Job Discussion Forums

[Deano1979]

Hi

New to the forums, I hope these are not stupid questions

1)What are the differences between the TEFL, CELTA, TESOL etc? Which one is the best one to gain employment, or are employers generally not to fussed about it?
2)I would be interested in doing the course in Russia (St Petersburg over Moscow) or Prague. I have found a few schools for Moscow, can anyone recommend any for St Petersburg? The only one I have found with decent reviews is http://www.visarus.co.uk/directory/school/view/7/American%20Language%20Master_Saint%20Petersburg/view.htm
3)How long is a typical contract with a school? Ideally, I would like to travel a bit, and would like to spend some time in Russia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and South East Asia. Is it possible to secure shorter 6 month contracts? Im not to concerned with western Europe, although shorter stints there could be quite fun.
4)How difficult is it to secure work teaching English to business people, and is the pay better?
5) Do you need a degree to do the CELTA in particular?

To give you some background. I am an Australian living in South Africa currently employed as a Business Development Manager at a leading ISP in South Africa. Money is great, but I am fed up with pressure, deadlines, targets, KPA�s and work that is utterly meaningless to anyone but my bank manager. Teaching might not pay a quarter of what I earn now, but I think I would enjoy it more without being tied down, allowing me to travel and see the world a bit and hopefully make a bit of a difference on my 3-4 year career break.

I do not have a degree, will this be an issue considering the level of work experience I have?

Why I have decided on Russia I just dont know

[johnnyenglishteacher]

1) TEFL = Teaching English as a Foreign Language. It's the name of the profession. CELTA is the name of a certificate that you need if you want to work in a decent school. See cambridgeesol.org for more details. Alternatively try the Trinity certificate. Both take 4 weeks full time and give 120 hours of tuition and 6 hours of teaching practice.

3) 6 month contracts are possible.

4) With your background, finding Business English teaching work will be very easy.

5) A degree is not needed for the CELTA, but some employers insist on it, and in some countries you'll need a degree to get a visa.

Hope this is useful. It would probably be best for you to start on the Newbie forum with these questions, you'll get more replies.

[Deano1979]

Thanks for your help!

[spiral78]

Re: question 1 - CELTA has the widest name recognition, but generic courses are usually acceptable within Europe - just be sure to choose one that is on-site 100+ hours and includes at least 6 hours of supervised teaching practice with feedback from experienced teacher trainers. That's the standard basic entry-level course - you'll find many in Prague that fit this description.

Re: question 3 - I disagree with the previous poster. Standard contracts are generally September - June. You could possibly land something Sept -December and then Jan - June, but it's not the standard. So far as Western Europe, assuming that you have only Australian citizenship, and no passport from an EU member country, you're not legally eligible to work in most of Western Europe anyway.

Que 4 - most private language schools cater to businesspeople anyway - this is by far the biggest market for European private language schools. Don't imagine yourself presiding over a classroom - most teaching is conducted in corporations, and travel throughout a city to get to your students is usually considerable. This isn't 100%, but it's the bulk of the work.

Q 5 - you don't legally need a degree to get a certification or to teach throughout Europe. However, you should be aware that most newbie teachers DO have one - as will nearly all of your students. You'll need your professionalism and business experience to offset this.

The money for entry-level positions in ESL throughout Europe is basically subsistence level. Particularly if you plan to hop around, you'll be able to count essentially on enough to live, but not to subsidize much travel outside the country you're living/teaching in.

If you decided that you love the profession and wanted to make it a second career, you'd need to pursue more qualifications. But, I think that with a good entry-level cert course and your professional attitude, you can likely subsidize a few years of life in Central/Eastern Europe.