Job Discussion Forums

[TitanicWreck]

I procured my TEFL certification a few years ago- My plan to teach abroad was nixed,as I opted to pursue a Masters degree here in Boston (Special Education, with focus on reading)
For the past few years, I have been VOLUNTEERING on my days off and evenings as an English tutor at the Chinatown Community Center, as well as at the local library....
Times are tough, I just can't afford to teach or tutor anymore unless I get paid.........

I've looked at the adverts for tutors/teachers of English to non native speakers in Boston, and all postings want an applicant with overseas teaching experience...
I don't have that..but I have been a volunteer teacher and tutor, and do have my TEFL training and certification under my belt......

What are the types of places in Boston where I would likely find teaching opportunities for which I'd be qualified ? (Bearing in mind that I never taught overseas)

Having volunteered for so long, I'm starting to think that this is by nature a job that goes unpaid...

I hear about people making $20 an hour as a stateside ESL tutor/ teacher....A woman I know teaches an English class to Russian immigrants at her library, and makes $20 an hour.....
The teaching spots at my library are volunteer positions......

One piece of advice one of the instructors from my language school gave me was 'Don't sell yourself short. make certain that you are paid for your hard work, otherwise people will take advantage of you'......

The one skill I haven't quite mastered is how to shift from being a volunteer teacher/tutor to being one who is paid...........

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

Sorry to hear about your situation. Also, I can't actually help you about Boston in particular.

The overseas teaching thing- the reason for it (and it's a requirement of jobs in many places) is for empathy. It's hard to really know what it's like to live in a different culture using a different language until you actually have.

All I can really suggest is that you immediately forget about ESL in the library jobs. They AREN'T going to pay you. Ever. I'm from Toronto, Canada, where a significant portion of the entire (entry level) economy as well as a significant portion of ALL ESL work is volunteer. Look up private language schools, if nothing else they almost always have summer language camp jobs (I'm guessing here that your special ed job is in a k-12 system and you have summers off).

You have to keep in mind a couple of things: 1. Once you've spent a long time as a volunteer, then you get pigeon holed as a volunteer (people think 'Oh, TitanicWeek teaches special ed during the week and doesn't need to be paid. TitanicWeek wants to do this for free). and 2. Although you have a TESL certificate, you don't mention what kind of certificate you have (whether it's a university certificate or some sort of short private certificate or something like a CELTA). You may need to think about doing a some upgrading- maybe getting some sort of university qualification in it if you don't have one (for example, if your masters in special ed includes k-12 certification, then see is there's an ESL add-on available through your faculty of education, or even think about doing a post-grad or masters level program part-time, possibly through distance education).

Basically, what I'm suggesting is that if you need to show people that this is an area you consider a serious aspect of your career as a professional educator (as opposed to something you do as a hobby purely out of the goodness of your heart), and that will likely require some sort of proof (overseas experience, qualifications etc).

[anyway]

Go to where the non-native speakers are. Put up some flyers in the ethnic restaurants, cafes, at the library. Around some of the universities. Put an ad on craigslist. Contact some of the orgs and community groups who deal with immigrants. I've heard more than one story of teachers who started their own classes at a church simply by asking if there was a need...

[NYCESOL11211]