Job Discussion Forums

[jbourne]

I have been reading around this forum for a while now. I am really considering trying to teach in Korea, Japan, or Thailand.

Now, I just need to get my TEFL/TESOL etc certification.

This has been somewhat stressful for me. I have friends that have claimed what type of certification I should get, only to read later online that they're nearly useless. People in the forum say different things about them as well. There are just so many certification companies and schools out there, its really hard to choose.

I am currently licensed to teach high school history in the US. I will have teaching experience soon. I have also worked in schools as a special education mentor.

With my teaching credentials, do you guys think that I could get by with one of the cheaper online 60 hour cert. courses? Or would I just be wasting my money getting one of those?

I want to get the best job that I can, and I want to be the best teacher that I can be to those paying to learn English. However, I do not want to pay for a course that I do not need. I already know tons of teaching theory and classroom management practices. I just need to learn the specifics of teaching English rather than history.

Thoughts? Thank you

[tttompatz]

[Glenski]

[jbourne]

[jbourne]

[Sashadroogie]

Sorry, I'm not so sure it is true to say that the theory behind teaching history is largely the same as teaching English as a foreign language, apart from some specifics. While your prior training ad experience will stand you in good stead, it would be a mistake to believe that you already know most of the content on your TEFL course. For a start you could be teaching adults, which will be very different from your experience with children or teens in high school. But much more importantly, you'll be delivering lessons in a language which is not the learners' own - and that changes so much with regard to the methodology used in a language classroom as opposed to other subjects.

Again, apologies if this seems a bit on the downside, but I've seen many trainees with previous experience in other areas of education who had problems on their TEFL course - problems stemming from assumptions about what they did and didn't need to learn or what to expect from the course.

For what it's worth I think you'd be better off doing a full course. Keep an open mind. You might even be pleasantly surprised.

Good luck.

[Glenski]

I have to agree with Sasha here about the differences between teaching English (or any foreign language) vs. a non-language subject.

[jbourne]

Thanks guys. Ill probably give one of the better programs a shot. They can probably help me find a position too, which is another positive.

[naturegirl321]

Why not try to get a job at an intl school? Better pay and benefits most of the time and as a history teacher you fulfill a niche. Look at www.tes.co.uk and www.ibo.org

[Daddyo]

MOD EDIT

Specifically:

1) A 'flooded' market does not mean an exhausted market. One would think so, but in fact more demand equals more teachers equals more demand equals... well you get the idea. Any marketing expert will tell you that. Healthy markets expand with saturation, not the reverse. And the learning market is one of the healthiest in the world.

2) "You get what you pay for ..." And sometimes you get more. Because a course is cheap does not make it bad. I've taken two cheap courses - one offered by an Institute that had a proprietary 'non Celta' learning system. Both were excellent. I've also taken several mini courses, one that was actually offered free in conjunction with a government program. And it was very good.

3) Standardization isn't always a good thing, as any real teacher will tell you. I find schools and AMs are frequently very interested in my ''outside the box" teacher training, and at the very least curious enough to warrant an interview.

Things are not always they appear to be.

Any fool can get a CELTA. You have to be a special fool to want to do it differently ...
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[Glenski]

MOD EDIT

1) A 'flooded' market does not mean an exhausted market.
I never said that. Don't put words in my mouth.

... in fact more demand equals more teachers equals more demand equals... well you get the idea. Any marketing expert will tell you that.
Well, I'm not a marketing expert, but I think your own logic is fairly woolly here.

First of all, there is no "more demand". Where did you get that from? The demand for teachers in Japan is declining, or hadn't you and the marketing experts you know heard that?

Second, just because there is a demand somewhere, that does not mean there will necessarily be a response. That's also pretty basic marketing.

Healthy markets expand with saturation, not the reverse. And the learning market is one of the healthiest in the world.
You're gonna have to explain this one (especially that last one) a lot!

2) "You get what you pay for ..." And sometimes you get more. Because a course is cheap does not make it bad.
Ask around. Most people here will tell you it is usually the case. If you want to describe exceptions, ok, but I think you might want to do more than just say what you did. Name names, so that anyone in your area can decide whether to make contact and find out for themselves.

3) Standardization isn't always a good thing, as any real teacher will tell you. I find schools and AMs are frequently very interested in my ''outside the box" teacher training, and at the very least curious enough to warrant an interview.
Again, not usually the case in Japan.


Any fool can get a CELTA.
I think you're gonna get some flak here from the CELTA qualified as well as from those who failed CELTA training.

[Mr. Kalgukshi]

1. Stay on topic.

2. Avoid the personal asides.

3. Believe this is a final warning that will result in sanctions if ignored.

[wallkirk]

Taiwan sounds intriguing. I'll look into it.