Job Discussion Forums

tooker · Joined: 27 Jan 2005 Posts: 11

Im looking to do a tesol with tefl international at some point this year(it will be in thailand, vietnam or egypt, and after this I hoope to find a job teaching english. My question is where is a good place to start? I dont have a degree but I would like to teach for at least a few years. What places would I have a reasonably high chance of finding a job? I was thinking maybe vietnam, cambodia or Yemen, but I dont really know what the situation is for someone like me who has no degree, will it seriously hinder me?

usool · Joined: 11 May 2004 Posts: 147

Hi there

The solution to yours, and every other similar dielma, is to do a masters in TESOL from some mickey mouse uni (usually in Canada or Australia) by distance learning. Then you can apply to any good place in Saudi and they should accept your application because the're depserate for workers.

Regards

tefllifer · Joined: 13 Jun 2003 Posts: 81

Gee thanks Usool - then people wonder why Masters by DL are sometimes not recognised! Without wishing to bring up the whole DL saga again, many MAs by DL are very valid qualifications - and people work extremely hard to get them. If we want TEFL to be a respected field, then should we really support the 'mickey mouse unis' you refer to? Aren't we shooting ourselves and our colleagues in the foot?

Bebsi · Joined: 07 Feb 2005 Posts: 958

High Plains Drifter · Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 127 Location: Way Out There

Thank you Bebsi. At least there is one other person who is appalled by the atrocious grammar and spelling that one regularly sees in this forum. I am constantly amazed at people claiming to be teachers of English who cannot write an intelligible sentence. Of course, in what other profession can you claim to be a teacher after studying for one whole month?

And usool�s advice wasn�t any better than his/her grammar and spelling. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have a lot of money and pay the highest salaries you�ll find anywhere in this field. For that reason alone they can demand qualifications and experience�it�s got nothing to do with high or low standards. So forget about getting a job here with no degree and a one-month Delta, Celta or Shmelta.

There�s no substitute for experience and a degree--preferably an M.A., preferably not a DL degree. I�m not putting DL degrees down, and I know you have to worked damned hard in DL programs, but the big question is whether they will gain acceptance from employers. The jury is still out. My current employer does not accept them.

spicegirl · Joined: 29 Mar 2004 Posts: 112

Gulf countries - traditionally, the plural in English has no apostophe, while adjectives for nationalities, regions and countries are usually written with a capital letter.

GabeKessel · Joined: 27 Sep 2004 Posts: 150

When I was getting my visa for Saudi, I had to send my diploma to the Saudi Cultural Mission somewhere in Washington DC as part of the whole visa package thing, along with the AIDS test and all.

The Mission had to make sure that the degree was from an accredited school, and then they had to stamp it.

So, a Micky Mouse degree may or may not work. It also depends on whether you are a US or a UK, Oz, or NZ citizen , I guess. Some countries do not have accreditations per se so I guess there may not be a Mission there and the procedure may be different.

I would get a normal degree. What is the hurry anyway?

gorgan · Joined: 24 May 2005 Posts: 8

With respect to you all.................since you are teachers and and are therefore very precise and responsible, could you please from now on refer to this Gulf as Persian Gulf. (This Gulf like any other Gulf has a specific name after all!!)

gorgan

younggeorge · Joined: 15 Apr 2005 Posts: 350 Location: UAE

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

In the states when people talk about the Gulf, are they not referring to the Mexican Gulf?

gorgan · Joined: 24 May 2005 Posts: 8

younggeorge · Joined: 15 Apr 2005 Posts: 350 Location: UAE

EnglishBrian · Joined: 19 May 2005 Posts: 189

Stepping in where angels fear to tread here, but isn't the Persian Gulf (aka...) just that pointy body of water? Not many TEFLers working in or on that, unless you possibly count Bahrain? Does it actually relate to any land at all? The term 'The Gulf' seems a handy way to refer to the Middle Eastern lands, as separate from Turkey and Egypt let's say.

I believe if I said I was working in the Gulf of Mexico it'd be assumed I was on either a ship or an oil rig - or maybe a very small island.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Troll...

VS

gorgan · Joined: 24 May 2005 Posts: 8