Job Discussion Forums

[naturegirl321]

For those of you who teach at a TEFL training school.

Just out of curiousity and future reference . . .For those of you who are teacher trainers, where do you find these jobs? It seems that Dave's and other major TEFL sites only have jobs for teachers and not trainers.
Do you simply run a search and email your CV to TEFL training school?

[Wolf]

A lot of big private schools "hire in house." That means you start off as a shop-floor teacher and work your way up.

It's true of Japan's Big Four. I've heard it's true of AES and EF in China. Often "teacher trianer" positions are also management positions (I'm not sure if this is a "well, duh" thing or not.) That means office work, being the in between for the owners/managers and the regular teachers - being a DoS Jr. Or a DoS.

I do see "manager" positions from time to time posted on the boards here and elsewhere. The salry is a bit higher and the qualifications tend to be tighter. I assumed those would be "teacher trainer" jobs; but such jobs rarely go by that title.

Is that the sort of postion you were thinking of?

[Gordon]

Another option is to be a teacher trainer for a TEFL course. Some schools specialize in it and the requirements for the position of TEFL trainer is sometimes no more than an undergrad degree and teaching experience. CELTA trainers are obviously more qualified, but there are other courses out there.

[dmb]

I usually involves getting to know the right people

[shmooj]

If you join a small school and have some experience and are willing to create such a position, the owners might be happy for you to do so. This is what happened to me and I've been training teachers who come here for the last two years, learning as I go.

[wanderlust1066]

It's fairly simple, really. You do the qualifications that you need in order to be employed as a teacher trainer and you build up the experience you need. Then you will be sought after; you won't have to look around. When I did my MA, the university was offering a taught/research module in 'teacher trainerering'. When I became a NET in HK the British Council approached me with the offer of training new TESOL teachers. I couldn't do it as I have a full-time post and don't need any more money but the offer was there. I think a minimum of 6 years full-time documented (on headed paper, etc.) experience was required, as was a FULL-TIME ON CAMPUS BA (Hons), a FULL-TIME ON CAMPUS MA, and AT LEAST a TEFL DIPLOMA, AND THEN some form of postgraduate teacher training certificate.

[naturegirl321]

I edited my question. I meant about TEFL training centres.

[wanderlust1066]

Are teachers actually trained at 'training' centres.....?

But, if so, then first I would presume you would at least need to become a standard-level examiner. One advantage of this is that your work will suddenly become more stable, secure, respected, and better paid. It is not at all difficult to become an examiner of sorts; the entry requirementts are typically quite modest.

Lots of NETs here in HK, for example, do training at the British Council. In fact, they are running courses very soon. I got the following email only a few days ago. It seems that the courses are free now that the market here for young learners is really expanding:

The Key English Test (KET) represents the lowest level of the Lower Main Suite of Cambridge ESOL Examinations and might equate to Lower Intermediate level. As demand for these exams is growing we need to train more examiners. Here are the training sessions details:

Date & Time: 26 October, 9.00am - 3.00pm (Induction and Training)
2 November, 10.00am - 12.30pm (Co-ordination)
Venue: British Council, 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty (Exact room number will be notified later.)
~ You must attend both sessions ~

If you are interested and available on the above dates, please read on.
You need to fulfil the following requirements:

A) Have the equivalent of three years full-time teaching experience;
B) Have a degree or equivalent;
C) Have a recognised teaching qualification.

If you fulfil the requirements, you need to fill in one of the attached forms. Do not worry about signatures at this stage as they could be in electronic form. After you have completed the training and co-ordination, the form will be printed out and you can sign it then. Both the soft and hard copies will be sent to Cambridge ESOL for approval.

So, as you can see it is not hard to become an examiner even here in HK. There are some 250 people who got this email, most of whom will attend the training as the pay is, well, quite remarkable really. It works out to be around 1,250 - 1,500 HK dollars for about 4 hours work. The only problem is, it is usually a Saturday and so I never usually bother to sign up for examiner's duties.

Another way into your desired role would be through a certificate such as the Cambridge Certificate in Teaching English to Young Learners which is also run here in HK at the BC. This is quite a highly-regarded qualification (they like it in Singapore and Taiwan, etc.). This is quite pricey however and may be out of your price range if you are employed in China. It costs 25,000 HK dollars for course fees alone.

If you need further information on this or other matters, PM....