Job Discussion Forums

aaaronr · Joined: 08 Nov 2008 Posts: 82

I'm looking into getting an online MA in ESL. I wonder if these are accepted by foreign universities for jobs teaching at university level.

I currently have a CELTA, and about one year of teaching experience. I may do my degree while teaching in another country.

Anybody gone this route? Positives? Negatives? Is experience worth more than academic credentials?

My goal is to continue working in other countries for about the next five years. My ultimate goal is to return to the U.S. to work at the community college level.

Thanks for your thoughts and opinions.

Sincerely,

Aaron

Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Never Ceased To Be Amazed · Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2010 2:09 am Post subject:

Hard to answer that one, Aaron. Some countries do and some of them don't.

And, there are times (i.e. the U.A.E.) when one ministry does (Ministry of Education) and the other doesn't (Ministry of Higher Education) Go figure! Rolling Eyes

Maybe others can help you out on other specific countries...

NCTBA

aaaronr · Joined: 08 Nov 2008 Posts: 82

I'm interested in teaching in spanish-speaking countries: Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina.

I'd love to return to Chiang Mai, Thailand. Viet Nam is another country I'm interested in.

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

It also depends on the university. If it is a purely online university, then that won't be as likely to be accepted as a program that is through a university that has on-campus programs. What employers want is to be sure that any program is from a ***real*** university, and many online universities are still thought of as not really real.

That's why in Asia so many people do off-campus degrees from universities in the UK and Australia.

killthebuddha · Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2010 7:39 am Post subject:

Maybe check out USC's M.A. TESOL? It's offered online--one of the few big name universities that offers such.

--ktb

Serious_Fun · Joined: 28 Jun 2005 Posts: 1171 Location: terra incognita

Iceman33 · Joined: 08 Nov 2009 Posts: 91

I did my Master's in translation/linguistics on-site (not linguistics in the sense of TESOL), and it often overrides all TESOL certificates as well as experience in many schools in Asia, Turkey, and the Middle East; in Eastern Europe, it sometimes does and sometimes doesn't. However, it seemingly has very little value in Western Europe, where having an on-site TESOL certificate is the be-all, end-all.

There's nothing wrong with doing a reputable course online as online education is the way of the future.

I did a 150 hour online TESOL course that was very challenging (LinguaEdge, ACTDEC level 2). And, honestly, I couldn't imagine a person with no lingustics background doing well, particularly in the very long phonetics and grammar components (Wow, I was shocked, even if I'm a linguist!). Even the other parts of the course demanded knowledge that usually only university graduates would have.

By the way, LinguaEdge can arrange a 6-hour practicum for you at a local university ESL classroom should you feel that you need that "hands-on" experience.

Best of luck! Very Happy

killthebuddha · Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2010 12:15 am Post subject:

killthebuddha · Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2010 2:22 am Post subject:

aaaronr,

Check here for a start. They list 60 Online TESOL Education Programs, in no particular order:

http://www.gradschools.com/search-programs/online-programs/tesol-education?PageNo=1

Those U.S. universities offering the TESOL M.A. online and which accord with my (limited) criterion include:

University of Southern California (Ranked # 112 in the world)
Arizona State University (Ranked # 309 in the world)
University of Nebraska - Kearney (Ranked # 401-500 in the world)

(These rankings are according to the QS World University Rankings)

Other "institutions" (brick and mortar) offering the program in which you're interested (and that are not strictly internet operations / paper mills) include:

Indiana State University
University of Southern Mississippi
Nova Southeastern University
New Mexico State University
University of Central Florida
American College of Education
University of Cincinnati

You should be able to secure in-state tuition rates for the ASU program. Happy hunting.

--ktb

Chancellor

laconic · Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2010 9:19 pm Post subject:

Just ran across this that seems to fit with this discussion:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=83769

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

I did my Master's in translation/linguistics on-site (not linguistics in the sense of TESOL), and it often overrides all TESOL certificates .... However, it seemingly has very little value in Western Europe, where having an on-site TESOL certificate is the be-all, end-all.

I dunno where in Western Europe you're referring to, but I can assure you that universities in this region most definitely require the MA in most cases, and will certainly take it into consideration above a CELTA or equivalent.