Job Discussion Forums

[MTM09386]

I will graduate from college in May and am unsure what I want to do. I will get a degree in Biochemistry but I don't want to go to grad school (at least not right now) so I have been looking into this. Although I don't plan to teach ESL my whole life...if I love it, it could become a longer commitment. Thus, I want to get the best certification, I want to be the best I can be. From other posts I have at least found that online is not the way to go but I do have several questions:

1. I want to work in Spain, Italy, or Eastern Europe. What would people suggest for certification? Should I take one of these 4 week classes in Madrid or Prague?

2. What certification is best; CELTA, TEFL, etc. There are so many options it makes my head spin.

3. I won't finish school until May so I won't be able to take a class until then...will I still be able to find a job quickly?

That's it for now. I am sure I will have more so if anyone feels they can help me that would be great.

[denise]

Where are you from? (I'm guessing America, because Americans don't always say...) That would limit where you can work legally in Europe.

If you take your course in May, you might have to wait a few months until the beginning of the academic year in September-ish. When I taught in Prague, there were not many classes available in the summer. That said, though, there will always be a few openings available here and there, so it's not impossible.

I'm part of the camp that says that it's best to get your certificate in the place you want to teach, so I'd say yes, take a course in Europe. Schools in Europe seem to be pickier than elsewhere in the world about the name on your certificate (i.e. CELTA vs. the rest) but as long as you take a reputable course, you should be fine. "Reputable" means 100+ hours, with several hours (6ish) of practice teaching sessions to real students (NOT just your coursemates), observed by the course instructors.

Good luck!
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[spiral78]

Denise is right. You should 1) take a course in the country where you want to start. CELTA is the name brand, but there are good generic courses out there that also include 100+ hours on site and practice teaching with real students. 2) if you are American or Canadian, you can still get a work permit for the Czech Rep - see the Czech forum for current info on this - but not for Spain or Italy. 3) The job contract period is September - June. You'll likely be hard=pressed to find any work before September.

[naturegirl321]

CELTA; Trinity and SIT are the best courses. There are plenty of smaller ones, make sure they're 120 hours, plus have 6 teaching practise.