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caroline17
Joined: 21 May 2011
Posts: 2
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 Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:52 am Post subject: TEFL in Asia |
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Hello!
My name's Caroline and I'm interested in teaching English abroad, most likely in China. (Thailand and Korea are also on my radar, not committed to any one place yet.)
I have a BS in Anthropology. No prior TESOL experience. Native English speaker. American.
Basically I'd like to know where to start! Should I take a class before I go? How do I apply for jobs? Where do I apply? What am I qualified for.
Any tips from those of you who know?
Thanks! |
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 4:23 am Post subject: Re: TEFL in Asia |
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| caroline17 wrote: |
Hello!
My name's Caroline and I'm interested in teaching English abroad, most likely in China. (Thailand and Korea are also on my radar, not committed to any one place yet.)
I have a BS in Anthropology. No prior TESOL experience. Native English speaker. American.
Basically I'd like to know where to start! Should I take a class before I go? How do I apply for jobs? Where do I apply? What am I qualified for.
Any tips from those of you who know?
Thanks! |
To give you a clue before you get dropped into a classroom, a TEFL certification would be a good idea but it is NOT needed to get a job in any of the 3 countries on your list.
For Korean related information you have to go to the Korean forums (separate registration required to post but you are free to read the posts and FAQs). http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/index.php
For China and Thailand, scroll down the forum list and go to their respective forums and just read. There is a goldmine of information there and when you are done reading back a few pages you can actually ask questions and get answers that will make sense to you.
China (Job-related Posts Only)
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewforum.php?f=9
Thailand
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewforum.php?f=13
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 4:32 am Post subject: |
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| I am aghast. Do you mean that the OP could get a job teaching in Asia with absolutely no idea how to teach before she walked into a classroom? I wouldn't want to be a student in a class like that, would you? |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 5:05 am Post subject: |
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| If you're interested mainly in China, post questions in the China forum. |
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 9:09 am Post subject: |
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| Isla Guapa wrote: |
| I am aghast. Do you mean that the OP could get a job teaching in Asia with absolutely no idea how to teach before she walked into a classroom? I wouldn't want to be a student in a class like that, would you? |
LOL.... That was tongue in cheek?
The reality of the fact is that by and large:
i) the vast majority of entry level EFL jobs in Asia do NOT require a TEFL cert.,
ii) most employers in Asia wouldn't know a TEFL cert. from a newspaper ad and
iii) A TEFL cert is NOT a visa requirement in any country in Asia (but often having a degree IS).
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 2:59 pm Post subject: |
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| tttompatz wrote: |
| Isla Guapa wrote: |
| I am aghast. Do you mean that the OP could get a job teaching in Asia with absolutely no idea how to teach before she walked into a classroom? I wouldn't want to be a student in a class like that, would you? |
LOL.... That was tongue in cheek?
The reality of the fact is that by and large:
i) the vast majority of entry level EFL jobs in Asia do NOT require a TEFL cert.,
ii) most employers in Asia wouldn't know a TEFL cert. from a newspaper ad and
iii) A TEFL cert is NOT a visa requirement in any country in Asia (but often having a degree IS).
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It was partly tongue-in-cheek and partly truly aghast. What on earth is going on in this vast majority of English classes in Asia? |
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 11:51 pm Post subject: |
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| Isla Guapa wrote: |
| It was partly tongue-in-cheek and partly truly aghast. What on earth is going on in this vast majority of English classes in Asia? |
Songs, games, TPR and task based / immersion type learning.
The majority of EFL jobs in Asia are working with young to very young learners.
MOST TEFL certs and certainly the better branded certs (CELTA as an example) focus on teaching to adults and aren't much good when it comes to working with kids anyway (I'd love to see a CELTA grad trying to explain the present perfect to a 4 year old.)
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 12:59 am Post subject: |
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| tttompatz wrote: |
| Isla Guapa wrote: |
| It was partly tongue-in-cheek and partly truly aghast. What on earth is going on in this vast majority of English classes in Asia? |
Songs, games, TPR and task based / immersion type learning.
The majority of EFL jobs in Asia are working with young to very young learners.
MOST TEFL certs and certainly the better branded certs (CELTA as an example) focus on teaching to adults and aren't much good when it comes to working with kids anyway (I'd love to see a CELTA grad trying to explain the present perfect to a 4 year old.). |
I know that the CELTA and most other certificate programs focus on teaching adults. My point was that it sounds like novice teachers are going into classrooms in Asia with no training at all. How do they learn how to teach? By "practicing" on their innocent charges? |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 2:10 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
Songs, games, TPR and task based / immersion type learning.
The majority of EFL jobs in Asia are working with young to very young learners.
MOST TEFL certs and certainly the better branded certs (CELTA as an example) focus on teaching to adults and aren't much good when it comes to working with kids anyway (I'd love to see a CELTA grad trying to explain the present perfect to a 4 year old.) |
Please forgive me. But - this is exactly why I often object to teachers whose sole language teaching experience is in Asia trying to give advice to teachers in other regions of the world. It's a VERY different market, in most cases....
Equally, I am absolutely certain that I have near-nothing to offer to teachers who ARE in Asia.
It's apples and oranges as regards the job market, expectations of schools and students, and expected approaches and methods. Not only the kiddies versus adult thing, but all the way across the board, I believe. |
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 3:42 am Post subject: |
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| spiral78 wrote: |
| Quote: |
Songs, games, TPR and task based / immersion type learning.
The majority of EFL jobs in Asia are working with young to very young learners.
MOST TEFL certs and certainly the better branded certs (CELTA as an example) focus on teaching to adults and aren't much good when it comes to working with kids anyway (I'd love to see a CELTA grad trying to explain the present perfect to a 4 year old.) |
Please forgive me. But - this is exactly why I often object to teachers whose sole language teaching experience is in Asia trying to give advice to teachers in other regions of the world. It's a VERY different market, in most cases....
Equally, I am absolutely certain that I have near-nothing to offer to teachers who ARE in Asia.
It's apples and oranges as regards the job market, expectations of schools and students, and expected approaches and methods. Not only the kiddies versus adult thing, but all the way across the board, I believe. |
You are very correct.
As well as the different methodologies for teaching kiddies as compared to adults (the markets in Asia ARE different than say for example as in
Europe or North America) the teaching styles in Asia are vastly different (in my personal experience) than what I employed teaching at a university-college in Canada prior to my going to Asia or in Central America (a very long time ago).
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 12:09 pm Post subject: |
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You are very correct.
As well as the different methodologies for teaching kiddies as compared to adults (the markets in Asia ARE different than say for example as in
Europe or North America) the teaching styles in Asia are vastly different (in my personal experience) than what I employed teaching at a university-college in Canada prior to my going to Asia or in Central America (a very long time ago). |
Many thanks for that, ttom. I was a bit afraid that someone might think I was 'dissing' the Asian teaching market in some way, and that was not at all my intent. Teaching in Asia is clearly a highly credible endeavour, and financially speaking, appears to be the most feasible choice for entry level teachers. Totally legit, for certain.
I think that one of the benefits of forums such as Dave's is to help teachers clarify the boundaries of their experience.
I've learned that I'd likely crash and burn in Asia as a teacher  (seriously)
It's equally true that teachers who show up in Europe with a few years of Korea or China behind them find that employers here are not impressed with their experience; it's pretty commonly known that the expectations, approaches, and methods that are effective there do not translate well in other markets. |
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tortoise
Joined: 31 Aug 2010
Posts: 10
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| Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 8:14 am Post subject: |
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| Is this so? That is interesting. |
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maastricht
Joined: 11 Feb 2011
Posts: 38
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| Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 9:56 pm Post subject: |
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I did JET (in Japan) in the Stone Age, and at the time teaching in public high schools was extremely regimented for both the Japanese and the foreign teacher. We were required to follow the official textbook without deviation. The Japanese teacher lectured on grammar in Japanese for the entire class, occasionally calling on students, who would stand up, give a one-word answer, and then sit back down. The whole idea of a foreigner coming in and doing things the "Western way" was pretty unthinkable. I am not sure how things are now. I was personally frustrated and I dealt with my frustration with a stream of sarcastic remarks. The rules governing methodology in the Japanese classroom were just the seaweed floating in a vast sea of rules governing every aspect of school life. Obedience to the rules was paramount and the effect of their application irrelevant.
However, I was giving lessons to adults on the side. I would say their levels ranged from B2 to C1. I'm not sure how giving private lessons to Japanese adults is any different from giving private lessons to European adults. Maybe it depends on the individuals, but this group of adults was very Western, or at least they had a "Western side" to their personalities that they could switch to at will. Even if they were hardcore Japanese, I am still not sure what the difference is. |
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caroline17
Joined: 21 May 2011
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 1:16 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the advice everyone! I'm off to the China forum.  |
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