Job Discussion Forums

[NadineC]

Hello, I want to do an MA in Applied Linguistcs (part-time at Birkbeck College, part of the University of London) and am looking for some advice. I have a CELTA certificate and I taught English in Italy for about 11 months, 7 years ago. My undergraduate degree is in Italian Studies.
I'd like to get back into the industry and am hoping the MA will give me some more options. Perhaps teaching at a University? Research? Even with the MA, I realise that I don't have much actual teaching experience. Furthermore, I worked at an Inlingua school which was rubbish ( I know many people concur after reading some of the posts on this forum!)

I'm going to the University Open Day soon and will ask questions at that, but would be grateful for any advice from people on this forum.

Many thanks!

[Glenski]

If you want to make TEFL a long-term career, I think having such a degree would be to your benefit.

What country(ies) interest(s) you?
Do you want to get into university work?

[NadineC]

Hi, thanks for your reply.
Yes, I would like to get into University work.
I'm interested in Italy, as I have lived there before and speak the language fluently. I also have a few contacts at Universities there.
I would go where the opportunities are, to be honest, although I'm not keen on Japan or Korea.

[csfek]

If you're worried about not having much experience, one thing you could do would be to teach, at least part-time, at a language school while you are doing your M.A. in London. The money would probably not be great, but it's more about getting experience. If you don't think you could handle a full-time job, I'm sure you could find a school where you could just teach an evening class or work as a supply teacher for that school. That's what I did while doing my M.A. in London.

Good luck!

[Kootvela]

I think a degree is always a degree and you can never know when it may be handy. If you feel okay with getting one, just go for it.

[NadineC]

Thanks for your replies, everyone.
It's a good idea to get teaching experience whilst doing the M.A. Unfortunately I will be working full time in my current role whilst doing the M.A, as I can't afford to give up work. But I will try and get some teaching work between terms.
The M.A. is part time in the evening, tailored to suit students with full time jobs. The Open Day is on Thursday, I will post afterwards in case there's anyone else out there who is interested in doing an M.A. at this University.
Thanks again for your replies. Anyone else, please don't hesitate to post another reply, I need all the advice/info I can get!