TEFL forum

I am thinking of starting a new carrer in teaching english abroad. I have travelled before and think that the mixture of a highly rewarding job and the chance to experiance life outside of my country seems the perfect partnership.

I dont have a degree although i have seen this option available and just wondered what qualified teachers think of this option. Its a 'BA Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages (TESOL)'. So its a degree in teachin english as a fl. Would it be a good idea, or more of an idea to study a teaching course in college teaching and then do a tefl course afterwards?

Any help greatly appreciated, its a massive decision and one that will literally be a life changer so im not keen on rushing into something that i want to make a genuine carrer out of, not a 6 month gap 'advernture'.

Thanks,

Adam

Hi Adam

I think either option sounds good. In both cases you will have a degree, which significantly broadens your options when it comes to finding work. If you were just considering teaching as a 6 month gap adventure, a degree wouldn't be too much of a concern, but if you're serious about it as a career, and want to keep your options as open as possible, then a degree is a must, as is a teaching qualification. If you can combine the two into one, even better!

You've probably heard of the CELTA and Trinity Cert TESOL - these are the most widely accepted TEFL qualifications, and are usually taken after a degree in something else. This is the tried and tested route in to the profession and you can't go wrong with taking this apporach. But why not a BA in TESOL? I haven't heard of it before (maybe I've been out of the country too long!), but I don't see any problem with it as a route into the profession - which university is offering it? I'd be interested in seeing the course content - do you have a link you could point me to? As long as the course contains a significant practical element, it should be welcomed by employers.

Hope this helps you - welcome to TEFL!

Paul

Hi, thanks for the swift reply. Yes very helpful indeed, im just trying to get as much feedback and advice as possible.

Its at a fairly local university which is a huge plus for me as i wont ahve to leave home (incresed costs). it is the University of East London (UEL). The link to the course is http://www.uel.ac.uk/.../tesol.htm (Hope that works). Have a read and see what you think, any advice is hugely appreciated!

Adam

This BA looks good. I've found it very limiting not to have a degree in this profession - it rules out a lot of countries where I want to work, unless I'm prepared to work illegally, which I'm not. I've been teaching for 6 years now and am frustrated that I can't get a job in Vietnam, Japan (difficult) and other places where I want to teach. I'm in this for the long haul so a degree is the way to go. And if I'm going to do one, it might as well be in the field, rather than something random, right?

Adam, I don't know if you're still thinking about this - maybe you're already there and I'll meet you at the university! But if you're still wondering if it looks like a good degree, I think it does - speaking from 6 years of teaching experience, it seems to cover pretty much everything I'd want to learn.

By the way, the link in your post isn't working, but you can figure it out from the address bar when you click it.

It's worth checking out whether you can do a CELTA and have it count as a module in your degree. I suspect you will be able to, because that was the case for a degree in any discipline at my university. The CELTA was a 20 credit module. I highly doubt that a BA in TESOL wouldn't include an option to take a CELTA or Trinity certificate to be honest. In fact, I'd be surprised if it wasn't a compulsory module.