TeachingEnglish
English but no degree
Submitted by Jack410 on 18 April, 2011 - 15:42
Hello, i am a 35 year old intelligent English male. I am considering starting a career as English language teacher and doing an intensive CELTA course at IH Budapest in July or August.
Question is will i be able to have a decent career without a degree?
I am not looking to work in China, Japan or anywhere like that. I would be looking at places like Eastern Europe or Central/South Amercia later on when i had some experience. Would i be able to do this?
Thanks for any advice
Jack
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Hi Jack
I know lots of people with no first degree who do well teaching English (and who are in some cases better teachers than those with degrees), but the better qualified tend to get the best jobs. A lot depends on the local area and the competiton for jobs.
If you do go for it then I suggest you do the DELTA as soon as you can (minimum 2 years after CELTA) - with that no-one would complain if you don't have a degree. You could then go on to do a Master's if you really get in to studying.
The best bet is to speak to people in the places you want to go to and find out from them. Your CELTA tutor would be a good person to start with.
Hope that helps.
Chris
thanks for that Chris. Any idea on salaries, just rough ballpark figures are fine...
Really impossible to say - it varies greatly. In general your first job would be quite low paying but the more experience & qualified you get the better the pay. If you stick to it you can do ok.
Chris
I just got the offered to attend an interview on teaching english for the chinese primary school .
my problem is .. im having difficulties to speak more fluently and perfectly in english .. yes .. im only eighteen and just finished my big exam . i want to get more self cnfidence in speaking so that i won't feel awkward or embaressed in front of my interviewer .
hpe that you gonna give some golden tips for me:)
thanks ~
(im malaysian)
Hi Jack
I think for some CELTA and Cert TESOL courses you might need to have a degree to take them, so I'd check that out before you start. That's not to say that I think a degree is necessary for being a good English teacher - think of all the graduates of sciences or other subjects that have nothing to do with ELT! I think the most important quality is that you're interested in language and how it works, and you're interested in helping people learn. The rest will come with experience and keeping up to date with the latest publicaations and trends in the field. I think this forum is a great place to start!
By the way, as far as I'm aware, the CELTA and Cert TESOL courses are equal to an undergraduate diploma anyway, i.e. an undergrad degree without a dissertation - so once you've got that, noone can complain about the lack of other degree. I do think the DELTA or Dip TESOL are great courses to do once you get into teaching and are sure you want to progress your career in the field, but as was mentioned before, you need a minimum of 2 years' experience.
Good luck with the CELTA (It's hard work, but worth it!).
CMF
Hi. I am a 45 year old looking to change career. I will be travelling to China following CELTA training around April of this year with my fiance who is Chinese. I am an accountant with a master's degree in tax law and my ultimate aim is to teach in my own field at university level in English.
In the interim, however, I recognize that it will be necessary to acquire at least two year's experience teaching English before moving on.
Several sources have suggested that obtaining a visa in China is only possible with at least one year's experience. Is this true?
In response to Fylde2:
China's official requirements do include TWO years' full-time teaching experience.
This is rarely observed, though, as long as the person has at least two years' full-time work experience in general (people in their early twenties are sometimes rejected, but anyone over 25 shouldn't have a problem).
In truth, the company you join will probably falsify a few documents, saying you have teaching experience - but I'm sure the relevant government offices are well aware of and allows this. Certainly, I'd estimate about 85% of the teachers I know who came to China since that law was established, had zero experience before coming.
A general note:
A Bachelor Degree, equivalent, or higher, is an essential requirement that is strictly observed in China. I have met teachers in China who do not meet this requirement, but they are typically working illegally - usually on a tourist or study visa (which prohibits any kind of work) or on a business visa (which prohibits receiving a salary locally).
To be sure you will be working legally in China, check that the visa will be a working visa (aka. Z-visa).