Job Discussion Forums

georgeaden · Joined: 16 Dec 2008 Posts: 6

I was hoping some for some feedback. I'm just finishing my second year teaching abroad and it's definitely something I want to do for the rest of my life. With my 2 year teaching experience of teaching English as a foreign language, 4 years experience teaching math, and a BA should I be just content with that to find jobs, or would the addition of some sort of certificate be worth the effort? Like TOFEL or TOEIC? Out of all the different things I could acquire what would be their benefit? Are there certain ones that would be more likely to get me a job then others? Do they take different amounts of time or difficulty to acquire? Do they tend to land jobs of different pay? Or should I not even bother?

fluffyhamster · Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 10:50 am Post subject:

If you've been teaching for two years then you really should know that TOEFL and TOEIC are exams for students rather than teachers (i.e. native-speaker teachers). (It may be possible to become qualified as an examiner or whatever for such tests, but likely only after you've done an initial teaching qualification such as a CELTA, Trinity CertTESOL or an equivalent TEFL cert).

georgeaden · Joined: 16 Dec 2008 Posts: 6

I work in quite a small town maybe that's why I never hear anyone talk about them, or perhaps it's because I teach in Korea and all they seem to want is a degree. So I really have no clue about all the various acronyms listed in job wanted ads for this and that certification I see in the Japanese ads and some of the other countries, and I'd like to try a new country. I'd of course do my own research on getting a certificate, but I'd like to see a quick summarization of these certificates so I know which one I would like to look into.

fluffyhamster · Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 12:01 pm Post subject:

Well, the least my CTEFLA (now called the CELTA) course provider did was give me a booklet outlining the TOEIC. Wink

But seriously, the standard line on these forums is do a course that provides 4 weeks/@120 hours FT of classroom contact with the course tutors (during which you should be absorbing and/or finding out lots of useful stuff about the English language, learners, resources etc etc), including at least a half dozen or so hours of observed teaching practice with real learners (i.e. a practicum). (This is what the CELTA and Trinty CertTESOL provide). Whether or not "all" that actually makes you a good teacher or not is debatable (there is certainly a lot more to learn beyond the scope of such short courses and, I would argue, much better approaches and methodological options available (which will become apparent after that sufficient further learning and reflection)); perhaps it is little more than a glorified selection procedure that helps employers whittle down interview lists to more manageable proportions (then again, people do get offered jobs without such certificates, aren't they ever asked any grammar questions?! I guess what swung it for you was having taught maths (and if you're a "qualified" teacher - excuse the scare quotes, but I sometimes wonder what some state school English teachers especially are actually qualified to teach - you might want to consider applying to international schools instead)).

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?p=712374#712374

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

If you want to do this for the rest of your life, then I suggest looking into an MA. A TEFL certificate (such as the CELTA mentioned previously) is a good start, but there's only so much you can do with it--it's a good door-opener for people who are just starting out in the field. Lifers (like me) presumably do not want to get stuck in the same ol' language school jobs for the rest of their teaching days, and the way out is usually with further qualifications.

d

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

Certs help. There are month long certs, should have 120 hours and 6 teaching students. If possible, look into a PGDE or MA, you could do these on campus, or by distance, or a combo of both

As for the forever thing, that-s a long time. I like teaching, but after 6 years in the classroom, I-m ready to get into management.

Also, where you work has nothing to do with the info you can find. INternet is a great thing!

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

georgeaden · Joined: 16 Dec 2008 Posts: 6

Thanks for your responses. Yes I know I could just googled the information, and in fact I had looked up somethings before, but the internet as a whole is fairly muddy. So I posted here in the hopes of more succinct answers coupled with personal experience and opinions. It's a better starting point in my opinion.
My current job was just handed to me, so I never had to go through the rigmarole of internet job hunting.

georgeaden · Joined: 16 Dec 2008 Posts: 6

Oh, perhaps it would help if explained my overall 'quest,' as it were.
I am basically trying to decide whether or not to head to the next country after this or go back to the US and do some short term studies to bolster my resume.

georgeaden · Joined: 16 Dec 2008 Posts: 6

Well I just found the answer to some of my questions and to some of my confusion. Thank you wikipedia! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language_learning_and_teaching
Now a days I find I get much better answer for questions via there then just googling them.
My confusion had been in not realizing that so many acronyms stood for the pretty much the same thing (e.g. TEFL, ESL, TESOL). I had thought some were certificates of some sort.