Job Discussion Forums

roman510 · Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 5:54 pm Post subject: Aspiring Teacher

Hi I am new to the cafe and would like to touch basis. First of all I am a senior at a university in California majoring in English and is absolutely interested in teaching abroad. The certification course I looked at was Oxford Seminars, I went to their info session and it appears to be legit, is there any feedback or reviews on that program? And would it be wise to get my BA and immediately teach abroad? Any information would be useful. Thaaanks!

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

The basic newbie certification course is 100+ hours onsite and including at least 6 hours of supervised teaching practice with real students (not peer trainees). CELTA is the name brand, but there are some generic certs that fit the bill.

Do a search on this forum for Oxford. It's substandard for many regions in the world. Pinpoint where you think you want to go, and you can ask for specific info on whether Oxford would be acceptable in that region.

There are lots of very good reasons to take a course in the country where you want to start working, if at all possible.

Training in-country offers you a great chance to get your feet wet in the country/culture while you still have a support system � they usually arrange for your housing during the course, airport pickup, and local orientation. Your practice teaching students will really be representative of those you�ll be working with when you start. You can be sure that your certification will be recognized by local employers, and a training centre can give you invaluable contacts and advice regarding reputable local employers.

With a new BA and a TEFL cert, you'll be ready for most newbie-level positions. Just be sure the cert is acceptable where you want to go - the fact that your BA is in English isn't a big plus in most places, so you'll want to be sure you can compete successfully with other entry-level candidates for jobs.

roman510 · Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 6:18 pm Post subject:

I have done a search on Oxford and unfortunately it appears that most of the feedback is negative, however it does provide the requirements that you stated, 100+ hours etc., so I am not sure why such a negative response?

And as for taking a course in the country, I do not really have the funds to do that. Does that put me at a major disadvantage or can I overcome that by taking a cert class in the states? The country that I want to teach in is Korea and from my research I get the impression that it is a country for newby teachers.

And lastly, should I get some tutoring or teaching experience at my school or local library? Would that substantially help my resume?

Thank you for your response and time, greatly appreciated

Chancellor · Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 6:42 pm Post subject: Re: Aspiring Teacher

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

have done a search on Oxford and unfortunately it appears that most of the feedback is negative, however it does provide the requirements that you stated, 100+ hours etc., so I am not sure why such a negative response?

Uh, no - no supervised teaching practice with actual students. This is the key.

Chancellor · Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 6:51 pm Post subject:

roman510 · Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:05 pm Post subject:

haha thank you for your fresh sense of humor. No I don't necessarily want to make a career out of teaching, but I do have an open mind and if it's something I enjoy doing and excel in than I may want to make it my career.

Ya, Oxford is definitely out of consideration, you mention CELTA etc. which one do you recommend and can I take the course you mentioned anywhere other than Canada? Also, you mention going beyond my bachelors, to be honest if I do a graduate program I am going to do it in something other than ESL. Do you think that having a BA plus a cert would be enough for me to get a reputable job in Korea? It was from my understanding that a BA and a cert is enough to get a job.

nickpellatt · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 1522

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=74022

You may have already seen this thread ... this isnt the only person I am aware of who is struggling to find work with the placement service they offer. They may mention 100+ hours as they are aware this is the industry minimum, so they try to make it appear as if there program covers the bases ... which on a closer inspection, it doesnt. Glad to see you have ruled it out! Very Happy

I dont know Korea, but as far as Im aware, a BA plus cert would be enough to land you a job there. CELTA and Trinity are the brand named courses, but as already mentioned ... other courses also exist. The key is to look for observed teaching practice with feedback from teacher trainers. These are real classes where you teach language learners, not other trainee teachers.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

Do you think that having a BA plus a cert would be enough for me to get a reputable job in Korea?

Yes.

roman510 · Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:18 pm Post subject:

Hey thanks for everybody's advice, if I have any more questions i'll be sure to ask the experts! Wink

roman510 · Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:57 pm Post subject:

I found this cert program:

It states that it is a 140 hour cert including 20 hour weekend TEFL and 120 hour online course. That satisfies the basic requirement of 100+ hours, but I am not clear if the 20 hour weekend will satisfy the 6 hours of supervised teaching practice. I know, I'm going to do more research on it to find out, but I was wondering if anyone was familiar with this program or is it just another program that is a waste of money?

http://www.bridgetefl.com/weekend-tefl.php

Chancellor · Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 8:32 pm Post subject:

Chancellor · Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 8:36 pm Post subject:

nickpellatt · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 1522

Roman, I would suggest it may be a waste of money ... and it isnt cheap either. As recognised courses are around 100 hours or so, the other course providers try to do something that copies this, so 'satisfying' the criteria.

Online courses dont really match up, because a lot of the time the actual course content lasts much much less...I know this first hand as I did a 40 hour online course in about 8 hours. They also lack real student teacher interaction ... and the weekend 'bolt on' part has been added to say it offers classroom experience. I think the course providers know full well that professional schools and employers will see through their courses, but they probably dont mind this. What they are hoping for is gullible trainees who dont research the market and the requirements very well.

If you were going to take an online course...just to get a certificate, you may as well just take the cheapest option. Alternatively ... go the whole hog and get real certification

Chancellor · Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 7:12 pm Post subject: