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golsa
Joined: 20 Nov 2011
Posts: 185
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 Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 12:23 pm Post subject: Value of an online TEFL with ~800 hours in class experience? |
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I know that online TEFL courses are seen as worthless around here because they lack supervised teaching hours. Do employers see any value in an online TEFL course (100-120 hour) with 1 year of work experience?
My work experience is in co-teaching 1-8th grades, so I work with professional teachers. I'm currently in Georgia, which may not be worth a lot to future employers, but the country piqued my interest.
Yes, I know that everyone says to get a CELTA or Trinity, but I have no money for the class, let alone living accommodations for 6 weeks. However, I can scrape together $300-$400 for an online TEFL if it will get me a job somewhere in Asia.
Also, my degree is semi-related (cognitive science & linguistics) and I have several years research experience in psycholinguistics, including several co-publications. |
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 12:35 pm Post subject: Re: Value of an online TEFL with ~800 hours in class experie |
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| golsa wrote: |
I know that online TEFL courses are seen as worthless around here because they lack supervised teaching hours. Do employers see any value in an online TEFL course (100-120 hour) with 1 year of work experience?
My work experience is in co-teaching 1-8th grades, so I work with professional teachers. I'm currently in Georgia, which may not be worth a lot to future employers, but the country piqued my interest.
Yes, I know that everyone says to get a CELTA or Trinity, but I have no money for the class, let alone living accommodations for 6 weeks. However, I can scrape together $300-$400 for an online TEFL if it will get me a job somewhere in Asia.
Also, my degree is semi-related (cognitive science & linguistics) and I have several years research experience in psycholinguistics, including several co-publications. |
Native speaker, degree and 1 year of verifiable classroom experience?
Skip the on-line cert - it isn't needed for a job in Asia.
Doubly true if you have the degree and an employment certificate for your year in the classroom.
Get a job now and do the CELTA when you have the money saved up.
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golsa
Joined: 20 Nov 2011
Posts: 185
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| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 12:44 pm Post subject: Re: Value of an online TEFL with ~800 hours in class experie |
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| tttompatz wrote: |
Native speaker, degree and 1 year of verifiable classroom experience?
Skip the on-line cert - it isn't needed for a job in Asia.
Doubly true if you have the degree and an employment certificate for your year in the classroom.
Get a job now and do the CELTA when you have the money saved up.
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Yes, the experience will be verified by a letter of recommendation when I finish my contract.
Are you 100% sure that decent paying positions will even look at me without some kind of TOEFL? I'm currently looking into China or Korea. And as I understand it, having a recognized (even if online) TOEFL will bump up your pay grade in Korea.
My long term goal does include getting a CELTA, but I need a job to earn the money first. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 2:58 pm Post subject: Re: Value of an online TEFL with ~800 hours in class experie |
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| golsa wrote: |
Are you 100% sure that decent paying positions will even look at me without some kind of TOEFL? I'm currently looking into China or Korea. And as I understand it, having a recognized (even if online) TOEFL will bump up your pay grade in Korea.
My long term goal does include getting a CELTA, but I need a job to earn the money first. |
I think you mean TEFL cert.
If you haven't already done so, talk to the lead teacher where you co-teach about having him/her observe you teaching several classes on your own. This should include the lead teacher's written observation comments as well as feedback sessions on your teaching performance and lesson plan writing. In other words, treat this present position like a practicum so that these critical components of your teaching abilities can be included in the reference/recommendation letter from the lead teacher. Additionally, attend every single development session/workshop you can; some of which might be added to your CV/resume when you prepare to look for work abroad in countries that don't require a TEFL cert. Once you've earned enough from your overseas job, you can then plan to complete a CELTA. |
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envee
Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Posts: 6
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 1:03 am Post subject: |
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| I don't have experience with Korea, but have spoken to a recruiting director for Korea who has confirmed that a degree is the highest requirement and a TEFL cert won't guarantee higher pay. According to him, women between 20-30 (with a degree) get the best jobs, and your experience will boost that (his words, not mine). But don't hold me to it. Check out this site I found helpful: http://www.teachabroadkorea.com/index.html |
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envee
Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Posts: 6
Location: Canada
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 3:29 am Post subject: Re: Value of an online TEFL with ~800 hours in class experie |
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| golsa wrote: |
| tttompatz wrote: |
Native speaker, degree and 1 year of verifiable classroom experience?
Skip the on-line cert - it isn't needed for a job in Asia.
Doubly true if you have the degree and an employment certificate for your year in the classroom.
Get a job now and do the CELTA when you have the money saved up.
. |
Yes, the experience will be verified by a letter of recommendation when I finish my contract.
Are you 100% sure that decent paying positions will even look at me without some kind of TOEFL? I'm currently looking into China or Korea. And as I understand it, having a recognized (even if online) TOEFL will bump up your pay grade in Korea.
My long term goal does include getting a CELTA, but I need a job to earn the money first. |
I am 100% certain that full time, decent paying jobs in Asia do NOT require a TEFL cert.
That said, if you are headed for Korea then any cert (the cheapest on-line, 100hour cert) is sufficient for a public school job. They are NOT needed for language academy work (with starting salaries in the $2000 range).
In China it may help land a job (but it is just about as easy to get a decent one without it) but not much (if any) in terms of a pay bump or better job. The degree does it for you.
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coledavis
Joined: 21 Jun 2003
Posts: 1838
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| Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 2:46 pm Post subject: |
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Employment value: close to zero.
Educational value: if you wish to learn about effective teaching, then it may, depending on the content, be rather useful and may help you to keep your job if it improves you. |
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chezal
Joined: 25 Feb 2009
Posts: 146
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