Korean Job Discussion Forums

[H.W.]

Thanks to anyone who can respond with some tips.

I got a job through EPIK, but I have never taken a TESOL certification. I have a degree in English, so I would not get a pay bump if I got certified. Still, I want to be prepared to do the job well once I get to SK. Most online TESOL courses are in the $1000 range. I am a fast learner and a hard worker, so I do not doubt my ability to get through the material very quickly. Is it worth it to take a course, or are there some good textbooks that I can buy and teach myself what I need to know to craft some quality lesson plans before I start the job?

I know that the whole process will be stressful enough without trying to "wing it" on the job. Do the schools (public schools) give you a specific curriculum to teach, or do you have to come up with it all by yourself?

Thanks again for any tips...I really want to be prepared to be an effective teacher, even as a rookie, and I could really use anything that will give me an edge, but $1000 is quite steep.

[Perceptioncheck]

It depends what level you teach. I taught elementary through EPIK, and there was a nation wide curriculum that I had to follow for regular classes. They may also expect you to teach after-school classes, with or without a textbook or guidance, so it does pay to have a few tricks up your sleeve.

The job discussion forum here on Dave's is actually a really great resource for new teachers. You have to dig a little because the gold's buried quite deep, but you'll find something in the end. The job cookbook also has some good games/tips/advice.

Another extremely useful site is http://eflclassroom.ning.com/ - my words can't do it justice. Go and check it out.

As for a tefl course - I've never done one, so I can't really give any advice about it. But I think, as far as teaching technique goes, nothing can compare to real classroom experience. I think if you go in with a solid lesson plan, a few backup activities and a lot of patience, you'll be fine.

Good luck!

[Fishead soup]

Audio Lingual approach disguised as Edutainment.
This week I having them sing the World cup theme song.
Last week it was Fling the Teacher and Baam.

http:eflclassroom2.0.com

[snowysunshine]

There are also much less expensive TEFL/TESOL courses you can take. Just do a search on here for ITTT TEFL, and you'll find that many have finsihed that course. It was helpful, and informative.

Overall, just go with the flow, if you have to follow text books, do so, and prepare supplemental materials, if you have to make it up, then just take your lesson topics, and google some activities. It will be help a lot! Google is your friend.

[balzor]

[mt01ap]

Did in-classes at Oxford Seminars and that was quiet steep (around $900 when I did it). Just did a quick search on google and there are ton online for much cheaper.
If you're working EPIK, makes all the sense in the world to do one. You'll most likely move up one peg on the salary scale and make back the money you spent on the course, and then some.

[toph]

There are lots of options wayyyy under the $1000 range.

I'm personally doing a TEFL course right now that cost around $340.
It's called TEFLonline. Here's their website: teflonline.com.

Unless you want to work in this field for your actual profession, then I wouldn't worry about paying that much money for a TEFL/TESOL. Also, just to let you know, you don't need to get a TESOL cert specifically. EPIK...well, Korea will recognize a TESOL/TEFL/CELTA/TESL, or whatever.

And I'm assuming because of the fact you're doing your course online, you don't want to make ESL your life-profession. So, just take the TEFLonline course. It's really easy, and relatively cheap. There are cheaper ones (like ITTT), but I've found that this class is super fast to get through (I've only been working on it for 2 weeks, and I plan to finish by the 8th). That is pretty fast considering it's a 100 hour course. And there's also the fact that I only have experience with this course, so I can't really talk about ITTT or others.

Anyway, you should really look into your other options before spending that much money. It definitely wouldn't be worth it to spend $1000 on an online TESOL. Pass on that for sure.

[toph]

Forgot to mention, I also got a separate grammar certificate that was free with the course.

That took only day to complete. So yeah, explore your options.

[balzor]