I am new to this and would like to know what is the best way to get my ESL training.....I am a certified, experienced elementary teacher in the US, 47 years old and single. My children are now all grown and I am looking to live overseas and wouldn't mind working solely with children there. Should I find an appropriate university program here in the US and take their coursework, first take an internet course, or look into on-the-job training to become familiar with the particular program that the school I will be working with uses?
(By the way, I live in a rural area--I would probably have to move to get the necessary university coursework.)
Thanks, Jan
advice needed for a newbie
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Hello momworld,
your question is open-ended enough so that even someone from outside the USA can reply to you.
I do not know the American schooling system well enough although it seems to me that elements of it have been transplanted to China, where I teach. I must say I have many bones to pick with those elements, but then again you might not want to hear them.
THis is a TEFL/TESL site, so if you are interested in improving your teaching English skills my suggestion would be to learn about Montessori kindergarten pedagogy. There is a Montessori group in the USA. I suggest you run a Google search to find Montessori. I have subscribed to one of their chatrooms.
I strongly recommend the study of her methodology. Her teaching know-how, while already a century old, has been adopted in many countries successfully. I doubt it has reached American mainstream schools though.
your question is open-ended enough so that even someone from outside the USA can reply to you.
I do not know the American schooling system well enough although it seems to me that elements of it have been transplanted to China, where I teach. I must say I have many bones to pick with those elements, but then again you might not want to hear them.
THis is a TEFL/TESL site, so if you are interested in improving your teaching English skills my suggestion would be to learn about Montessori kindergarten pedagogy. There is a Montessori group in the USA. I suggest you run a Google search to find Montessori. I have subscribed to one of their chatrooms.
I strongly recommend the study of her methodology. Her teaching know-how, while already a century old, has been adopted in many countries successfully. I doubt it has reached American mainstream schools though.
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thepostmodern
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2003 5:22 pm
Hi, my name is Kyle. I am a Canadian. I have been an ESL, EFL and language arts teacher to primary and secondary students for 10 years. I hold a B.Ed in TESL as well as M.A. in English. I have taught in Europe as well as the far East.
As far as I'm concerned you don't need to train at all. You know your stuff. Yes, there are those one month certificate deals, but I think what you have is infinitely better than the one month cert deals like CELTA. If I were you, I wouldn't waste my time and money; I would just apply for jobs in any part of the world. I am pretty certain you will find it. Though remember, if you are a serious teacher, have passion for your profession and would never compromise your standards and principles, overseas teaching may be a nightmare if only because there is no serious teaching taking place there.
Good luck.
As far as I'm concerned you don't need to train at all. You know your stuff. Yes, there are those one month certificate deals, but I think what you have is infinitely better than the one month cert deals like CELTA. If I were you, I wouldn't waste my time and money; I would just apply for jobs in any part of the world. I am pretty certain you will find it. Though remember, if you are a serious teacher, have passion for your profession and would never compromise your standards and principles, overseas teaching may be a nightmare if only because there is no serious teaching taking place there.
Good luck.
online endorsement
I live in Illinois and I just finished getting my ESL endorsement by taking my 6 classes online. It was great. I took classes in Arizona and Louisianna and never left home. It was quite reasonable too.
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recalcitrant
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2005 10:39 pm
me, silly
hiya momworld,
I am a 22 year old man from Alberta, Canada. I have just completed a TESOL certification. I am looking at SE Asian schools for the fall term. Most adds are asking for three things: Native speakers of English, an EFL certification of any kind, and in some-to-most cases a university degree.
I don't have a university degree. My only qualifications are that English is my first language and the TESOL cert. I just took. I haven't yet started applying at schools, but after viewing a few online pages with hundreds of job postings, I'm starting to think that getting hired won't be very difficult.
You have a universtiy degree, is that right? and years of experience in teaching. You'll probably be able to find a well paying job. I would recommend finding the cheapest and easiest EFL certification just for the peice of paper. Seems to me, most schools want someone who can speak english, and are very happy to get someone who knows how to teach.
I don't think finding a university EFL teaching program is at allnecessary for many ESL teaching positions. I don't know how much effort it would be for you to become accredited with a university, though. Maybe you'd be able to bring in your degrees and teaching experience and get a university to hand over another degree without much actual work.
Have you decided yet?
I am a 22 year old man from Alberta, Canada. I have just completed a TESOL certification. I am looking at SE Asian schools for the fall term. Most adds are asking for three things: Native speakers of English, an EFL certification of any kind, and in some-to-most cases a university degree.
I don't have a university degree. My only qualifications are that English is my first language and the TESOL cert. I just took. I haven't yet started applying at schools, but after viewing a few online pages with hundreds of job postings, I'm starting to think that getting hired won't be very difficult.
You have a universtiy degree, is that right? and years of experience in teaching. You'll probably be able to find a well paying job. I would recommend finding the cheapest and easiest EFL certification just for the peice of paper. Seems to me, most schools want someone who can speak english, and are very happy to get someone who knows how to teach.
I don't think finding a university EFL teaching program is at allnecessary for many ESL teaching positions. I don't know how much effort it would be for you to become accredited with a university, though. Maybe you'd be able to bring in your degrees and teaching experience and get a university to hand over another degree without much actual work.
Have you decided yet?