Job Discussion Forums

[esully88]

Reasons I am considering ESL/TEFL: I have come to find that I do not really care about money and material posessions. Here in the U.S., most people care about nice cars, homes, THINGS. And, I am completely opposite from this. I care about learning and people and culture. I don't want to live a life of boredom. I don't want to work my butt off at a boring, desk job my whole life just to have all these THINGS. I am tired of being around people who only care about having a nicer car, reading people magazine, scrutinizing the lives of celebs, American Idol and other pointless things. I want to find meaning in my life. I know I can do this by teaching. I understand that it is still a job with lots of B.S. but I know that I will be much happier doing something that I enjoy. I am not getting into ESL to make money at all. I am considering a start in teaching ESL somewhere in Asia or southeast Asia.


I am a college student in the United States. I am at a point where I can go one of two directions with my education. I can get a degree in a liberal arts subject and finish in the summer of 2010. Or, I can get a degree in something education related and get a teaching certificate to teach here in Texas and finish in spring 2011.I have found, from reading as much as possible, that it is probably best to get a degree in education and certification to teach. The general consensus seems to be that this makes life much easier when one returns home and is looking for a job.

Question 1: Is it worth it to get a degree in education and certification? And if so, what would be the best path?

My university offers:
B.S. Interdisciplinary Studies with Early Childhood-6 Generalist Certification
B.S. Interdisciplinary Studies with EC-6 ESL Generalist Certification
B.S. Interdisciplinary Studies with 4-8 Generalist Certification
B.S. Interdisciplinary Studies with 4-8 ESL Generalist Certification
or I can get a degree in a subject such as math or science with ceritification to teach 8-12

Now, I love working with kids, is there a demand for elementary school ESL teachers abroad? (Any specific countries?) Of course, I would be open to teaching all levels but would I still be qualified to teach older students if I had a degree in eduaction based in early childhood?

Question 2: Would an ESL certification from my university/state of texas be recognized overseas? Or would I need one of the certifications such as CELTA/TESOL?
If I do need one of these courses/certifications, is it best to do this in the states or overseas once I have reached the country I intend to teach in?

Question 3: I have a boyfriend that I have lived with for two years. I am 20 and he is 22. He does not have a degree and will not have one by the time I finish mine. He is working on his associates, but very slowly. We both have the same goals and ideas about life. Of course, he will be coming with me. (We might be married by the time- given our relationship continues on the same great path)
He wants to become certified to teach ESL/EFL, but in what countries would this be possible without a degree? (We are thinking about Asia or Southeast Asia)
We both know that having a degree makes things much easier, but it just won't happen.
If not teaching, would he be able to find a job doing something else? Any ideas for a foriegner without a degree?

Any answers, suggestions, comments, personal experience are greatly appreciated.
I tried to include as much information as possible, but please let me know if I missed anything of importance.

[naturegirl321]

Glad that you're not getting into TEFL for the money. If you get a teaching cert, you can teach at intl schools, see www.tes.co.uk and www.ibo.org , down side is that you'll make heaps of money, get benefits, like flights and flats.

1. Yes, get a teaching cert. What you choose depends on you. Do you want to teach EC? or HS or pirmary? Or a subject, like Maths, Science, etc?

Yes, there's a demand for primary. lots of countries, look at www.ibo.org. NO, ifyou have a EC cert, it would be hard to tech HS maths, for example.

2. Yes, the Texas teaching cert is recognised overseas. YOu'll bneed it to teach at an intl school. CELTA; etc is usually for language schools.

3. He should get a degree. Take it from me, I'm married toa Peruvian with no degree, it's hard for both of us. I can get jobs almost anywhere, and he just gets dependent visas that don't allow him to work, legally.

For no degree, he could work in ASia, like CHina, though it's getting harder without a degree, Chekc the job boards. Getting a job doing something else depends on his work and language schools. ANd visas. If he can get transfered to X country, that woudl be good. Otherwise, he'll be teching English, bartending, translation, tour guide, etc work.

Hpe this helps

[spiral78]

For bartending, translation, and/or tour guide work, your bf will obviously need more than English language skills. Is he fluent in an Asian language?

[Glenski]

For the places you are going, I'd recommend that he do one of two things:


1. Get the certificate and some schooling, plus some teaching experience at home. Sometimes all that together can make one eligible for a work visa. Country specific.

2. Get married. Then, in Japan anyway, he can get a dependent visa as your spouse and work part-time.

BTW,
There are plenty of people in EFL/ESL who are attracted to THINGS. Don't assume that just because you aren't, that everyone in EFL/ESL is the same way. We're not all vagabonds and backpackers. And, if you're in this for the long haul, money had better be on your list as far as retirement options goes, depending on where you want to remain the rest of your life.

[esully88]

[johnson430]

Hello fellow Texan,

I am a high school English teacher in the northern part of the state. cert.: ELAR 9th-12th


First, here is a good description/definition of an International School:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_school

Most are either under the IB (British) or DoDEd (US) curriculum but some have both.


So you want to teach children...I suggest you get the B.S. Interdisciplinary Studies with Early Childhood-6 Generalist Certification and put one year of teaching under your belt. General List EC-6 is very sought after in Texas. Remember, once you are certified in one area you can amend your certification with as many additional areas as you want.(assuming you pass the content test)

I have the same attitude you do about "things." I rent a house, my car is paid for and I don't buy extravagant stuff.

The only real worry I have is my student loan debt, I owe 60K. I won't be able to renew my teaching certificate if my loans go into default; my cert expires in 2014. I really want to head to Mexico but I don't think I will be able to pay off my student loans teaching English there.
I'm tempted to just leave and never come back
But enough about my worries.


Again, go for the:
B.S. Interdisciplinary Studies with Early Childhood-6 Generalist Certification it will do you good in Texas and abroad.

Good luck.

ps: If you want to teach high school level get cert in Math or Science, there is a big need across Texas for these two areas; and many ISDs offer sign-on bonuses for Science/Math!

[naturegirl321]

[esully88]

[esully88]

[johnson430]

Do I like teaching high school?

Yes, I do; but I also have a passion for teaching.
And I love all things English.

Problems:
Sure there are some occasional problems but I don't come across too many. I think good classroom management and good time management can resolve most student apathy.

As far as elem. teaching jobs, it all depends where you are. Look at the larger metro areas in Texas.

You are in Houston so Region 4 is your area, here is the website with all the districts in Region 4:

http://www.region4teachercertification.net/default.aspx?name=hr.emp_map_links

You can click on any district and search for jobs in that district.

My two cents:
If you like science, teach science. Not to say you can't teach something else but I think you might put more effort/have more to share about something you like.

[naturegirl321]

[Chancellor]