Korean Job Discussion Forums

[daveeslcafe888]

Hi Everyone,

I'm having some second thoughts about the CELTA course.

1. The reasons I got it were:

a. Taught me real skills that many teaching courses don't.
b. Opened up my teaching opportunities.
c. Definitely won't hurt me.

2. The reasons I may cancel the course I signed up for are:

a. Expensive
b. May not get me anywhere

3. From those who've taken it, can you give me your opinions?

(It sounds like it's a decent investment, if you plan to teach for over two more years, especially outside of Korea; for anything else, it sounds like it's best to spend money elsewhere).

Any suggestions?

[ttompatz]

Take a crap or get off the pot.
If you sit on it all day you get nothing done.

.

[nzbradly78]

If you are planning on staying in Korea for the long term, or only teaching in Korea, then don't bother. It'll provide you with the techniques and tools to be a more effective EFL teacher. However, if you don't plan on doing it for the long term or outside of Korea (probably China too) where you probably won't be compensated for higher qualifications, then why spend the money, right?

However, a lot of jobs in (especially) Europe and South America require a CELTA or DELTA. Its a long term investment and its a good course if you plan on teaching EFL for a career or at least for a while.

[Vimfuego]

Well worth the money. Better schools, like the British Council, insist on it. Once you get in a place like that, the World's your oyster.

[Swampfox10mm]

[edwardcatflap]

[The Floating World]

Aint worth anything more than a ba and experience outside of the EU for getting jobs.

As far as I remember the BC ask for the DELTA plus two years DELTA post grad experience.

[edwardcatflap]

Not true again, they ask for CELTA or equiv + 2 years experience and there are many countries outside the EU that ask for TEFL qualifications as a minimum

[isitts]

[Illysook]

The first CELTA learning experience is answering all of the grammar questions on the application. Most native speakers lack grammar awareness. This is why we can't always answer the "weird" grammar questions that our students come up with.

The CELTA course itself was intense, like bootcamp for teachers. I worked pretty hard and that month flew by. It was hard to really absorb everything because it went so fast.

A lot of what they teach are strategies, games, and theory. You write very detailed lesson plans. Some people stayed up all night working on lesson plans. In real life, you will never have the time or the patience to write plans like the ones required in the CELTA course. The job that I got following CELTA paid hourly. I wasn't getting paid for prep time at all. But in spite of this, an extraordinary amount was expected. I sometimes felt as lost as I was at my first kindy job. Mentally sorting through everything again and trying to apply it to Korean students was exhausting.

I sorta wish that I'd taken the course in Korea. I enjoyed the city that I visited (Istanbul) but if I wanted to be more successful with Korean students, I should have thought about conducting that CELTA teaching practice with Korean students. Much of the eliciting that could be done with European students isn't as helpful with Korean students. My employer thought it appropriate and important but the research that I read during CELTA and my experiences of having students stare at me blankly have taught me otherwise. Knowing why this happens is of some consolation but sometimes knowing a lot of theory holds you back instead of helping you out.

[rickshaw79]

Just finished mine in Seoul (part time basis) - helped make the difference in me getting a uni job for this coming March.

Stick with it

[Kimchifart]

[Vimfuego]

it does improve your teaching whether to passive or active students. It makes you think about every stage of the lesson and what the learning aims are for your students.

[Kimchifart]