Teacher Discussion Forums

Hello all,

Years ago i worked for a private ESL school and enjoyed it very much. Currently, I am in a program which is subsidizing a masters degree in elementary bilingual education. I took the position because I wanted to break into the ESL world and hopefully make a career out of it

My questions: Is this the best degree or route to a career in teaching English?

Does a bilingual education degree make any difference (positive or negative) to employers seeking educators of English?

Am I wasting my time with a degree in "elementary" education if I want to teach in the adult world???

Any suggestions or input would be appreciated.

Many thanks,
paul e.

Hi Paul, you say you want to teach in the "adult world", so I am not sure how much you are going to enjoy your Master's in elementary bilingual education! I suppose the fact that it is subsidized played a large part in your choosing to do it? Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and get something out of it.

Regarding the utility of the eventual qualification, if by ESL you definitely mean "as a second language" in e.g. the U.S, teaching adult immigrants, then I guess your degree will still be welcomed by employers there, especially if it includes a practicum and/or is in addition to a more basic TESOL qualification. I don't think there is anyone who would say a clear, resounding "No!" to the extra skills, perspectives and knowledge you would bring to the job (albeit teaching adults rather than children).

I also presume there is a need for people with expertise in bilingualism in state schools even if the schools would prefer to focus on teaching "just" English...

Outside of the ESL context, I think the degree would be welcomed even more. There are very few private EFL schools (in Japan at least) that only have adult e.g. business clients, most adverts that you see stress that teaching at least some childern's classes is involved, and in many cases the ratio can be over 50 and often approaching 100%!

The trend is clear: many schools are increasingly relying on young learners to stay in business, and many parents are turning to such schools because the state systems in their countries do not provide the level of bilingual education they want and expect for their kids. Of course, these parents have been seriously misguided about just what level of bilingualism can be achieved in these "non-immersion" contexts, so it could be very frustrating for you to work for such private schools, especially when they are hiring "experts" in bilingual education to effect some kind of miracle, but the jobs are there if you want them...

Ideally, the Japanese government will one day consider hiring people with an ounce of professional know-how or experience in elementary English education (such as you yourself will soon have), rather than continue to rely on enthusiastic amateurs through the JET Programme...

Anyway, I guess I sound like I am trying to put you off elementary education; I too prefer to teach adults (if I taught kids, I'd basically want to do it in the native language i.e. teach English children, in which case, I'd get a B.Ed or something like that).

Thank you Duncan,

You've given me some things to think about. I may just stay with this subsidized program to see were it leads and try to get a TESOL at the same time.

Good Luck,
paul