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Newboy
Joined: 18 Jul 2004
Posts: 1
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 Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2004 12:31 pm Post subject: Online |
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Hi
I'm a graduate in Modern Languages and have had a year's experience as a teaching assistant in an international school, as well as some additional work in part time and private tuition. I am now thinking seriously of getting a job abroad as an English teacher and am choosing a TEFL course.
I have considered doing a CELTA or Trinity course but just don't have the money and am also sceptical about the advantages of doing these courses given my degree type. My current idea is to do the cheapest course available (probably online), so that I have a certificate of some sort which shows commitment to English teaching from my side. I am hoping that my previous experience of teaching, as well as an understanding of grammar which comes through studying a foreign language to degree level, will be enough to secure a position abroad. After some more teaching experience I could then opt to do a "proper" post graduate course in teaching English, i.e. Delta etc.
Does this sound reasonable? Do employers actually want to know if a TEFL certificate was obtained directly or through distance-type tuition? Are online courses really held in such low esteem by employers? Thanks in advance for any tips/advice etc.
Justin |
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Varvian
Joined: 17 Jul 2004
Posts: 29
Location: New York, USA
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| Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2004 1:43 pm Post subject: |
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I haven't taught abroad, but I've been doing some massive research, which might be useful to you.
Considering that you already have experience and a degree, you could find work fairly easily in other countries. Do you have a particular part of the world you'd prefer to be in? Requirements vary by reigon and country. But getting a TEFL cert of some sort is a really good idea because you'll be able to demand a higher salary.
From what I've seen CELTA and Trinity are really useful in Europe, and are considered the best and worth the extra money. But the rest of the world does not care as much as long as you've had a TEFL course with 120 hours of class time and about 8-10 hours of practice teaching. And I've heard employers prefer courses that you take in person because of the required practice teaching time. I've heard that you're not always going to get a chance to practice teach if you do it online.
If you're talking about proper post graduate work, then you might want to consider opting for a master's. In order to get a DELTA you first must get a CELTA and do a couple years of teaching before you can take DELTA classes.
If there are any EFL teachers out there feel free to correct me. All of the above is what I remember from doing my internet research. I know the real thing is much different than reading descriptions and requirements on a screen. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2004 12:43 pm Post subject: |
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| Varvian wrote: |
I haven't taught abroad, but I've been doing some massive research, which might be useful to you.
Considering that you already have experience and a degree, you could find work fairly easily in other countries. Do you have a particular part of the world you'd prefer to be in? Requirements vary by reigon and country. But getting a TEFL cert of some sort is a really good idea because you'll be able to demand a higher salary.
If there are any EFL teachers out there feel free to correct me. All of the above is what I remember from doing my internet research. I know the real thing is much different than reading descriptions and requirements on a screen. |
You dont say what country you want to teach in but in most countries you require a university degree in order to get a work visa. Most employers in Japan Taiwan and Korea are not too fussy about TESL certification, as long as you have a valid work visa.
In Japan, a TEFL certificate will not really help much in getting a better job or higher salary, but you may be a more competitive candidate and be looked at more closely. teachers in japan are paid the same, whether they have a TESL certificate or not.
Higher paying jobs such as university jobs will require a Masters degree, though a CELTA etc is recommended in European countries as well as a degree. Again it depends on what visa you can get and where you are allowed to work.
CELTA courses usually require and observed practicum and its pretty hard to do online or at a distance. There are not many TESL courses I know of that you can do online that are recognised in japan. Anaheim University has a very well-known TESOL course with Rod Ellis and David Nunan, but at the moment the degree is not accreditted in any other country.
I have a list of accreditted distance masters degrees in TESOL and Applied Linguistics if you are interested
http://www.teachinginjapan/continuinged.html
I am teaching in Japan, by the way. |
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shenyanggerry
Joined: 02 Nov 2003
Posts: 619
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2004 3:54 pm Post subject: |
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| Look at the want ads on this forum. How many ask for a TESL certificate? I'm glad I took one because it helped prepare me to teach. I don't think the school cared one way or the other. |
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