On June 14 I received my certification from Oxford Seminars to Teach English to Speakers of other Languages (TESOL) / Teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). In some areas it is referred to as TESL (teach English as a Second Language) and others TELL (Teach English Language Learners). Regardless of the semantics employed, it is teaching a person English whose native language is not English.
Now that I have my certification, it is time to find a job somewhere in the world to use it. In the Western Hemisphere my interest lies in Brasil / Brazil, Chile and Ecuador. Since I now am partially fluent in Portuguese and Spanish, any of these countries would allow me to make a living and improve my existing language skills. I already know that I adore Brasil so it tops my list. I have spent some time in Ecuador working (legal work) but have never visited Chile.
If I don't go to South America, then I am looking at (in no particular order): Russia, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong and countries in the Middle East. Any of these would be new experiences for me, different cultures and languages than I have previously truly experienced. Yes I have eaten at Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, Japanese, Russian, etc restaurants and know people from these countries BUT it isn't the same as visiting the countries first hand.
Finding information on jobs in South Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan is easy. There in fact may be too many listings so it makes it hard to decide which ones to apply. I'm sure some are bogus.
Finding information on TESOL jobs in Brasil, Chile and Ecuador are more daunting. The jobs are there but the information about them isn't! I really want to have a job lined-up before I leave the country although I believe it when people tell me - just go and you'll have no problem finding a job. Oxford Seminars also has a job placement assistance service but I am hoping to find this first job without using it. Then I could use their service should I need it next year. They guarantee to find you a job BUT they cannot guarantee where it will be. So I am looking online.
IF you read this and know of a TESOL job in one of the countries I have listed, especially Brasil, Chile or Ecuador, leave me a comment please or email me at [ esl (at) timnew dot com ] I spell it out so all the net robots won't start spamming the account :)
Thanks
PS: I spelled Brasil with an "s" on purpose; it is how the country spells its name.
Showing posts with label TESOL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TESOL. Show all posts
Friday, July 3, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
One-Third of Oxford TESOL Course is completed
So far, so good
I just spent my weekend in the Dallas area (Plano) attending the first 2 days of an Oxford Seminar to be certified to Teach English to Speakers of other Languages (TESOL). It was a major relief to discover that my experience in Mexico was an anomaly. What do I mean? Don't misunderstand. I loved teaching in Mexico. I loved the kids (at least most of them). But the school there is not designed to properly teach English to students whose first language is not English. In my first 2 days of the Oxford Course I learned that:
1) Most schools where I could end up teaching will utilize text books designed to teach English as a foreign language or second language. That was not the case in Mexico where they are attempting to use Abeka Language books.
2) Most schools will have students assessed for their level of English and students will be placed in appropriate level classes. Again this was not the case in Mexico where students were placed in English class solely based on their Spanish level - 4th grade Spanish students were automatically placed in 4th Grade English even if their English level was not up to that level.
Both of these changes will make teaching English easier and more enjoyable.
Another change will be in the Teaching Methodology. This will take some effort on my part. The norm will be to teach English Grammar indirectly rather than through rules. You will use the English Grammar through context and activities and have the students pick up the correct usage rather than try to have them memorize rules or learn it by mimicry and repetition exercises. So the days of having students learn verb tenses by I run, you run, she runs, we run, they run, that I used somewhat effectively in Mexico will be replaced by usage in sentences and conversation. Did she run in the race? No, she didn't run in the race. Did they run on the beach yesterday? yes they ran on the beach yesterday.
I am also having to adjust to a class format of Warm-up exercise, Activity, Review with a common learning objective. Once I get it all figured out and use it a few times I think it will be easier. This is especially true since the text books I will probably be using will have the activity portion more or less laid out. I will just need to tweak it, supplement it and add warm-up activities and reviews.
All in all I am happy with the first weekend. Two more to go. In the interim I have a lot of reading to do, homework to do and need to begin deciding where I want to teach next year - that is the goal of taking the course after all.
I just spent my weekend in the Dallas area (Plano) attending the first 2 days of an Oxford Seminar to be certified to Teach English to Speakers of other Languages (TESOL). It was a major relief to discover that my experience in Mexico was an anomaly. What do I mean? Don't misunderstand. I loved teaching in Mexico. I loved the kids (at least most of them). But the school there is not designed to properly teach English to students whose first language is not English. In my first 2 days of the Oxford Course I learned that:
1) Most schools where I could end up teaching will utilize text books designed to teach English as a foreign language or second language. That was not the case in Mexico where they are attempting to use Abeka Language books.
2) Most schools will have students assessed for their level of English and students will be placed in appropriate level classes. Again this was not the case in Mexico where students were placed in English class solely based on their Spanish level - 4th grade Spanish students were automatically placed in 4th Grade English even if their English level was not up to that level.
Both of these changes will make teaching English easier and more enjoyable.
Another change will be in the Teaching Methodology. This will take some effort on my part. The norm will be to teach English Grammar indirectly rather than through rules. You will use the English Grammar through context and activities and have the students pick up the correct usage rather than try to have them memorize rules or learn it by mimicry and repetition exercises. So the days of having students learn verb tenses by I run, you run, she runs, we run, they run, that I used somewhat effectively in Mexico will be replaced by usage in sentences and conversation. Did she run in the race? No, she didn't run in the race. Did they run on the beach yesterday? yes they ran on the beach yesterday.
I am also having to adjust to a class format of Warm-up exercise, Activity, Review with a common learning objective. Once I get it all figured out and use it a few times I think it will be easier. This is especially true since the text books I will probably be using will have the activity portion more or less laid out. I will just need to tweak it, supplement it and add warm-up activities and reviews.
All in all I am happy with the first weekend. Two more to go. In the interim I have a lot of reading to do, homework to do and need to begin deciding where I want to teach next year - that is the goal of taking the course after all.
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