Job Discussion Forums

[roadballmint]

The most recent thread on this is from November 2009 so...

Any new information to share? I've read the complaints about the Callan method, but that seems to be the worst anyone has to say.

Any advice is greatly appreciated

[evolving81]

I've recently applied to this school and I would be interested in hearing any feedback. From the old posts there does seem to be some disagreement with the Callan method that the school uses. To be honest I am not familiar with this method.

However, the pay at this school seems to be on the high end from the ads I've seen for eastern Europe.

[spiral78]

The only real problem with the method is that it won't help you get future work at non-Callan schools - it just means that the time you spend at Callan looks a bit weaker on your Cv (resume) than work at a school that encourages/applies more generally-accepted methods.

Berlitz is another method-specific chain - and working at one Berlitz basically qualifies you to work at another Berlitz - but isn't much of an edge at other schools.

So it really hinges on how much you need the 'experience' for future.

Honestly, these schools are franchises and some provide quite decent working conditions and salaries. Some not (I don't know the specific school at Rybnik). It may be totally fine. It's just the future value of this kind of experience that you need to weigh into consideration.

[evolving81]

Thanks for the response. That might explain why they don't require any teaching experience. I will be graduating with an MA in TESOL this summer so it isn't as though I have no idea how to teach. Will working for a year for a school that uses the Callen method make me unemployable afterward?

[Master Shake]

[roadballmint]

I was planning not to mention the fact that it's a Callan Method school on my CV. Or write something like, "taught adults using a variety of methods including Callan," for the job description when I go to apply for my next job. It will only make you unemployable if you let it

Having said that, I've been warned by some current and past teachers at Intensity that the Callan Method can get repetitive and it flies in the face of everything you learn in a CELTA/TESOL course. Although they all agree that it's overall a positive experience working there. Just be aware that you're committing to teach the Callan method.

[evolving81]

Well, I'm not committing to teach anything because I haven't heard anything from that school...yet.

[spiral78]

I think that with the MA you should be able to find something better than a Callan school. No, it won't make you unemployable, but it would be worth very little on a CV. Honestly, if I were interviewing you, I would view it as a negative - though not a huge one, if everything else looked good (I do interview people from time to time).

[scottie1113]

Have to agree with spiral on that.

[Master Shake]

[roadballmint]

[scottie1113]

At least here in Gdansk, directors and other teachers know which schools use which methods. You won't be able to "hide" anything, and I know several Callan teachers here and in Warsaw who later got a CELTA but couldn't get a job with schools which required one. Keep that in mind if you decide to come to Poland. Just my two zl.

[csleeper]

So let me get this straight. Teaching for a school that uses the Callan method will most likely hinder your chances of getting a teaching job in the future?

I have also applied to the Intensity School in Rybnik. I have no experience with the Callan method, but I have been teaching for over a year at another school abroad that uses a more traditional curriculum. I have my CELTA, CELT-YL and a University degree.

Does this mean if I teach at Intensity, even with all my prior qualifications, I will have a hard time finding a school that will take me?

Is the Callan method ESL suicide?

[hrvatski]

Not totally unemployable, but you've gotta be able to show you're very keen to apply all that knowledge you acquired in CELTA if you want a communicative method job afterwards.

It'll be assumed that you'll talk way too much and not really 'get' what student centred centred learning is all about, so your job is to prove this assumption wrong.

Talk explicitly about the how the two methods differ diametrically from one another and that you're ready to bring your talking down to a minimum.

[Kofola]

The company I work for won't hire anyone who has worked for a Callan-style school. In fact, their CV would go straight in the bucket.