Job Discussion Forums

[kimcordle]

Hi all,

I'm married to an Indonesian, and we are planning to move back to Indonesia...probably Jakarta or it's surrounding area. I'm probably older than most...38, and I've never taught English. I work as a professional in the USA. While I don't have a bachelor's degree, I hold National Board Certification and state licensure in Hearing Instrument Sciences. I have worked as a professional in this field for over 10 years operating hearing clinics in Western Michigan.

I have read much regarding teacher certification, with many conflicting points of view. That's why I've come directly to the Indonesia forum with my questions. I'm not looking to gain experience to skip all over the world. I'm planning to move to Indonesia and live out my days there.

As far as teacher training, it seems the Trinity or Celta is best, but I'm not finding anywhere in Michigan that offers this. Would I be better off taking an online course, taking a course in Indonesia or just coming there and flying by the seat of my pants? Remember, I want to be good at this as it's not just going to be a temporary position.

I see lots of Advertisements for EF, but are there other schools as well? What about opening my own school?

I guess this is very open-ended, but what I'm looking for is to make friends and exchange ideas to make this transition as smooth as possible. Your replies are most welcome.

[Atoms for Peace]

Hi,
You can do both the CELTA and Trinity in Indonesia.

I'd forget the online courses if I were you. Decent schools (ie those paying a decent salary) don't recognize them.

If I were you, I'd look into the CELTA and Trinity and perhaps contact some schools to set up interviews before you book that ticket.

By the way, is 38 really "older than most"? <suppresses sob>

[malu]

The online courses really are a waste of time and bandwidth. If I was recruiting - and I used to do so - those applications got the standard 'thanks but no thanks' email template.

The CELTA and TESOL courses are designed for people with your general educational background and future plans, and I think you'll get a lot from one of those courses if you take it seriously.

38 is certainly not older than the likes of me, nor is it particularly old to be setting foot into TESL for the first time.

[kimcordle]

Thanks for your replies. I'm a bit embarrassed though. I was in a hurry when I was typing my original post, and used the word "it's" instead of "its". Not a crime...but this is a forum for English teachers!

And to both of you, I'm sorry if I implied you are old. I guess I am guilty of a false perception. When I think of most people teaching overseas, I think of young people freshly out of college who want to see the world.

I want to be as prepared as I can and to be a great teacher. Again, this is not a short-term plan for me. Are there locations to take the Celta or Trinity courses in Indonesia that you're aware of? I know it takes a month to complete, and it is not possible for me to take a month off from my clinic while I am here in the USA.

One other caveat...
For me, a "decent" school isn't necessarily one that pays the most money. Luckily, money isn't a primary concern for me. Not that I am rich, but we own property in Jakarta and have substantial savings in place. So housing, plane tickets and the like are a moot point for us. The good school to me is the one LEAST like a big, Western corporation where the primary concern is profit margin.

And regardless of whether I end up teaching or not, we will still end up living in Indonesia, so I'll be booking the ticket anyway.

Other than this website, any suggestions regarding teaching and/or teacher training in Indonesia?

Thanks in advance.

[alc]

http://www.tbi.co.id/index.php?fa=wedo.traincelta

http://www.tesolbali.com/the_course.php


The first link is for a CELTA program at TBI in Jakarta. The second is for the Trinity TESOL program at IALF in Bali.

As far as I know TBI has the only CELTA program in Indonesia and IALF has the only Trinity course. Anyone know of others?

[Vertumnus]

You can just call me "Gramps."

Given your lack of credentials in teaching isn't necessarily a problem. You can market yourself as a hearing specialist. Online courses without concurrent classroom experience aren't worth much to any employer that counts. Having said that, I came here with nothing years ago and had no trouble getting a job.

There are TONS of other schools. ELP, ILP, EEP, FBI and a host of other acronyms abound here. Just stay away from EF. If you have a lot of cash, opening your own business is fine, but you may find the laws regarding Indonesians married to foreigners cause some problems. You and your spouse cannot own property, it's hard to get a loan without a co-signer, and you'll need an estimated Rp. 80-90 million per year just to take care of your own documentation. You can, for the property thing, either rent (and lose any money in repairs, modifications, improvements when you move out), or get a family member to put their name on the documents of ownership, but you need to have a contract on the side that states that person is owner in name only and has no rights to do anything with the property. All this, keeping in mind that the courts are corrupt.

You could open a business that specializes in what you are good at - I doubt you'd have much competition, and with social networking you could build up a nice clientele.

If, as your name implies, you are a woman, then you can become an Indonesian citizen relatively easily because laws here are sexist and allow for a woman married to an Indo man to become a citizen with little pain. That will negate all the problems I mentioned above.

If you have had children, please make sure to register them as Indonesians or dual citizens before the deadline, or they'll be foreigners. Ignore this if they're already adults or are not half Indo.

-D

[Vertumnus]

I don't know how I managed it to post twice. Can the mod please trash this message?

[Henry_Cowell]

I like the Indonesian term for hearing aid:

alat bantu dengar

Have you tried finding and contacting either dealers or distributors of hearing instruments in Indonesia? They might need your expertise in marketing, sales, testing, and so on.

Also, there is probably a national society of audiologists and maybe other professional organizations. And don't assume that these people might not need a native speaker of English as an employee or staff person. There's always a chance!

Teaching English in Jakarta is not one of the better ways to immerse yourself in the local life and culture. However, your spouse doubtless has family and friends that will create a good social circle for you outside of work. But working with other professionals (and by "professionals" I don't mean English language school owners and native staff!!) would be good too.

You might also want to contact Prof. Dr. Hendarto Hendarmin in Jakarta. He's probably Indonesia's most prominent ear and hearing specialist. If he's a friendly guy, he could have some good suggestions or leads for you.

Then again, you might have your heart set on teaching English. So good luck whatever you decide to do in your new life!