Job Discussion Forums

[sasha_c]

Hi everyone,
I am currently living in Prague with close family and doing a year abroad kind of thing. I'd like to teach English for some time mainly because I would like to get the opportunity to travel.

However, it is not something I want to do as a profession. I am headed down the international organisation/politics road and it is a field in which 'international experience' is valued I would think even more than in others.
I am thinking whether or not it is worth to spend over a 1000 bucks on a TESOL/TEFL certificate if I don't plan on teaching for more than a couple of times at most. On the other hand it seems that jobs that are better paid/ are in decent schools always require this and the places that would take just anyone seem kinda shady and unprofessional. It seems like even if I teach for a short period of time its better to increase my chances of doing it at a half-decent place. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Sasha

[Mike_2003]

Hi,

"It seems like even if I teach for a short period of time its better to increase my chances of doing it at a half-decent place. Any thoughts?"

It'll also increase your chances of doing a half-decent job, so with respect to your students, even if you're only planning to doing it for a short while, I'd get the qualification. Anyway, you never know, it might come in handy one day.

Good luck!
Mike

[smallworlds]

Sasha,

Save your money don't take a course. I have seen lots of teachers who have taken the four week course and hate teaching and don't plan on continuing. I personal think many of these programs are ripping people off. They need to find out more about the people before sighing them up. If you are doing this to travel then save and travel. Often when you are working in a place you have to work quite hard and don't have the time or energy sometimes the money to travel that much. If you hate the job it can also be hard.

I personally love the teaching part and I enjoy living in a place and learning about the country and the people slowly a bit at a time. I was lucky to have been in Poland for four years two different locations, both before and after they joined the EU. Learning about their customs and how the people felt about the process of joining the EU was very interesting for me. Yes, I did get to see some of the know and unknown cities in Poland.

So, I guess it all depends on you and what you are looking for.

Hope this helps a bit.
Carol
[email protected]

[Joeldew]

Sasha,

This is one of the best questions I have ever read on davescafe (very honest and brave) and Carol gave you the best possible answer.

Teaching is a profession. Like any other profession, it involves A LOT of hard work and dedication (any teacher, of any discipline, would attest to this statement).

Sometimes, at the end of the working day you can so be exhausted and tired but it is the love of the job that keeps you going.

From the outset, it does sound very promising and EASY but it is not. I have been in this profession for several years but I am still learning.

Like Carol, I have seen so many of my peers drop out of this profession; they were not made for this profession. I was one of four students (in a class of twenty five students) who completed our TESOL course and one of two who chose to pursue the MA.

When the rubber hits the road, you need to possess the right qualities to maintain the momentum.

Best regards,

Joel

[spiral78]

Sasha, as you've already noticed, it's only really shady jobs that will hire uncertified teachers in Prague. Prague's a rather special case in our field in that there are so many cert courses in the city that employers can really pick and choose from hundreds of teachers on the streets.
Whether or not you want to TEFL long-term, if you want a decent job in Prague, you'll have to get some certification in order to compete on the job market there.
If you are willing to leave the city to work, you might be able to find something without qualifications, but you would certainly be paid peanuts....