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meshodman
Joined: 13 Jul 2005
Posts: 8
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 Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 3:40 am Post subject: Getting to Mexico |
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| Just a quick specific question from a newbie.I want to teach and live in Mexico due to health reasons. I've researched many schools and courses and have narrowed it down to 2 choices. One is through a Canadian school (unitedtesol.com) which offers a course and a 1 month practicum in Cuba for $3800 cdn, all expenses paid. I like this course because you can get a student loan. The other option I am considering is taking an online course and then doing volunteer tutoring and teaching in Canada and then going. ($400) Any expert advice on this or a better idea would be appreciated. Thanks |
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Samantha
Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 2038
Location: Mexican Riviera
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 3:45 pm Post subject: |
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| First of all, is there any particular part of Mexico that could benefit your health situation over another? There are things like altitudes vs sea-level and humidity vs dry climate to consider when choosing a location. |
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meshodman
Joined: 13 Jul 2005
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 11:34 pm Post subject: |
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| In my case, the more sun , the better. What cours did you take, if any or how did you get there? |
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Samantha
Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 2038
Location: Mexican Riviera
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 11:55 pm Post subject: |
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| I have been here several years, but I did take a TESOL course in person in Canada prior to moving to Mexico. I have to warn you though...teaching here isn't all that easy and if you have health issues you may want to think twice. You won't see much sunlight if you need to make ends meet. When I first arrived I had 3 or 4 jobs on the go at a time. It takes time to get established. |
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meshodman
Joined: 13 Jul 2005
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 1:27 am Post subject: |
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| I understand that teaching there can be difficult for many reasons. I don't mind hard work and paying my dues. Believe me, that is a hell of alot better than not being able to walk. I'm from Vancouver and we've had about a week of good weather here this summer. You said things were tough at first for you. Has your situation improved over time? What school did you go to and would you recommend it? If you could check out unitedtesol.com and give me your thoughts, that would rock. They offer a Carribean course with a practicum. Nice to talk to someone who is where I want to be. Cheers. |
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Samantha
Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 2038
Location: Mexican Riviera
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| Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 1:33 am Post subject: |
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| I was last from Vancouver too. And the weather is a good reason to leave. Do you have a degree? You shouldn't worry too much about a certificate if you have your degree. You can work legally in Mexico as a teacher, with a degree. Get your degree legalized in Canada before you come down. It took me no time to do that at the Mexican Consulate in Vancouver, but now the procedure has been changed and there is an extra hoop. Hint: Canadian Govt is involved... No big deal, but it definitely takes more time. |
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meshodman
Joined: 13 Jul 2005
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 2:12 am Post subject: |
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| My 'degree' is in film production. Guess I could make a cheap film down there instead. haha. I want a change for many reasons and I figure this is the best way. Wanna swap msns ? |
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Ben Round de Bloc
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1946
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| Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2005 2:43 pm Post subject: Re: Getting to Mexico |
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| meshodman wrote: |
Just a quick specific question from a newbie. I want to teach and live in Mexico due to health reasons.
. . .
I like this course because you can get a student loan. . . . |
Of course, it depends on what sort of health problems you have, but I found that moving from a northern climate to a sub-tropical one to teach had its positive and negative points. I'm physically miserable in cold weather and can tolerate extremely hot, humid weather much better than than upper-midwestern (U.S.) winters. However, if I'd been bothered at all by being on my feet a lot (standing and walking,) I'd have never survived my first few weeks here.
I think it would be wise to get some type of TEFL certificate for several reasons including the competition factor. When I first moved here about 10 years ago, it was relatively easy for unqualified or under-qualified native-English speakers to find jobs teaching EFL. Now there's quite a bit of competition, and lots of folks looking for jobs have qualifications and/or experience.
I'm not sure about the student-loan factor that you mentioned regarding one of your options for training. Most newbie TEFL teachers find living on a teacher's wages pretty tight, especially during the first year or two. The added budget burden of student-loan payments could make for an even more difficult financial situation. |
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meshodman
Joined: 13 Jul 2005
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2005 5:15 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks for the reply. Could you reccomend a good course with a practicum in Mexico? Would an online course be useless in Mexico? |
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aisha
Joined: 10 Feb 2005
Posts: 96
Location: Playa del Carmen, Mexico
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| Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2005 1:50 am Post subject: |
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| An online course wouldn't be useful because it doesn't involve practicuum. I've heard good things about ITTO in guadalajara, that's where i'll be going in may. |
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thelmadatter
Joined: 31 Mar 2003
Posts: 1212
Location: in el Distrito Federal x fin!
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| Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2005 12:02 pm Post subject: desert |
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meshodman,
Did you see the thread "Where to go in Mexico - desert area"? It might have some useful information about climate for you. Scroll down a bit to find it. |
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Ben Round de Bloc
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1946
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| Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2005 1:44 pm Post subject: Re: Getting to Mexico |
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| meshodman wrote: |
| I've researched many schools and courses and have narrowed it down to 2 choices. One is through a Canadian school (unitedtesol.com) which offers a course and a 1 month practicum in Cuba for $3800 cdn, all expenses paid. I like this course because you can get a student loan. The other option I am considering is taking an online course and then doing volunteer tutoring and teaching in Canada and then going. ($400) . . . |
I don't have much faith in on-line courses for people who have no prior teaching experience. As aisa mentioned, most on-line courses lack practicums, although I think there may be some providers that combine on-line course work with a practicum experience.
IMHO, I think you might be further ahead cost-wise and time-wise taking a better known course -- such as the one-month CELTA course in Playa del Carmen, for example -- rather than the course you mentioned for $3800 cdn. It looks to me like the course you're talking about gives five days of training and then four weeks of practicum with lots of emphasis on English for tourism. I'm not familiar with the course at all. Someone who has taken it could obviously give you much more accurate information. My concern it that it could be a situation where you get very little training (five days) and then very little constructive observation/evaluation during your four weeks of practicum. You could end up with a certificate that doesn't count for much when applying for jobs in Mexico. |
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meshodman
Joined: 13 Jul 2005
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 12:26 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks Tim. Do you have any contact info or a website for the school you mentioned? The more I hear about Cuba, the worse it sounds. I'm really getting frustrated trying to find to find a course due to the immense saturation of crap that seems to be out there. I would've been soooooo screwed if I hadn't found Dave's, but I still haven't found what I'm looking for. |
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MELEE
Joined: 22 Jan 2003
Posts: 2583
Location: The Mexican Hinterland
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| Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 2:27 pm Post subject: |
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Hi everyone,
I just wanted to ad that I would also recommend a course such as in International House CELTA in Playa del Carmen. I would hire someone with a CELTA over another type of certification. Mainly because I know that people actually FAIL the CELTA, in otherwords you don't get the cert just because you paid the money, you have to do the course as well. 
Tim, I'm glad to see you made it through Emily alright, I'm basking in the residual rain at the moment--we really needed it up here! |
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