Job Discussion Forums

[MdSmith]

Hello all

I'm just looking for a bit of advice. I hold Bachelors/Masters/PhD degrees (all science related) and am strongly considering moving back into efl in the very near future (particularly since this is the only work I can get in a certain country I want to move to, and because I have done efl teaching before and enjoyed it ). However, I can foresee that a stint in the Middle East may be useful in a few years time mostly for financial reasons as well as the experience it would give.

As I already hold two postgrad degrees I feel that doing an MA TESOL would be overkill. So my question is, would obtaining a CELTA now before I move back into efl be a wise move given that institutions in the ME apparently prefer post-qualification experience. Secondly, with my education+CELTA and say a few years experience would I have a good chance of landing a decent position in the ME teaching adults, say in a university (even without MA TESOL/TEFL)?

Thanks for any insight and advice you can give.

[nomad soul]

Hi, again, MdSmith. I guess you really want to get out of teaching enviro science.

So... It's hard to determine if you'd get hired to teach EFL at the uni level; your science degrees aren't relevant to TEFL, which is what the better employers (and even some sketchy contracting companies) expect. Moreover, employment visa regulations may require a related degree. (I say may because that seems to be the latest change in some Gulf countries.) If that's the case, employers may not have any flexibility in terms of bringing you on board. (By the way, they're likely to question why you'd want to take a step down in your career to teach EFL.) Anyway, you need to keep your eye on TEFL job ads in your target country to see what quals are required.

An option would be to try for a position teaching science in a prep or foundation year program, although I doubt you'd need a CELTA since you wouldn't be teaching EFL. You'd have to see what your specialty in enviro science or other relevant teaching experience qualifies you to teach. If you go to individual universities in your target country, check out their foundation year webpages for the science faculty profiles to get a sense of acceptable backgrounds. It might not allow for a complete description of each instructor's qualifications, but it's a start when assessing whether your own quals would suffice. You should also check job ad requirements, if the uni is hiring.

And of course, as suggested in those previous threads, you certainly could look at university professorship opportunities in enviro science in the country you're interested in.

[MdSmith]

Hello again and thanks NS

Yep I'm almost definitely moving back into tefl. It seems strange that my qualifications would not be seen as a relevant as I could be teaching students from a science department how to write scientifically etc and surely a science background would be more relevant (?!). But I can see what you mean about the rules etc.. I am quite specialised in env sci and my individual knowledge of chem, biol and physics is not enough for me to teach any of them individually in prep programs etc.. With regards a professorship in env sci, well possibly but I plan to be doing efl for the next few years so that would probably close the env sci door shut.

I would not just be interested to do efl work in unis, it could be teaching adults in another context e.g. business/industry. I sometimes see job ads for Saudi that require a degree (any subject) + CELTA + 4years experience; surely this could be something I could aim for or are those jobs flawed somehow?

Cheers.

[nomad soul]

[MdSmith]

Thanks again NS for your comments. Here is the ad I saw for an energy company advertised through a middle man, the salary seems good although not much else is mentioned:

http://www.reed.co.uk/jobs/english-teacher-tefl-45k-70k-saudi-arabia/22974770#/jobs/education?keywords=english%20teacher%20saudi

"Our client will also consider suitably qualified candidates from a non-English field of study. However, you must still be able to demonstrate a minimum of 4 years� experience of teaching English as well as CELTA, DELTA, TESL or TEFL qualification."

I don't have a CELTA at the mo but am thinking of getting one (although I already hold a weekend TEFL cert), then teaching in a country of preference for several years (in Europe) and then maybe Saudi further down the line. I have been considering EAP work, at a university e.g. science writing courses etc. I also have a reasonably strong geological background so would be relevant for ESP work in the oil industry.
So would getting a CELTA now be a good idea (or perhaps not given that I have a TEFL cert even though just a weekend thing)? What do you think, are the 'CELTA+4 yrs experience jobs' (see link above, any thoughts?) worthwhile or a bad move? Or it depends!? Cheers.

[nomad soul]

[MdSmith]

Okay, many thanks NS, that helps.

Cheers.