Tefl in Vietnam

shortys94

I've only recently researched the whole tefl option so excuse me if my queries are naive..

I have just finished a course to obtain a BSc in Medical Physics and was wondering if doing the tefl would allow me to teach in Vietnam or woud the more highly paid jobs require a degree in teaching. Am planning to do a masters in medical physics

piddif

You could certainly find work with a 120hr online TEFL course, however the better paying/more secure jobs will require CELTA or equivalent.

By the way, I have not yet been to Vietnam....or taught ESL but this is the general what I have found while researching.

Dave's ESL Cafe (Vietnam board) is a decent place to get some basic info, but there are a lot of negative creeps on there too.

dpp v mcgee

In terms of beaches, where is the best place in Vietnam to teach to have access to the beach? I see both Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi are a good bit from the beach.

Da Nang city and then the beach is really close.

dpp v mcgee

Thanks. Im booking my flights today and Im gona see what the job situation is like around there and south east asia. What airlines are the best to fly with?

Caonima

piddif wrote: »

You could certainly find work with a 120hr online TEFL course, however the better paying/more secure jobs will require CELTA or equivalent.

Start off with a TEFL course... you only really want to be doing a CELTA after you have a year or so of experience. It's better to actually do the job for a little while before you invest the time and money in a CELTA. And the CELTA will make more sense if you have taught before.

token101

If I was to undertake the CELTA in Vietnam, what would be the reputable schools in Hanoi?

missmai

What major/minor would you recommend to get at as a degree for teaching in VN? Does the major even really matter?

Caonima

missmai wrote: »

What major/minor would you recommend to get at as a degree for teaching in VN? Does the major even really matter?

Doesn't really matter for normal ESL/EFL...

If you do, like me, EAP (English for Academic Purposes), having a related degree/masters etc. can be very useful.

missmai

Thanks, can't wait to get started

piddif

Caonima wrote: »

Start off with a TEFL course... you only really want to be doing a CELTA after you have a year or so of experience. It's better to actually do the job for a little while before you invest the time and money in a CELTA. And the CELTA will make more sense if you have taught before.

I've spent quite some time working out whether or not to do CELTA or an online TEFL cert.

Everything I have read and researched says do CELTA. It is made for beginners, and perhaps having previous teaching experience is actually a hindrance and not a benefit. It can be both, understandably.

Sure, if you don't have the time and money for CELTA you will get by with an online cert, however, if you can afford the time and money to get the CELTA then get it.

token101 wrote: »

If I was to undertake the CELTA in Vietnam, what would be the reputable schools in Hanoi?

Apollo, ILA, Language Link.

It appears that there are more negative reveiws for Apollo and ILA than LL, but that is probably because they are larger schools etc.

Give me 2 months and I'll let you know what CELTA @ LangaugeLink is like

piddif

dpp v mcgee wrote: »

Thanks. Im booking my flights today and Im gona see what the job situation is like around there and south east asia. What airlines are the best to fly with?

I got my flight (one way) for ~450euro. Budget Air via SkyScanner is what I used.

I'm flying from Dublin with BA and then Cathay Pacific.

Caonima

piddif wrote: »

I've spent quite some time working out whether or not to do CELTA or an online TEFL cert.

Everything I have read and researched says do CELTA. It is made for beginners, and perhaps having previous teaching experience is actually a hindrance and not a benefit. It can be both, understandably.

Sure, if you don't have the time and money for CELTA you will get by with an online cert, however, if you can afford the time and money to get the CELTA then get it.

A CELTA will be a lot more advanced than an online TEFL, and should include actual classroom time, lesson planning, and formal feedback. You don't really get this with an online TEFL. I can see your point about previous experience perhaps being a hindrance, but when I did my CELTA I was coupled with a few new teachers and they were lost for large sections of the practical components, not to mention classroom management and actual dealing with the students. I was happy to have been teaching for a while, despite having to unlearn some bad habits, or at least tweak some.

If you have the money, and more importantly time, then I'd invest in a CELTA if I were you.

VinylJunkie

What would the job situation look like around March 2014? I'm thinking about doing a CELTA course in Hanoi in February.

treenytru

Just wondering how everyone's getting on in Vietnam. I'm thinking of moving there next Summer. After 2 years teaching in Korea I'm in need to something a little different.
What i'm really wondering is with my 2 yrs experience and a Celta how many hrs per week do you think i'd have to work to be able to afford to live in Hanoi without dipping into my savings...is it possible to rent a studio apt while only working 10-15hrs/wk??
Any advice would be great guys:)

Hmm.. Bout $400 for a very decent one bed apartment. Another $600 for comfortable spending money. So yea, about 8-13 hours a week.

Experience and Celta will have you earning well pretty quickly.

treenytru

thanks for the info ads by google...almost seems too good to be true ...what am I doing in korea again?!
I've been reading up a bit on teaching in VN and it seems most advertised jobs pay between 18-25 dollars an hr. Is this the kind of pay scale I should be looking at or do you think I could see about earning a bit more?

m83

Hey treenyru, about the 18-25 dollars per hour, you'll more than likely start on the lower end of that scale. But it's not really an issue. Vietnam is a ridiculously cheap country to live in and the quality of life you can have here far exceeds what is possible in Korea. Trust me, I've done both and would never go back to the ROK.

----

And now my own question for the rest of you. I'm in Ho Chi Minh and need to get a work permit to continue teaching at my school. I have my original degree and background check here which I need to get notarised and apostilled. Will the embassy in Hanoi do both those things for me? I rang today but the Vietnamese lady who answered was less than helpful.

Any advice would be seriously appreciated. Thanks.

m83

m83 wrote: »

Hey treenyru, about the 18-25 dollars per hour, you'll more than likely start on the lower end of that scale. But it's not really an issue. Vietnam is a ridiculously cheap country to live in and the quality of life you can have here far exceeds what is possible in Korea. Trust me, I've done both and would never go back to the ROK.

----

Typically, it's up to $20 starting but that goes up.. I wouldn't work for less than $25 now and tbh, I've been turning down $40/50 out of laziness.

m83 wrote: »

And now my own question for the rest of you. I'm in Ho Chi Minh and need to get a work permit to continue teaching at my school. I have my original degree and background check here which I need to get notarised and apostilled. Will the embassy in Hanoi do both those things for me? I rang today but the Vietnamese lady who answered was less than helpful.

Any advice would be seriously appreciated. Thanks.

Hanoi will do the degree so that gives ya the green stamp. Then you need to get that translated and notarized by VN to get the red stamp. There's only one ****ty office in Hanoi that does it so it's different to all the other little notarisation places.
You'll have to get your background check done as well but mine is Vietnamese so that was just a three week wait. Next is the health check. And a stamp from your local police saying ya live where ya live.

That's pretty much the full process in Hanoi but HCM is a completely different city so not sure what's needed down there.. I'd be surprised if you got a (completely pointless) work permit as an ESL teacher without a teaching cert but if you're a science/maths/literature teacher, your relevant degree should cover ya.

If you get all the documents, it should be about $100.. Or ten times that if ya don't have them. I did mine because I want to keep my job but if it was just any old job, I'd have walked out instead of going through the BS. Remember not to not fully trust your employer.. They only learn what's needed as they go along.
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treenytru

Deleted User wrote: »

Typically, it's up to $20 starting but that goes up.. I wouldn't work for less than $25 now and tbh, I've been turning down $40/50 out of laziness.

I guess once you get established it's easier to get the higer paying jobs...thanks for the info guys and ads by google if you really don't want those $40/hr gigs feel free to throw them my way....will be over in September 2014

treenytru

Hey guys ..another quick question:) Is work available fairly consistantly throughtout the year? I want to travel for a bit after I leave Korea but I know that seeing as September is the start of the school year it's probably a good time to start looking for jobs...would I be an idiot to start looking at the end of September?

moonandstars

Hi I have a question re paid summer vacations: Are somr schhols just a few weeks a year and others 8-10 weeks? For publuc schhols, for example. Are summet hols paid?
Also which schools would you recommend? Public, private, language schools? I'm obviously looking for the best wages but also benefits overall etc thanks

moonandstars

moonandstars wrote: »

Hi I have a question re paid summer vacations: Are somr schhols just a few weeks a year and others 8-10 weeks? For publuc schhols, for example. Are summet hols paid?
Also which schools would you recommend? Public, private, language schools? I'm obviously looking for the best wages but also benefits overall etc thanks

Pretty hard to find paid summer holidays.. The public schools usually employ people through centres so that's never paid. Some private schools do pay, some don't. International schools are more likely to pay through summer and have good benefits.

I haven't worked in an international school yet because I really like the private school I've been in for over three years.. Private schools are easier in terms of day to day workload / paperwork and have comparable wages so I like it.

Andrew Purfield

Deleted User wrote: »

Pretty hard to find paid summer holidays.. The public schools usually employ people through centres so that's never paid. Some private schools do pay, some don't. International schools are more likely to pay through summer and have good benefits.

I haven't worked in an international school yet because I really like the private school I've been in for over three years.. Private schools are easier in terms of day to day workload / paperwork and have comparable wages so I like it.

PM

I had Aiesec and one of their schools offer me a deal (printed out in a contract and all!!) based on a six month business visa to cover a teaching internship but they reneged and then told me to come on a Short Term Visa..waste of 2-3 months of my time...

Literally everybody on Hanoi Massive, on here, on every other site I can find, and all of the schools I have been in touch with are saying it's the Visa runs (and a permit 'after so many months' but that seems like BS unless you get lucky or bribe someone) and I do want to visit Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and friends a good bit so that could work out but I don't want to post too much under my name online...

Can someone PM me a bit more info-have you never had any problems doing the runs? How long before a permit can be obtained if you have a decent employer?

Anyways I told Aiesec and their two faced school where to go because they had promised me one thing, we arranged everything over 10 weeks on that basis, and then told me another after I had signed an agreed contract...

Now speaking to one school in HCMC, a Thai agency and a friend who works in Hr in China but I would really prefer Vietnam.

moonandstars

Hey, I'm in a bit of a pickle re my TEFL course - I didn't pass it because I didn't get hard copies of references in but my question is can I still get work?? I have a diploma in Montessori teaching, a BA in English and Philosophy and a masters in screenwriting.. But aah I still don't have my TEFL cert, so bummed. Course completed and teaching hours down..

RingTheAlarm!

I have been having a think about Vietnam recently, have a teaching certification for secondary school and a Master's qualification. I also have university teaching experience. What type of work/money, etc would I be looking at do you think? Very early days but just thinking about it

Rainmann

Hey Guys!

Me and a couple of friends are really interested in going to Vietnam to teach.

We all have degrees but do not have any TEFL / CELTA courses completed. We were thinking of doing a course on arrival as we are all in full time employment here and would be difficult to allocate the time etc.. So just a couple of quick questions..

1. Is it a good idea just to fly over and complete the course there?
2. how much cash would we need to support ourselves before we get started?
3. We would be looking to do like 12 - 15 hours p/week and try and enjoy the place as much as we can rather than focusing on earning as much as possible. Which course would best suit that situation?

Thanks!!

fuzzydunlop85

Anyone on here currently teaching in Vietnam? Thread seems pretty dead!

shteve

I am looking into the possibility of going over to Vietnam to teach English for a few months at the beginning of next year.

Has anyone been there recently? Is the jobs situation still plentiful for inexperienced teachers?

Dick phelan

I am hoping to go and teach in Vietnam this year and am currently applying to companies, in particular has anyone got any experience of working for "Teachers for Asia" Are they good to work for, i am qualified in TESOL so am not looking for a program where you do the cert over in Vietnam. Some other things i was wondering, trying to find out what the situation regarding internet censorship in Vietnam, if i worked there could i still access Facebook, Youtube ect, what sites are blocked or illegal?