forum newbie

jd123 · Post by **jd123** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:44 pm

Hello!
I would like to teach ESL. I have a masters in linguistics, but still need to be certified. I need just a few more courses, methods of teaching being one of those courses. Because I have been a stay at home mom for a long time, and have not been in the classroom, I am at the same time excited and nervous. I did, however, do volunteer work teaching (the Laubach method) many years ago, and loved it. I am not sure if I want to work with adults or children. Since my Spanish is rusty, I am wondering if I need to take some refresher classes? I live in Southern California.
I have been reading the posts for a while, and thought I'd finally join in.

Superhal · Post by **Superhal** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 5:07 am

If you've tried it for a while, then you'll probably be OK at it. You don't need extra certification unless you are going to public school, in which case, it's not a very good situation. I'm sure you can find an IEP (intensive English program) near you, who would generally find your MA more valuable than a teaching certificate.

jd123 · Post by **jd123** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 11:37 pm

Thanks for your reply. I did call our local adult education/community college, and they do require teachers to be certified. Maybe there are other programs, guess I'll have to do some research. One more question for anyone out there- would it be helpful to take some sort of teaching methods class? Or have most of you just "jumped right in" to teaching ESL?
Thanks again.

Superhal · Post by **Superhal** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 4:50 am

For community college, the baseline is a master's degree. I'm sure you could teach linguistics courses there.

Try "language school" in the phone book for your area.

I was thrown in, although I did have 2 years of tutoring at the time.