Job Discussion Forums

[mnguy29]

I have heard so many differing opinions on this about teaching in China. Is TEFL certificate really necessary for someone like me to find a good teaching job in China? I have a BS degree in teaching and two years of experience teaching in China with many years teaching experience in USA. I want to teach at a good University in China near or in a large city like Shanghai or Shenzhen. Thanks for your opinions.

Bart

[XiGua]

It'd help but it doesn't really matter. You can find a job with just your XP and degree.

[nickpellatt]

It helps make you a better teacher....and I think you learn a lot regardless of any prior experience you may have. That was certainly the case for me.

Experience teaching incorrectly, or not as well as you could/should, is commonplace I guess...and since taking the course I would say my skills and approach is far better than it was. I guess it depends how seriously you take the job?

I work with some teachers who are far more experienced than me in terms of class hours, although these may have been class hours with native speakers, but I often know more relevant things to help my students than they do.

For example - I taught two lessons this morning...the first was based around using present perfect progressive, and was very interactive for the students, with two good activities for them to practise using English with.

The second lesson was more topic discussion based, but I introduced the new words and gave them phonetic transcriptions using IPA.

Some of my colleagues may be state certified teachers with lots of years of experience, but they are unable to teach or explain either tenses or IPA. I can, thanks to my TEFL course experience. Im not suggesting its the be all and end all of teaching, but having these tools and skills to use in the class does actually help me and my students. Although the standard of teaching in China is often regarded as low...it doesnt mean my classes have to be unprofessional.

It is worth doing a course, and if it makes you a better teacher, surely the opportunity for the better jobs will arise.

(I only refer to genuine courses here BTW - CELTA/Trinity etc)

[mnguy29]

Thanks for the input. Can you tell me the best and easiest way to get the TEFL? Can I do it online?

[XiGua]

I wouldn't recommend doing it online. It's better to see it in person to get the feel of the classroom, the activities, the demonstrations, the classroom management with your own eyes whereas on the internet where you don't really get as good of an understanding. Just my 2cents.

[nickpellatt]

Agree. Online courses exist primarily to part you from your money. They serve little other purpose, and do not equip you with any of the required skills. There is no short cut unfortunately!

I know having done an online course, and then seeing the difference in both course, and my teaching, after investing in a genuine course.

[SnoopBot]

Any higher-paying job position will have TESOL experts doing the screening and hiring. I've done this for my old university in Beijing.

Any certification or degree completed online is automatic rejection or at the least not considered for better tier employment.

I've actually called universities to verify applicants and checked out numerous ESL certifications, fraud/embellishment was common at least 75% of the time.



The idea is to invest your time and $ into something you can use in the future that has some weight in the determination in your selection for the more lucrative positions.

Therefore, it's best to actually get your certification via a legit agency that grants teaching credentials. This will involve supervised instruction and practical experience, once completed, it can never be questioned or challenged and any decent DOS or program director will feel confident in your ability if hired.

Don't take shortcuts if you desire to branch into this field, look at taking the Praxis II exams in ESOL too (if you're from the USA) to add to your teaching certificate.

[sharpe88]

what nick said!

[sharpe88]

"Any" is far too much of a generalization. Many reputable unis or big name mills hire quite liberally. The last big name uni I worked for hadn't had a qualified teacher in years apart from myself

CELTA/TESOL is still the way to go in my book, though, if only to improve your ability and be able to be proud in your work. Remember it's only a month long intro to TEFL though - it's far better than nothing, but doesn't guarantee great or expert teachers by any means.

[SnoopBot]

[mnguy29]

Hey, thanks for all this input! Very helpful to hear from experienced people. Ok, I am back in my home state of Minnesota now. If I want to take a real TEFL course in person and not online, do you know how I would find out where and when they are? Thanks again!

[Jayray]

I applaud Snoopbot's experiences in verifying applicants' credentials.

As much as I'd like to believe that it happens, I seriously doubt that the vast majority of Chinese public universities make any effort to verify experience and/or education.

Similarly, I doubt that the majority of the "embellishers" (a very charitable term, Snoop) know enough about college education to be able to fool another westerner about what it takes to even earn a college degree. I worked with a PhD who claimed to have earned her PhD degree by taking a test.

I take issue with Snoopbot's statistics. Seventy-five percent seems like a VERY low number.

[SnoopBot]

[SnoopBot]

[Jayray]

I'm sure worse ones exist, I knew another FT that would get too drunk before class and would shaft the other FT's into teaching his classes. He was supposed to have a Law Degree too.

I think they teach the shafting part in Family Law 101, so he might have been bona fide.