Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have already tried contacting the forum in Dave's ESL Cafe and other ESL boards to no avail. So I am turning to this forum...hoping someone out there who is a "certified" ESL teacher can advise me.
I have taught ESL at a language school..and privately, in Seoul, Korea during my 3-year tour there (I was there on a different job...not teaching ESL). I also volunteered teaching ESL at our community library back home in WA state during 2012-13. I received numerous instructor training during my 12 years of active duty in the U.S. Army...and have instructed on various military subjects and language refresher training for the linguists in my translation team. During my civilian career with the Federal government, I again, received various levels of instructor training...and have taught numerous courses within the HR career field. All in all...roughly 6 years of teaching experience. During my 3-year internship in HR, I devoted a full year to Employee Training & Development specialty...where I focused on learning & applying various teaching/training methodologies, researching and preparing lesson plans, testing, assessment, identifying training needs, administering the English proficiency test to local national applicants and employees, managing various training programs, scheduling and advertising training sessions, and conducting some of the training courses myself. It was duing this phase of my internship that I was tasked to research, plan, develop, implement, and manage, an English Language Proficiency Program for civilian Korean employees of the U.S. Department of Defense.
Even with my extensive experience as instructor and teaching ESL (I also have a BA degree from a university in California), I was told I still need to be certified as ESL teacher in order to teach ESL. If this is indeed mandatory, I will get one.
With so many schools marketing their "certification" programs...it has become quite overwhelming trying to figure out which is the right one. I cannot afford those expensive courses I have read about nor would like to get one that doesn't amount to anything...or not recognized. I figured, with my years of hands-on instructing/teaching experience, I probably should just sign up for an on-line ESL certification course. It would be cost-effective for me...and convenient. Problem is, I'm not sure what I should be looking for in terms of length (number of hours), and validity..or recognition of the certification granted by the school. This is where I need guidance from certified ESL teachers out there. Thanks for you help.
Last edited by FCStraight; 05-17-2014 at 10:27 PM..
Reason: Correct typos.
Are you looking to teach as an ESL teacher in a US public school? That does require a teaching certificate plus an ESL endorsement.
Where are you looking to teach? If you want to teach ESL in the US (for example, community college) they typically want you to have a masters in Applied Linguistics or Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). University level jobs in other countries, like Japan or Korea, typically also want you to have at least a masters in TESOL.
There are online programs that offer ESL certifications for low cost and little time. This kind of certification may not be accepted in all countries or by all schools/companies. It varies. If you want to be most marketable with a BA, your best option is to pursue the CELTA or get a TESL certification from a university, if possible. Several accredited universities offer online programs.
**note: I'm not TESOL certified, but I did my undergrad in Applied Linguistics, and still receive job notices through the department, so I have a good idea of what companies/schools are looking for.
Are you looking to teach as an ESL teacher in a US public school? That does require a teaching certificate plus an ESL endorsement.
Where are you looking to teach? If you want to teach ESL in the US (for example, community college) they typically want you to have a masters in Applied Linguistics or Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). University level jobs in other countries, like Japan or Korea, typically also want you to have at least a masters in TESOL.
There are online programs that offer ESL certifications for low cost and little time. This kind of certification may not be accepted in all countries or by all schools/companies. It varies. If you want to be most marketable with a BA, your best option is to pursue the CELTA or get a TESL certification from a university, if possible. Several accredited universities offer online programs.
**note: I'm not TESOL certified, but I did my undergrad in Applied Linguistics, and still receive job notices through the department, so I have a good idea of what companies/schools are looking for.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To figmalt: Thank you for a quick and comprehensive reply. I just finished writing a reply to your message above...I submitted it, it asked me to sign in...but I didn't see the one I just wrote. Maybe I missed a step...and it vanished.
My intent is to first get more ESL teaching experience in the U.S....I'll volunteer without pay if need be. With a certification to show for...I will eventually venture abroad. I would like to teach in Spain or France as I am intimately familiar with those countries....having lived and worked in France (as an interpreter) with the U.S. Armed Forces; and in Spain...where I have spent considerable time...and speak both languages fluently.
I also would like to teach in the Philippines....not that ESL is needed in the Philippines...as English is widely spoken in that country...and is the language of instruction at all educational institutions from kindergarten to graduate school. Perhaps because English is so widely spoken that the Philippines is well known for ESL schools...attracting students from all over Asia. I also speak the national language of that country...fluently.
CELTA or DELTA and Cambridge...are all excellent, prestigious institutions...but they all carry a steep price tag for their certification course. So I still need to earn my certification through on-line method...from an institution that is at least considered acceptable among ESL practitioners.
I appreciate your suggestions, of course, and will keep CELTA/DELTA & Cambridge in mind.
A good place to start for volunteer experience is VolunteerMatch - Where Volunteering Begins. I ended up tutoring English with an AmeriCorps project I found from that site. I also see a lot of requests for volunteer English tutors come from the local community college ESL program. You might also check to see if your city has some sort of refugee and immigrant organization/foundation/advocacy group, as they typically need all kinds of volunteers.
I also went back and checked a few recent job listings. One of the programs for China requested a certificate from a 120 hour program, so that might give you a good starting point.
figmalt: Thank you so much for keeping up with me! I opened up the link you sent...I'm surprised that they have such a service in my area. No ESL volunteer shown, so far. When we first arrived in town I inquired at the local county library about volunteering to teach ESL...and they couldn't help me...instead they referred me to other offices that didn't lead to anything I was looking for. With so many immigrants flocking into this town and area...it was hard to believe there is no ESL program set up to help them learn English.
I am in the process of registering with this volunteer organization and will suggest they set up an ESL program for the community. There is so much diversity of immigrants here (Palm Coast, FL) and surely, there must be a need for ESL program in the community. I have met a few of them... and they definitely need to have such a program in the area. And yes, I think the 120-hour certification program will do for most teaching positions. Thank you, again...you've been very helpful.
I would also check out private language schools in your area as usually they do in-house training for their employees to make sure their instructors teach using their methods.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
