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gcruz
Joined: 30 Sep 2010
Posts: 8
Location: Knoxville
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 Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 2:05 pm Post subject: I need advice! |
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Hellos everyone I'm currently a college student majoring in Linguistics and I need help with figuring out my plans for the future.
I want to become an TEFL teacher out of the country first to gain some experience by the time I come back to the states so I can become an ESL teacher. I already speak Spanish fluently and right now I am studying Chinese but it is really hard to master with the characters but with a little hard work I think I can learn it. My question is what other languages should be vital to learn? I am thinking of Portuguese and French.
Is Portugal a nice place to work? I've seen that it is a little bit easier for non-EU passport holders and they pay really well but I am not too sure does anyone know? also When I come back to the states I really want to become an ESL teacher somewhere in the east side such as NYC (preferbly Washington Heights),NJ,Boston,Philly or somewhere in the west like Seattle or California. Am I thnking on the right track?
Sorry for so much info.. Its just Im worried! |
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denise
Joined: 23 Apr 2003
Posts: 3419
Location: finally home-ish
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| Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 2:43 pm Post subject: |
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If you want to work in the US, look into MAs (after teaching for a year or two first, to make sure that you like it). You'll be much better off--you'll still have a hard time finding full-time, salaried work, but you'll be eligible for many more jobs.
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 2:58 pm Post subject: |
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s Portugal a nice place to work? I've seen that it is a little bit easier for non-EU passport holders and they pay really well
This info's outdated - Portugal is not at all easy for a non-EU passport holder and their economy is in the toilet. Pay is barely enough to live on, if you can 1. go there legally 2. find a job. |
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gcruz
Joined: 30 Sep 2010
Posts: 8
Location: Knoxville
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| Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 3:58 pm Post subject: |
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| denise wrote: |
If you want to work in the US, look into MAs (after teaching for a year or two first, to make sure that you like it). You'll be much better off--you'll still have a hard time finding full-time, salaried work, but you'll be eligible for many more jobs.
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Yea I was gonna go str8 into getting my MA in TOEFL (or however you spell it) first before I go abroad then afterwards I come back and try to teach in public school in the states while going for my Doctorate .. Why do you think it would be hard finding work?? |
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gcruz
Joined: 30 Sep 2010
Posts: 8
Location: Knoxville
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| Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 4:00 pm Post subject: |
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| spiral78 wrote: |
s Portugal a nice place to work? I've seen that it is a little bit easier for non-EU passport holders and they pay really well
This info's outdated - Portugal is not at all easy for a non-EU passport holder and their economy is in the toilet. Pay is barely enough to live on, if you can 1. go there legally 2. find a job. |
Oo wow I'm sad now lol... So where should I go to teach? |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 6:26 pm Post subject: |
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Probably not Europe.
What Denise meant about the MA is that the job market in the States is very tight and even with experience and advanced quals it's difficult to land real full-time contracts. |
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TeresaLopez
Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 601
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 8:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Except you overlooked one very important thing - the OP already speaks Spanish, and there are lots of jobs teaching ESL in Bi-lingual programs all over the country, at the elementary/middle school level, but you need to be a certified teacher to do that. I got begging letters for two years after I left a public school system to return because they cannot find enough bi-lingual Spanish teachers. I have even seen some school systems recruiting here in Mexico for bi-lingual teachers. So that might be something else for the OP to consider. Also, if you want to teach in public school systems you might price yourself out of some markets if you get a doctorate. Pay scales are dictated by your education, and some schools won�t hire you because they don�t want to pay more. Seems counter-intuitive, doesn�t it? |
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TeresaLopez
Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 601
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 8:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Except you overlooked one very important thing - the OP already speaks Spanish, and there are lots of jobs teaching ESL in Bi-lingual programs all over the country, at the elementary/middle school level, but you need to be a certified teacher to do that. I got begging letters for two years after I left a public school system to return because they cannot find enough bi-lingual Spanish teachers. I have even seen some school systems recruiting here in Mexico for bi-lingual teachers. So that might be something else for the OP to consider. Also, if you want to teach in public school systems you might price yourself out of some markets if you get a doctorate. Pay scales are dictated by your education, and some schools won�t hire you because they don�t want to pay more. Seems counter-intuitive, doesn�t it? |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 8:25 pm Post subject: |
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Except you overlooked one very important thing - the OP already speaks Spanish, and there are lots of jobs teaching ESL in Bi-lingual programs all over the country, at the elementary/middle school level, but you need to be a certified teacher to do that.
Yes - good point! |
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sparks
Joined: 20 Feb 2008
Posts: 632
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| Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 10:05 pm Post subject: |
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| The big thing is whether or not the OP will be certified to teach ESL. ESL teachers in public schools are a bit in demand in many places right now, as are composition teachers at both the secondary and tertiary level. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 11:33 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| right now I am studying Chinese but it is really hard to master with the characters but with a little hard work I think I can learn it. |
I disagree. You'll need a lot of hard work! There are thousands of characters and different grammar from English.
| Quote: |
| I was gonna go str8 into getting my MA in TOEFL (or however you spell it) |
Why do you dismiss the spelling like that? TOEFL is an exam. TEFL is what you wanted to spell. If this is going to be your career goal, please take the time to learn some simple abbreviations that are used commonly.
| Quote: |
| what other languages should be vital to learn? |
How many do you think you can actually master? This sounds incredibly arrogant or incredibly naive, almost as if you could learn them overnight. Consider where Americans are allowed to work (or not allowed), learn something about the marketplace there so you can decide a little about whether you'd actually fit in, study the culture of each place a bit so you can think about whether you'd like it there, and then start thinking about if you need to learn a language. I think you are putting the cart way ahead of the horse, and perhaps even needlessly so. |
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artemisia
Joined: 04 Nov 2008
Posts: 875
Location: the world
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| Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 12:25 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| The big thing is whether or not the OP will be certified to teach ESL. ESL teachers in public schools are a bit in demand in many places right now |
Yeah, good point and also the other point about being overqualified to teach in public schools with a doctorate.
To the OP I'd say majoring in Linguistics now and following up with an MA is a plan of action you can't go wrong with. You might want to consider getting a state school teaching certificate instead though. It really depends on what kind of job you want abroad and back home and what ages you're prepared to teach. A school teaching cert would give you the option of teaching ESL, Spanish (and whatever other languages you learn) in state schools when you're in the States.
It would also be very helpful for work abroad. If you want to go after uni jobs then an MA would be the way to go but might limit your options back home. It's always going to be far more competitive getting ESL work in English-speaking countries for obvious reasons. High quals and years of teaching experience - probably abroad - are almost mandatory for work in universities.
With Spanish, South America springs to mind as does Spain but Europe won't be that easy an option without an EU passport. Spanish will be a great basis for picking up Portuguese so Brazil might be worth a look.
Other than that, you're learning Chinese so there's always China!  |
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mimi_intheworld
Joined: 23 May 2010
Posts: 167
Location: UAE
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| Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 12:21 am Post subject: |
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| To your list of languages, maybe add Arabic? It could be helpful! Might be challenging to learn at the same time as Chinese, though. |
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