Job Discussion Forums

[Ecrivain]

Previously I had trouble making a decision between the SIT and CELTA courses in Costa Rica. Thanks to all who provided input. I chose to register for the CELTA course at Instituto Britanico and planned my arrival in San Jose around that class schedule.

Unfortunately, it seems I made the wrong choice. I was just informed that once again the school has been unable to fill the class and it is canceled. I guess I should've taken the hint the first time.

So now I've got a plane ticket for Feb 24th and no certification course to take. The next SIT course isn't until the end of May. I guess my only real option to move forward is to jump right in and start looking for work. I was hoping to have training and more classroom experience, since I feel the students deserve it, but I will do my best with what I've got.

Any advice is welcomed.

[John Hall]

Well, it's going to be like learning how to swim by being thrown into the deep end of the pool!

Seriously, contact some of the places that you might be interested in working at in order to find out if they provide any type of training. It won't be the same as the CELTA, but at least it will be better than nothing.

I would also recommend, at the very least, reading some books about teaching English before you come down to CR.

[Ecrivain]

I've been reading Teach Yourself Teaching English as a Foreign Language.

I suppose this changes my job hunt a bit, too. I'd been hoping to focus on universities. Now I guess I'll look towards the private/business schools that may offer some training and won't necessarily require certification.

One bonus is that I won't be tied to San Jose for my first month, so at least I'll be able to explore some other areas.

So much for planning ahead. But, this is a good lesson in flexibility.

[Ecrivain]

Looking over some of the job postings from private institutes, several do seem to require "TEFL certification or equivalent experience." I have 9 months of volunteer ESL teaching experience, for whatever that's worth.

Should I plan on taking something like TEFL International's course just so I have some sort of certification? They seem to have classes every month, so I don't think I'd have to worry about cancellations like with Instituto Britanico at least. I've heard mixed things about the course, but it does offer the oft-recommended 100+ hours of training.

On the other hand, I've heard several people have gotten decent jobs with no certification or experience at all. Just showing up with a degree and a good personality seems to be enough for some schools.

[JAppleby]

I haven't been teaching yet in Costa Rica, but I am planning on it and contacted a few schools. I got an e-mail reply from Academia New Learning when I e-mailed them awhile back, and they said the most important thing is to be outgoing, and I think I remember on the Berlitz website that certification isn't necessary. But I got an e-mail reply from another school (I don't remember which) that said I wasn't qualified (I will have a Masters in Education and experience teaching Spanish when I go down), and I remember seeing websites that said certification was required. Don't hold me to anything, but just check with some schools to see what they require. It seems like some of them will take you as long as you look professional and speak English. Good luck!

[zeddiez]

INTENSA hires warm bodies from what I heard. The schools that require an ESL certificate pay better.