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certifications recognized in Middle East?

 
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inscrutable



Joined: 27 Feb 2004
Posts: 9
Location: USA

PostPosted: Sun Feb 29, 2004 3:26 am    Post subject: certifications recognized in Middle East? Reply with quote

I am a 51 year old male with a BA English (1996) and six years of KSA experience in the 1980s (no teaching experience) looking at certifications that will allow me to get a job in the Middle East. I am looking at both the CELTA and Bridge-Linguatec TEFL certification programs.

I am considering the TEFL because it's available to me sooner here in Denver, Colorado than the CELTA, but I'm wondering if it is as widely accepted in the Middle East.

Can anyone enlighten me on this? Thanks!
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Sun Feb 29, 2004 5:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

CELTA would be better I think.
Having said that any cert is better than no cert

BUT some employers are not interested !
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inscrutable



Joined: 27 Feb 2004
Posts: 9
Location: USA

PostPosted: Sun Feb 29, 2004 6:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

scot47 wrote:
CELTA would be better I think.
Having said that any cert is better than no cert

BUT some employers are not interested !


I was afraid you'd say that!

Is there a real chance of getting a job with a cert but no experience? I would prefer somewhere besides KSA: Yemen, Oman, UAE, Qatar or Bahrain.
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Eijse



Joined: 17 Dec 2003
Posts: 119
Location: Yemen (Aden)

PostPosted: Sun Feb 29, 2004 7:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

...

Last edited by Eijse on Thu Sep 09, 2004 9:07 am; edited 1 time in total
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Sun Feb 29, 2004 11:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The rule in the Middle East is that all rules are negotiable, including this rule of negotiability.

Some employers do not care if you have training or certification. Others will not consider you unless you are CELTA-ed.


Last edited by scot47 on Tue Mar 02, 2004 9:58 am; edited 1 time in total
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inscrutable



Joined: 27 Feb 2004
Posts: 9
Location: USA

PostPosted: Sun Feb 29, 2004 10:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well said, Eijse, about the difference between experienced teachers and good teachers. I hope to discover I am one of the latter!

And well said about the negotiability of negotiability, scot47.

I'm glad to hear that Yemeni students are not shy and that they ask questions. I have no problem with that. I suppose whether I am able to connect and communicate with them immediately remains to be seen. I had a very close friend in Jeddah who was from Aden, and never had any problem connecting with other Arabs in Jeddah or anywhere else--except of course for some of the self-important a**holes, whom I neither needed nor wanted to connect with.

Eijse, I may contact you later for more details about Yemen once I've cogitated on this a bit. Thanks for the kind offer.

Thanks to both of you for the sage advice!
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Boy Wonder



Joined: 29 Mar 2004
Posts: 453
Location: Clacton on sea

PostPosted: Thu Apr 22, 2004 8:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

All i had when i came out here yonks ago was a Lego competition certificate( 4th place ) from 1976 and a 30m swimming cert!

Both have opened numerous doors for me in the ME ever since...possibly coz the locals don't have a clue what they are!
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Stephen Jones



Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124

PostPosted: Thu Apr 22, 2004 2:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The CELTA is recognized, though it's only an entry-level certificate and not up to much. Any short study time certificate apart from RSA or Trinity is unlikely to be worth anything.

Your big strength for the Middle East is your degree in Engish. But get the CELTA so you can get a job somewhere else if you find you hate the place.

Your lack of experience will cut out nearly all government jobs, but you should get in with an independent contractor on the strength of the English BA and the CELTA.
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