Job Discussion Forums

[mrjack]

HI all,
I am a UK trained teacher who has around fifteen years teaching experience, I have taught Physical Education, SEN,Maths and I.T. but do not have an English teaching qualification or experience teaching English.
Am I foolish to think that I would be considered, could get on to the Pnet or Snet scheme ?
Thanks in advance if someone can offer any advice.

[CEB]

If you interview and are hired from overseas then they may not care if you have ESL experience or not but it is definitely an asset. In the PNET scheme, ESL teaching plays a big part. I'm not sure about the SNET scheme but I would guess that it does as well. We are definitely not teaching native English speakers and most students who start primary school have very limited ability.

If you are thinking of moving half way around the world to teach English but have never taught language to young learners before, perhaps you could get a bit of experience in the UK first at a language centre or in the English department of a school that has an ESL program first to see if it suits you.

For the NET scheme you need a TEFL certificate of at least 100 hrs and a teaching practicum. This would also give you a bit of an idea about teaching language but I would suggest some hands on experience first if you are unsure.

Or just get the TEFL, apply and hope for the best.