Job Discussion Forums

[nomad soul]

There have been posts throughout these forums from experienced teachers (with degrees unrelated to TEFL) who have been teaching without ever having attended a TEFL cert course. Some believe their experience itself qualifies them.

So... What's your take on the situation? Should one get TEFL certified before or after gaining teaching experience? Or not at all? Or...? Your comments are welcome.

Note: For the purpose of this poll, "TEFL certification" includes the following:

- Mediocre 100-120 hour TEFL cert course: In-person training that also entails practice teaching with one's peers. (Might include some online modules.)
- Valid or well-recognized TEFL cert course: CELTA/SIT TESOL/Trinity CertTESOL or equivalent, non-branded 120-hour TEFL training that includes supervised teaching practice with real students.

[spiral78]

Definitely before, IMO.

From the perspective of someone who has been involved in hiring on and off over 15+ years, and have been involved in both basic teacher training and ongoing professional development:

Most people without training specific to language teaching logically apply the approaches/methods they themselves experienced in their own early education. These are not particularly effective with language learners, particularly older teenagers to adults.

People who have taught core subjects to students in their native languages also need a bridge into the different types of approaches and methods used in language teaching.

Finally, as we've noted before on numerous threads, having done the job is no proof of having done it well. Experience without training/education/qualifications is absolutely no guarantee of quality - in fact, in my personal experience, it's more likely to indicate someone who's unlikely to succeed in any context where there are solid standards for teaching and outcomes.

[jtea]

I would also say before. When I was taking my TESL class's I met multiple people who said they wish they took the course before teaching. It makes teaching easier and more effective in terms of your students actually learning.

[suphanburi]

Training is almost always better before rather than after the fact.

Also, let us not confuse "in service" training and on-going professional development with pre-service training (TEFL/TESOL certification) before commencing a new profession.

.

[Guiza]

I guess if you do it after experience you're likely to have build up bad habits without realising so. Bad habits that could be harder to shift even with training.

For me I probably wouldn't have lasted in teaching English if I hadn't done the celta before I started teaching seriously. Having done a teaching assistant placement and felt totally inept at the job I would never have wanted to go abroad and teach without some training.

Plus your decent job options are massively limited without a certificate so just do it before and start learning from there.

[MuscatGary]

[nomad soul]

Consider the following:

Armed with only a BA, "Elroy" heads abroad and teaches for a few years or more in schools or institutions that don't require a valid TEFL cert, if one at all. Elroy eventually becomes bored, restless, or financially challenged and starts to look for better-paying and/or more interesting jobs in other countries. He sees ads for tantalizing teaching opportunities but runs into a snag: A valid/well-recognized TEFL cert is required either by the employer or for visa purposes or both. Elroy is now faced with the issue of having to take (unpaid) time off from his job or resign entirely in order to complete a 120-hour course onsite and hopefully one that's offered in or near his current location.

While enrolled in (and thoroughly enjoying) his 4-week TEFL course, he realizes he risks missing the application deadlines because the prospective employers expect to see an official certificate of course completion and not verification of enrollment. Moreover, although Elroy successfully completes his TEFL course, he may find himself running into snag #2: not meeting the requisite minimum number of years of experience because his teaching experience was prior to receiving TEFL training. In other words, some employers will only consider an applicant's teaching experience gained after obtaining a TEFL qualification, which means those years of experience get reset back to zero. But what about Elroy? Does he get that dream job? Or is he out of luck despite now holding a gleaming, newly-minted TEFL certificate for his efforts?

Moral of the story: Never put off for tomorrow what you can do today.

[spiral78]

[Sashadroogie]

100% agreement in this poll? What are we coming to?! Can't we have one dissenting voice, please?!

[oxi]

[oxi]

... let me explain.

I voted quick according to my own experience.

I left uni, not knowing what the hell I wanted to do, except travel. I signed up to do a few months of TEFL so I could travel on the cheap. I vaguely remember a 1 day induction. I went off and did my few months.

Afterwards I decided I quite liked it - then did CELTA and PGCE... and DELTA later. I guess my point is that I think folks should try teaching and see if they like it. Then get qualified to do it properly.

[Sashadroogie]

Ura! Cheers, Oxi!

Not a bad justification, either.

[kpjf]

What about this:

I am currently finishing a Master's in TESOL and will jump straight into a PGCE after, this September, in teaching Spanish in secondary schools (PGCE = to become a certified teacher)

Would I still need/should I still do a CELTA when that's finished? I understand many would say for a PGCE you would still need a CELTA given that teaching geography, maths or sciences is a different thing to TEFL, but imagine teaching Spanish, French etc would be quite similar to English, in approach in general (could be wrong here though!), except that I probably won't know the students' mother tongue (in Asia for instance).

Any thoughts on whether or not the CELTA would be necessary? Or even, if not necessary, maybe it's just a worthwhile add-on?

Thanks

[suphanburi]

With an MATESOL + PGCE + some classroom time there is no need for a CELTA.

Anything you may be missing won't be much and certainly not worth spending the extra $2000 + 30 days on.

(read - no real advantage.).

.

[MuscatGary]