Job Discussion Forums

[OldandNew]

THANKING ALL OF YOU WHO REPLY MOST KINDLY
BACKGROUND
Just finished my BA in accounting but switching gears for my Master’s to a brick-and-mortar, non-profit, regionally accredited, university with their online MA-TESOL program, which includes a self-arranged 60 hr. practicum. Additionally, I have recently acquired several TEFL certificates, 140-hr TEFL, 50hr Teach Busn Eng, 20-hr TESOL Technology.

Personally, I have traveled to over 25 countries on 5 continents, living in Mexico for 6 years (80’s) and Cambodia for 9 months (2006). I speak a respectable Spanish. For 20 years (1992-2012) as part of my job, I conducted hundreds of bi-lingual (Eng-Spn) workshops to USA factory/health/hospitality employees in cleaning products’ usages-safety.

Moving to Latin American (Mexico/Nicaragua/Columbia?) where my monthly income of $1,300US will afford me a simple yet comfortable life-style. I still want to add some PART-TIME TESOL instruction to augment that.

Now, Age 63, attractive, (pleasant to look at), good health-physique, upbeat, blah-blah-blah. . . . I first thought I would do the Teach Business English/ Prep TOEFL Test locally in whatever city I ended up in . .

BUT I've been looking around on the web (somewhat) and I am getting the (right??) impression that there is opportunity for working online for an ESL company, tutoring students (mainly Chinese children-teens ??) for $7-$10 per HALF hour (??), certain requirements …

I have a pleasant friendly voice and a warm smile. I have a relaxed personality that shines through and a natural way with children/teenagers that put them at ease. What I lack in formal teaching / working experience with children / teenagers, I trump with a combination of a natural ability to teach a second language while making it fun.

QUESTION 1: Is there more of a demand for online tutors for children / teenagers or college / professional adults?

QUESTION 2: Should I focus on a Master’s in TESOL-Adult or TESOL Elementary Education, (Both teach 2nd Language Acquisition, Phonetics and Phonology, etc.,) which also goes hand-in-hand with which level to do my practicum. I can also do a second Masters or 3 year Doctorate (Ed.D) in some ESL-Elementary Education program.

[Xie Lin]

Welcome to the café, OldandNew!

I'm afraid I don't know the answers to your questions about teaching online, but I do have a couple of other more general thoughts.

First, kudos to you for jumping into this life change with both feet! I always admire older career changers. And you have obviously done a lot of research already.

For several reasons, I would be inclined to set aside the question of whether the demand is higher for teaching children or adults. For one thing, given that you are looking for part-time work, it will matter less. Also, to some extent, you will have to consider the effect of ageism on hiring. Regardless of your actual ability, appearance, or energy level, this will be more of a factor in jobs teaching children. In addition, your earlier education and work experience could be a plus in teaching adults. As I recall, Guadalajara has a university (or several) as well as a medical school--these could provide a base for privates over time, if you choose to stay. (Guy or Theresa or another of our Mexico members would be able to say more about that.)

But my other--larger--thought about which age group to target is that you should aim for the age you would most enjoy teaching. You have money enough to support yourself; you need work only part-time; you're 63. Why target a certain age just because there are more jobs available? Look for the work you will most enjoy. Life is shorter than it once was. That is also how I recommend answering your question #2, unless you feel no real preference. (In that case, I'd go with adults/college students for the reasons I mentioned in the last paragraph.)

As far as a second Master's or Doctorate, I wouldn't consider either on the basis of employment. That is, if your reasons for tackling a further degree have to do with increasing your employability in the field, forget it. In Latin America you will never recover the financial investment, nor the time, and I doubt that it will make you more marketable, given your limited experience. At this point you need classroom experience more than another MA. ONLY consider it if you want to do it for your own delight and enrichment!

Someone else will probably come along with some advice about teaching online. If not, there are already a couple of decent threads on the topic, or Teresa (BadBeagleBad) might have some advice to offer on your Mexico thread.

Again, welcome!

.

[ebooktrial0001]

Hello,

As for the question of where you should go, if I had a lot of education and experience, I'd go for the Middle East, because the pay is so good.

If not, China, Vietnam, and to a lesser extent Korea are good markets.

Feel free to ask me for specific clarification.

[OldandNew]

[nomad soul]

[MotherF]

Certainly, the age group you choose to target should be based on your desire/ablity to work with that age group rather than the demand. Either you can stand groups of affluent teenagers or you can't. If you can, there are jobs there. If you can't and you take one of those jobs your life will get worse and worse until you run fleeing from EFL teaching all together, which would be a shame...