Job Discussion Forums

[cstevens]

I am a Peace Corps volunteer, teaching English in Azerbaijan. I have an American (Utah) teaching certificate, a bachellors degree in Spanish teaching and a minor in English as a Second Language. I taught for a year in the states both in a mainstream Spanish class and a not so mainstreamed ESL setting.

When I am done here, I would like to continue teaching English abroad. I'm not interested in staying here in Azerbaijan though.

The problem is that I do not have a TEFL certificate. The only thing sort of equivalent to that is my ESL minor (with my ESL experience and TEFL teaching experience abroad).

I started asking around to see if there were any courses here in Azerbaijan or online to get my TEFL certification. Dalia Jacobsen from teachermexconnect.com told me that I needed a TEFL certification and that SeriousTEFL.com could provide that.

Yes, I've read the thread about seriousTEFL, and I'm suspicious now too

A friend, who taught in China for 2 years suggested bridgetefl.com as a good place to check, as that is where she got her certification. She got a job because of it.

So, my question is, does my degree, teaching certificate, experience and ESL minor qualify me for jobs abroad?

Should I still seek a TEFL certificate?

If so, does anyone have any ideas on how I could do that? As far as I can tell, there aren't any reputible TEFL certification centers in Azerbaijan.

Long message, I know. Thanks for reading and/or commenting!

[Ariadne]

Where do you want to teach? You should be fine with what you have in China.

.

[jdl]

cstevens,

Having a State Teaching Certificate and having trained and graduated as a teacher with Esl as a core area of study and practicum you are more qualified than most in the field. The industry is changing and you may have noted that many recent ads are for certificated teachers rather than academic degrees with a Tefl cert add on. I believe you are well positioned with both education and experience.

My only suggestion would be to 'front' your esl study as a part of your teacher qualification even going as far as to quote the credit hours etc. you have in practicum or esl studies. This is a way of avoiding the question of "do you have an esl cert, celta, delta, etc. Your undergrad work in teaching surpasses the standard esl, celta, delta qualification but this may not be known by employers unfamiliar with North American teacher education programs. You are a qualified teacher already and you are becoming increasingly in demand.

If I could suggest a country? Try Oman.... the smaller cities/villages ...Salalah in particular. Peaceful, relaxed, wonderful lifestyle, great climate and an individual's paradise in my opinion. If you are interested I can provide a contact or two.

Good luck

[Chancellor]

[spiral78]

I agree - you shouldn't need a TEFL cert with your qualifications. I really don't think an online cert would add anything to your CV at all.

[spanglish]

Yep, you're in line for some of the cream jobs in this industry: international schools. In South America you can make around double what someone with a CELTA will make plus extra benefits. Colegio Nueva Granada is where you'd want to look if you're interested in Bogota, Colombia.

[cstevens]

That is great news! I didn't want to pay for, and spend 120 hours on, something that I already had.

I am glad I might have many options. I will consider Oman (I've always wanted to learn Arabic), and I will also consider Columbia (I speak fluent Spanish, so that is a plus). I'll send you guys a pm soon if I am interested. Generally I am looking for opportunities as well in Europe and possibly Japan, since I'm already kind of in the area.

I'm checking out ibo.org as well.

I am interested in Adult education and older children (high school age), though I have no problem considering teaching younger children as well.

So...

Are there any other credible job placement websites out there?

Are there any other international schools or known organizations (besides ibo)?

Thanks again for all of the info.

Edit: One last question. How long beforehand should I apply for an international job? I am preparing to find a job for this coming January or February. Would it be a good idea to look now, or later in the year around November or December?

[spanglish]

I'm not personally familiar with the process, but the best way to get a job at an international school seems to be to physically go to a job fair in the US. You want to get hired from the US, not while you're already in the local country.

The website of Colegio Nueva Granada, for example lists a couple of job fairs that they go to for recruiting.

Others will be able to give you more detailed answers on this.

[spanglish]

By the way, could you give some details on what's involved with getting certified to teach Spanish in the US? Are you a native speaker? What kind of test did you have to complete? Do you know anything about the demand for k-12 Spanish teachers? (I've heard math and science are very much in demand, social studies not so much)

Once I get to the fluency level, I'm thinking about teaching Spanish back in the US as a career option/exit strategy.

[Chancellor]

[cstevens]

Chancellor is right, every state is going to be different. My certification is only good in Utah and if I were to go to another state to try and teach, they would probably make me take some classes and/or take a test.

Spanish is in the middle when it comes to demand for teachers. Math, Science and Special Education are in huge demand, while Social Studies teachers will have a hard time finding any work. Spanish has more need than languages like French or German though.

The best way to get a certificate, especially if you don't have a lot of teaching experience in the states, would be to get it through a state university.

As far as my story, I lived in Mexico for two years before going to college. I entered the Spanish program as a fluent speaker (like pretty much everyone else in the program) and loved every minute of it. Even as a fluent speaker, I needed to work quite a bit on my academic Spanish because the majority of the classes I took were literature based.

In Utah they require taking the Praxis tests. I & II to get your certificate, III to keep it once you are out in the field.

[Chancellor]

[jdl]

cstevens,

Check this out. It is Canadian but has links to its US and international counterparts. Advertises for certificated teachers almost exclusively so may hasten your search...many good jobs around the world.



http://www.educationcanada.com/

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