Job Discussion Forums

[_Hutch_]

Hey there. I've done quite a bit of reading through the forum and appreciate the tips and knowledge I've gotten, but had some more specific questions.

I did some traveling in Central America last year and loved it and would like to teach English in Latin America next year with the intention of studying Spanish in my free time and hopefully being proficient within a year or two. I'm thinking Argentina or Chile since I like the proximity to mountains and I've got friends that I'll want to visit in Sao Paulo, but would probably be open to just about anywhere in South America. I'm also planning on amassing some money for a backpacking trip and setting up something when I'm down there in person, as compared to setting up something before I head down. (I've heard this is easier and I'd like to get a feeling for a city before committing to live there for a year.) I've got what I assume is a solid resume in writing-based work: a couple years as a newspaper reporter and editor in chief of my college newspaper. Since I don't have any teaching background, I'm naturally thinking some sort of TESL program would be good before I dive into doing this.

From research on this forum and around the internet, I've learned the following general rules:

- Much of Asia will take any English teacher with a pulse. Most of Europe requires top-of-the-line CELTA/TEFL certification and some teaching experience. The feeling I've gotten is that Latin America lies somewhere in between those extremes.

- Internationally recognized, Cambridge-certified programs that include 120 hours of class time and a stint of actual classroom TESL experience are the best programs out there, but usually run $3 or $4K. Online-only programs are cheap and easy, but aren't that highly regarded since there is a lack of in-person instruction. Oxford Seminars in sort of a middle ground - widely available, about $1,000 and 60 hours.

I'm wondering if anybody has first-hand experience using Oxford and if it helped them land a teaching job in Latin America. I've read some trash talk on here about the program, particularly the placement service, but I don't know that I'll necessarily even need the service since I plan on being down there to interview in person. Obviously you get what you pay for and this isn't the best program available, but it's better than nothing, right? I don't know that I could afford a more-involved program at this point.

Thanks for your advice.

[Prof.Gringo]

[Atlan Training]

Hi Hutch

Prof.Gringo is absolutely right. Don't waste your time and money. You want to be able to work anywhere for a good salary. You need either a University of Cambridge CELTA ( better in terms of global employability ) or a TESOL from Trinity or the School for International Training.

I may be biased because I happen to be, at the moment, the head of teacher training for the CELTA center in Ecuador, but it is a fact that you will find more and better work with the CELTA than with any other certificate.

A 60-hour program is a waste of your time and money. You will get very little from it and reputable employers will not even bother to look at your application. I know because I am the employer of the biggest school in Ecuador, and one of the best schools in all of South America.

Do yourself a favor � get a real certificate.

Good luck!