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TEFL (teaching english as a foriegn language) |
 Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 12:20 pm |
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| hello!!
I need some help and advice off people who have been there and done it with the teaching english aborad. I am very interested in going abroad and teaching as i have been travelling twice now and want to live permantly abroad. where i do not know. I am confused with all the information, i know that i am not going to have time to do a 4 weeks intensive course with work but is that the only credible way?? online courses are cheap but they give no real class room experience, so is a weekender the best bet?? does anyone know a course which gurantees a job at the end. there are so many websites offering so many different courses its hard to know what to choose??!! I am 23 and have a 2.1 degree but not in teaching. i want to go somewhere in asia or alternatively a spanish speaking counrty as i am learning the language. any help would be very appreciated Laura xx |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 75 Posts |
| Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 3:58 pm |
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| i am not an expert so take what i say with a pinch of salt. the TEFL is a good qualification to have and it is based on hours total study time. how ever most of the company's i have spoken to in china look for a basic weekend course and thats a good basic to start with once you have done that you can do more study on-line on grammar 120hr but that might just be a waste of money because you have a degree all ready.
i live in Scotland so i can get a ILA (individual learning account) that give me 200 pounds to spend on any adult learning and the only creditable one that the Scottish government use is I-TO-I after you have done there basic weekend course they can put you in contact with hundreds of employers that will help you get a job. but i personal went out and found my own company to go to china for a year and all ready have a job without doing the telf so trust me its not necessary just need to be lucky. one bonus with the telf for people is that it show you have some training and with any job experience may be to key to getting it even if you are qualified. do what i did decide what country you want to go and then look for companies that look for teachers with degree's that way you get better payed. i don't have a degree so i get crapy wages and its way hard to find employment out side china due to most visa constants. if you want to go to china you can contact me on msn/facebook with ammcknockiter@aol.com |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 75 Posts |
| Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 4:55 pm |
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| hey
thanks for the reply!! and advice I thinks thats a good idea- decide on the country as at the moment i feel I could anywhere thats not england!! i love asia but quite want to go to a country to further my spanish. ill have to research countrys and benifits as i want to go somewhere where i can earn enough to save and which has good medical services!! Im only at the early staged of deciding but i didnt have a clue that there was going to be so many organistaions, what was the application process like? which company did you go through?do you live with other teachers!! thanks for the help x |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 75 Posts |
| Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 5:06 pm |
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| well i went with a Chinese run company called oral-english want what i had to do was send the my cv and a covering letter and copy of my passport. i got contacted by a man called razy hang he liked me and asked me to call him on skype for a chat and then asked for a discloser and a medical and that it. very simple and easy because i dont have any degree. i was told i have to keep my options open. but he placed me in tanijin i get payed 4500 rmb a month free private flat and all my bill's payed for by the school now 4500 rmb is low but after speaking to some friends who live in china i was told i could like like a king on that wage local teachers get around 2000 in some parts so i be fine on the money.
if you would like more info i can get you in touch with the right people and you could be teaching as fast as feb |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 75 Posts |
| Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 7:01 pm |
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| well i'm not speaking from experience but i am thinking of doing this too and i'm going to do a CELTA course. it's a four week intensive course and quite expensive (probably between £700-£1200 depending on the institution teaching it) but it's run by the uni of cambridge and it's pretty much the most prestigious qualification you can get. it's not necessarily required everywhere and i think many countries don't require it because they are so desperate for teachers but in competitive job markets it would give you an edge and you can also demand better wages with it. plus you get practical teaching experience in front of a class as part of your training.
maybe worth looking into for you? |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 47 Posts |
| Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 2:34 pm |
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| thanks for your replies,
yea i have been looking into celta too and the 4 week tefl courses. i think either ones will be better than anything else. i would like some kind of qualification behind me. its just working out which company to do it through!! x |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 75 Posts |
| Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 11:38 am |
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| I agree with Sarahem - CELTA is the best, and recognized worldwide. I did a CELTA in Prague through Akcent International House which worked out a bit cheaper.
I would question the i-to-i recommendation - i've seen a few bad reviews of them on this forum. Knocky's right in that some places will pay you as an ESL teacher without the qualification, but if it's something you want to do long term or be able to fall back on in the future, CELTA's worth it. Good luck with your search! Rach |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 5 Posts |
| Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 6:39 pm |
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| thanks, yea i have been on a project before with i-to-i and it was way overpriced so i defo wouldnt go through them... so have u got a job with your celta qualification and was it easy to come by?? | |
| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 75 Posts |
| Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 8:08 pm |
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| Haha I saw this thread and thought I had to tell you all this story!
I should firstly say I was so so so busy in August (when I booked this up) travelling around Europe so I really rushed into sorting this exam out. I booked up a FCE exam (First Certificate in English) at Cambridge... thinking it was a teaching English qualification. When I got to the exam I realised it was an ESOL exam (English Speakers of Other Languages) how embaressing - being a native speaker and all! They let me do the test though and needless to say I passed the test with flying colours 
I was so rushed that I some how mixed up the TEFL with FCE hmmmm oh well. |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 41 Posts |
| Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 12:15 am |
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| haha, that is brilliant!! oh well, at least youve got another qualification to add to the list!! pop it on the cv...you never know where it might get you | |
| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 516 Posts |
| Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 6:21 am |
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| My mate said half his job in China was to be white. i mean all the parents wanted to see was a westerner teaching their kids english | |
| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 1537 Posts |
| Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:10 am |
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| Hi laura,
i'm not teaching at the moment but did for about 5yrs - my CELTA helped me get a job in an international school, though i already had some teaching experience with kids. The hours & pay were much better, flights & accommodation included, etc. Experience is certainly valuable, so if you can get any (even voluntary work) while you're waiting to get qualified i would say that helps. I got most of my jobs through the times education website (1000s advertised weekly) - tes.co.uk/jobs. Good luck! Rach |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 5 Posts |
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