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desertrose
Joined: 13 Feb 2011
Location: ..land of the long white cloud..
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 Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 7:18 pm Post subject: Work or Study? |
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Hi all
I'm looking a bit of advice from those of you who might have been in the same situation before.
Since I finished my degree, I have been trying to break into the ESL teaching scene. I took a CELTA course and I've applied for countless positions in Korea as an ESL teacher but haven't had much luck. I'm well aware that this is because I don't "look like an English teacher".
I have a comfortable job in a language learning software company so I haven't applied for the past couple of years. Recently I had a pretty life-changing experience so I've been thinking about pursuing English teaching once again. But will anybody want to hire me?
So my brainwave is to apply for a Masters program in Korea. The program that I'm applying for is the MA in English Education with Korea University. The idea would be that I'd have an academic advantage with an MA, gain some good teaching skills and I would maybe get some teaching experience at the same time.
Obviously, this isn't the cheapest way to go about it so I'm hesitant to make this investment. My main concerns are:
1. Is it worth getting an MA without classroom experience/at this point in my career?
2. How useful will an Korean MA be outside of Korea?
3. Can anyone recommend/give feedback on Korea Uni's MA in Eng Ed?
Any feedback would be much appreciated! |
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World Traveler
Joined: 29 May 2009
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| Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 7:25 pm Post subject: Re: Work or Study? |
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| desertrose wrote: |
| I took a CELTA course and I've applied for countless positions in Korea as an ESL teacher but haven't had much luck. I'm well aware that this is because I don't "look like an English teacher". |
You are not white?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScCIN4qBL_U |
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happyinhenan
Joined: 01 Feb 2015
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| Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 10:48 pm Post subject: Re: Work or Study? |
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| desertrose wrote: |
1. Is it worth getting an MA without classroom experience/at this point in my career?
2. How useful will an Korean MA be outside of Korea?
3. Can anyone recommend/give feedback on Korea Uni's MA in Eng Ed?
Any feedback would be much appreciated! |
I think a Korean MA TESOL would be great if you have a long term investment in living in Korea. If I had a Korean wife and family and was settled, I would have done mine at Ewha rather than go home and do it in the UK.
However, fate took me away from Korea and the MA I have now, is useful for getting well paid jobs in the Middle East, a Korean MA in TESOL wouldn't get my CV a second glace from employers over there so you need to narrow down what you specifically want out of this. If it is working in the Middle East where you can earn decent money then you need to think about doing your MA somewhere else.
If I was you, have a look at the MA programmes Nottingham Ningbo and Malaysia have. Good solid programmes, a British MA but you get to live and study in an exotic locale, best of both worlds.  |
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SeoulNate
Joined: 04 Jun 2010
Location: Hyehwa
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| Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 12:24 am Post subject: |
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I'm curious what an EFL teacher should look like... In my years over here I think I have met just about every color/age/look/style/size teaching at some point or another.
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| I think a Korean MAT TESOL would be great if you have a long term investment in living in Korea |
Second this one. However, as happyinhenan noted, if your aspirations lie outside of the land of the morning calm, do it in England/US/Canada. |
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desertrose
Joined: 13 Feb 2011
Location: ..land of the long white cloud..
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| Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 1:09 pm Post subject: |
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Hi all
Thanks for the input!
Thanks for the video, I enjoyed it! I am half-white but my white-ness (or rather the lack thereof) is less of a problem than my headscarf  Why one's appearance should have anything to do with teaching English in 2015 is baffling but I can understand that there are certain stereotypes. I have been subject to all kinds of stereotypes so I am well used to it. It's just frustrating to not have the chance to prove oneself!
| happyinhenan wrote: |
| If I was you, have a look at the MA programmes Nottingham Ningbo and Malaysia have. Good solid programmes, a British MA but you get to live and study in an exotic locale, best of both worlds. |
That's a great suggestion! I will take a look at that, thanks
| SeoulNate wrote: |
| I'm curious what an EFL teacher should look like... In my years over here I think I have met just about every color/age/look/style/size teaching at some point or another. |
Bet you've never seen an EFL teacher like me - I scare all the employers away   |
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happyinhenan
Joined: 01 Feb 2015
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| Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 4:33 pm Post subject: |
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| desertrose wrote: |
| happyinhenan wrote: |
| If I was you, have a look at the MA programmes Nottingham Ningbo and Malaysia have. Good solid programmes, a British MA but you get to live and study in an exotic locale, best of both worlds. |
That's a great suggestion! I will take a look at that, thanks
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The programme at Ningbo is English Language Teaching and Linguistics and the programme in Malaysia is TESOL but with a practicum included - if you are after the Middle East in the near future then they will do nicely and that are not massively expensive either. Also, you will also be able to find teaching work in both places. Let us know how it goes. |
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desertrose
Joined: 13 Feb 2011
Location: ..land of the long white cloud..
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| Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2015 12:00 pm Post subject: |
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| happyinhenan wrote: |
The programme at Ningbo is English Language Teaching and Linguistics and the programme in Malaysia is TESOL but with a practicum included - if you are after the Middle East in the near future then they will do nicely and that are not massively expensive either. Also, you will also be able to find teaching work in both places. Let us know how it goes. |
Thanks for your help! I will have a look at those ones. I'm also considering Macquarie University as I hear they have a good program and as a New Zealander, I would be considered a domestic student.
I'm also actively looking for teaching positions so that I can maybe get more teaching experience before doing postgraduate study. Fingers crossed! |
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