TEFL

well, im a journalist i write in an English newspaper in Cairo, and im looking for a job teaching English, espechially in Spain, or Istanbul. but im really surprised about one of the ppl saying its really easy to get a job without the certicicate coz every time i look for a job they always inquire the certificates. im a near native english speaker . Anyone knows where i can go and apply without me taking tefl, or recommend a good and moderatly priced one for me please.

Amira

It is an exaggeration to say that you don't need a degree to teach English. In Asia you most certainly do - China, Japan, Korea etc no degree:no visa. Some "backpackers" do seem to pick up under-the-table work in kindergartens or dodgy language schools.

I did CELTA, but unlike #8 I love teaching university students. The hours are good; holidays long & the pay is OK (for China).

"You don't need a university degree to teach in most places."

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<hr>most places<hr></blockquote>

sorry dont mean to hijack your thread... but didnt want to start another TEFL one.

The CELTA and Trinity courses are aimed at teaching adults?? I like the idea of teaching young children. Are the TEFL qualifications useful for teaching kids or would you be wasting your time and money by taking these courses?

Yes, the CELTA is the Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults.

For kids, it is the CELTYL (Certficate of English Language Teaching to Young Learners).

Nonetheless, the CELTA is far more recognised than the CELTYL - and most employers will happily put you in front of kids with a CELTA. I did a CELTA many moons ago, and 4 days after finishing was in front of a class of Indonesian 7-year olds. I didn't have a degree then.

All of this said, not much of what is taught in the CELTA is of direct use for kids teaching - it is indeed a different ballgame. The sort of repetition and structure that is necessary for kids classes would be boring as hell for adult classes.

I did the TEFL course in Prague and it was the most amazing time of my life. I only planned to do the course there and move on, I ended up staying there 9months. I met some amazing people, I have some amazing memories, and I would thoroughly recommend it. It was quite easy to get work in Prague, the only problem was the pay..they pay enough for you to live (quite an extravagant life!) but not enough to save....saying that we only ever worked about 20hours a week!! As I say was amazing. I then moved back to UK and taught in summer schools, now I am a qualified maths teacher, much more my kinda thing...english is to ambiguous.....though I am thinking about going and using it again in the next couple of years. We will see!
Do it, Don't think, have fun!

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<hr>'m considering taking a TEFL course to teach english globally...has anybody here done the course I would really love some feedback on their experiences.<hr></blockquote>

I've taught TEFL Cert courses - and feel they are essential to know how to do a decent job in the classroom. How to Select a TEFL School is a good webpage to look at to help you decide what/which course might be the best for you.

The lifestyle and career - great! I will never regret the last fifteen years of living overseas.

anyone undertaken a course through http://www.bridgetefl.com/ ??
they look quite legit, i'm really keen to do an online course and go o/s next year (prague, south korea or china look good)

I did their online course. It was 400 bucks and basically will do you no good when it comes to getting a job. The cerification from an online course is nothing.
It did give me an idea of what teaching is about and how to make lesson pans etc, but that is it. I get class experience by volunteer teaching.
I do not know about their on site course, sorry.

Saraki, are you able to elaborate more? do you mean that it was a poor quality course? if so why? is it is because there isnt any 'practical' experience.

and also, when you say it will do no good in getting a job is it because is isnt recognised or they dont assist you in finding a job?