Job Discussion Forums

[mwalcoff]

Hello,

I am having a devil of a time trying to find employment in Southern Ontario. I taught for two years in Prague, am experienced at teaching all types of classes, including TOEFL and Cambridge exams, and was thought of quite highly by my former employer and students. Yet now that I'm back in Canada, every school tells me it can't hire me because CAPLS, the accrediting agency, requires that all teachers have a 100-hour TESL certificate or better. I only have a 50-hour certificate. Recruiters I've talked to say it's ridiculous that even people with 10 years' experience can't be hired unless they have the right diploma, but they can't do anything about it.

Are there any schools in Ontario that value experience more than pieces of paper when they hire teachers?

Thanks.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

Here's a list of the courses that are approved for TESL Ontario. They take about a full time year of study (with a practicum that lasts most of the year), and you can probably estimate about 30 people (give or take a few ) graduating from each per year, and more than a few people who take them have already been overseas teaching for two or three years:

Algonquin College,
Benns International School Inc.,
Brock University,
Canadian Co-operative for Language & Cultural Studies,
Carleton University,
Conestoga College,
G. A. Wheable Centre,
George Brown College,
Humber College,
Niagara College,
Seneca College,
University of Toronto
York Catholic District School Board
York University,

University of Saskatchewan: CERTESL



Then there are the courses approved by TESL Canada in Ontario alone, although any of the ones approved in any of the other provinces also meet the 100hour minimum. (I tried to remove all duplicates from TESL Ontario, but there might still be some, and then some -like Trent University might not be included in TESL Ontario's online list yet).

Academy of Teaching & Training, Inc.
Benns Int. Schools
Canadian College of Educators
CCLCS
Centre for lived language, inc.
Coventry House Int.
Global Village Toronto
Hansa College Canada
Int. Lang. Academy of Can.
ILSC -
Int. House Toronto
Language Studies Canada
Lang. Studies International
London Language Inst. Inc.
Robinson Ling. College
St. John Learning Centre, Niagara Catholic District School Board
Tams College
Toronto College ACE
Trent University
Western Town College


Basically, my point is that the market is flooded (and this list doesn't take into account all the volunteers teaching in Ontario who may not actually have training because they are 'just' volunteers). It may be that TESL Ontario standards become the only ones accepted by employers in the province because there are hundreds of people in Ontario alone looking for jobs. A general rule of thumb is to consider yourself a 'junior' in any field until you have three years experience. There has been some talk of trying to formally tie adult education and ESL classes into one governmental group (right now it's divided into a small part of what a lot of different governmental agencies do), at which time it could function like the Ontario College of Teachers, which oversees the public k-12 teachers in the province and the certification for them.

[ls650]

[Gnome]

I can sympathize. I am an Ontario Certified Teacher with more than 450 hours of TESL courses, and 10 years of both Canadian and International teaching experience. Can I get a job teaching ESL in Ontario? Not in this lifetime. Perhaps if I changed my gender, dyed my grey hair and offered to work for free, I might get an offer. But I doubt it. That's why I am now a contractor.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

[Gnome]

This gnome is male in a female dominated "profession." Perhaps Gambate, I gave you the wrong impression. Here's my rant.

I had a nice, part-time ESL job working for a schoolboard several evenings a week. Of course, I had a full-time job during the day in a trade that I also enjoyed. The rest of the staff were all women who had, as they say, "married well." They dabbled in ESL. All of our staff meetings and planning sessions were held during lunch at a local restaurant, so I was not able to attend. My teaching contract was not renewed the next semester because I hadn't attended any of these planning sessions. I would still like to teach an ESL class a few nights a week, but I can't get through "the pink ceiling." That's what I meant when I said that perhaps I should change gender. Such is the state of ESL in North America. Too many volunteers, and too many wealthy wives dabbling in ESL. Must be nice to have that luxury.

So, my advice to any young person starting out is to become a Regular Certified School Teacher and get a secure job in a schoolboard, or take up a trade. Anything else but an Adult ESL Instructor. 'Cuz if you want to teach ESL, you had better marry well.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

Yeah, that's exactly what I thought you meant, except I thought you meant that none of the women had grey hair, whereas most of the ESL teachers I've met have grey hair, except in private language schools, where people are either retirees or they are in their twenties. Anything in between is rare.

[ls650]

[Anne Stevens]

Any chance you know how to find email addresses
for all of those?

[Gnome]

Most can be found by writing the name in your Search box. This is especially true of the major institutions mentioned. Almost all the places mentioned have websites. Failing that you can Google them.