Job Discussion Forums

[DarkTraveller]

After some major life changes and 17 years as an executive assistant in the USA, I am looking into the possibility of TEFL for 1 to 2 years. My interest would possibly be Western Europe or Latin America. Since I know very little about the process of teaching abroad, can you please help me?

1. Is a college degree necessary to be successfully enrolled and placed after training?

2.If I can proceed without a college degree, how much training is suggested?

3. What criteria would you use to determine what school to attend and what level of certification to attain?

4. Based on the locations I mentioned, what pay scale would be expected for an entry level teacher?

5. What are the best and worst aspects of teaching abroad?

Thanks for all your input!

[spiral78]

Re: Western Europe
Unless you have a second citizenship in addition to your U.S. one, you have very little hope of being able to teach legally in the 'older' EU member countries. The laws there very heavily favor workers from other EU member states and while laws vary from country to country, the range is from 'nearly impossible' to 'impossible.'
This is regardless of qualifications.

Western Europe is considered a highly desirable area for teachers. There are many well-qualified (uni degree + experience + post grad training in teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language) on the streets competing for jobs. Pay is generally relatively low - enough to live modestly on and to do some local travel. The slant of the job market in employer's favor keeps wages and benefits low. The relatively few 'better' jobs are in regular universities and state schools. These obviously require serious qualifications (years of experience + post grad qulaifications in TESL/TEFL).

Re: questions 1. Without a uni degree, you are at a serious disadvantage in Europe, because most entry-level language teachers on the market have them. However, unlike Asia, there usually no state laws mandating that you must have a degree to teach. You mention 'being placed' but I can tell you that it is almost unheard of to find a job unless you are IN the country making the rounds in person. Europe hasn't got the lack of teachers that exists in Asia, and schools won't hire in advance due to past prevalence of no-shows, or people who, when they did show up, had clearly misrepresented themselves in some way. You need to be here, on the ground, resume in hand, looking professional and reliable to get a hearing.
2. Basic entry-level training is (at minimum) a 30-day on-site course that includes supervised teaching practice. On-line or weekend courses don't cut it with most decent language schools.
3. It's usually best to attend a training course in the country where you want to teach. This gives you some orientation and contacts in the country and the practice students you will teach will be realistic models for the real ones you will begin with.
4. Pay in Europe is modest - subsistance. Many English teachers share accomodations. Someone occasionally has good luck stories and finds him/herself in high cotton, but this is rare to non-existant thanks to the sheer numbers of teachers around.
5. This is an entirely subjective question. I personally love being far removed from my country of origin, have no fear of being lost, or not having specific commodities, and my communication skills are pretty high, so that language barriers don't worry me. But all of the above can be very stressful for many people.

Please review the country-specific boards below for more in-detail information. Your questions are pretty common, and lots of people have posted in detail in the recent past. You'll find lots of useful info.

[Guy Courchesne]

Now for Latin America...

[JZer]

If you are keen to start ASAP, I would look into doing an online degree while you are teaching. Of course this may not be possible due to the fact that without a degree you will probably be restricted to teaching in Third World Countries or at least poorer countries. I am sure that you can get work in China and Latin America without a degree but the pay will not be great.