Job Discussion Forums

anbrainblasta · Joined: 21 Dec 2008 Posts: 11

Greeting,
I'm just about finishing up an MA in Applied Linguistics and am strongly considering relocating to the gulf from my present home here in Korea. From reading the various discussions its clear that the qualifications bar is set much higher in the gulf area. Im wondering if a 4 week intensive celta course will add much value to my cv. I have three years efl experience(including a year at 3rd level) which, im thinking, allied with my pending MA should land me something decent in somewhere like Saudi or the Emirates. The celta course will probably cost me upwards of $2000 dollars and i wouldn't mind avoiding this cost if at all possible. However if any of you Middle-east experts out there feel a celta course would enhance my employment prospects i'd be happy to hear your thoughts.
thank you

Never Ceased To Be Amazed · Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 8:54 am Post subject:

I work in the gulf with the lowly M.Ed. in TESOL Laughing

, so I say that it's not essential. However, as many of these institutions are British-dominated (no knock!) and they desire teaching practicum, I'd say that the CELTA (or, better yet, DELTA) would reflect well on your C.V. Again, however, it's not required. I think what got me past the interviewers is that I graduated from a premeir institution and to question me would be to question them.

NCTBA

anbrainblasta · Joined: 21 Dec 2008 Posts: 11

NCTBA,
Your advice has probably settled the issue for me so many thanks. I especially like your picture attachment. As an ex-pat 'paddy' you've given me a great reminder as to why i left my homeland. I've got some great people back home but speaking with honesty id say that collectively we're a nation of drunken slobs who are afraid of who we might be if we sobered up for 10 minutes.
Sorry NCTBA, just had to let that one go.
Appreciate your thoughts,
best wishes
brian

anbrainblasta · Joined: 21 Dec 2008 Posts: 11

NCTBA,
Your advice has probably settled the issue for me so many thanks. I especially like your picture attachment. As an ex-pat 'paddy' you've given me a great reminder as to why i left my homeland. I've got some great people back home but speaking with honesty id say that collectively we're a nation of drunken slobs who are afraid of who we might be if we sobered up for 10 minutes.
Sorry NCTBA, just had to let that one go.
Appreciate your thoughts,
best wishes
brian

Never Ceased To Be Amazed · Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 6:34 pm Post subject:

Not attall! I've got no Irish in me, I just adore the elixir coming outta St. James Gate!

NCTBA

stickleback · Joined: 01 Jul 2008 Posts: 76

Although you need an MA for most of the jobs in the Gulf, in actuality it makes you overqualified for what you really do which is babysitting.
Most students are emotionally one or two years behind their peers in the real world.

Never Ceased To Be Amazed · Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 7:05 am Post subject:

mccainjohn96 · Joined: 03 Dec 2008 Posts: 93

With your MA in Applied Linguistics and experience you should be the teacher of the CELTA/DELTA courses, not the student. Didn't your MA include a practicum? Or, for that matter, a course in punctuation? Or in idiomatic expressions?

As NCTBA points out, some of the British bimbos in the HR secretarial pool, even some of the British bimbos, of both sexes, who run departments, will toss your CV in the nearest wastebasket if it ain't got the imprimatur of Cambridge U. But look into the history of these certification courses, and I think you'll find they're nothing but a cash cow on the one hand, and an excuse to indoctrinate both ESL teachers and students with liberal political values on the other--as if the teachers, at least, didn't get enough of that in their previous education. The lack of academic rigor is obvious when I look at the prerequisites or chat with some of the graduates. I think Cambridge originally bought the CELTA/DELTA rights from Haycraft's International House. It was designed from the get-go to churn out backpackers by the thousands. I'm shooting from the hip here, so somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

smedini · Joined: 24 Feb 2006 Posts: 178

Heya Anbrainblasta...

Out of curiosity, from which fine institution are you about to graduate? I ask because I am about to do the same with the same degree (and will hopefully be in the Gulf sooner or later Wink

).

~smedini

15yearsinQ8 · Joined: 17 Oct 2006 Posts: 462 Location: kuwait

ma degrees in applied linguistics normally do not require a student teaching component - meaning you spend 2 years studying about the theoritical notion of transmitting language but not the practice/experience of doing it - even a short practical is NOT THE SAME as a national teaching license
if your first degree is not in education or if you do not have a natioanl teaaching license, then a celta would be benefical to you and your career and job searches
unfortunately the m.e. is overrun with brits who think this celta, a shake and bake cram course, is the evilient of a 3-6 months of a fulltime job teaching class to real students in a real environment (ie a student teaching requirement for a national/state teaching license)
don't listen to poster maccain, as much as a loothe those you think the celta is the apex of esl teacher certication, you in no way could teach a celta just as you could not mentor a student teacher

leave me alone, i can't spell

jdl · Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Posts: 632 Location: cyberspace

If you are serious about teacing...get a teaching degree. If academics is more your leaning go after that Doctorate. Both are career paths. ESL....celta/delta/esl quickie course: they will get you around the world as a working traveller but plateau your career unless you are business minded and start your own esl business.

kernow · Joined: 18 Apr 2005 Posts: 14 Location: Beirut

CELTA does not claim to be a PGCE equivalent. It is accredited by the UK Qualifications and Curriculum Authority at level 4, ie undergraduate level. It is an INITIAL teacher training course designed to give people the basic tools they need to start working in a language classroom.

On the MA vs CELTA debate, an MA gives you the knowledge but is unlikely to help you to convey this knowledge to your students. Teaching is not just about knowing your subject. CELTA could give you the confidence to start and to know you're going about things in the right way and that what you are doing is pedagogically sound.

Afra · Joined: 02 Feb 2003 Posts: 389

A sensible answer from Cornwall! However, I would like to add that almost all the teachers I work with are nationally qualified teachers who also have CELTA/Trinity as these are specific to English language teaching.

txmsk · Joined: 10 Apr 2009 Posts: 58 Location: The World

Aren't there some key differences between an MA in Applied Linguistics and an MA in TESOL?

Also, what about the teaching practice components (i.e. practicum) that some programs offer as an essential part of their Master's programs? Wouldn't this count for the perceived lack of classroom experience?

I myself already have one MA and the CELTA. I've thought about doing the DELTA on the ground, but decided I would be better of if I went for a Master's in TESOL.

My goal is to land a university position, whether it be in the US/Canada, the Middle East, or in Korea or Japan.

Any thoughts, comments?

spicegirl · Joined: 29 Mar 2004 Posts: 112

In my experience in the UK, MA TESOL courses don't include any TP ... you're expected to have a Diploma (DELTA, or one of its previous incarnations, or Trinity) before they'll accept you on the course. The course that I did was mostly theoretical and largely research based - the dissertation was based on a practical classroom-based research project.