Job Discussion Forums

[granfalloon]

Hello everyone,

I'm a senior in college and I've been accepted to law school for next fall. But I've decided that I'd like to defer my admission for a year in order to spend some time working - ideally, teaching in another country.

I have no idea where I want to go...however, Asia and the Middle East are most attractive to me. South America would be great, too, as it would give me a chance to pursue my Spanish.

Any advice on what I should be doing to start the process? I know I need TEFL certification, but I'm overwhelmed by the number of courses available. Online would be best, but I'm wary of scams.

What is the consensus on sites such as www.tefljobplacement.com? Worth the money? Or can all of the certification, job search, logistics, etc just as easily be done by myself?

If anyone could point me in the right direction, it'd be great! Thanks a lot,
-Dan

[spiral78]

One easier way to get started is to take a certification course in the country where you want to start. On-line or short courses are accepted in SOME parts of the world by SOME employers, but many regions (including Latin America, in many cases) don't consider them ideal, because they obviously lack teaching practice.

Taking an on-site course in-country has lots of advantages. You can get your feet wet in country/culture while you still have a support system - training centres usually arrange for housing during the course, airport pickup, local orientation, and survival language skills. You can be certain that your certification will be acceptable to local employers, and your training centre can give you invaluable info about local schools and their reputability.

I suggest you narrow your search down to one or two countries you'd really like to target, and ask whether online certs would be acceptable there.

You'll also need to consider your finances - if you're expecting flight paid for by a school, your search becomes much more limited.

[Anda]

An Example

About our location


http://www.bestteflcourse.com/specialOfferMonthChinaZhuhai.shtml

TEFL International is located at Zhuhai and is one of the most popular destinations for our TESOL trainees. It is approximately one hour by ferry from Hong Kong just inside the Chinese Mainland Border. The school has one of the most exotic landscapes in the world.
The city is a vibrant, modern and beautiful, immersed in the heart of Chinese culture, history and tradition. It is well connected and close to Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanning and other major cities.


Links at the bottom of page on link above:

TESOL Argentina (Buenos Aires) TESOL China (Beijing) TESOL China (Zhuhai) TESOL Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio
TESOL Czech Republic (Prague) TESOL Egypt (Alexandria) TESOL England (Plymouth) TESOL France (Pl่elauff)
TESOL Greece (Ios) TESOL Italy (Rome) TESOL Italy, Florence/Tuscany TESOL India (Kolkata)
TESOL New York (USA) TESOL Philippines (Cebu) TESOL Spain (Barcelona) TESOL Spain (Seville)
TESOL Thailand (Ban Phe) TESOL Thailand (Chiang Mai) TESOL Thailand (Phuket) TESOL Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City)

[denise]

The Middle East isn't very newbie friendly. You'd have a much better shot at getting jobs and coping with life and work abroad in other places--China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan...

d

[dakota29michael]

What a great plan. My brother joined the Peace Corps right after law school which enabled him to defer his loans. I whole heartedly agree with Spiral. You will receive alot of clear insight and feedback if you narrow down your list of possible destinations. With a year at your disposal and the desire to spend it all in one place, in country training seems like the best idea. Without experience or credentials you can rule the middle east out. China's a good bet. Its easy to find work there without much in the way of credentials as long as you have your university degree. Latin America is a good call. Just narrow down your target countries then make some contacts and see what they're looking for, then you can knock one of those certification courses.... You'll have a great time in Latin America...

[Sadebugo]

As another poster said, the ME tends to be for teachers with a lot of experience/education in the field. If you went to Korea for a year, you could save a bit to help offset the costs for law school. You can also save money in Taiwan and Japan to a lesser extent.

It's not necessary to go through a recruiter. You can peruse the ads on this site and then request feedback on the forum about negative reports on any given employer.

Good luck with your job search.

Sadebugo
Djibouti, Horn of Africa
http://travldawrld.blogspot.com/

[MiBoo]

For your own benefit, and for your students', getting a certificate is an excellent idea, and there are certainly advantages to studying for it in the country you want to work in. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well, so do a little research and make sure you get one with sufficient teaching practice (with 'live' students!) and one which would be recognised in other locations.

However, if you have your BA you can pretty easily find a job in Korea/China without a teaching certificate. Seems to me you don't need to pay an outfit to find you a job, just have a look at the job boards here! I think the number 1 rule is to always get in touch with a current teacher at the school you're applying to. Any school which won't provide email addresses for their current/recent foreign teachers probably have something to hide
Wish you the best of luck!