Job Discussion Forums

etx · Joined: 15 Apr 2004 Posts: 26

A few websites that might help you make your decision, before you commit yourself to the life of selfless devotion to education that the rest of us poor suckers did --
http://www.prisonerofwonderland.com
http://www.englishteacherx.com
http://www.eflplanet.com
http://www.livejournal.com/users/ernestswhirrled

the last, a blog, might be especially interesting to you, as it's by a guy who had a good (yet difficult) job with a great salary who decided to toss it all in order to get constantly jerked around teaching rich Thai kids in Bangkok.

and last but not least the admittedly somewhat hysterical article in the Telegraph called "The Slavery of Teaching English"

http://education.telegraph.co.uk/education/main.jhtml?xml=/education/2004/01/17/teftefl17.xml[/url]

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

DZNZ · Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 28

DZNZ · Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 28

Trojan Horse · Joined: 30 Dec 2003 Posts: 61 Location: Europe

Hi there DZNZ,

Sounds like you've reached a turning point. I don't know that I would whole-heartedly recommend a move into TEFL but good luck if that is what you want to do. There are some reasonable jobs out there but you need specific qualifications and experience for those (generally MA applied linguistics or something similar, CELTA/DELTA, 2 years full-time teaching experience as a minimum).

I agree with other posters who mentioned CELTA. You can do these certificates in an intensive course (4 weeks) or a couple of evenings a week. I did the intensive one and it was not truly enjoyable. Google "International House London" and check out the world map to see which schools offer CELTA near you. There are probably additional schools not included on there, so maybe mail an enquiry about that. The courses are not dead cheap but halfway reasonable.

Never heard of this particular school you mentioned, I'd recommend either the CELTA or Trinity certificate. Both are offered by various schools/bodies. Those are the ones most schools ask for.

You're dissatisfied with the politics involved in your job. Fair enough. In all truth though there is plenty of that in TEFL jobs too, plus split shifts, travelling back and forth between shcools and business premises and as you've heard pay is for the most part bad.

Before investing a whole lot in this career, I'd try it out and see how you enjoy it and how you feel about the lifestyle and conditions. Did you say which countries you were interested in? I might be able to offer more specific advice then.

hamel · Joined: 03 May 2004 Posts: 95

to the original poster: please don't get too frustrated with these comments. money is not everything as you know and i respect someone who wants to help others. you can do a lot of good as an esl teacher in korea. the trick is to find the right job--korea is a good place to learn the trade. then maybe get a cert. or degree in esl or teaching after getting some experience.
best of luck.