angelina
- 2008-06-16
I taught in China from 2004 to 2005 and found most of it very challenging, exciting and different to Western culture. I didn't have a TEFL at the time, but I did have a degree and met quite a few TEFL teachers who didn't have either. I've taught EFL/ESL for 2 and a half years now and have met an alsortment of characters, some with fancy qualifications and others who have hardly any. I think there is a lot of snobbery in the EFL world especially since this is a demanding role which doesn't pay very well unless you work in Japan .etc. In my opinion, it doesn't matter how many qualifications you hold, but it's experience and the way you do the job that matters most. If you can hold the attention of the ss in the ESL classroom and they actually learn something as well as enjoy the lesson, then you're halfway there!!!!!
I found that I learnt through my mistakes and by researching via books, internet, word and mouth, experiments and so forth. I was impressed by the way that Chinese learners used the phoenetics chart to translate English and their thorough knowledge of English grammar, all of the tenses, conditionals and so on. I do not recall learning much of it back in school and had to teach myself.
I don't know about anyone else, but I find it hypocritical that foreign students have to know the ins and outs of English grammar, but a lot of us native speakers haven't got the first clue about what tense we use when we communicate. It ought to be taught in the UK (not sure about US, Canadian and Australian schools) as part of the national curriculum or not at all.
cider fairy
- 2008-05-25
I have found this discussion very interesting and would like to offer my 'twopenn'th'.
I have taught at two Chinese universities and the difference in attitude of the students could not be greater. At my previous position the students were disinterested; reading, completing homework for other lessons, talking amongst themselves, sleeping etc. Mind you, the text books were mind-numbingly boring and far below the level of English which the students used in their other classes. By the way, why do they insist on teaching words like 'parenthesis' when everybody uses 'brackets'?
My current job is a dream. It's been hard work as there is no syllabus and no text books, so I have been able to organize the lessons and the topics. Obviously some have gone down better than others but my students are keen, interested and involved. I did wonder if this was because they actually liked English, but when I asked they responded that English was a tool which they had to master to be successful!
I wonder if the fact that one was private and the other is public has anything to do with it.
By the way, I'm 60 and don't have a degree. I came out and did a TEFL course here, it's my age which can cause initial employment problems but I've done all right so far.....
Gong He
- 2008-05-18
you seem to have the right attitude to teach in china, don't worry about your lack of degree
He, what???? "Right attitude to teach in China" instead of a degree?
Thats nonsense!!!!
peer
- 2008-05-18
Lots of visitors with a F visa teach english. Schools call them "volunteers" (they get pay).
Important:
Just in case, avoid the big cities and go to areas that no many teachers go.
chris
- 2008-05-18
without degrees: no chance in europe.
Thanks for your rather concise reply.
So is there anywhere in the world where people without a degree can work?
I-to-I is the name of the company running the TEFL course i have considered applying for, and they state that jobs WILL be available upon completion of the 100 hour course. Is this just a blatant lie?
I've also seen jobs advertised on websites such as TEFL.com, recruiting holders of nothing more than a TESOL or TEFL certificate. Are these not legitimate job advertisements?
Is your opinion one shared by most? or is it from your experience?
Joe
- 2008-05-17
Save your 400 and instead use that $ to go to China ASAP. You'll be Okay. Even part time work will keep you happy there.
Joe
yorkshirewhippet
- 2008-05-17
Thank you all for your replies. It's good to actually interact with people rather than trawling through the thousands of pages of overloaded information.
There is obviously lots to take in.
I'm sure it is certainly true that having a degree behind me would open up lots more opportunities for teaching abroad, however i feel that it would be right for me to actually gain some sort of experience of this, even if just to find whether i would be suitable to the work, before i commit to studying for a relevant diploma.
Perhaps it would be wiser, once/if i am certified, to look for something a little closer to home before considering traveling to anywhere too far and wide.
Do any of you have experience of working, perhaps in europe, without any form of degree?
Maybe with just a TEFL Certificate?
The courses i've been looking into taking suggest that there are plenty of opportunities for less qualified teachers. Although i'm pretty sure that they are desperate for me to part with my 400 course fee, and some of the comments i've read have half swayed me into believing that once they're paid, that's that and they don't necessarily give out the full story.
Jerome
- 2008-05-17
Until recently your desire to teach without a degree in China may have been attainable, even without a TESOL Certificate; however, in the current climate the reverse is more probable. Currently there are thousands of teachers already in China seeking answers to the difficult question concerning their eligibility for visas. The visa situation is pretty confusing right now and explanations thereof are rife with ambiguity. But one thing you can be sure of is that your lack of qualifications will not make you eligible for a legitimate position as an English teacher in China. You may be able to come here on a thirty day tourist visa and hope that a private school will hire you and then hope even more that they won't lie to you about the ease of getting a work visa, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that one. Nor would I take the risk if I were you.
Truthfully, the opening sentence of your post, "I need educating.," may be more realistic than you imagine. Apparently your brother has had it figured out much longer than you. I'm not judging you for being a pot smoking fork lift driver, but I am suggesting that it is never too late to get an education. Believe me, should you do so, and should you then make the decision to teach in China or elsewhere in Asia, you will find it a life changing decision and, for the most part, quite rewarding.
Unfortunately for you, and for many - if not tens of thousands - pretend teachers now in China, the "times they are a changin." Some of them are still in La La land in terms of their awareness of the impending changes. They think that the current visa regulations won't apply to them after October of this year. However, this is just the beginning of a rude awakening. Soon they're going to discover that they'll have to peddle their rusty wares in some other country. They'll no longer be able to get a paycheck for doing next to nothing in China while at the same time blaming everyone else for their incompetence and lack of positive results in the classroom. Moreover, they're going to wake up some day soon and discover that, indeed, they haven't been flying under the radar after all. Nope, not quite stealthy enough. Too bad really, many of us will be sad to see them go......not.
So, the choice is yours my friend. Here's an anecdotal story that may help:
While standing in line to register for college, shortly after graduating from high school, a young man noticed that the man in front of him was extraordinarily old for one who was just beginning college. So he struck up a conversation with the man and politely asked him about his age. The old man, with equal politeness, replied that he was 72 years old. "Wow!" said the young man. "That means you'll be 76 years old when you graduate!" "Quite so," the old man answered. "However, in four years I'll be 76 years old anyway."
Jerome
- 2008-05-17
Oh yeah, that's really great advice. Wake up and smell the proverbial coffee.
lin fu
- 2008-05-17
you seem to have the right attitude to teach in china, don't worry about your lack of degree..go ahead, move to china and find a school that could sponsor your z visa.
Hello to all.
I hope one or two of you can find the time to answer a couple of questions i have on the subject of visa's and, well, working in China as an English teacher.
I'm from England and am dead set on gaining a qualification which would allow me to teach abroad, but have yet to decide on the best way to attain said certificate.
My Brother teaches in Tokyo, having taken an 100 hour TEFL course. As far as i'm aware, this, along with a University degree, entitled him to a working visa, enabling him to gain employment in Japan.
Now i've caught the bug and desperately want to do as he and you all are doing and teach English somewhere a little more exotic than East Yorkshire.
However, to my Brother who worked hard, got his head down and studied at College and University, i am the one who used to smoke weed and drive a Fork Lift Truck, and was generally a little shit who didn't bother studying beyond School.
I've been looking into the options available to TEFL cert holders with no university background/degree to work abroad but i get mixed opinions from nearly every website i've visited.
I'm therefore hoping to receive some info about how it works in China, as this is somewhere i'd give my right arm to work and live.
Is it possible to obtain a visa to work for 1 year given my situation? (no degree)
Also, would any of you recommend China as a first time teaching position?
Sorry for being long winded, but i'd very much appreciate any replies.
Thanks, Chris.