Job Discussion Forums

[paulc510]

Hi everyone. I am new to the forum and I need some advice. I am currently a senior in college planning to go to grad school, but nothing is set in stone.

If I don't go to grad school, I want to go abroad(or maybe stay in the US) for 6 months - 2 years and teach English.

To make things even more unclear, I am not even sure where I want to go. Japan, Korean, China, Mongolia, somewhere in Europe, or maybe just stay in the US. I am really uncertain. I was looking at all of these certifications and was just wondering which one was best. CERTA is certainly the best one, but I don't really think I need that right now. There are a lot of sites like American TESOL Institute, TEFL International, TEFL Online, etc. that all seem to offer something less than CERTA but would still get me certified and some even offer classroom experience. Since grad school is still a possibility for me, I don't really want to put the time and money into CERTA. And in Japan and Korea, I have friends that can get me a well paying job, no questions asked because they've been in the business so long.

Can anyone help me out as to what I should do? I definitely want to get certified in someway within the next year!

Thanks

[smithrn1983]

First of all, if you want to teach abroad, get a legitimate certification. That means spending 120+ hours in a classroom learning to teach, and 6+ hours teaching real students and being observed by a trainer. Anything less than this, and employers who ask about certification will be unlikely to offer you a job. CELTA, Trinity and SIT are the name brands that most employers will recognize, though there are generics available. Once you decide where you want to teach, try to get your certification there, and that advice goes doubly for the generics. Don't waste your time with online certificates. All they prove is that you paid someone money to print something out.

As for where to go, you really need to narrow down your options a bit. Think about what you like and dislike, what you couldn't live without, and what your ultimate goals are. How can you achieve them by living abroad? Talk to your friends, and read through the country specific boards here to help you find what you're looking for.

[rtm]

I guess I would ask you this: Why do you want to teach abroad?

If you know what you want to do in the future, and it definitely isn't language teaching, and it is what you are thinking of going to grad school for, then I would recommend just going to grad school and pursuing that area instead of teaching English.

If you don't know what you want to do as a career, but it probably isn't language teaching, and all you want is a little time out to think about your future, then I would recommend just getting a job through your friends in Korea or Japan. You could do an online course as a very small introduction to teaching, but don't expect the qualification to be of any benefit to you professionally.

If you would possibly be interested in a career in language teaching, then I would recommend getting a decent certification - a CELTA would be a good, entry-level introduction to language teaching.

[Glenski]

CELTA, not CERTA.

As for this:

[Zero]

If you don't know what you want to do, then we sure don't.

If you just want to take a year for adventure, I wouldn't invest in any certificate, if a job could be obtained without one. Save your money for grad school. Japan and the other country you mentioned sound good to me.

Like someone else said, if you think teaching English might be a long-term career for you, it might be worthwhile to go for a certificate. That said, there are plenty of long-termers who don't have one. And personally, if I were a fresh graduate with the world as my oyster, I wouldn't consider EFL as a career. (Ducks and covers to avoid rotten fruit being thrown by the other posters.) Instead, if teaching were my thing, I'd go for a K-12 teaching certificate from my own country and get a couple of years experience there. Then I'd have the flexibility to teach in virtually any part of the world I chose for a good wage, or to stay in my homeland.

[paulc510]

One thing is pretty certain. I DO NOT want to pursue a Masters in ESL or TESOL or anything like that. I either want to go for Asian Studies, Linguistics, or English. I do not forsee making English teaching my main priority in the future. I would possibly like to teach English as a side job or coordinate some kind of ESL or international program, but as far as being an ESL teacher, I am pretty sure I don't want to do that at a high level.

I mainly would want to teach abroad so I can study more, pass more language proficiency test, build my resume and teaching experience, and do something fun. I know quite a few people who work or own English language schools in Asia. I've spent time living in Asia. In Korea, the demand is so high for English teachers, I know some people that are teaching without a bachelors or any certification and at all and many more that just have a bachelors in some random area. I mainly want to keep my options open because I am really unsure of where I want to go to teach.

[rtm]

[Glenski]