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wandrousmuse
Joined: 27 Feb 2012
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 Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:43 pm Post subject: To get a CELTA or other TEFL certificate with MA later on |
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I'm considering a career change from libraries to language-teaching. To gain more experience I am signed-up for a local volunteer teacher training program (4 hours), and I have experience as a conversation partner with various English teaching programs. I want to teach in Korea and to be certified before I go.
I've been planning on obtaining a CELTA in Mexico, but have recently felt a change of heart. I wanted to earn the CELTA to have a strong background in case I decided to continue pursuing a career in English teaching. Now I'm considering getting a cheaper certificate, since I'll ultimately pursue an MA in Applied Linguistics after a few years of teaching. The CELTA is soooo expensive, and I'd rather save that money for an MA later on.
Should I get the CELTA anyway, or would a cheaper certificate suffice for my present purposes (teaching full-time in South Korea after 6 months in Mexico)? (I want to teach in Mexico, too, but don't want to provoke the ire of the mods, so I'll discuss that elsewhere...) |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 3:25 pm Post subject: Re: To get a CELTA or other TEFL certificate with MA later o |
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| wandrousmuse wrote: |
I'm considering a career change from libraries to language-teaching. To gain more experience I am signed-up for a local volunteer teacher training program (4 hours), and I have experience as a conversation partner with various English teaching programs. I want to teach in Korea and to be certified before I go.
I've been planning on obtaining a CELTA in Mexico, but have recently felt a change of heart. I wanted to earn the CELTA to have a strong background in case I decided to continue pursuing a career in English teaching. Now I'm considering getting a cheaper certificate, since I'll ultimately pursue an MA in Applied Linguistics after a few years of teaching. The CELTA is soooo expensive, and I'd rather save that money for an MA later on.
Should I get the CELTA anyway, or would a cheaper certificate suffice for my present purposes (teaching full-time in South Korea after 6 months in Mexico)? (I want to teach in Mexico, too, but don't want to provoke the ire of the mods, so I'll discuss that elsewhere...) |
IF you want to work in Korea at a hagwon then you don't "need" any certificate or certification beyond a generic BA in anything.
If you want to teach in a public school then you need either:
a) teacher certification
b) tefl cert with a minimum of 20 hours "in class". (60 hours if you want to work in Busan).
If you are certified as a teacher then quit looking on EFL boards. Start looking for international schools (globally). The pay is about double (or more - depending on the region) and the benefits package is much better as well.
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Swampfox10mm
Joined: 24 Mar 2011
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| Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 8:21 pm Post subject: |
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| Ah, yes... I did feel it had been at least a day or two since I'd seen another CELTA thread. |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 8:48 pm Post subject: |
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| Ah, yes... I did feel it had been at least a day or two since I'd seen another CELTA thread. |
It's a TEFL site. It's the job discussion forum. The CELTA is the most widely recognised entry level qualification in the industry. What do you expect people to be discussing, the price of bananas? Why don't you finally get round to doing one yourself and then you can join in the debate?  |
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wandrousmuse
Joined: 27 Feb 2012
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| Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 1:32 pm Post subject: Re: To get a CELTA or other TEFL certificate with MA later o |
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| ttompatz wrote: |
IF you want to work in Korea at a hagwon then you don't "need" any certificate or certification beyond a generic BA in anything.
If you want to teach in a public school then you need either:
a) teacher certification
b) tefl cert with a minimum of 20 hours "in class". (60 hours if you want to work in Busan).
If you are certified as a teacher then quit looking on EFL boards. Start looking for international schools (globally). The pay is about double (or more - depending on the region) and the benefits package is much better as well.
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ttompatz,
Thank you for your reply, but I'm well aware of the requirements and suggestions for preparing to teach English in South Korea. I should have mentioned that I have been researching this option for years.
I am not certified as a teacher. My only (para)professional experience is in libraries (no masters in Library Science) which includes skills in customer service, educating the public, and information retrieval.
My question is largely posed to those who have gone on to pursue post-graduate studies in the field of language-teaching or Linguistics. Or am I, perhaps, barking up the wrong tree by querying the denizens of Dave's ESL Cafe boards? |
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wandrousmuse
Joined: 27 Feb 2012
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| Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 1:59 pm Post subject: |
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Actually, ttompatz, you've answered my question in a previous thread:
http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=226857&highlight=linguistics
| ttompatz wrote: |
| Waygeek wrote: |
Hello. I'm closing in on finishing my first year here and I'm thinking towards the future. I'm quite happy doing this job. I only have a Degree though; and this will eventually hold me back when I want to take a shot at uni jobs or want to negotiate a higher salary.
So I'm considering doing a Masters. Thing is, it would have to be one I could do while still working; so completely online, or weekends and online. I live in Seoul (if that's a factor). What masters would be best to do? I've heard there is one in TOSEL specifically, but in case this whole industry goes down the toilet in a few years, I think I would prefer to do one in General teaching. In case I have to return to the West and teach the field I was previously in. Is this possible? Would it hurt my chances of a uni job?
Ideally I'm looking at doing a masters that will be recognized in many places; here, Japan, China, even some places in the west would be nice. What are my options?
Thanks in advance. |
What is TOSEL?
A MA TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) will lead you to uni work or continued research in the field leading to a PhD. An MA in linguistics or applied linguistics will also work (or lead you to the middle east for the big dollar jobs).
An M.Ed / Ed.D will also lead to the tertiary sector OR can lead to admin positions in mainstream schools.
A (depending on where you are from) post grad B.Ed (usually 3 semesters) or PGCE / PGDE will lead to mainstream teaching and the potential of international schools.
A CELTA/DELTA will lead to the private sector and DOS type positions or teacher-trainer / tester positions.
Where do YOU want to go?
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And especially,
| ttompatz wrote: |
So you want an answer to, "How high is up?"
In most cases in EFL, beyond the CELTA, it is NOT about the credentials but about what you can deliver.
If you are useless in the classroom the MA won't help beyond getting you as far as an interview.
If you are good at what you do and have people recommending you then the credentials won't matter until you actually get serious about upper level academia.
Do you want to get into research?
Do you want to get into higher academia (be careful what you wish for - this is NOT the holy grail that many seem to think it is)
Do you want to get into mainstream teaching?
Do you just want to get out of hagwons?
Your questions and comments lead one to believe that it is largely the latter and none of the former.
Just an FYI:
CELTA - 30 days and gets you moving up. $2k in Asia (plus your airfare to the school of choice).
DELTA - 90 days intensive or 6 months by distance. 1/3 of the way to your MATESOL and lots more options begin to appear. $5k
B.Ed / PGCE to go with your current degree - 3 semesters and $10k. Gets you headed toward a teacher's license and those "international school" jobs.
MATESOL (by distance) $10-15k and gets you entry level uni jobs with the pay to match ($24-40k per year with benefits included in that value).
MATESOL at a brink 'n mortar school - $15k and gets you into the middle east and $50k jobs.
M.Ed. - better jobs in mainstream teaching (unless you are working in America where teachers are considered to be and treated little better than fast food servers.) M.Ed leads to admin type jobs and matching salaries.
Ed.D / PhD. gets your foot in the door to just about everything. What you do from there is up to you. It is just as easy to crash and burn as it is to succeed.
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Perhaps, I should have done a good search before posing my original question. Thanks, ttompatz. |
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Squire
Joined: 26 Sep 2010
Location: Jeollanam-do
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| Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 4:56 pm Post subject: |
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I came to Korea without a TESOL or CELTA, but by now would have have made back the money I paid for a CELTA several times over with the slightly higher salary that would have meant. I've often considered staying in ESL, in which case I'd leave Korea, get a CELTA back home, then get some experience teaching adults in China. If I enjoyed teaching adults enough that I'd happily have stayed in ESL, the idea would have been to go back again and get an MA in TESOL at a university. With experience teaching kids and adults I would then have started going for good jobs in places I could be happy living for the long term
The route seems unlikely to me now since I have other plans, but a CELTA appealed to me far more than an online TESOL if I were going to stay in ESL for the rest of my career. I think it's a good idea to get a CELTA then shoot for a public school job here. While you save for the MA you can consider whether ESL is something you'd like to work in long term. If not, the CELTA will pay for itself eventually |
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wandrousmuse
Joined: 27 Feb 2012
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| Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2013 3:34 pm Post subject: |
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Squire,
Thanks for the advice. My interest is in Applied Linguistics. EFL in Korea serves two functions: opportunity to live and work abroad while paying off loans and teaching practice. I'm ultimately interested in teaching languages (not just English) after I obtain an M.A. The programs I like require that applicants have at least two years experience teaching English as a second or foreign language.
I am not the online learning type of person, so I plan to obtain a TEFL certificate (with at least 120 hours plus at least six hours teaching practice) in Mexico while getting some part-time teaching practice in. After that I'll apply for English teaching gigs in Korea, and get the M.A. after a year or two. |
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ThingsComeAround
Joined: 07 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Wed Sep 11, 2013 5:41 am Post subject: |
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The CELTA was extremely challenging, I would suggest you take the 3 month part time option. I took the 1 month boot camp and was overwhelmed  |
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ironclad80
Joined: 13 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2013 6:16 am Post subject: |
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| ThingsComeAround wrote: |
| The CELTA was extremely challenging, I would suggest you take the 3 month part time option. I took the 1 month boot camp and was overwhelmed |
I second that. The one month boot camp was more difficult than I could have ever imagined. If I could do it again, I would have taken it over a 3 month period. |
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