Job Discussion Forums

[TG12345]

Hi everyone, my name is Tomasz Glowacki and I guess you could say I am very much a 'newbie' to international teaching. I should probably say something about myself.

I am an Education student at the University of Winnipeg and I
will be graduating next year.

I have a lot of experience working with young people at all ages,
although I would prefer to teach students in middle school, high
school or adults. I have done a lot of student teaching,
volunteering, and working with youth. I have worked with students
in an English as a Second Language setting. I have also worked with
kids with behaviour issues, learning dificulties and special
education. I would like to teach English as a Foreign Language and
would like to do some traveling and teaching after I get my
diploma. I will be taking TESOL this summer.

I would like to teach in a places where in addition to working
as a teacher I could also get the oppurtunity to do some volunteer
humanitarian work as well during the summer or time off that teachers get. I would like to be able to go volunteer for the whole time, but I can't afford to do that right now. I probably would need to make at least approx $800 a month. I am ready to go anywhere, but would really prefer Latin America or the Middle East. I would be able to go in May or June 2008, after I graduate.

I was wondering if anyone here knows of any places where this would be possible. I know this is a really vague question and I apologize for that, I do need to look into this a lot more but I would really appreciate hearing back from some people with ideas or advice on that.

Thank you so much!

Tomasz Glowacki

[Jetgirly]

If you're getting a B.Ed, why not stick in Manitoba for two years (I'm assuming it's the same there as in Alberta) and get your permanent teaching certificate. After that you'd be eligible to work in international K-12 schools. They would probably pay you well enough that you wouldn't have to worry during the summer months, whereas an entry-level private langauge school could leave you scrimping to make it through the summer.

[MELEE]

If that 800 has to do with paying off debt, try to get as much as possible paid off before coming to Latin America. You can do fine in Latin America, there are a lot of us over on the Latin American forums earning a decent living. But you can't really do it with debt. (and is that 800 Canadian or US? What's the Canadian $ going for these days?)
Otherwise contact Justin Trillinger who works for an organization in Ecuador that combines teaching with other volunteer projects.

[spiral78]

One detail - if you're thinking of doing the Global TESOL course (I am guessing since you say you're getting 'your TESOL' above) you might want to think again.

Global TESOL and Oxford and other short certification courses that don't include a serious teaching practicuum (at least 6 hours of hands on teaching of real students, not peer teachers, with feedback from experienced teacher trainers) are very often not recognized by good lanugage schools - anywhere.

You should check the current International Jobs forum, where a chain of schools is currently hiring ESL teachers for Canada schools, and states that grads of Global and Oxford should NOT apply because those certifications aren't recognized by the powers that be in Canada.

[TG12345]

[TG12345]

[TG12345]

[Dragonlady]

deleted

out of date

[TG12345]

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

[spiral78]

Depending on where you want to go, a good basic certification course can be a name brand (CELTA) or a generic one, but the course should be on-site, 100+ hours and include supervised teaching practice with real students, not peer trainees, and feedback on your teaching from experienced teacher trainers.

Your BEd and volunteer experience will be useful, but if you're going for a certification, you should get a real one, as detailed above, not a course that is essentially in 'how to find a job abroad.'

You should also consider getting that basic cert in the country where you want to start teaching, if possible. There are tons of benefits to this, including an opportunity to get your feet wet in a country/culture while you have a support system there. Your practice teaching students will be really representative of the ones you'll be working with when you start, and local schools will recognize your credential. You will also make local contacts that can be invaluable when you need to arrange for housing and go for job interviews, etc.

[MELEE]

Tomasz

Justin is a poster on this forum, just PM him.
Also, if you aren't paying off debt I don't know why you feel you need to make 800 a month in Latin America. Like I said, I don't know what the Canadian dollar is going for these days, but 800 US would be way more then you "need" in most of Latin America. I work in Mexico and I make about 1000 US a month and I have a family of 4! The cost of living varies around the country but on the Mexico forum we pretty much decided that 600 US was the minimum a teacher needed to pay their expenses. (though some nay sayers thought they needed much more than that) In Central America and Northern South America the cost of living is lower and I think shouldn't expect to earn 800 as an unexperienced teacher. In Chile and Argentina salaries are higher, but so are expensese.
You should read the General Latin American Forum and the other specific country forums to get a better idea about the region.

[Justin Trullinger]

Thanks for the publicity MELEE

And I was a little confused by the $800 figure as well. You need $800 to live where?

Starting teachers in Ecuador tend to earn from $500 to $800 a month- and those who are averaging $600 are doing pretty well. If you spend $150 in rent, that leaves you more than $100 a week to play with, which is pretty doable. It takes a little while to recoup start up costs, though. If you get a good job, and $800 steady a month in Quito, you're laughing. But if you're debt free, you can live on less.

With your B Ed and your experience, you'd probably find work without a cert. But remember that other teaching can be very different than language teaching- training could make you a lot better at it, and more comfortable in it. But the Global TESOL short courses are pretty near worthless. It won't hurt your application, but it won't help. So why bother- if you want a cert, get a real one, but if you think you can go with less, save the money.

Best,
Justin

PS- do feel free to PM for Ecuador info!

[fresas]

Tomasz

Have you looked into the ESL Teacher Certificate Program offered at the U of W? It's offered through the Continuing Eduction division and runs from end of May to mid July. It's about 2 grand, but you'll also be receiving univeristy credit for the courses you take.

Here's the link:
http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/elp-esltcp

[TG12345]