finances don't currently permit it. Thanks again for your help!

[pollitatica]

For Latin America, you don't really need tooo much. $2,000 tops I would think, and you can save that up relatively quickly by just picking up a second job. I doubt that you will have much trouble finding work once there. (Of course, a credit card with cash advances is always good to have for emergencies! - not that I would ever recommend doing that in any situation other than an emergency, as I'm sure you know. )

[laluna]

if you all don't mind...I'm new to this forum and also a newly certified ESL instructor. I completed a 3 month university TESL program this summer which included a 20 hour practicum of which 10 hrs were observing and 10 -(tho' I did 12) hrs were teaching. I don't have a degree (close but not quite..) though I am a Registered Midwife here with 20 years experience including mentoring, teaching, public speaking etc etc. I feel very comfortable in front of a classroom or a conference hall of 200 people and have been told I am a 'natural' teacher. I too am wanting to head into LA to immerse myself in the language and culture (I've been to Guatemala 3 times and Mexico 2 times...and am heading down to Cancun area again in a few weeks for a short visit and to check out jobs). I have LOTS of questions and have found this discussion forum very helpful--so thank you to all of you.

I was thinking to continue working here for the winter and save some $$ and then head down to travel around a bit and find 'the place' and 'the job'....pollitatica-when you say $2,000 --for what length of time are you talking about? I was thinking I'd need at least $600-1,000/month (USD)until I found a job. I'm also a bit nervous about not putting into practice all I've learned right away..i.e, that I wouldn't be teaching maybe until the fall. What do you think? I shall post on the LA forum too with other LA specific questions...thanks in advance for your time in replying (if u do... )[color=indigo][/color][size=9][/size][size=12][/size][size=9][/size]