Job Discussion Forums

[Glenski]

Here's a little item from the latest El Gazette:

Want to make it in Canada EFL? Then you�ll be needing a master�s degree�
Teachers are finding it more important than ever to get higher qualifications to land a plum job in Canada
by KAREN BROOKE

Many young Canadians who want to see the world and repay their student loans enter the EFL/ ESL industry with a job teaching abroad. Many choose to go to Asia thanks to its proximity to Canada�s west coast and because obtaining an EU work visa is difficult. While the itinerant teachers of ten years ago often set off with little more than a backpack, these days it is the norm to get some form of certification before leaving Canada.

For those starting their teaching careers on home ground, a few disreputable private schools in Canada still hire any breathing English speaker, but the majority now require a certificate from a programme approved by TESL Canada.

Tesl Canada recognises 59 �Standard 1� (certificate) and 28 �Standard 2� (diploma) level programmes. Teachers should take care in choosing: as training gets more lucrative, many unrecognised programmes of dubious quality are trying to cash in. In addition, the terms certificate and diploma are not regulated by the government.

Michael Galli, president of the British Columbia Teachers of English as an Additional Language association (BCTEAL), says, �Some of these schools are calling diplomas what others are calling certificates. It�s getting to be a little silly how they�re playing with the language. Before you know it there will be all kinds of schools calling a certificate a PhD.� Prospective teachers should check the TESL Canada website to see if the programme they are considering qualifies for Standard 1 or Standard 2.

With just a TESL certificate, the only realistic job option for new teachers is with a private language school, where working conditions can range from abysmal to very good. Unless they have experience abroad, freshly minted certificate teachers often need to spend at least a short time building up experience in a school with less than optimal conditions. Pay can be as low as $15 (�10) per contact hour, with no benefits.

Better private schools have much more attractive conditions. Salaries are typically about $25 (�16.50) per hour, and senior teachers at Vancouver�s Pacific Gateway International College can earn as much as $50 (�33) per hour with six weeks of paid vacation. International Language Schools of Canada, also in Vancouver, offers paid prep time, health and dental plans, a retirement savings plan and professional development funds. However, these schools generally require previous teaching experience in addition to a teaching certificate for new hires. �We much prefer Canadian experience,� says Jim Clark of English Canada. �Overseas is very hard to check.� Many teachers stay in these positions long term. �Most are career teachers,� Clark adds.

In the past, most teachers wanting to further their credentials would choose a master�s rather than a diploma. Many Standard 2 programmes recognised by Tesl Canada are a year long, and compensation is rarely increased after completion. Interest seems to be growing, however, and teachers at some better private schools are choosing to upgrade skills in this way. The Cambridge Delta is offered in Vancouver, and many private schools have a staff member who holds it. In addition, the Delta�s modules, as well as a few other diploma programmes, can be credited towards some master�s degrees.

A master�s degree is usually needed to get a job in a college or university language programme in Vancouver and Toronto. Both Kwantlen University and the English Language Institute at the University of British Columbia require new hires to have a master�s or at least be enrolled in a master�s programme.

While some post-secondary institutions � Vancouver Community College, for example � only require a certificate and classroom experience, the job market is quite competitive. �There�re never that many jobs at the post-secondary level. They�re few and far between, and when people get them they tend to hang on to them,� says Galli. �There�s still so much competition from people with a master�s degree that by default you have to get more points than people with a master�s.�

Teachers in less competitive areas might be able to land a job in a university programme with only a certificate and teaching experience. �In a big city like Toronto or Vancouver there is a �wandering tribe� of ESL teachers. In a smaller place like Saskatoon the job market can be tighter or looser for teachers depending on the economy and immigration,� says David Parkinson, director of the University of Saskatchewan Language Center. �We don�t require a master�s degree, but I�d say that at least a third of our teaching staff do have a graduate degree.�

Teaching conditions in college and university programmes are usually decent. Most are unionised and assign hours by seniority, resulting in solid job security for those who stay with their institutions. Salaries are typically between $50 (�33) and $70 (�46.50) per hour. Most offer other benefits like extended health and dental and professional development funds.

So, then, it�s clear that while EFL teachers in Canada might have to start on the bottom rung, there are big rewards for pursuing higher qualifications.

[scot47]

"big rewards for pursuing higher qualifications"

BIG REWARDS ? In TEFL?????????????????????????????????????????/

[Glenski]

Well, do you think that a conversation school instructor has more or equal benefits than, say, a business English instructor or a university professor?

If nothing else, more qualifications usually means bigger salary. Plenty benefit to me!

[spiral78]

I think that's a useful, relevant, realistic article and would like to see more of these hit the presses. It shows newbies what the real world of ESL/EFL is like today - too many have based their expectations on stories of the the past.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

I like the way it mentions BCTEAL, but not TESL Ontario, although it DOES mention Toronto. It's skipping over that the prerequisite to get into the required masters in Applied Linguistics or TESOL in Toronto (actually, in all of Ontario) is a TESL Ontario approved TESOL certificate... which is a year at a university or a college. You need the equivalent of an Australian / British etc (all coursework) masters degree in TESOL to ***APPLY*** to a masters degree (you can do them all course-work, coursework plus history paper or less coursework plus thesis) in Applied Linguistics or TESOL in Ontario. But before you do that, you usually need at least one or two years of experience before you go to the masters level- and those years of experience for most people are overseas, where 99.999% of employers don't read 'certificate' and then investigate what exactly that means- Was it a weekend? Was it four weeks? Was it the same length and scope as a masters degree or consecutive PGCE?

Another issue is

[spiral78]

and those years of experience for most people are overseas, where 99.999% of employers don't read 'certificate' and then investigate what exactly that means- Was it a weekend? Was it four weeks? Was it the same length and scope as a masters degree or consecutive PGCE?

Actually, all the employers I've been in contact with over the past 12+ years DO check what 'certificate' their applicants have. This may be 99.99% true in some places, but Europe is most definitely not among them.

I've known quite a few candidates with online or short certs to be turned down on that basis alone.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

Sorry. I was thinking of Asia. Most Canadians cannot find work in the EU because of the passport issue and go to Korea, Taiwan or Japan.

[spiral78]

Yes, ok, fair enough - 99 percent of Canadians who go to Asia.....I agree.