Job Discussion Forums

[SilentPower]

in getting a job?

I want to teach in either Spain or South Korea (they pay the most). I am majoring in Film Studies but I have changed my mind about that field. I also plan in getting TESOL/TEFL certification from Oxford Seminars. So does getting an English minor help me or is it just fluff on a resume?

[spiral78]

Fluff. Basically useless.


Oxford is also substandard in many working contexts - no online cert offers supervised, hands-on teaching practice.

A basic cert for decent employers in (most) regions of the world is 100+ hours on site, including at least 6 hours of supervised teaching practice with real students, not peer teachers, and feedback from experienced teacher trainers.

Universities in North America and Europe often won't even consider applicants with MAs in English - it's neither an education nor a 'how languages are learned' degree.

For what it's worth, I think you should consider getting an on-site cert in the country where you want to teach. You are going to be eligible for only newbie, entry-level jobs in any case, and you need an on-site cert just to be at the normal level for that. A minor in English is worth basically zero....

[spiral78]

to clarify my thought (it's late in the day here) 'how languages are learned' = applied linguistics.

[MGreen]

You're better off just showing up in Korea without any certification. Why waste the money on a certificate that won't be recognized as much, its a week long course, and from what I've heard from its graduates, they spend a day on employment, culture shock... (the real nitty-gritty of SLA).

If you're got the time, I would volunteer at your local adult basic education center, community college, refugee center, or any place that deals with ESL of VESL.

Right now Korea has an abundunce of unqualified teachers and are looking toward the CELTA as an appropriate certificate.

[url]http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2007/09/113_10246.html[/url]

[SilentPower]

So you're saying CELTA is the only way to go and all other certificates are a waste of money?

[spiral78]

It really depends where you're going. On-line certs are not (usually) accepted by reputable schools in Europe, South America, North America, and some parts of Asia. I am obviously speaking very generally!

There are generic certs that meet the standards in most places - but they are on-site and include supervised teaching practice with real students.

Online courses don't offer this component, by definition, and that's the key.

[SilentPower]

Well I would be going to a University to take the classes. It is Oxford Seminars. The University doesn't teach it but rather hosts the seminars. They offer TEFL/TESOL certification

[Jetgirly]

So... the university rents out empty classrooms on the weekends to Oxford Seminars? My university rents out classroom space to elementary school band camps on the weekend... when camp is over it doesn't mean those kids have university degrees! I don't know Oxford Seminars personally, but don't equate them with the university just because the classroom happens to be on a campus. If the course is full time for four weeks and has supervised teaching practice (usually a minimum of six hours) then it's probably a decent choice. If not, spend your money elsewhere.

[spiral78]

Oxford does not offer teaching practice on actual students, just peer teachers. It's considered a substandard cert in many locations. You can try contacting language schools in places where you want to start teaching to ask whether this cert would be acceptable to them.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

Having blond hair, blues eyes and a distinct lack of fat will give you a better edge than a minor in English literature.

I do know several people who've got good private high school jobs in Japan and good language school jobs in Canada with an Oxford certificate- but I think it entirely depends on where you do it because the job placement seems to be done locally and so if the person doing it in the particular area doesn't have a lot of good connections, then that's pretty much that.

[spiral78]

I don't think that Oxford is on Canada's accredited TESL/TEFL certificate list. In fact, I'm 99% certain that no course that doesn't include hands-on supervised teaching practice on actual students isn't recognized in Canada.

It doesn't have anything to do with the connections of the job placement staff.

It may have to do with the credibility of the language school doing the hiring - reputable schools are required to meet the standards for certification for even newbie teachers, I believe.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

[spiral78]

Thanks to VanKen on an earlier thread "All the established schools are members of CAPLS and as such MUST hire only legal teachers who have received their training from an establishment that is recognized by TESL Canada."

I know that the private language school where I worked briefly and the technical college where I worked for four years were both evaluated by TESL Canada, and the CVs of teachers were scrutinized for recognized certification, sending at least one person scrambling to get into a CELTA course.

This was in Alberta, but I don't think it's different in other cities.
However, I do NOT claim to be a Canadian expert, having lived/worked there just part time over the past four years. Jetgirly and others are more knowledgable on the subject.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

I think CAPLS is a really good start, but I think what they should have done was rather than say that instructors had to have competed a TESL Canada approved certificate, they should have said that instructors had to have completed a TESL Canada approved certificate AND a certificate recognised by the provincial affiliate.

In Ontario, there seems to be a lot of confusion because there are a lot of community college and university programs out there, as well as private ones. The community college and university ones are approved by both TESL Canada and TESL Ontario. The ones that are private are approved only by TESL Canada (and, quite frankly, these private certificates seem to have the effect of driving down working conditions because any private training company's certificate is seen as sort of second, or third, to community college and university level certificates). Or else they aren't approved by anybody at all. But newbies coming to this work area don't know what TESL Canada or TESL Ontario is, in fact many people seem to think that a TESOL certificate is like a driver's licence in that there is an accepted single standard within a given area (such a a province), and this is leading people to get pretty seriously scammed.

Another big problem is that there are language schools that aren't CAPLS schools, but they still meet the criteria from outward appearances (the facilites are all good etc). It must be at that kind that the Oxford graduates are getting jobs, because as you say CAPLS teachers must meet the TESL Canada requirements, and Oxford is not on the list of accepted schools by TESL Canada.

Potential students in Mexico or other countries where the school markets certainly have no idea about all this stuff, and arent likely to be told.