I am interested in teaching English in either Asia or Eastern Europe in 2017. I am planning to do a CELTA or similar cert this summer, and I hold an MA in History. I will also have a year's experience teaching college freshman level English Composition once I start looking for a TESOL position.
It's great that you're taking a pro-active approach to your TEFL career. It's not so easy to just waltz in and get a job nowadays just because you're a native speaker.
It's great that you're taking a pro-active approach to your TEFL career. It's not so easy to just waltz in and get a job nowadays just because you're a native speaker.
Your qualifications, post-CELTA, will not be bad at all for most language schools and even many universities. Higher than many's in fact.
What's equally if not more important to me and any employer is experience. See if you can get some experience in your town: there are organizations that teach refugees or even economic migrants on a voluntary basis. You won't be getting paid, but you'll get some experience teaching English to foreigners(which is an entirely different universe from teaching English to native English speakers.) It's not EXACTLY the same job (because said refugees will be learning in a milieu in which they are surrounded by English outside the classroom) but it's as close as you're going to get.
I am also a big, big proponent of observing lessons: if there's a language school in your town, see if you can't sit in on some lessons and observe an experienced teacher. A teacher can learn a lot from watching other teachers--even bad teachers can give you something valuable if you look carefully enough. (Although truth be told, it probably doesn't look too impressive on a CV.)
One further thing that might help: try taking a language class yourself(Spanish, German, french, Russian.) Too many teachers don't have experience to what it's like on the other side of the desk. A good teacher should know what it feels like to have a foreigner speaking to them in a language they don't understand.
When I'm hiring teachers, I look for: a degree(bacherlor's is sufficient), some TEFL qualification like CELTA, and two years experience teaching English. Experience learning another language is a plus.
I say 'ideally' because not every candidate meets those requirements. Some people who don't end up being very good.
I say 'ideally' because not every candidate meets those requirements. Some people who don't end up being very good.
Thank you for hiring me with no degree ;) I got a bit tired of seeing jobs advertised which said 'must have a degree, no experience required'. How was I, a teacher with a few years experience, less able to do the job than someone with a degree in nuclear physics who had never set foot in an EFL classroom?
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with requiring an initial teaching certificate; you wouldn't ask a builder who'd always worked as a mechanic to build your house.
I would also advise taking on a summer teaching position at one of the hundreds of EFL summer camps to see whether you're really cut out for it (and it looks good on the CV).
I guess it's that time of year for you to sift through a pile of applications from the delusional and the inept!