TEFL/CELTA/CELT answers...

Delicate_Dlite

Ok, sorry if I sound like a broken record. But I just need a little clarification about celt/celta.

It seems that CELTA is the one everyone here is saying is the best, but is the only difference between CELT and CELTA is that the CELTA is for teaching adults?

I'm looking into traveling and teaching abroad, but I'm not sure whether I want to teach adults or children. Would I have to decide now and do the relevant qualificiation or can I mix it up at some point? Can I get a qualification that would allow me to teach both?

Thanks

cloneslad

kraggy wrote: »

Clonelad and Tristram, thanks a million for all that information.

Obviously when one gets some information, it triggers other questions so could I also ask the following?

Cloneslad:

1. Would the hours you work be standard or would most teachers work more or less?

public school is pretty set on 8:30-4:30. Although you obviously don't teach that much. Anything more than 22classes a week puts you into overtime.

Private schools all differ. If you teach kindergarten and school going kids then you will work longer areas. possibly 10-5, maybe 6 or 7 either.

I work 3:45-9 m/w/f and 3:30-7:10 tues/thurs. I know others who work 2-8 everyday, others 9-7 and a few 10-8

it really does depend on the school for hours on private classes

2. Which sector is easiest to get a job in? Private colleges? Or Public Schools? If Public schools, elementary, middle or high?

probably private schools because the block hiring that occurs for public schools (although some positions do become available throughout the year in public) Prvates are hiring all the time.

In public school, elementary - middle - high school in that order I would imagine.

Elementary and middle school hire most teachers, not so many high schools in comparison

3. Is there a lot to do in Seoul? ( I realise you live in Busan but maybe you've spent time in Seoul?)

I don't live in Busan, I live on an island an hour on the ferry away from it. Seoul is bigger than London. You can do anything you want there......anything!!

Seoul has theme parks, palaces, a nice river flowing through it, temples, mountains, shopping districts, parks, running tracks, soccer pitches, pubs, restaurants, great landmarks and crap loads of other things too.
4. What site would be good for looking for work?

Daves esl cafe
work n play
craigs list classifieds for korea
google - esl in korea
tiger english

all of these would have jobs advertised. It will be mostly ndividual schools advertising on craigs list, according to one of our other regular posters here. (damienH)

recruiters mostly advertise in the other sites. (tiger english is a recruiter)

5. The holidays you mentioned, is that all you get? A few days off for the whole summer and winter? Is there no block of time off like our summer holidays?

There are no big blocks of holidays off like teachers get back home. Students get about 5 weeks off in summer and 6 in winter (they change grade in March unlike us doing so in Sept) when the kids are off school, most public schools run camps that you would be required to teach in.This is not optional in most cases.

Schools that don't run camps still expect you to come to school everyday and just sit there do lesson plans which usually means you sit and do nothing for your entire day (known as desk warming). You could be the only teacher in the school on these days as the koreans are allowed to do their lesson planning at home.

Private schools (hagwons) operate the whole year with no big holidays. These are for profit businesses so when school is out they run more classes to try and increase revenue. The good ones will pay you for these extra classes the others will just have a high number of classes required to be taught before overtime is paid.


K.

.

Tristram

kraggy wrote: »

1. What would be typical pay for the different jobs?

God, there's such a huge variance. You might be getting 300,000 yen a month if your teaching in a public high school. 280,000 yen a month for a position at a university teaching conversation classes. More than likely you will be on an hourly rate if you're teaching business English (whatever you can get people to pay to a large extent). You will have to build your hours yourself maybe. There are so many types of positions and so many different pay rates. There's a lot of information online from various companies. Google is your friend!

2. What would be typical hours?

Once again, different hours for different jobs. In a public school you will be paid to be there from around 8am - 5pm Monday to Friday but will work occasional weekends also. Eikaiwa (private conversation schools) you will probably start in early afternoon and work into the evening. Unlikely that you will have weekends off. Maybe Sunday and Monday.

3. Which sector is easiest to get a job in? Private colleges? Or Public Schools? If Public schools, elementary, middle or high?

Private schools. Definitely.

4. What site would be good for looking for work?

gaijinpot, davesesl, use google lol

5. Is Tokyo simply too expensive to live in or does the pay compensate for the higher cost of living?

No, I don't think so. I lived there. Pay is not really higher. Harder to save and you're more likely to live in a shoe-box but it's a hell of a place!

Delicate_Dlite wrote: »

Ok, sorry if I sound like a broken record. But I just need a little clarification about celt/celta.

It seems that CELTA is the one everyone here is saying is the best, but is the only difference between CELT and CELTA is that the CELTA is for teaching adults?

I'm looking into traveling and teaching abroad, but I'm not sure whether I want to teach adults or children. Would I have to decide now and do the relevant qualificiation or can I mix it up at some point? Can I get a qualification that would allow me to teach both?

Thanks

This is CELTA

http://www.cambridgeesol.org/exams/teaching-awards/celta.html

This is CELT

http://www.acels.ie/acelselt.htm

Mr.Nice Guy

Very informative thread. I'm wondering has anyone taught in Europe? If so how would they compare it with places like Korea, Japan, China etc.?

Columbia

Hi all, and cheers to the main contributers to this thread, your insight on this whole area has been extremely helpful.

I'm 22, going into the last year of my Master of Literature (MLitt) degree, which is a two-year research masters. I've worked part-time (sometimes two jobs at a time alongside my work at university!) and picked up some research funding, so plugging down the course fees for CELTA after I'm finished here won't be a problem.

Ultimately I'd like to get a couple of years teaching experience and then to try and secure a place at a Korean university. My first question is, having a masters by research + CELTA, how competitive would I find this market in terms of qualifications? Is the Korean university market saturated with highly qualified masters and PhDs looking for work, or would my MLitt + CELTA put me in a strong position?
Secondly, once you're in a university, is there any career advancement within that, or do you simply stay in the same job with more or less the same pay? I see for instance the below listing mentions the possibility of a more highly paid, permanent position after a year, but is this the norm or not?

http://www.eslcafe.com/jobs/korea/index.cgi?read=43894

herbieflowers

Just a query: a lot of jobs I've been looking at require a CELTA (or equivalent). What would this "equivalent" qualification be? I would like to do the CELTA but I'm not based in Dublin.

Yellow121

Hi does anyone know good CELTA courses in Cork and how much are they?
Thanks.

Cole

Yellow121 wrote: »

Hi does anyone know good CELTA courses in Cork and how much are they?
Thanks.

http://cambridgeesol-centres.org/centres/teaching/centreContactDetails.do?centreNumber=IE002&qualification=10&source=teacheraward&country=IE

It's only UCC and IH in Dublin that run the CELTA here.

StradBally

Trinity Cert TESOL course in Schull - see links -

http://www.atlantic-english.com/blog/category/offers/

http://www.cactustefl.com/tefl/course.php?course_id=1567

Yellow121

Thanks, so there's only 2 CELTA courses in Ireland? What about CELT? And am I wasting my time doing this if i don't have a degree?

StradBally

Yellow 121

You'll find that the Trinity qualification is as highly regarded as the Cambridge

Cole

Yellow121 wrote: »

And am I wasting my time doing this if i don't have a degree?

You don't have to be a graduate to do the CELTA....presume it's the same for the other certs....but not having a degree will limit your options for teaching abroad, even with a teaching cert.

In order to get the appropriate working visa, most countries require English teachers to have a degree (in anything). Others, more in the know, might be able to advise of countries where you don't need a degree.

About to sign up for the Celta in Hanoi, Vietnam.. Then work here for a few months. How does 20/25 dollars an hour compare to the likes of Seoul?

dayna2010

Hi everyone so I am 20 years old ,I have just dropped out of college because the course wasn't for me. I cant afford to do another course so I have desided to move to italy. I have a passion for italian and there culture , and Iam planning to complete a tefl course in febuary . Is it pointless??? without a degree can I find a teaching post in Italy??? I want to live in turin ..... and I have promotional and retail experience but my italians not at a good enough level to get a job in retail at the moment....Iam only 20 so will they even let me teach or am I just being really negative...does anyone have any experience in Italy with a TEFL course...I live in dublin does any1 know any good tefl couses availible in (north) Dublin???
My emails daynasara@hotmail.com
If anyone has any info for me because Iam a little lost on what I need to do ....
Thanks
Dayna:p

aridion

Deleted User wrote: »

About to sign up for the Celta in Hanoi, Vietnam.. Then work here for a few months. How does 20/25 dollars an hour compare to the likes of Seoul?

20 to 25 dollars an hour in Vietnam? you sure?

Yep, in Hanoi anyway... Met a lad from Liverpool on 23 nd another girl who had just landed with an online tefl and she was offered 18. Maybe it's all lies, I dunno.

population

dayna2010 wrote: »

Hi everyone so I am 20 years old ,I have just dropped out of college because the course wasn't for me. I cant afford to do another course so I have desided to move to italy. I have a passion for italian and there culture , and Iam planning to complete a tefl course in febuary . Is it pointless??? without a degree can I find a teaching post in Italy??? I want to live in turin ..... and I have promotional and retail experience but my italians not at a good enough level to get a job in retail at the moment....Iam only 20 so will they even let me teach or am I just being really negative...does anyone have any experience in Italy with a TEFL course...I live in dublin does any1 know any good tefl couses availible in (north) Dublin???
My emails daynasara@hotmail.com
If anyone has any info for me because Iam a little lost on what I need to do ....
Thanks
Dayna:p

Hi Dayna
Though I do not profess to know much about Turin, I am teaching English in Naples and have been doing so for just over a year. I would recommend that you do CELTA as it is very highly thought of here and you can gain work here teaching English without a primary degree if you have CELTA. I would recommend the CELTA course in International House. Though it is pricey and hard work it is well worth it in my opinion. Also there is a fair amount of work in the South of Italy if you would ever consider coming down this direction. Hope that helps:)

wild heather

Hey everyone, I'm interested in enrolling on a CELTA course but there seems to be few places that run this course in Cork city or county. I applied for the course in UCC but was too late. Any help appreciated.

txs

leblanc

Hi KevinDublin
Pity I didnt read your post prior to booking an online course. But while I am on it I might as well fisnish it. Can you recommend a good grammer book I can buy to use with the grammer section of the course please?

DAVIDDOLAN

I would like to inquire about teaching overseas. I am wondering which course is most generaly accepted overseas for teaching english. I am considering doing an online 120 hour tefl course but im afraid it would not get me a job overseas if another qualification is more accepted. Can anybody shed me some light on this subject

livinginkorea

DAVIDDOLAN wrote: »

I would like to inquire about teaching overseas. I am wondering which course is most generaly accepted overseas for teaching english. I am considering doing an online 120 hour tefl course but im afraid it would not get me a job overseas if another qualification is more accepted. Can anybody shed me some light on this subject

Do you have a degree? If so then Asia is easy enough to get in to.

Toto Wolfcastle

Post moved to TEFL thread.

Twixaroo

Hi I am new to boards so apologies if this is the wrong place to be posting this thread. Basically I'm in my final year of my BA Degree and hoping to do some travelling. Very much interested in becoming a teacher in the long run so was thinking of taking this course. Has anyone here experience of this course? Anyone ever gone abroad teaching English? Where would be the best place to go? A guidance counsellor has told me to be aware that there can be some bogey courses around that wouldn't be recognised in some places? Any help would be much appreciated as i want to get in motion and try to organise myself now. Thanks!

Toto Wolfcastle

Moved to TEFL thread. Have a read through this thread to see if you can find out any information.

Twixaroo

Brilliant thread, very insightful thanks to all the main contributors for their opinions and help. Korea does sound very interesting. I had been considering doing a i to i course but i think after this i may opt for the CELTA course. To be honest i don't think i would be teaching EFL in Irelnad when i come back, is CELTA still the best option for me yes? And like a previous poster asked, CELTA won't prevent me from teaching kids in schools will it? Has anyone here any experience of teaching in the United Arab Emirates or around there? This would be my first choice i think. I hope to do a course after May when i have completed my final year exams and hopefully have it done and everything in order to apply for jobs for the September recruitments.

Check Daves esl for the jobs in dubai, uae and qatar.. I think alot want experience along with celta. I think.

barclay2

Hi all,

Looking for advice from anyone who's familiar with teaching in france or spain, maybe italy too. I have one year of recent teaching experience in South Korea, but i do not yet have any tefl course. I am considering teaching in Europe for a while, maybe 6 months or so. I don't see it as a long term career for me but would certainly enjoy another while in it.

I am aware that the Celta course is the most respected qualification to get. However, it is very expensive and as far as I can tell it is probably only worth the money for people who intend to teach for years. I do not. So I am considering doing a 120 hour online course, and then head to france or spain in search of work in person (which i successfully did in Korea).

Can anyone tell me what my chances are of finding work in spain or france with a year of experience under my belt and a 120 hour online course?

Just finished day 2 of a 4 week Tesol course in Philippines... I have no idea of what a Tesol course should be but so far, this one feels like a pile of shlte.

Will be gutted if it doesn't improve.. There's only 4 of us so it should be good for that reason but there's one massively retarded canadian who keeps relating stuff back to his course in college. Incredible how he does it.. Every few minutes he's telling a story about how he was taught this or that and I can see the teacher debating to herself whether or not she should tell him to stop.
Not only that but when she's doing games that we can use with kids, he can't even understand them and makes a big issue about the rules. When we were doing a bingo game about countries in Asia, he was complaining about "how do i verify if it's right?".. Missing the point completely. The lad has never even heard of laos or burma before and is 100% socially inept. I might just tell him to shut up myself or somethin.

Now I've to do a one hour 1on1 with a teenage filipino on thursday and we've done nothing in preperation for it.. It's being graded nd I'm relying on youtube now for my info. Rant over.

livinginkorea

Deleted User wrote: »

Just finished day 2 of a 4 week Tesol course in Philippines... I have no idea of what a Tesol course should be but so far, this one feels like a pile of shlte.

Will be gutted if it doesn't improve.. There's only 4 of us so it should be good for that reason but there's one massively retarded canadian who keeps relating stuff back to his course in college. Incredible how he does it.. Every few minutes he's telling a story about how he was taught this or that and I can see the teacher debating to herself whether or not she should tell him to stop.
Not only that but when she's doing games that we can use with kids, he can't even understand them and makes a big issue about the rules. When we were doing a bingo game about countries in Asia, he was complaining about "how do i verify if it's right?".. Missing the point completely. The lad has never even heard of laos or burma before and is 100% socially inept. I might just tell him to shut up myself or somethin.

Now I've to do a one hour 1on1 with a teenage filipino on thursday and we've done nothing in preperation for it.. It's being graded nd I'm relying on youtube now for my info. Rant over.

Wow that sucks, can I ask how much you are paying for this? Hope the teacher will step up and tell that lad to shut up. Usually there is one in a class and the teacher has to stamp their authority early on or lose the rest of the class for the duration of the course.

About the 1-on-1 lesson on Thursday I suggest something cultural might be worth a shot. How much info. do you have on the kid - age, English level, hours spent per week on English, prior experiences with native speakers, textbook, etc? No harm to find out as much as you can beforehand. One hour can be pretty long especially if you are being graded - perhaps he/she can do a task related to introducing the country to you as you are new to the area and what to know where you should go and what you should try? Try to elicit certain phrases and vocabulary related to your topic to indicate a high amount of student to teacher interaction.

The course is $1,500.. Standard for 4 weeks and I didn't want to do the Celta because it's for adult teaching and sounds very difficult. The only redeeming factor is that we met a guy who did the course last month and he spoke very highly of it so hopefully it should pick up..

I know nothing about the student only that he's 13-18. I'll try find it all out tomorrow and make some sort of lesson plan.. They've given us a rough outline of how the hour should go without actually teaching us it. The proper teaching practice is in week 3/4 and that will be 6 students and I should be much more prepared.

Back to this guy though... He doesn't stand a chance of being a teacher and it's annoying that he's there. His plan was to goto South Korea and he only found out about the need for a degree this afternoon when I mentioned it in passing.. Pretty big move to shell out the cash without looking at the job sites and seeing the degree requirement for a visa!