Job Discussion Forums

jivany · Joined: 30 Nov 2009 Posts: 12

Hey all..I am looking teach in Central America, particularly El Salvador. The thing is that I can't seem to find much information of anyone in this country to do work. Is this place not popular? I know it is a very small country so do you all think that it has work available? I am in the process of finding out right now..

Also, I am not TEFL certified yet but I intend to take classes. My question is if I can take them online? Is it worth it? I have no teaching experience and my background isn't in it education so I would assume that it would be best to get some classroom experience. FWIW, I do have a B.A in Liberal Arts and a M.A in Criminology. I also have 3 years experience in sales and training so I do know how to interact and teach, although I'm sure it's a lot different teaching a language.

People who I talk to say that I am a shoe-in to get a job anywhere in the world, but I'm shooting for EL SALVADOR. Can ANYONE be of any help? Please let me know as soon as possible.

Any info is greatly appreciated!!!

jivany · Joined: 30 Nov 2009 Posts: 12

GambateBingBangBOOM · Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 2021 Location: Japan

You could post this in the general Latin America forums, or maybe in some of the individual country forums for Latin America. I did a quick search and basically, it seems that there are very few jobs, and that there are only a couple of language schools with websites, meaning that you would basically have to be there to find a job.

Since you already have an MA, maybe you could contact some of the private universities directly and sort of find out what you can about teaching English in El Salvadore. There's a list on Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Salvador

jivany · Joined: 30 Nov 2009 Posts: 12

Hmmm..that's interesting. There is a school down there, Escuela Americana, that looks to be a really good one. I have already sent down an email looking for some information. Quick question..with me having an M.A. , do most universities require that I be TEFL certified? I know that some in the Far East don't, but I have to think that these Latin American countries do...thanks for the help!!

GambateBingBangBOOM · Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 2021 Location: Japan

"TEFL certified" is more of a marketing term than an actual qualification. There is a lot of variety amongst qualifications, and many of the short newbie ones are basically worthless. Most universities will probably tell you that you need an MA TESOL or Applied Linguistics, to tell the truth. Some may hire you based on being partially through one, which means that you could do it by distance (universities in Australia and the UK offer off-campus graduate degrees in this area). Considering the pay in Latin America, cost could be a major issue, though.

You should post this question in the Latin America boards, though.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

An MA is usually what's required to teach at a uni. WHy EL SAlvador?

jivany · Joined: 30 Nov 2009 Posts: 12

Well, my girlfriend lives down there too. I want to go to a spanish speaking country to develop my language too. She is trying to move the states and is in the process, so in the meantime, I would like to go down there until she makes the move here...

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

rebeccas6 · Joined: 15 Dec 2009 Posts: 8 Location: NYC

i would recommend to do the best -recognised TEFL qualification- the CELTA, this really gives you a great introduction to the realities of classroom teaching, and is an excellent teaching training.
I don't get how any ONLINE course can give you that real interaction with students.
Also, quite a lot of places demand a genuine TEFL qualification and won't take any random online one.

anyway · Joined: 03 Sep 2007 Posts: 109

I think computrabajo.com is your best bet to find a teaching job, but you'll probably need to be in country already...

jivany · Joined: 30 Nov 2009 Posts: 12

I'm actually going to El Salvador in January and am trying to set up a meeting with the director..Me and my girl have been emailing this guy and she finally got to talk to him on the phone...she said that he says that if i don't have the TEFL certification, that they can teach me at their school, 120 hours course. I guess that's more or less what else is out there, right?

Who knows? But I think going down there will show that I am very serious about doing this...