Job Discussion Forums

[sainthood]

Hello all.

I'm just curious about how useful one's under-grad has been in the ESL field.

Obviously, B.Ed. is going to be pretty handy, but is having an under-grad in Business, Finance or similar really useful (say, in teaching Business English), or can one just do Business English without it effectively?

Does having majors in literature really help with teaching it?

My major was philosophy.... so obviously is a great advantage when teaching here in China to freshmen...

But, I've considered taking some courses in business just to get some sort of idea, so that teaching BE wouldn't be so difficult...

(though, I'm more inclined to go the IELTS way instead....).

Thoughts????

[smithrn1983]

I've taught mostly business English and exam prep courses, and have a B.A. in German. I've never had a problem with either course. I don't see why having a degree, or even taking classes will help any more than being curious and reading a lot.

[naturegirl321]

If you have experience in Business, then it shouldn't matter what your BA is in. HOnestly, many people don't study Education or TEFL at all, they just fall into it. Mine were in Art and Business Management. Havne't really been useful except for visas.

[jpvanderwerf2001]

Years ago, when I first started teaching Biz English, I just sat down and read some old Economist magazines. I've been an addict of the magazine ever since, and now I can hold my own in most business-related conversations.
I was an English major, so my BA does have direct relevance to ELT.

[Glenski]

Most biz English jobs are usually gotten because the teacher has had experience in that biz, therefore has lingo/jargon down, and knows something about the discourse language of the biz. Just taking some courses usually doesn't cut it. Exceptions exist.

Teaching literature is not a norm, I believe, for entry level jobs. It is usually done in L1 anyway, isn't it? Having the background in literature is great if you land a literature-teaching job, but most aren't.

[Trifaro]

It is obvious to me that "teaching" business related classes overseas isn't exactly the same as actually teaching a business related subject, such as Accounting or Finance, in the USA if the professor didn't major in the subject or doesn't have a Masters degree in the subject. I'm not sure about other countries.

If I was an undergraduate again in the USA, I would accept an English major with an MBA as an undergraduate Finance or whatever teacher, but, if all that person had was an unrelated degree and an interest in reading about the subject, I'd be skeptical. Years of work experience in the field is different.

It's been stated here on Dave's that a lot of "Business English" classes, at least in China, are in reality "Oral/Speaking Classes." In that case, I agree that someone who has a keen interest in the subject and is familiar with the relevant terminology, even though they never worked in the field but enjoy reading about it, could get the job done.

I'm sure I could "teach" Tourism English, but the fact that I've flown on planes and slept in hotels doesn't qualify me to "teach" a Tourism class.

Without having to look it up, what's the 'rack rate'? Why should a student pay tuition for a "teacher" to simply look up words for them in the dictionary?

What would you do/say if a guest was pissed?

[spiral78]

I know exactly what the rack rate is You should pay less than it, of course, unless you're a stranded, late-night arrival with clearly no other option.

[denise]

I know what it is, too. Give me a tourism class, please!

BAs shouldn't really matter. Really, teachers who have only a BA probably aren't going to make a career of this (sure, there are exceptions, so please don't jump all over me for saying this!). The BA is a requirement established by the school and/or government, and schools that hire teachers with only BAs tend not to be the most serious/academic. My BA was in Peace and Conflict Studies. It didn't help me teach at all, but it helped me tick off that particular requirement (a BA) and get my first entry-level job. BAs are fine if you want to work for just a couple of years in language schools, or do only oral English classes or the like.

If you want to make a career of it, go for an MA in a related field. If you want the higher-tier jobs that require MAs, the MA should be in TEFL/Applied Linguistics or a related field. You're at a disadvantage with an unrelated MA (and might not even be considered for those jobs--you might as well only have a BA...).

d

[Glenski]

[johnslat]

I'm guessing that "rack rate" would mean the price for something if you bought it "off the rack" without any sort of discount.

Regards,
John

[spiral78]

It's normally used primarily for nightly hotel rates, in the tourism industry. You don't want to pay what's in the brochure - it's their highest category of rates.

[artemisia]

Trifaro wrote: