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gbonner
Joined: 06 Sep 2006
Posts: 2
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 Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 9:12 am Post subject: MA Applied Linguistics, do I need CELTA? |
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Hi everyone,
I graduated last year with an MA in Applied Linguistics, i'm a 24 year old Kiwi, I have 3 months' recent teaching experience in a UK summer school, i'd like to establish a career in TEFL, hopefully working towards a university position, possibly in the Middle East. My MA did not include any observed teaching and was mainly all theory. My question is this: should I do a CELTA? I know I can get a position in Japan or Korea without it, but do you think that if I want to actually progress in a TEFL career then it would be a good thing to have? Any advice/suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks!  |
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tedkarma
Joined: 17 May 2004
Posts: 1598
Location: The World is my Oyster
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 9:42 am Post subject: |
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If you have had no observed teaching practice - it would be good to do a short course TEFL Cert or CELTA - either would be okay.
You will find such a course very short on theory - medium on method - and quite useful on classroom technique. Very worth doing just to up your confidence level and give you some good basic classroom skills. Let your theory carry you on from there.
Don't listen to the cult that says your degree is useless and that only CELTA is the way to do things. You will, with your education, find it a very limited box from which to operate. Mix the two - and you can be an exceptional teacher.
Just my opinion as an experienced EFL teacher (since 1991) - and TEFL Trainer with an M.Ed. and PGCE (TEFL). |
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ls650
Joined: 10 May 2003
Posts: 3484
Location: British Columbia
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:03 pm Post subject: |
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| tedkarma wrote: |
| Don't listen to the cult that says your degree is useless and that only CELTA is the way to do things. |
Eh? Here on Dave's the 'cult' seems to more often run the other way - that a CELTA is useless and only a Masters is the way to do things! |
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Kaspar Hauser
Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 83
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:04 pm Post subject: |
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| tedkarma wrote: |
| Don't listen to the cult that says your degree is useless and that only CELTA is the way to do things. |
Are there actually people who say something so asinine? If so, then tedkarma is right. I have little experience in the rest of the world, but in the Middle East, where an MA is required practically everywhere, no one takes people who have studied for two whole weeks to get a CELTA seriously. A CELTA can't hurt, and might give a little boost on your resume if you don't have a lot of experience, but that's about all. |
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nomadykaty
Joined: 03 May 2004
Posts: 60
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| Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 3:45 am Post subject: |
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An MA and a CELTA with very little experience wont get you a good university job in the ME. To actually progress in the field you need to be out in the field teaching and to get a good job you need teaching experience.
There is nothing wrong with teaching in Japan or Korea. YOU can progress in a TEFL career and it might be a good thing.
You might find a university job in Japan is better than a university job in the ME in terms of teaching and life style. Check out the ME forums here. |
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tedkarma
Joined: 17 May 2004
Posts: 1598
Location: The World is my Oyster
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| Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 9:56 am Post subject: |
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| I agree with the previous poster. You'll need at least 3-5 years experience to land a decent job in the Middle East. And you will NEED that experience. Discipine is a major issue there (I spend five years in Saudi) and you will need to know what you are doing. |
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isanity
Joined: 05 Nov 2004
Posts: 179
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| Posted: Sat Sep 09, 2006 3:36 pm Post subject: |
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| The only things a CELTA would offer you are practical teaching tips (activities, classroom management and so on), and the opportunities to observe and be observed. You can get all of those much cheaper if you read one or two introductory books and find a job where you can arrange observations. |
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Sgt Killjoy
Joined: 26 Jun 2004
Posts: 438
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| Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2006 1:09 am Post subject: |
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| No one needs a CELTA or any other TEFL Certificate for that matter. More imporant than any piece of paper is a willingness to learn and give his or her students the best educational experience possible. |
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Chris_Crossley
Joined: 26 Jun 2004
Posts: 1797
Location: Still in the centre of Furnace City, PRC, after eight years!!!
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| Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 10:38 am Post subject: You can say that, but how far do you think you'll get...? |
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| Sgt Killjoy wrote: |
| No one needs a CELTA or any other TEFL Certificate for that matter. More imporant than any piece of paper is a willingness to learn and give his or her students the best educational experience possible. |
You can say that, but how far do you think you'll get...? There are probably a lot of schools who wouldn't accept people if they said this in an interview (or in a written statement on an application form).
Saying you have a willingness to learn MORE would be acceptable to a prospective employer, yes, but saying the above might imply that you have no qualifications OR experience in the field, and that would give people the impression that you were applying for a job on a whim. Those who do rarely succeed because they are not ready for the "customers" in the classroom.
Prospective employers would usually want to recruit people who are serious about teaching, especially if they have to teach inattentive, spoilt little emperors during weekends who would rather hang out with their pals (so would the teachers!) and therefore could not give a monkey's about receiving instruction in the English language.
On the other hand, there are plenty of private schools about who just want someone with a foreign face and a pulse. If you fit that description, they will probably have you and, in return, you will get the most difficult people to teach (see above) and the lowest pay (while the management rub their hands and sneer at you behind your back).
If you are into that kind of thing because all you want from your "experience" in going abroad is to hang out after hours in ex-pat bars and pick up locals (provided you are not about to drop dead from exhaustion from teaching the little monsters and crying out for mercy, not to mention for deliverance from evil), then fine. You certainly don't need any CELTA to hang out in those places.
You might nevertheless be better off getting some kind of experience, whether externally moderated and certificated or not, before going abroad to teach. At least you just might be able to deal with the little monsters the moment you are shoved into a classroom with the students from hell on your very first day when you are still jet-lagged and then told "Their normal teacher is ill". Only a second's look around the classroom will tell you why "the normal teacher is ill". |
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sheeba
Joined: 17 Jun 2004
Posts: 1123
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| Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 1:39 am Post subject: |
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Chris makes good points there regarding your teaching without qualifications. I'm studying myself and should be on the 2nd year of the Masters TESOL next year. For me formal studying is very useful because you are actually directed to the relevant areas that concern your teaching. My course does this very well and without it (whilst I was studying myself) I was just skimming through Pedagogy books and the like with no real focus, aim or goal. It becomes a different ball game when you have to study and get assignments done to a certain level and within a certain time. For me its a little bit forced as I wouldn't be studying 'tense aspect' or discussing the problems students have with the future without it being a requirement for me to continue in my course.
However as time goes on I start to feel a lot clearer about the make up of TESOL teaching and begin to realise what is actually important for my learners. I don't think I would be able to firstly get the motivation to self study and if I just learnt from experience I would be missing out on a whole wealth of useful information and guided tuition that is out there and can help us with our teaching and find ourselves in the classroom. I'm sure it is improving me as a teacher anyway hence my comments. |
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