Job Discussion Forums

[lindsaylu]

I am confused. I am moving to Buenos Aires October 1st to take spanish immersion classes for 4 months, and then I would like to work (or would like to work also while taking classes, but I have read that that is the slow season). I have read on the posts that say that a TEFL certification is not required to work as an ESL teacher. However, the few job postings that I've found have asked for the certification. Are those places just keeping up appearances?
I have 2 bachelors degrees and am a certified 4-8 English teacher in the U.S. I have been teaching 8th grade English and ESL on the Texas/Mexico border for the past 2 years. At this point in time (as I have a summer job in England) I could only take a weekend TEFL course. I really don't think that they will teach me anything I don't already know, but I also don't want to have to cut my trip early because I can't find a job. Should I fork up the $450 and take the online/weekend joint course for the piece of paper? Or will I be fine finding work? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Sabine11]

You'll get hired without the tefl certificate.. In Argentina you can just walk in some schools and ask if they are in need of teachers, and chances are the answer is yes.. It's better to have the tefl in case you later decide to move on elsewhere..

Job postings in countires like Mexico often require a tefl cert. Online job postings for teaching positions in Argentina are very rare.. You're best off just to show up here in person.

The tefl piece of paper can take you a long way, especially to get work permit or visa in some other countries (but you won't get that here)..

Best, Sabine