Job Discussion Forums

I dream of teaching · Joined: 12 Sep 2006 Posts: 12

I am a qualified primary/junior teacher in Ontario, Canada. I hold my Bachelor of Arts, with a major in English, and my Bachelor of Education. Iam wondering if I would be better off taking a TESL course before applying for out of country jobs, or if my qualifications will suffice.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Might help to know what countries you are considering.

Your current qualifications probably make you more qualified than 95% of the newbie teachers in Japan, in case you're interested.

It also matters what you want to teach. For a university job, you will need at least a master's degree.

TEFL certificates are not needed in Japan to get hired. I usually recommend them to people who have zero qualifications for teaching and who intend to stay longer than a year or 2.

I knew a couple of experienced teachers in the USA who were suddenly given the task of being their school's only TESL teacher, so they decided to get certification. I think they thought it was good in the end.

I dream of teaching · Joined: 12 Sep 2006 Posts: 12

Thank you for your reply. I am considering south american countries.

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

You qualify just fine as is for anywhere in Latin America.

I dream of teaching · Joined: 12 Sep 2006 Posts: 12

Wonderful! I apprecitate your reply!

GambateBingBangBOOM · Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 2021 Location: Japan

Just a question: why don't you want to teach (anymore) in Ontario? Or are there just no jobs now that mandatory retirement is a thing of the past? It seems like there are a lot of OCT k-12 teachers outside of Ontario. Did you know beforehand that you weren't going to teach in ON for your entire career? I met one guy who had always intended on teaching overseas and simply didn't know that UofT, Carleton, Brock etc had TESL certificate programmes and if he had, that's what he would have done instead (which may or may not have been a mistake- the TESL certificate level is great, and it has been described as the same courses as MA TESOLs in the US by the profs - the ones at my university used to teach MA TESOL programmes in the US, and then went to Canada- , but it isn't actually an MA TESOL, and so those jobs that require one are still off-limits. And to work in an international school, you need an OCT certificate)

I'm asking because I applied to B.ed programmes in Ontario and got turned down, so I applied and got accepted to TESL Certificates through a bunch of the university programmes, one of which I did. Then I came overseas with a view of getting experience, paying of debts and deciding whether to do a B.ed or an MA in Applied Linguistics. I've now more or less decided on the Applied Linguistics route (but maybe not for several years b/c I've got a lot of student debt to clear- part of the reason I'm still in Japan), but still occasionally think of going the B.ed route.

I dream of teaching · Joined: 12 Sep 2006 Posts: 12

Hello! Yes, I did go into teaching knowing that I would be travelling with my degree, however I did intend on teaching in Ontario while my husband and I started our family. I have been teaching full time in Ontario over the last 2 years and am now teaching occasionally (supply work). The job market here (I'm in Ottawa) is competitive, but it is not impossible to land a full-time contract with a school board. There is a high demand for french teachers in the Ottawa catholic board because of a new immersion program, and there is always a demand for high school teachers. If you can get into either of those programs, you have a better chance at landing a contract in your first year. I do know one thing I will miss about teaching in Ontario - The benefits!! Ontario teachers have one of the best pension plans in Canada and receive medical and dental benefits as well as other perks. The salary can be OK, but then again, who goes into teaching with the expectation of becoming rich Very Happy

I do not have any experience with TESL, so I cannot speak to that, but my advice to you would be to re-apply to a bachelor of education program, once you're ready. With your added experience, you may have a different reply than you did last time you applied! Besides, further education never hurt anyone...follow you heart!