Job Discussion Forums

[nickiness]

Hi all!

I am a recent graduate with a BA in German and a minor in Art History. I spent a year abroad in Heidelberg and I'm dying to get out of the country. (I'm currently in North Carolina.) During that year abroad, I taught a 3 day course about Religion in the US at a German Gynasium in Mannheim and I really enjoyed it. Now that I'm finding it very hard to find a job in the RDU area (even as a Banquet Server!), I'm considering going abroad to teach English for a while and potentially get a MAT degree in the future.

I'd love to teach in Germany but from reading the forums and other resources, it sounds like it's incredibly difficult to get a work visa to do so.

I am considering applying to locations that don't require certification, but that's the more adventurous side of me, dying to get out of NC. The more logical side of me feels like I should wait and complete the CELTA certification at the beginning of next year to give me some more time in the classroom and to refresh myself on English grammar. If I complete the CELTA, I'd like to do it in Berlin (The Berlin School of English), Istanbul (I've read both centers, ITI or British Side, are good.) or in Bangkok (IH).

The only big issue for me is that I am a Type 1 Diabetic and Insulin Dependent. My biggest concern is not having insurance because I don't have a work visa. While I've been Diabetic since 1997 and haven't had any major problems, like being in the Hospital for my Diabetes, I'd rather not take a chance. Other than that, I'm pretty open to where I go, as long as I can get the medical support that I need. I guess if I had to nail it down, I would say I would prefer Turkey, Germany, Thailand, Japan, China or Russia in no particular order.

What do you all recommend? Should I just go for it and apply for positions or wait and take the CELTA certification, especially since I don't have any teaching qualifications.

Thanks!

[Sorry about the mistake! I thought it would be ok since it's wasn't Korea-centric, but obviously I was wrong. I've fixed it now so it's more appropriate for this forum!]

[Mr. Kalgukshi]

Found at the top of this forum:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=64186

[SahanRiddhi]

Would you go out and start performing brain surgery without first going to medical school?

To hear some of the posters here tell it, TEFL is as complex and esteemed as brain surgery, and requires about as much training.

[artemisia]

Sorry, I have no idea about getting insulin in those countries except Germany, where it would be no problem to access it. Having expensive health insurance is another thing, but it's possible to pay a doctor (and pharmacy) in full.

The bigger issue will be visas, as you rightly pointed out, so Asian countries (or East Europe) might be your better bet. I'd suggest narrowing it down to what you're really interested in and posting on the relevant forum. In fact just spending time reading there, if you haven't already done so, will help with working out what you want and (possibly more importantly) don't want. Then you could try posting specific questions about medicine. I suppose you could always take a year's supply with you (?). Might be cheaper to do that.

Going to the country of choice and getting a teaching qualification like CELTA is a good way to do it, if you can afford to, as it gives you a chance to acclimatise and hopefully make important contacts. Some providers may help out with the job search, too.

There are places you can teach without a TEFL certificate but having one will most likely open up more possibilities to you, not to mention being a big help before you hit a classroom. In this respect, it's no different to any other type of teaching. Trinity College also offers an English language certificate that is on a par with the CELTA in terms of status. TC offers a range of teaching exams such as Licentiate (LTCL, LMusTCL). These are highly respected teaching quals amongst all the classical musicians I've ever met. In terms of language teaching certs, the CELTA seems to be the more readily available course overseas.

[tttompatz]

As I see it from your post you basically have 2 concerns:
i) training
ii) medical issue.

I can speak for most of Asia and will say that:

i) the CELTA is job specific and I am NOT a blanket endorser of the CELTA (or any other particular TEFL/TESL/TESOL certification).

My reasons are not that I am against further qualification and/or training. On the contrary, I fully support additional training BUT the vast majority of EFL jobs in ASIA are not teaching adults and the CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) as an example really has no relevance in a young learner classroom.

Find some training that is appropriate to the job you want to do.

With a US passport and a bachelors degree from an accredited US university you don't need a TEFL cert to find a job or get a visa/work permits in Asia.

ii) Medical costs outside the States are significantly lower than you are accustomed to. In a decent private hospital in Thailand you can expect a hospital stay to cost you about $150 per day (should you need it) and management of your condition will cost less than $100 per month (including routine doctors visits). In Korea, surgery (ACL repair) and 1 week of recovery in hospital was about $1000.

Insurance is available but the costs may be as much as you earn as an entry level EFL teacher in some countries. Again, check for country specifics BEFORE you sign on the dotted line.

.

[Irish Lad]

Hello, nickiness,

Welcome to the forum from another new member.

I highly recommend that you prioritize medical care over teaching opportunities when deciding upon a country. That is to say: research carefully the insurance situation and availability and cost of supplies and medical care in each country you are interested in until you have a very short list. Investigate insurance laws carefully--will you be able to get your supplies paid for right away, or will there be a qualifying period during which you have to buy them yourself? A close family member of mine in the US has type 1 diabetes, and her supplies run to almost $1,400 a month. The cost will presumably be much less in most--if not all--other countries, but you absolutely need to know this information for each of the countries you are considering. Find out:

1. Will you be able to get insurance in the country of your choice?
2. How much will it cost, and how soon will it cover type 1 diabetes?
3. If you have to self fund your medical care, how much will it cost?
4. Are the supplies and the medical support you need readily available?

I would ask on the country specific boards here, but you will probably have to look further afield as well. Find general expat sites for your preferred countries, and ask how to get this information. (There is a fair amount of insurance info on the Germany forum, but not, I think, some of the specifics that you need.)

In the meantime you can also continue to research the employment opportunities, conditions, and requirements of the countries that interest you. Once you've collected the insurance and medical support info, you will probably be able to narrow the possibilities down to just one or two. Good luck!

.

[nickiness]

Hi everyone! Thanks for the info!

SahanRiddhi - That's how I feel about the training as well. It seems silly not to do it, when it's available to me, but then others say it's not worth it because it doesn't really apply if you're teaching children. Of course, there's always the Young Learners extension to the CELTA to consider as well.

artemisia - Thanks for the info. I'll do as you said and ask the individual forums. I figured I'd try the general forum first to see what others had to say. (Plus, it's helping me kinda guide my questions for the individual forums!) Unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to get a year's worth of supplies before I leave. Granted, I have a different insurance company than when I went to Germany but they wouldn't allow me a year's worth. It worked out in the end because my overall experience in Germany with my Diabetes was fantastic. MUCH better than what I have here. I'd love to go back just for that.

tttompatz - Thanks for your opinion on the CELTA. Like I mentioned in my first post and in this one, I feel like the logical option is to get some type of training before I jump right in, but if it's not really applicable, can I really justify it? On the other hand, I could always do the CELTA and then jump right into the Young Learner's Extension for the CELTA. That way I'm trained for both adults and children. One thing I want to ensure is that if/when I do teach people, I give them a better experience than I've EVER had in an English classroom. I had a string of bad English teachers from the end of Middle School through High School and I'd hate to be like that, so I feel like some sort of training is in order. Interestingly enough, I learned more about English grammar in my German courses than I ever did in school. Funny how that works out. Thanks for the information about the medical costs. I don't want to let something like Diabetes get in the way of me teaching abroad, but I want to ensure that I'll be taken care of.

Irish Lad - Holy cow. Does your family member not have insurance? It blows my mind how expensive the supplies are. Thanks for the info as well. It looks like the consensus is for me to actually post on the individual country boards, so I will get to that after some additional research. I just wanted to get a feel on the whole CELTA thing or not and see if anyone here in the general posting area had something to say about the Diabetic issue.

Thank you all again for your help! I appreciate it!

[Shroob]