Should I just get my Bachelor's in English Literature and then TESOL certification and look for a job? What about getting a Master's in TEFL? is it worth getting right after the Bachelor's or should I wait until I have a few years of teaching experience before getting it? I want to teach in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Sweden or Norway. I'm actually a citizen of France and not the USA even though I've lived here since the age of 9 (so working in the EU won't be a problem)! I'm 22 and currently pursuing my Bachelor's in English Literature. Help me out am I going about this the right way or could I be doing it better? Any helpful tips or interesting forums or websites? Thanks in advance
Teaching - 6 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
In general you'll need a degree and a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate to get a visa and work. The TEFL certificate can be taken either in-house or online at your own pace which is a much cheaper option (see http://icalweb.com). Having a Masters will probably not make much difference initially. If you go for a higher level job then you may well find a Masters useful, but at the same time they will also look for experience. So I'd personally suggest getting a first degree and then some experience and then seeing where that takes you.
2 :
I wouldn't do an MA just yet, you won't get paid any more in Europe (it might help you out if you want to teach in the Middle East or Japan though). Make sure your TEFL certificate is either the CELTA or Trinity TESOL. They are the only independently accredited and internationally accepted courses. Most schools in Europe will only consider teacher with these qualifications, mainly as they contain 6 hours observed in class teaching practice with real students. Many language schools across Europe offer these specific courses for new teachers. Good luck!
3 :
Hey, Great to see you're interested in teaching in Western Europe. To find jobs in Europe you will need to have a TESOL/TEFL certificate of at least 120 hours. You wouldn't need a Masters to teach English, so it wouldn't probably be worth doing in order to teach in Europe. For more information about teaching abroad, you might want to download a free copy of TEFL Uncovered: How to Teach Your Way Abroad with TEFL - it'll give you loads of advice and help on the courses that are available to you. http://www.onlinetefl.com/contact-tefl-team/tefl-ebook.html Also you may want to check out i-to-i's Chalkboard, which is an online community dedicated to TEFL. There are loads of members on there who are teaching abroad, so you'll be able to get lots of help and advice. You can take a look here: http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-chalkboard Hope this helps you!
4 :
You might also want to take the CAE since you weren't born in an english speaking country. An MA woudl help as well down the road, but you could get started with just a BA. Here's a good place to start, http://tefltips.blogspot.com
5 :
Finding the right school or university in Switzerland can be quite a daunting task. Switzerland is one of the best places in the world to receive a very broad education. Also Switzerland speaks 3 languages officially (French, German and Italian). Of course English is nearly considered a national language due to all the finance that takes place in Switzerland. A great place that offers advice on Swiss private schools and universities is a Swiss company called SIEPS SA (http://www.sieps.ch). They can also assist with housing, translations, account payments, general business and administrative tasks. Also if you are a student and need to provide financial guarantees for housing, SIEPS will provide personal and corporate guarantees on your behalf! SIEPS also has an excellent jobs networking database where you can post your CV and motivational letters online and best of all it is completely free!
6 :
I taught ESL to get through university in Switzerland. In the early 2000s there were jobs everywhere but the economy and a massive saturation of the market (both of new schools and of teachers) has made it harder to survive now days as a teacher. I have a friend and former colleague who barely scratches by in Paris. I am told the situation is pretty rough in Germany as well. Meanwhile back here in Switzerland, you can at least still earn a living. Salaries start at about 25 CHF an hour and go up to 60 CHF an hour in some schools. Next to no one will hire you full time though, you will always be by the hour in most countries. Don't listen to hopeful newbies who are 'negotiating' or 'talking with the union' about this. They have been doing that for 20 years. They will be doing that 20 years from now. If you intend to teach ESL a degree in English, ESL or TEFL helps. A CELTA strengthens your hand exponentially, a DELTA will take you even further. (You can get these in a month studying full time.) It does help to be in Switzerland because there are also private schools and univeristies all over the place, so if you tire of teaching ESL you can switch over to teaching high school English Literature. On that note, if you really want to get into the big bucks, you can do a masters at the University of Geneva and be a substitute ESL teacher in the public system. That pays 60 CHF an hour and positions you for openings to teach high school ESL when you graduate (you must have a Masters). High School ESL pays in the environment of 8k to 10k per MONTH. Seriously. Look it up.
