Job Discussion Forums

[theofand]

I'm partway through an English PhD program and upon graduation I would like to teach English/basic literacy in West Africa (ideally in Liberia). I know a PhD isn't necessary for this kind of work, but the university from which I received my Master's Degree wanted me to stay and offered to pay my tuition and expenses... so here I am. I will gain teaching experience at the university level once I'm finished, however literacy/TESL is an entirely different profession and as such I've thought about enrolling in either a CELTA course or pursuing an M.A. in Applied Linguistics; I really don't want to walk into a classroom unprepared. In this situation, can I assume the M.A. will provide me with more experience teaching English? If I did pursue the M.A., can I assume the CELTA certificate would become irrelevant?

I also know that I could not work in West Africa forever without needing a break or, eventually, burning out. I've been talking with a few professors about the minimal amount of CV-padding necessary to enter the academic world again after many years absence, but I would also like to know how feasible it would be to take my PhD and experience in Africa and find work in elsewhere, preferably in Eastern Europe? Would my experience in Africa count for much?

Is there still room in the TESL profession for bleeding hearts? I've noted a fair bit of pessimism in some of the discussions here; is that the norm?

Also, if that last question rubs the wrong way, please don't take offense. As Jessie Jackson once said, "Charge it to my head and not to my heart."

[spiral78]

Eastern Europe 'ain't' equivalent to Africa. It's, quite honestly, not so poor, and very proud.

You've got the quals, and you probably wouldn't need anything additional, but don't expect to be viewed as a savior, nor to make much money, obviously.

You wouldn't need a Phd in Eastern Europe, nor would your experience in Africa be a key, though it wouldn't hurt.

[fluffyhamster]

The CELTA will only equip you with just about enough to offer basic guidance to learners on how to make the sounds of English. If you want to do a good job of teaching literacy you'll probably have to do a fair amount of reading and research yourself (I haven't noticed many if any modules on it even at MA level). I'd recommend you take a look at the chapter on literacy in the Blackwell Handbook of Applied Linguistics, and books by the likes of Diane McGuinness, well in advance of your departure (i.e. don't assume that you and they can get by with whole word and top-down approaches and only a smattering of phonics picked up once on the job).

[william wallace]

yada yada

[theofand]

Thanks for the replies spiral78, fluffyhamster, and william wallace,

My sense then is you're all suggesting neither the M.A. in Applied Linguistics nor the CELTA is really worth my time? Even if my teaching experience is limited to the western university classroom?

[guangho]

A CELTA would help if you do not have EFL teaching experience. Not the course itself, which is a very narrow vision of what EFL is supposed to be but the attendant pressures, especially if taken in a country you want to teach in will help you a) adjust or b) come to your senses and get a cushy Uni gig in the States. (If that is where you are.)