Job Discussion Forums

[marblez]

I do not know too much about the various certificates/diplomas available to those who teach ESL, so I'm not sure of this particular issue.

Many people, including posters on this forum, have TESL/TEFL/CELTA certificates, which require anywhere from 4 weeks training and beyond. Then again, a lot of you have master's degrees.

My university's TESL certificate requires nearly 30 university credits of specific linguistics, grammar, and language structure courses. In addition, we must be proficient in another language (equivalent to 3rd year courses). We also have 2 courses focused simply on TESL teaching methods and practicum training.

At $169 a credit my TESL certificate costs $5070, plus about $2000 for the books. When you factor in the second language requirement, it's another $3000.

It also takes 3 years to complete, averaging about 2 courses per semester. But many people take an $800 course... with 4 weeks of training. Don't get me wrong, the extra training (I believe) will be worth it, because I'm not too keen on those who are in the profession "for the hell of it". Maybe I just feel gyped.

As far as I'm aware (please correct me if I'm wrong), MY certificate is the only one valid in my province for public high school teaching. When it comes to teaching around the world, I don't think it will hold much weight compared to others.

[juststeven]

Marblaz,
Most excellent questions! If you want teach in the public system, where you will have security, salary increases, benifits, and stability, then you need to play their game. Of course, you must decide if that is what you want and if there are ample opportunities for success. The 'certs' you mentioned will give you a 'ticket to ride' on adventures all over the world. However, the security, etc.... will not be there. You can have both if you want to invest the time and money. I have an M.Ed. and all the certs up the you know what, and for me it has worked out well. My suggestion to you is to get a BA in Education and whatever 'cert' you feel is the most marketable and go from there. good luck!

[justcolleen]

Pardon me for hijacking this thread, however ....

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

I'm from Ontario, and spent a year doing a TESL certificate in Ontario. The costs are the same as a full-time year at a university, but we don't have a requirement for the additional language (although it is recommended- especially getting at least some knowledge of a non-European language).

One major difference between the Ontario TESL certificates and your programme in BC is that the Ontario ones will not get you into the public education sector (other than things like LINC, except in special circumstances- like if you do a one-year B.Ed as well). What it will get you into is private language schools in the province. It may also get you into Colleges (not universities) during the regular fall/winter term although the colleges prefer MAs. It can also get you into teaching university summer sessions, especially if you know people at the university. It is often used as a stepping stone to get into an MA in Applied Linguistics, or as added experience to get into the one-year B.Ed programmes (for which competition is intense, but the TESL certificate itself will not get you in).

If you do a TESL certificate in Ontario, and then later do not get into an MA in Applied Linguistics (or a B.Ed if that's really where you want to be), then you may have a real problem. A lot of people end up going back to school to get into another area (if they can afford it, or get a loan and aren't already too disillusioned and bitter because it seems that the University's purpose in their training courses is not to have all their graduates able to actually work in a field as a career, but is simply to earn money from the costs of their courses), or rely on the skills that their BA got them (read " they often end up in retail work or warehouse duty or whatever.")

Ontario's TESL certificate is not well known outside of the province (and possibly to a lesser extent by the rest of Canada). There are very few stable jobs in Ontario which will allow you to live off what you earn throughout the year in ESL, especially considering that there are sixteen different training institutions and eighteen different programmes churning out graduates with a TESL certificate and a BA/B.Sc./BFA etc. a year, or MAs. And so people who really want to teach English language often leave the country and teach EFL. Outside of Ontario, the PR machine for Ontario's one-year TESL certifcates is not any where near as good as the PR machine for one-month certifcates like a CELTA (maybe because the thrust of the training in Ontario is in order to teach in the province- if you are forced out of the province because you actually need to pay your own rent, then you are on your own) and so people with a CELTA are being hired over the one year certificates.

So yeah, I guess I'm saying that I feel gyped, too.

[juststeven]

Justcolleen,
The post I think you're referring to was concerning the use of a reflexive pronoun. We all make spelling errors at times, who doesn't? Anyway, I've already been raked over the coals, thank you very much. Also, thanks for the 'note' about my age.

[Chris_Crossley]

I chose my Trinity College (London) Certificate in TESOL precisely because I wanted to teach outside my home country. It made sense to choose this rather than any other one simply because it is a recognised certificate that is cited again and again in many an advertisement in the private sector, although the public sector does not necessarily demand it.

So far, in the three and a bit years that I have been a TEFLer, I have taught at a summer school in England, whose organisers specifically wanted either this certificate or the CELTA, a private language school for two years (i.e., EF), where such a certificate is "desirable", and at a primary school (where I still am after nearly completing two semesters) where no such certification is required at all.

Still, having it is good because at least that, apart from the fact that I have done a moderated course which includes elements of TEFL theory and observed teaching practice, it means that I can definitely apply for any jobs which specifically want this certificate ("a TESOL [what?] is required/desirable", I sometimes see). Call it "currency", but, as with exchange rates, perhaps its value can go up and down over the years, especially if one has accumulated a bucket-full of TEFL experience.

If you are going to choose a certificate of any sort, then you must be sure that it is going to be both value for money and, above all, useful in your future job search. If it is a private school you are looking for, then a CELTA or Certificate in TESOL would be the useful thing. If it is a public school, then a few education courses within a B.Ed. degree programme would be useful.

As it happens, I have a B.Ed. as well as the Certificate in TESOL, plus my three years of experience in China, so I can certainly apply to public and private schools. Some public schools (e.g., in HK) do want people specifically to have qualified teacher status, as recognised by the government of their home country, even if they do employ teachers as EFL specialists - and I have seen some ads for HK primary and high schools, which call for such people to be so qualified.

Since I am so qualified, I am certainly going to try and apply for any TEFL jobs at any public schools in HK that are going for next autumn.

[ContemporaryDog]

Yes, I have done the CELTA one-month course (well in fact it was 3 months part time - still very intensive though, I have never been so busy in my life, I didn't even get time to go to the gym!!!).

At the place i teach in China they also don't require it. However, I am pleased that I took the course as I did pick up quite a lot about teaching. I've still got the huge folder of notes that accumulate over the duration of the course, here in my flat in China. I ought to dig it out and have a look some time!

The course that the initial poster has described sounds like the equivalent of an actual PGCE (albeit one specialising in tefl), which makes one a fully qualified teacher to teach in one's home country.

Of course, we Brits are one of the lucky countries who actually get paid to do full teacher training - fees all paid for and 6000 quid living expenses for the year.

[juststeven]

CD,
You get a free education and 6000 Quid to boot, that you don't have to pay back! Wow, I'm still paying back college loans after ten years. God bless your educational system!

[Chris_Crossley]

[juststeven]

CC,
"Those were the days, my friend. We thought they'd never end. We'd sing and dance forever and a day!

[Chris_Crossley]

[ContemporaryDog]

[ContemporaryDog]

Just to add that I was quite lucky to be one of the last people to get free tuition. In my third year the government announced their plans to scrap grants and do away with free fees. I wasn't affected as I had already begun university, but I do think its bloody disgraceful.

(Having said that I think there are too many people at UK universities now. Many of these people will leave with huge debts and not be able to get a great job. I would cut the number of places to around half what it is now, and bring back free grants and tuition. Better that than having millions with tons of debt working in call centres. Meanwhile you can leave school at 18, train as a plumber and earn 150k a year! Its nuts)