Job Discussion Forums

[CapitalSigma]

Hello all,

I've got some work recently tutoring ESL while working on my bachelor's in linguistics at a good American university. I'll most likely be graduating in 2015 and I'm thinking of taking a year off before grad school to teach English abroad. I don't have the time or money to take an in-person TEFL course, and it seems excessive since I'm not looking to teach long term. ICAL TEFL looks the most promising, though their extremely strong presence on every forum I look at creeps me out somewhat. I've worked as a tutor in the past and will probably continue to between now and then, and I'm trying to pick up classroom experience whenever I can.

Does this sound reasonable? I understand that online TEFL certs are quite a few steps down from ones with a teaching component, but it seems that with a relevant degree, some teaching experience and the right choice of country they're doable. I figure the cert will be nice padding on my resume, anyway. I have almost no preference on where to teach and I don't expect to make any money -- what countries are best for those without CELTA/Trinity certification? I've read good things about finding work in Thailand, which would be great. I can pick up dual citizenship with Ireland to get an EU passport if that would be of any help anywhere.

Thank you all for your time, and I apologize if I've asked any silly questions.

[spiral78]

If you get the Irish passport you will be legally eligible to teach in the EU, but the vast majority of newbies on this job market have a CELTA or equivalent, so your online cert will be a drawback, even with experience and a related BA. The thing about tutoring and unsupervised classroom experience is that no-one is giving you feedback on how well (or poorly) you are doing it - that's why this won't make up for the supervised teaching practice on a CELTA or equivalent course.

If you decided to try the EU, one option might be to get certified in the country where you want to start. As most jobs in the region aren't found from abroad anyway (you need to be here to interview in person), taking a course here can be a good bridge into the country. It's also often a bit cheaper than taking one in your home country.