Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mctrigger]

curious if most hogwans care that teachers are tefl certified. i figure, it certainly wouldn't hurt to be so i've browsed a few sites for online tefl certification.
anyone completed any of these courses? not sure if they are all recognised as legitimate
any feedback appreciated. thanx

[ThePoet]

I doubt that any Hagwan cares that you are TESL/TEFL/TESOL certified as long as you have a university degree. I have a B.Ed., a Master's and TESL certification and it didn't get me anything extra for my first teaching job here. A Hagwan simply wants a native english speaker with a degree, and almost any degree and person will do. Although, I know at my Hagwan, the director does put some standards onto the position and some thought to the resumes she gets.

Having said that, I've started to apply to university positions this year, and I think with the fact that I have a B.Ed, a Masters AND a TESL certificate (My Master's is not in TESL/Linguistics or English -- its a Master of Distance Education) has made me a commodity. I have gotten a 20% response to resumes I've sent out to universities and thats pretty high.

My TESL certificate was done through ICAL (they advertise on Dave's) and it is inexpensive and is an efficient teacher training system. Its all done through Email and through their secure site.

Hope that helps.


Poet