Job Discussion Forums

[Mockra]

Hi everybody,

Been lurking about the forums for a while trying to get answers to my myriad questions. First off right now I'm unemployed! A friend of mine taught English in Thailand and ended up staying there. Another friend did Japan for 2 years. They both recommended I do it at the time and since I'm not gainfully employed I figure it might be time for a change. I've lived in Australia and the US, right now in Detroit. Bachelors in PoliSci and a law degree. But no TOEFL certifications whatsoever. Probable destinations are Japan and South Korea. Maybe China. These seem to be the big ones for first timers.

So from what I've read here there seems to be sort of multiple aspects of teaching english. Teaching children, adults, business folks, etc. I'm hoping to use my law degree to some advantage in teaching business english. The problem I'm running into is what seems like the major three certifications aren't taught in my area. The general consensus seems to be that the online certifications are a no go as for the most part they have no in person teaching component and the ones that do are also not in my area. The only things I have found around here are Oxford Seminars (which seem to be somewhat sketchy based on postings) and a full on degree in TESOL which while I'm not entirely against at this time I'd like to jump in for a year or so and decide if its a career change I'd like to make before committing to a degree in it.

So should I just suck it up and spend the extra money on an extended stay hotel or an apartment in one of the cities doing CELTA/SIT/Trinity? Should I just try and go without it? Or is there some alternative that I've missed in my dredging through old threads? Should I just up and move over there and take the certification there with no job offer?

[spiral78]

If you have to relocate to take a reputable course anyway, then, yes, it's certainly an option to do it in the country where you want to start working.

There are some advantages to this route: your practice teaching students will really be representative of those you'll be working with when you start. A good training centre can be a great bridge into a country - they usually handle things like accomodation during the course, airport pickup, local orientation. Your fellow trainees often form the beginnings of a social support network. A training centre will definitely know which local employers are reputable, and can help steer you in good directions. Finally, you can be sure that your cert will be recognised by local employers.

I suggest you expand your cert search to the countries where you say you'd like to work, and go from there - at least as one option!

[Chancellor]

Forget Oxford Seminars. If you can manage to go take an on-site course (CELTA, Trinity, SIT, one of the generics as long as they offer at least 100-120 course hours and at least six hours of supervised teaching practice with real EFL students) in the country where you most want to work, there are plenty of advantages as Spiral suggested. Keep in mind that these are entry-level courses.

Another option is a graduate certificate in TESOL from an accredited university in your home country.

[coledavis]

Yes, I'm backing Chancellor on this one.