getting back into teaching - please help!!!!

belly · Post by **belly** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 4:30 pm

Hi! Thanks for reading my message!!!
I'm looking to get back into teaching English, after taking my CELTA three years ago. Since then I've had next to no experience (a few weeks volunteer work in '01). Any ideas about how i go about getting a job? Do I need to do a refreshers course? Will anyone hire me? Do i need to volunteer first? If so, any ideas? I'm looking to teach long term, it's something i really really want to do!!!
Thanks for any help and advice given, it's much appreciated!!
Annabel

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 5:20 pm

3 years is a fair amount of time, granted, but if I were an employer I'd be less concerned about you having lost your skills or "edge" than your not having reflected on the CELTA in the light of slightly more substantial experience than just a few weeks' volunteer work. I'd also be wondering if you'd really wanted to be a teacher in the first place (despite what you are saying now).

Try to fill the gaps in your CV with anything that could be construed as ESL-connected: even just speaking to foreign students or travelling could be dressed up as more than it actually was. I'd also be seeing what coursebooks were published and became popular in especially those 3 years, and try to get a feel for any recent standout developments, issues or trends in AL by browsing previous catalogues from ELT publishers. If you're really paranoid that the methodology might have changed totally in the interim you could make enquiries under a false name at your old or similar training centres and ask for the latest course guide, and write to RSA/UCLES for their latest course prospectus/guidelines. I suspect that there is little that is new being offered, probably 99% of it is very similar to what you did on your CELTA before.

But ultimately what I'd be doing is applying for some entry-level jobs and stressing how raring you are to get going "again", that way you'll soon get a clear indication of how the industry views you and where you are now; hopefully you'll be getting paid sooner rather than later, and won't need to remain confined to volunteering for much longer (not that there's anything wrong with volunteering, if you can "afford" to do it!).

You might stand the best chance by applying to schools/companies expanding in countries such as China, where the starting salaries are not so high that they will attract people who lack a bit of that "volunteer" spirit, and where keen people who want to make a difference are needed - mainly to make a buck for the bosses, so the bosses hope! - but that's not to say you couldn't and wouldn't make a difference to your students there.

woodcutter · Post by **woodcutter** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 5:39 am

So, you have a CELTA and a willingness to be exploited! You can easily find work in China, Taiwan, Korea, South East Asia, Eastern Europe and Turkey.

Stephen Jones · Post by **Stephen Jones** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 9:42 am

You don't mention what you have your degree in and if you have any other teaching experience.

You wil always find somebody to hire you. If you are young and inexperienced, peroxide and cosmetic dentristy and mammography will also help (the last only if you are female).

However I would not think of getting into EFL as a career unless you have a degree and qualified teacher status behind you. Without those you will find yourself cast off for younger, more bouncy and markeable wares. Of course if the alternative is MacDonalds or Walmart, but even then.

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 3:21 pm

I think we can assume that the now peroxided OP with false teeth and boobies has a genuine degree certificate at least, SJ! I mean, I'd be surprised if many CELTA training centres accept non-graduates, or, if they do (perhaps times are leaner than I thought), they'd surely make the prospective trainess aware of the difficulties involved in many countires of securing work visas without a degree (and who could be unaware of this from even the most cursory glance at the International Forums on Dave's, or the most basic of "Getting a job in TEFL" guides?).

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 3:27 pm

Stephen Jones wrote:Without those you will find yourself cast off for younger, more bouncy and markeable wares.

I'm beginning to fear this might be true (I'm 34 now). But can I just ask, why the "wow" factor accorded by many to QTS?

Stephen Jones · Post by **Stephen Jones** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 3:39 pm

think we can assume that the now peroxided OP with false teeth and boobies has a genuine degree certificate at least, SJ! I mean, I'd be surprised if many CELTA training centres accept non-graduates, or, if they do (perhaps times are leaner than I thought), they'd surely make the prospective trainess aware of the difficulties involved in many countires of securing work visas without a degree (and who could be unaware of this from even the most cursory glance at the International Forums on Dave's, or the most basic of "Getting a job in TEFL" guides?).

Glad to know you have got through your 34 years without having your surface spoiiled by the patina of experience

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 4:49 pm

Belly's been responding to those who've commented on the similar thread she(?) began on the Adult Education forum (but not to us here yet

).

Here's part of a reply I wrote recently there:

Oh I've just noticed that you say you don't have a degree, belly, so a lot of the advice that I and woodcutter (e.g. work in Asia!) have been suggesting (and also Stephen Jones) in response to the similar query you posted on the AL forum is irrelevant. It really does look like you're going to need to do at least the CELTA refresher course, if not a degree also (although British employers don't require it in the same way as e.g. Japanese employers do - it's not like you're applying for a residence permit and a work visa in the UK! - it's a fair bet that the majority of other applicants have not only a CELTA but a degree prior to that, too).

The thread itself:
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/teacher/v ... ght=#13050

It's a shame, and I feel for belly, but...what more can I say?

belly · Post by **belly** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 5:03 pm

Thanks Guys!!!
It's proving quite tough to find all the info that I need, and having an educated opinion on the problem is much appreciated! I really really want to get into teaching, and aside from exploiting myself (as someone so sweetly put it!), I think further study, further qualifications seem to be needed. Or a foot seriously wedged into a door somewhere, which i don't have, so, Oh well, ho hum. I'm not giving up though!! Does anyone know of any decent refresher courses in london/plymouth/exeter/amsterdam?

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 5:13 pm

You hear that, SJ, you're "educated" now!

I hope you get some info on the refresher course venues soon, belly!