Getting my TEFL on

Wanted to do this for a while but it looks like i'll be getting a TEFL qualification in March. Anyone done TEFL around the world? I'm looking mainly in France and Western Europe, but i'm open to suggestions of where to go! Also see there are vacancies at St Giles over the summer, anyone ever worked there?

Sorry, please enlighten me. What is a TEFL qualification?

Sorry, please enlighten me. What is a TEFL qualification?

I guess Teaching English as a Foreign Language.

I guess Teaching English as a Foreign Language.

Bingo.

Bingo.

My advice would be to ensure you teach them to use words rather than acronyms!

I'd look Japan or China personally....always looking out for peeps to teach de English....

I'm sure Italian Sue could give you a few pointers.

I'd look Japan or China personally....always looking out for peeps to teach de English....

Yes. My eldest son works in Japan as a Coordinator of International Relations (CIR) on the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) programme. They employ a lot of TEFL people. I met quite a few of them the last time I was in Japan; more or less, all of them loved it out there!

http://www.jetprogramme.org/

I've done it.

Jet in Japan is pretty good as you tend to get the school holidays but teaching wise, you are more of an English speaking dummy there to demo the language than an actual teacher who plans lessons.

St Giles are one of our customers, they have a pretty good reputation. I would look to go abroad though. The pay for teachers isn't great, the attraction is the travel element of the job. No point in doing it at their Highgate school or similar.

St Giles would be nothing more than a stopgap until finding a placement abroad, build up some classroom experience and save a bit of cash (£2k a month! That's 4x what i'm earning now!) for my travels. Would love to do Japan, if I was able to find a placement out there I would be thrilled. Will check out JET.

I've done it.

 

Jet in Japan is pretty good as you tend to get the school holidays but teaching wise, you are more of an English speaking dummy there to demo the language than an actual teacher who plans lessons.

Fair point, I did hear complaints from some of the guys that they felt underemployed; but from what I could gather that varied to a certain extent from school to school. I suppose it depends on what people are hoping to get from the experience, i.e. experiencing a new culture, salary, job satisfaction etc

St Giles would be nothing more than a stopgap until finding a placement abroad, build up some classroom experience and save a bit of cash (£2k a month! That's 4x what i'm earning now!) for my travels. Would love to do Japan, if I was able to find a placement out there I would be thrilled. Will check out JET.

If you are interested in TEFL in Japan, it might be worth reading For Fukui’s Sake which was written by a TEFL guy. I found it an interesting read, but Tokyo-Saint would obviously have a better idea as to whether or not this is a typical reflection of a TEFL’s experience out there.

Fair point, I did hear complaints from some of the guys that they felt underemployed; but from what I could gather that varied to a certain extent from school to school. I suppose it depends on what people are hoping to get from the experience, i.e. experiencing a new culture, salary, job satisfaction etc

Yeah, it's an easy job. You are basically a language assistant rather than a teacher in the most part anyway. Japanese teachers who teach English in their high schools, mainly do so from an (out of date) text book, with useful phrases such as "how do you do?" "I am very pleased to meet you" "what are your hobbies?" "Do you like cats or dogs?" (meaning which do you prefer but instead of saying prefer, they translate directly from Japanese so use like). The teachers can seldom speak any English themselves above a basic level anyway. They used to use tape recorders to demonstrate the language but then someone had the great idea of bringing in genuine, real honkies to read from the book.

Some schools have a progressive head of languages and really involve the native speaker, ask them to help plan lessons, demonstrate useful phrases etc but in the most part straying away from plan is very Japanese.

As I said though, it is easy, well paid in comparison to other EFL jobs and you get time off to travel. I would recommend it if you are going to Japan and are unable to get a job at a Uni.

If you are looking for a job in London, in the EFL business and need something to top up your St Giles hours, PM me, I might be able to help out.

Sorry, please enlighten me. What is a TEFL qualification?

Training Elephants For Love.

If you can get up to the CELTA, gets you better placements. Otherwise, last I knew/heard the far East is still the place to go for the easiest introduction to the teaching side. Depends on if you like the culture/can adapt quickly on the other side of the coin.

Used to be the case you could contact your local authority and you *might* get some experience working with assisting in some regard, possibly even with TESL although again it's more experience and lesson-planning practice than pay. South Korea has been highly recommended to me as well and their standard of English/level of having been Americanised (I'm lead to believe) makes it a good place to go initially.

Of course, be wary of the bogus schools in e.g. Thailand that will pay you a week in arrears and then sack you on the last day, etc, etc.

I had understood JET to be very competitive - i.e. hard to get into; maybe a bit of "Who knows who?" on this board might be useful?

Obviously Western Europe is not very profitable; don't know much about the East/ex-Communist bloc but you should find they are A) good for totty (very, very good); very 'direct' i.e. if they think you're sh!t, they'll say it to your face then be friendly straight after - i.e. it's not personal. Supplement your school earnings with private tuition if you can - good moneyspinner.

I bet we can't make this one a sticky.

I have also been thinking about this. Do you need a degree or anything to go with it and what courses are the best options? I think there are different length ones, aren't there?

I have also been thinking about this. Do you need a degree or anything to go with it and what courses are the best options? I think there are different length ones, aren't there?

You need a degree to get a full time work visa in Japan. You can work part time (up to 20hrs per week) on a working holiday visa though but I think you have to be under 30 for this.

You need a degree to get a full time work visa in Japan. You can work part time (up to 20hrs per week) on a working holiday visa though but I think you have to be under 30 for this.

I won't be using it in Japan, anyway. Only there for a couple of weeks. I just wouldn't mind having the option of doing a spot of teaching to help supplement my travels.

I have also been thinking about this. Do you need a degree or anything to go with it and what courses are the best options? I think there are different length ones, aren't there?

If you're applying for a Japanese visa, it may pay to change your 'location' description!

I won't be using it in Japan, anyway. Only there for a couple of weeks. I just wouldn't mind having the option of doing a spot of teaching to help supplement my travels.

Nice idea. Probably not gonna work. You'll need contacts, someone who can fit you in at short notice, someone who'll take an inexperienced teacher on a TEFL (see what I said about CELTA above - some might want this), a decent, trustworthy school, etc. Unless you plan to stay around for at least 3 months/1 term you're looking at a completely 'ad hoc, walk in and see' situation and the better schools won't take you. The crap ones are likely to just rip you off. You'll probably have to learn to lie a lot, too, so you say what you know they want to hear!

Good luck if it works but at the very least there'll be a lot of planning involved just to find all the schools you'll have to visit.

I had understood JET to be very competitive - i.e. hard to get into; maybe a bit of "Who knows who?" on this board might be useful?

Even with a first class honours degree in Japanese Studies and two years experience of living in Japan, my son initially failed to obtain a place on the JET programme. He was put on the reserve list and only received a placement in the North of Japan after some successful candidates pulled out following the tsunami and Fukushima incident. Not sure what the requirements are for TEFL applicants but I would imagine they’re fairly rigorous.

I won't be using it in Japan, anyway. Only there for a couple of weeks. I just wouldn't mind having the option of doing a spot of teaching to help supplement my travels.

In that case (I.e just teaching in Thailand or china) you probably won't need any qualifications but you will have to have some idea of what you are doing. In my experience, those place just pay in cash at the end of the day. Depends if you want to stay somewhere for a bit or just make a couple of quid as you go.

Most of it will be kids teaching though (tends to be the biggest market). You don't seem the type to sing incey wincy spider and ABC, maybe a different option might suit you...

Btw - everyone should watch out for schools charging you for a qualification you don't need. Teaching teachers is big business and most end up losing money as you never use the qualification. Teaching English is the most popular 'drifters' option for those that don't really know what they want to do. Have a plan and stick to it. If you want to stay somewhere for a bit, things like Jet are really good options. Also check out the British council website for more info.

I did the Trinity College TESOL and taught at a secondary school in Mexico for two years. Well worth it. In my experience language schools tend to try and take the ****. Working in a secondary school was ideal - got to know the locals/part of the community etc etc. Also had paid holidays. Weekend trips to Acapulco helped too.

Wanted to do this for a while but it looks like i'll be getting a TEFL qualification in March. Anyone done TEFL around the world? I'm looking mainly in France and Western Europe, but i'm open to suggestions of where to go! Also see there are vacancies at St Giles over the summer, anyone ever worked there?

You want us to tell you where to go?

I'm sure Italian Sue could give you a few pointers.

Yep, bit late tonight though, so if you can come up with some more specific questions it might help. You won't get rich though!

Still, I live in a nice part of the world and will go skiing 3 times this week (whilst avoiding the weekends) so can't be bad...

Speak later..

Anywhere north of watford

My best mates brother runs an English school on the outskirts of Soeul, shall I put you in touch?

My best mates brother runs an English school on the outskirts of Soeul, shall I put you in touch?

I'm not sure, heard Souel is a bit rough. Would love to go to Seoul though!

(Yes please Baj mate!)

TEFL could be useful in most parts of London. Luton and Bradford

OK, at my desk with a cuppa as footie training was called off: bitterly cold here. The problem with France and the rest of western Europe is the competition and poor pay. You can make a decent career of it but like anything you have to get extra qualifications. My teaching is a second career after IT, so I've only got a CELTA and C&G for adult teaching and I haven't bothered further due to age and cost-benefit. There are plenty of English speaking people over much of Western Europe, and it's the people on the ground with local contacts who get the best gigs. There are always opportunities but if you check on some of the job web sites (e.g. TEFL.com) you might like to start wondering why the same organisations are always re-advertising... You might also wonder (certainly in Italy) how people can manage to survive on the offered pay: brief answer, they can't. I have other income, and although my gross is €37-40 an hour I don't get many hours and I won't disturb you by telling you what the Italian tax and social security system takes out of that! At a bucket-shop school you'll take home matbe €11/12, but remember that's per contact hour.

Now the rest of the world is a big place, so a few things worth mentioning. Many countries have tightened up on visa requirements so you'll need a degree. [Can't remember off-hand if you have one..] That applies to Korea, for example, where you can earn reasonably but you definitely earn it. Thailand has tightened up on their visas recently as well. China always has plenty of possibilities, but there might be some rather smoggy places there you don't want to go to. Careful investigation needed. The reasonably well-paying Middle East is more-or-less out, unless you have higher qualifications. You'll still be the poor relation to all the other expats, though there's a chance DubaiPhil might stand you the odd drink.;-)

If you want to investigate further I suggest going and reading and then enquiring at Dave's ESL Cafe forums. If you've got any specific questions, let me know and I'll try to help.