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My CELTA plan--any flaws?
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tcatsninfank

Joined: 03 Apr 2013

Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 5:56 pm Post subject:

Quote:

I was initially in the same boat as you and I found the CELTA invaluable in that way. You'll be teaching real students with full on feedback from qualified professionals. Even now I still regularly remember ideas and concepts that were taught me all those years ago.
Unfortunately the vast majority of eslers are first timers that hit Korea without qualifications. They can take many months to reach a manageable level of teaching, but even then, they will never progress beyond a certain point simply because they don't have the knowledge. They aren't guided by concepts. And years later they are still making basic, ameteur mistakes in the classroom because they never got the right foundation. I don't want to be mean, but this is just my observation.

Quote:

So basically, do not come here with no money. Getting a celta is secondary to ensuring you have a safety cushion at this point.

Quote:

Actually the more I think about it you just go for it with the CELTA. Even thought I had been teaching for a few years prior to taking it, it really improved my teaching. It's hard to get actual worthwhile teacher training post undergrad. Don't waste your money on some cheaper cert where you learn nothing.

Sorry for going a little quote crazy but I wanted to address these areas specifically. The two of you seem to be on the same page, which is nice.

I recognize that there's some cheap certification I could get that might make me more marketable, and I also recognize that getting the CELTA might not matter a heck of a lot, at least when it comes to Korea.

But I wouldn't be doing it just for the money or marketability. I took some education classes in college and have worked as a tutor on various occasions but I won't claim to be God's gift to teaching or anything of the sort. It'd be great to get some insight into various teaching methodologies. I'm glad that both of you think the CELTA is a worthwhile program for this.

Regarding money, even if you take the worst case scenario--which would be quitting my job, paying for the CELTA, and not working for a couple of months--I'd still have a few thousand dollars in the bank. While living with my grandparents I'd only have about $400/month in bills ($200 less if I sell my car early) so I could stretch those few thousand out for awhile.

So my plan is to aim for a public school position in February, but if that falls through then I'll start looking at hagwons and at other countries.

Last edited by tcatsninfank on Thu Aug 08, 2013 6:31 pm; edited 1 time in total

tcatsninfank

Joined: 03 Apr 2013

Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 6:03 pm Post subject:

thisisausername wrote:

I looked around and the prices seem to have gone up a bit since 2010.
Now 14K US (£9400) was the cheapest I could find for a good programme. http://www.ioe.ac.uk/study/PMM9_TES9ID.html

Here's some more discussion:
http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/33111-best-choice-ma-med-english-tesol.html

Cool! That's some great information and it's just the sort of thing I was looking for. This is just the sort of thing I want to keep in the back of my mind once I get overseas and start thinking about what I'm going to do a little ways down the road.

edwardcatflap

Joined: 22 Mar 2009

Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 6:05 pm Post subject:

Quote:

Swampfox10mm wrote:

I was initially in the same boat as you and I found the CELTA invaluable in that way. You'll be teaching real students with full on feedback from qualified professionals. Even now I still regularly remember ideas and concepts that were taught me all those years ago.
Unfortunately the vast majority of eslers are first timers that hit Korea without qualifications. They can take many months to reach a manageable level of teaching, but even then, they will never progress beyond a certain point simply because they don't have the knowledge. They aren't guided by concepts. And years later they are still making basic, ameteur mistakes in the classroom because they never got the right foundation. I don't want to be mean, but this is just my observation.

Swampfox would never have written this by the way. He's the biggest CELTA basher on the boards.

tcatsninfank

Joined: 03 Apr 2013

Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 6:34 pm Post subject:

edwardcatflap wrote:

Quote:

Swampfox would never have written this by the way. He's the biggest CELTA basher on the boards.

My bad. I messed up the quote tags.

Julius

Joined: 27 Jul 2006

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 4:12 am Post subject:

tcatsninfank wrote:

So my plan is to aim for a public school position in February, but if that falls through then I'll start looking at hagwons and at other countries.

Hagwons don't care about tefl certs.

Some public schools require a cert if you have no previous exp.

Most public schools will put you on a higher payscale if you have a cert.

Among the schools that want tefl qualifications, CELTA is indeed the preferred option.

If you get into a public school, you won't really need much of a financial cushion. They're not a risk in the same way privately owned hagwons can be.

thisisausername

Joined: 28 May 2011

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 5:06 am Post subject:

Julius wrote:

If you get into a public school, you won't really need much of a financial cushion. They're not a risk in the same way privately owned hagwons can be.

This is spot on. Don't go to a hagwon unless you have enough money for airfare and living costs for a few months afterwards should you get screwed or need to flee. But if you go to a public school you don't really need to worry. Public positions vary widely and how cool/terrible they are (some of them are like unbelievable dream jobs iand others are like the sixth ring of hell) but all of them will pay you.

Allthechildrenareinsane

Joined: 23 Jun 2011
Location: Lost in a Roman wilderness of pain

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 7:35 am Post subject:

tcatsninfank wrote:

Allthechildrenareinsane wrote:

Unless you want to work in a public school, the CELTA or a TEFL certificate aren't requirements for Korea. My two cents would be to save your money for now, look for a decent hagwon job in Korea, get a year or two of hands-on teaching experience under your belt, and then do the CELTA in a relatively cheap locale like Bangkok to either move into a public school position in Korea or a job in another EFL market.

I would prefer a public school position. For better or worse, I'd prefer to stay away from the hagwon craziness. I understand the public school positions aren't all roses and rainbows either, but there are SO many stories of people getting screwed by hagwons in one way or another.

So it appears that the EPIK/GEPIK public school positions now require a TEFL, correct?

Not all hagwons involve craziness -- there are decent ones out there. You just have to do your due diligence when considering an offer by reviewing the contract carefully, talking to current and former teachers and checking online for any additional info you can find on the school in question.

If you plan on staying in Korea for more than a year or two, investing in a TEFL-related MA would most likely serve you better than the CELTA.

And yes, public school positions now require a TEFL certificate w/ an in-class teaching component.

tcatsninfank

Joined: 03 Apr 2013

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 9:03 am Post subject:

Quote:

I shouldn't have ge