Job Discussion Forums

[Qaaolchoura]

So I have a job teaching English now (where isn't important since I know I'm not likely to work in this country again), teaching children.

While I like the job, and they're nice kids, most of them don't like me because I'm not funny. Seriously, that's the most common complaint my bosses and co-teachers have been getting about me, and I got a verbal warning from my boss that I need to try to connect harder with the children. In trying to be make class enjoyable, by being a clown and letting the kids make jokes, I ended up letting discipline slip in some of my classes, to the point I got a verbal warning from my boss about that.

I have improved, and some of my classes do like me (mostly the older students and oddly, young, very low-level students), but it's fairly clear that I'm not especially good with children, at least where I'm the main attraction. My previous experience with children always had me as kind of a sidekick, where I wasn't responsible for discipline or being funny, only for designing and leading activities.

Now I know I can teach adults, I've done it in my TESOL course. I'm good at designing lessons based around specific skills, and at teaching grammar. Students came up to my trainer to tell her how useful the classes I taught were. And in school, I helped classmates by explaining academic jargon in plain English. I have a strong command of English vocabulary and grammar and have always been an avid reader. But none of these things are the least bit useful in teaching kids.

I'm good at writing, I've taught some classes writing skills, such as proper paragraph form and peer editing for content, readability, and grammar, which previous teachers hadn't tried to teach them, my boss insisted the kids couldn't possibly learn. That's the only advantage I have over the other teachers, and since it's only relevant with kids who are advanced enough to be learning writing and old enough to be using it, it's not nearly enough.

So I'm thinking from now on, it would be a good idea to only apply for jobs teaching adults. And the question, of course, is where to do that, particularly with one year or less of experience. I know business jargon, but I don't have experience in business, which means I probably can't teach a business English class. So really, where are the most likely places I can get a job teaching adults, with fairly minimal experience? (Particularly given the set of skills I mentioned above, which would usually only seem to be an advantage only in jobs which generally require an MA TESOL.)

Thanks,
- Q

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

You said it right at the end... MA TESOL. Teaching adults (high level, especially university [for those countries where university students have actually learned something in high school]) is a major factor in why many people do masters degrees.

Sorry, but I think all I can tell you is that you have to keep plugging at it until you get a masters. You could try going to a country that doesn't require a masters for university work, but they generally aren't in places that pay enough to be able to afford to do a masters while you are teaching- ideal would be to get a university job while doing the masters and then get a better university job after it.

ETA:
The best place to teach adults is almost definitely your home country (Canada, US etc). It's because the students are all put in a room with other people who don't speak their language, and everything is new to them, so you can actually teach the way you're 'supposed' to teach (according to masters degrees etc). If you're someplace in Asia, then "that's too hard" (the 'that' is what we usually think of as 'thinking'). I'd guess that Western Europe would be good, though.

[MarkM]

Where there is a will there is a way. I am also not enjoying teaching small kids. But I also found some work teaching oral English at a tertiary institute. These are 18-20 year old highly motivated English majors, and I find teaching them much more satisfying. My boss at the language school has allowed me to reduce my hours and spend half my time teaching these older students. She effectively hires me out to the institute for 14 periods a week.

There is lots of this kind of work available, certainly in China. And you don't need an MA to get it. Doing the DELTA would help. There are places where you can do the DELTA and teach adults at the same time. I am thinking of doing this at ILA Vietnam when I finish this contract. If you want to teach adults, business English is the biggest area of opportunity. You don't need business experience to be able to assess needs and put together a suitable programme. It might take a bit more work, but you can do it.

[Denizen]

If you'd prefer to teach adults and are not yet MA'd, Japan may offer an option through Interac as a Language Instructor. One would be traveling around, say major corporations in Tokyo instructing their employees in Business English. There aren't a lot of positions available and you would need to apply within Japan, but I thought I would throw that out there for consideration.

[naturegirl321]

SOME uni jobs don't require MA degrees. These jobs are at the lower end of the totem pole. You could always start there and work on an MA at the same time.

There tend to be two different uni settings: those that teach English and those that teach subjects in English. I've done them both and I prefer the latter. The former tends to be the four skills with a heavy concentration on speaking.

[Qaaolchoura]

To be clear: it's not that I want a uni job. Just a job teaching adults with a reputable employer. When I first began looking, I applied at two branches at the Wall Street Institute which had openings and didn't require experience. I'd like a job like that, but I'm not really interested in stalking a single company, and I'm like an idea of what countries might realistically be options.

That said, I'm not especially picky about the country, if it gets me what I want out of a job. (My mother once told me that you can work where you want, do what you want, or make decent pay--pick two out of the three.) I think my equivocation about being able to handle Indonesia's climate cost me a job there, but really, I'm perfectly willing to tolerate insufferable climates if it means a decent job and decent pay.

I want to be able to save money, and the places I'm most interested in (more for the language opportunities and appeal as places to live than for to money) are Turkey, Oman, and the Maghreb. But the Arab world seems to demand quite a lot of experience, and jobs in Turkey seem to mostly be teaching children. I don't object to teaching children, as I said, but I seem to connect to them rather poorly, which is why I'd like to find a job that at least mostly doesn't involve teaching children.

I am absolutely not going to get an MA TESOL. If I wanted to spend two years of my life and a good deal of money to get an impressive piece of paper and learn nothing, I'd get an MBA. I like teaching English for the freedom it provides me, and wasting two years of my life and racking up extra student debt goes completely against that.

And Mark M, thanks for the DELTA suggestion. I need to learn more about it (and I believe it requires two years' teaching experience) but it sounds like essentially a stand-alone practicum? If that's the case, it might be worth doing, even if the letters themselves don't prove particularly useful.

Thanks,
-Q

[MarkM]

[newdayrising]

If you didn't want to save money there are tons of non-uni jobs in Latin America teaching adults.

[volgaman]

Germany. Excellent adult students and pretty good pay, too.

If money is not a high priority, then go for anywhere in E Europe.