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Some background info: I have the benefit of currently living in California, being fairly fluent in Spanish, and having taught as a substitute teacher for roughly a little over a year. I'm hoping to get an MA soon, either in education or history, but these plans are tentative. I'm in my mid-20s, and like many people in their mid-20s, I feel somewhat aimless, have trouble making decisions when presented with multiple options, and have trouble committing to things. I'm currently weighing the option of going to Edinburgh in September for a CELTA course, which is both a highly respected and accredited TEFL program. One of my potential, theoretical plans involves travelling for awhile while I get EFL teaching experience in other countries, and then maybe boosting my resume to try and get into a Berkeley MA program with my measly 3.4 GPA and solid GRE scores. Concerns: having to eventually "upgrade" to a TESOL certification were I decide that I want to stay in the U.S. and teach English as a second language instead. Maybe TESOL would be more expensive/ambitious, but why not go for broke? My other concern is not reaping a substantial reward on the "investment" and disappointing my family, who would pay my way partially, as I admittedly have a garbage work ethic and lots of anxiety around fear of failure. Input on said programs would be appreciated, cool, and good. 
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Jul 29, 2017 02:32
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 00:35 |
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Around 5 years ago, some countries required a CELTA and others would take any authoritative-looking piece of paper that said TEFL on it. I got a TEFL from some fly-by-night online course for a couple hundred USD, and that was good enough for the relevant bureaucracy. In economic terms, there wasn't any benefit for doing anything more than the absolute minimum necessary for a foreign bureaucrat to check a box. I don't know how much things have changed since then in terms of host countries upping their standards. It's not strictly relevant to the certification question, but you should know that teaching overseas can be quite stressful. This is especially the case if you have any kind of social anxiety, tendencies toward depression, or aren't an assertive person when someone is trying to take advantage of you. (I'm not saying you do, mind, but you mentioned a lack of work ethic and anxiety, so I thought, well maybe...) Also, when you do decide to come back to the US, your experience doesn't have anywhere obvious to go to as a next step in a career trajectory. So at least consider some of the potential downsides of teaching English overseas before you spend a lot of money and time becoming certified to do it.
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Jul 29, 2017 04:04
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fantastic in plastic posted:Around 5 years ago, some countries required a CELTA and others would take any authoritative-looking piece of paper that said TEFL on it. I got a TEFL from some fly-by-night online course for a couple hundred USD, and that was good enough for the relevant bureaucracy. In economic terms, there wasn't any benefit for doing anything more than the absolute minimum necessary for a foreign bureaucrat to check a box. I don't know how much things have changed since then in terms of host countries upping their standards. I have, which is part of why I'm considering TESOL for the sake of being able to teach English in the US or perhaps even other English-speaking countries. You make good points though, and give voice to some of my ongoing concerns and self-doubt.
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Jul 29, 2017 04:49
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There's a TEFL etc thread in the Sci/Academics/Languages subforum: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3302316&pagenumber=36&perpage=40
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Jul 29, 2017 11:42
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Scudworth posted:There's a TEFL etc thread in the Sci/Academics/Languages subforum: There's also a Jet program thread in there that would be happy to answer any questions you may have, OP. I just signed my life away for a year teaching Emglish in China and I have a bullshit $40 online TEFL certificate that was on sale on Groupon, so here's my two cents: A lot of countries that are popular TEFL locations are tightening up their requirements to teach there or are bleeding labor for the Industry. Korea and Japan's EPIK and JET programs, respectively, have been bleeding applicants for years. It also doesn't help that pay in those countries has also been stagnating and they will probably stick you in the boonies. China recently announced that all Work Visa applicants must have at least two years work experience outside of the country, but this can be easily bypassed by a TEFL or a Masters degree. The new hotness seems to be Southeast Asia, with its rising pay and plentiful jobs. There is a career path in TEFL, but it might not be the one you want. Most people out here are using TEFL as an excuse to "explore the world", either as a gap year after college or as a last hurrah in middle age. Then again, you could also use it as a springboard towards another career. If you want to stick to education, try to look into international schools for expats. They pay much better than TEFL gigs, but are hard as gently caress to get into. Good luck!
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Jul 31, 2017 15:12
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 00:35 |
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Yossarian-22 posted:I'm currently weighing the option of going to Edinburgh in September for a CELTA course, which is both a highly respected and accredited TEFL program. One of my potential, theoretical plans involves travelling for awhile while I get EFL teaching experience in other countries, and then maybe boosting my resume to try and get into a Berkeley MA program with my measly 3.4 GPA and solid GRE scores. The CELTA is standardized around the world and the most recognized. I'd recommend it over any other TEFL certificate that is 120 hours (even though some others are good). Just a note, doing the CELTA in South East Asia will likely be a lot cheaper than Edinburgh, but it's your choice of course and perhaps funds are not an issue. If you want to try out teaching EFL or other parts of EFL teaching like English for Academic Purposes, Business English, or IELTS, the CELTA is the best start. I would recommend doing an MA in TESOL if you are fully committed and want to teach EFL/ESL long-term. I've been teaching EFL and related subjects and testing for 16 years in Asia, so if you have any question, send me a private message. (I am B2 Spanish level, btw.)
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Aug 4, 2017 01:43
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