Job Discussion Forums

[jar]

Hi everyone.

I plan on returning to Japan next year to live (did JET before in 2003/04 when I was 22). I have applied again for JET, as a well as for a Daiwa Scholarship, so waiting to hear if I have got interviews for both.

I know a lot of people will say "why do you want to come back etc" but I generally just miss living in Japan and Asia in general so I've made the decision to return. My plan is to teach for a few years, and then become proficient enough in Japanese to enter the advertising industry which is my profession at the minute.

However, in case that plan doesn't work out, I'm thinking of getting a CELTA here in the UK before I leave for Japan as some sort of 'insurance'. ie. If I decide to leave Japan after a few years, the CELTA will help me get a job with the British Council somewhere else in SE Asia (as an example). It seems like it's a pretty handy qualification to have.

The thing is it's 1230 pounds (UK) and I've heard it's mega intense. I'm sure I could scrape the money together from somewhere in order to do it, but just looking for opinions on whether or not you lot think it's worth it and a useful thing to have up your sleeve?

Thanks.

[TokyoLiz]

CELTA is not the only Enlgish Language Teaching (ELT) certification available, but it is widely recognized in Asia, but not so much in Japan.

Having an ELT certificate or diploma certainly looks good on a resume. The benefit to your teaching is just as tangible, if you apply yourself well to the teacher training.

[Glenski]

Serious employers will look for a CELTA. Not sure how many of those actually have businesses in Japan. For a short-term teaching stay, and with JET already under your belt, it may not be worth the expense. Sort of depends on how long you really figure you'll be here and how much training you got from JET. Competition is stiff for jobs now, but I personally don't know how many employers even consider certification for newbie positions nowadays.

[Inflames]

[Mr_Monkey]

You've actually asked two questions - "how useful is the CELTA for finding a job?" and "how useful is the CELIA for me as a teacher?"

In terms of teaching, it's very useful, even after a year of JET, in my opinion. This leads to a question for you - given that you're using teaching as a bridge to something else, how much are you willing to invest in your responsibility to your students for the time you are teaching?

[Pitarou]

Outside of universities, Japan seems to be fairly isolated from the global mainstream of EFL methodology and CELTAs don't get much recognition. One notable exception is Shane (a chain of British English conversation schools). Last time I checked, an CELTA was a minimum requirement for applications from the UK.

If you want to work as an ALT, or in a kindergarten, a CELTA is irrelevant to your job prospects.

Chain conversation schools would consider a CELTA a signal that you can do what is asked of you, but don't expect them to think it will make you a better teacher. That would be tantamount to admitting that their own training and methods maybe aren't up to scratch!

Small independent schools aren't likely to think much of a CELTA either, especially if the owner is Japanese. They'll be following a locally grown method, and will be far more interested in the name of the university you attended. The fact that you were accepted for JET is likely to go down especially well with them.

A serious Business English school might give your CELTA a second glance.

A couple more points to consider:

1. If you want to work with kids, have you considered doing a CETYL (CELTA for Young Learners)? Nobody will have heard of it, of course, but if you can explain what it is then that might get some attention.

2. A lot of independent schools won't hire men -- especially men under the age of 30 -- to work with kids. Most don't say so on the job advert (because it's illegal) but the practice is widespread.

[jar]

Thanks for the responses everyone.

I do prefer working with children as opposed to teaching adults, but I guess it would do no harm to get a broad range of experience, and a CELTA may help me cover all age groups.

The decision to move back to Asia has been on my mind for 3 or 4 years now. I'm just not happy living in Northern Ireland anymore and want more life experiences. I thought a CELTA might be good from the standpoint that if I wanted to move on from Japan after a few years, and say wanted to live in Hong Kong or something for a while, it would stand me in good stead.

If I primarily want to work with kids, is a CELTA still worth getting? I guess I maybe should have put this thread in the overall teaching section, as opposed to the Japan forum. Aside from the obvious educational benefits of a CELTA for myself, I'm really just thinking of getting one so I always have it to fall back on in case I want to leave Japan and teach somewhere else for a bit. Hope this makes sense.

[Mr_Monkey]

Pitarou, the CELTYL was discontinued some time ago.

[Pitarou]