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Shells 28 Jun 2006 21:14

Teaching along the way - TEFL
 
After an amazing weekend at Lumb farm and a head full of travel and all things right about being able to pack up and go, I find that I won't be able to pack anything up for at least a little while... and depression is setting in. :(
It's not all bad, because it is fabulous motivation to just Sort It Out!
So, in attempting to find a way to fund some travels and a aquire a sensible skill to take with me,
I am thinking about doing a TEFL course in London as soon as possible.

Has anyone taught along the way during their travels, or even before/after travels to save up some dosh?
Any experience of TEFL courses and their usefulness?

Thank you!

mustaphapint 28 Jun 2006 22:22

I wish you every success if you do go down this road, but please try to talk to as many people as you can who have done this before you sign up for a course . My step-son did this a couple of years ago in the hope it would fund his stay in Spain. He now has all the qualifications and he did spend some time doing this in Barcelona and Madrid, but in the end he has found bar work to be more profitable and more enjoyable.

Lone Rider 29 Jun 2006 02:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by harleyrider
I wish you every success if you do go down this road, but please try to talk to as many people as you can who have done this before you sign up for a course . My step-son did this a couple of years ago in the hope it would fund his stay in Spain. He now has all the qualifications and he did spend some time doing this in Barcelona and Madrid, but in the end he has found bar work to be more profitable and more enjoyable.


Good advice.
The pay that is offered (each country is different, of course) doesn't allow much breathing room to save money.
It could work well if you're looking for just extended stays in certain areas.

Simon Barnes 29 Jun 2006 11:56

funding
 
hI sHELLS,

I'd be interested in what you find. Me and my wife (still seems weird saying that as I've only been married 6 months) had a similar idea regarding doing a TEFL to help fund a trip once on the road.
Must admit bar works looks more fun but I feel less rewarding?
Good luck
simon

Simon Kennedy 29 Jun 2006 13:42

A few points. None of them particularly encouraging I am afraid. But best to know what you're getting yourself into.

Teaching schools do not want travellers. They want you to stay a year or more in general. Two and three month contracts are around yes, but they are designed at the convenience of the school ("flexibility" it's called in UK) not the workers. Generally speaking, you need to make a longish commitment of time to the job. I am sure there are exceptions, but this is generally the case. Look at it from the school's point of view.

Fulfilling Simon? No. this is not the reason to do TEFL. You are teaching businessmen, and disinterested well-to-do teens whose fathers want them to acquire the status English-speaking acrues. It is unlikely that you will get work with either children or dedicated learners.

And yes, the pay and conditions are lousy. Enough to live in the country. But not to save and travel. If you want the experience of living abroad, and are prepared to live at a low standard then TEFL is a good option. It suits early twenty-somethings I reckon. A life of coffee and scruffy trousers.

Exception: Japan. But here you are something close to a full-time professional teacher, and have proper responsibilities. It is not really for the "give it a try" types.

China will take anyone at the moment, but, again, the pay is rubbish and you are expected to live for a year in the middle of nowhere. Is this your life-plan?

Do you like teaching? Have you ever done it? Really, it doesn't suit everyone. I find most people have a completely warped notion of what the job involved. Funny, given everyone has the experience of schooling. So talk to some teachers.

This is a very funny site, written by a TEFL teacher:

http://chasemeladies.blogspot.com/

Scroll down for his teaching entries.

Lastly, to be more positive, you live in a country with a strong currency compared to most. Your best option for money is on your doorstep.

Here's an idea. Just for spice. How about six months touring India? Fly there. Buy a bike there, and resell at the end. Monthly expenses? Upwards from 350GBP. 450 is comfortable. Total: three grand will get you a fine experience. If you fancy SE Asia instead, then make it four or five. It is a lot, but not an impossible amount to save over a year or so. Maybe you own some assets, like a house and a car? Get a smaller ones.

I'm not trying to put you off here - just share my experience as a teacher and traveller. Biking travel is great. But TEFL is suited to a particular type of life. A stationary one. If you want an in-depth experience of another place then it may be for you. But it fits poorly with the hair-in-the-wind, whereever-I-lay-my-ignitions-keys-that's-my-home life that most people have in mind for biking travel.

Hope this helps,

Simon

brclarke 30 Jun 2006 13:24

Hi. I have been teaching English overseas for a little over three years now.
As other posters have pointed out, you can generally earn an income that is good by local standards but low by 'Western' ideals. An example: I taught for a year in Indonesia and earned about $800 US per month. The average income for an office worker there might be $150/month, so I lived quite well and still managed to save $500 per month.

However, if you want to tour around on a motorcycle, $500/ month isn't sufficient. It would take you months to save the money for the airfare to fly your motorcycle to the next destination.

"Coffee and scruffy trousers"? Ha ha - today we ran out of coffee in the office, so it's a mug of tea this morning. But my trousers are pretty scruffy-looking.... :D

garrydymond 30 Jun 2006 17:33

Rather than taking an expensve course buy the Interchange books. They are pretty self explanatory. You could then put an ad in a local newspaper wherever you happen to be and get private sts. As was pointed out you won't make a fortune but should get enough to get by.
Good luck and if you come through Mex City send me a PM

Simon Barnes 1 Jul 2006 17:19

thanks
 
Thanks Simon for the considered reply. Certainly food for thought there and opened my 'non-teaching' eyes to a few things. (bar work it is then)

Doing a 'safe' trip round Europe first this summer - to break the wife in gently to the joys of 2 wheeled travel.

From then on it's just the point where our jobs annoy us too much and the road calls too loudly.

Cheers
simon

Shells 1 Jul 2006 20:10

Humph!
 
Oh balls!

I suppose that covers that then.
And as for filling my head with EVEN MORE travel ideas (India on the cheap), well, cheers, Simon K
ha!
:rolleyes:
No assets besides my bike, and there is no way I am getting a smaller one! (apologies mad scooter adventurers)

I have taught before, but in a different environment, but love it! Best for the brain to cover all thoughts related to an idea though, so thanks for the excellent thoughts. I agree that the teaching idea is better suited to being temporarily stationary, which was the drive behind the idea, so that's no problem. The inflexibility and 'survival' pay is not so appealing.
Good to have thoughts to explore though...

I might tuck into this zinfandel and see what else I can come up with :biggrin3:

Thanks everyone.

klaus 18 Oct 2006 01:49

I know....
 
...that I might be a little late, but didn't see your post until today.... :{

Well, in reference to teaching on the way - you might (will??) run into problems, at least over here in the Far East! Teaching jobs are connected to at least 1-year-contracts. Second, the market is over-flooded with foreigners who want to teach, coming to (f.ex.) Japan for one year, ecperiencing the country and then getting out again as fast as possible. You would be very lucky to find someone who would be willing to hire you for just a couple of days or weeks. In addition, the hourly salary is not that fantastic - right now over here in Japan less than 20 Euros/hour. Considering your daily needs (food, a place to stay, and so on) ... I'm not sure whether that would even cover half of your expenses.

Sorry I can't give you any better information. But if you really want to try it...go for it!

Klaus
http://virtulanguage.com

Hindu1936 26 Dec 2007 14:44

In many countries you can hang around universities and let it be known that you will offer private tutoring for a reasonable fee. The first rule to remember is that reasonable might only be 2 bucks an hour and even that will stretch some students budget. Don't let greed keep you from enjoying it. Figure if you are teaching in the evening for 4 hours in an economically depressed country- 8 bucks will go a long ways. You can buy your food and hotel for that much in some places and even better is get a group together for 10 bucks an hour and they will all chip in to get the 10 together. You will also be invited to their homes for dinner. Don't do this. What happens is they will splash out to make a special dinner and that could well ruin their budget for a week. If you can't make a reasonable excuse for not going, mention that you are a vegetarian and can't touch any meat or animal product. In many cities in south Italy, you can get two or three groups in an evening and if you hang around for two weeks you will have plenty of time during the day to sight see. Be honest with yourself though. If your English is only based on the fact that you are a native speaker you might not be qualified to teach it. If you can't name the 8 parts of speech and how they work: the different types and uses of adverbs, the difference between locative and motive prepositions, and so on,you probably shouldn't be teaching.
Now this might sound lame, but when I used to ride my bicycle around Europe I took my melodica, a hat, put on blue jeans and stood on a corner dancing and playing. Most times in three hours I would have enough to keep me going on the bike for another 4 or 5 days. Begging might not be your slice of life, but it is fun. I also had a pair of blue slacks, a light blue shirt, and a name tag. If there was a factory nearby I would put them on and just go to the factory and follow the workers to the cafeteria. Workers don't pay for lunch and the food isn't bad. leave, put the riding clothes back on and stroke on down the road.

Poa 10 Jan 2008 05:58

teaching and living abroad
 
I'm a teacher by trade and do the two wheel travel thing in a different way than many of the RTW-ers out there. Rather than stay on the road, I set up shop and use my teaching license as a ticket in. I get a 2 year contract and voila, a work visa, decent pay, housing, etc. This puts me in a new region in the world and then I buy my bike locally and spend holidays/saving (1 week to 2 months at a time traveling around the region. It's a great way to really learn an area get a nice grasp of language, culture, etc.
Teaching is excellent but as stated by others, your heart needs to be in it or you will drive yourself mad (or be driven mad).
If you like this idea, get a teaching license (a chunk of change and a year of schooling - can also do lots of this online now-a-days). Apply to smaller, young schools since the bigger ones require the experience and it's tough to get in. Go to a job fair for teaching, there's lots that cost but one that's free called CIS (council of international schools) and it's in london once a year. Another free huge fair is in Iowa once a year. If you have experience teaching go to either a Search Associates Fair or International School Services fair. They are a good bet if you have the experience. Once you are in with one school, you're in and moving to a new country/school is easy. Hope this helps someone.

Pete

deandean 10 Feb 2008 08:34

I took a TEFL course 10 years ago before coming to work in Spain.I am still here but would never teach again.
I started off giving the odd private lesson before finding work with an agency.They sent me to offices across Barcelona....normally one hour very early in the morning then another hour somewhere else at lunch time and then another hour later in the evening.I seemed to be traveling from one job to another more than actually teaching.
Eventually i took a job with a private language school which meant less traveling but more responsibility.The school directors spent more time having 3 hour lunches and long shopping trips than actually earning their salaries.I eventually had a nervous break down due to the unpaid responsibilities and extra hours i was expected to work.You will have people take advantage of you because you are a foriegner.
The job is not rewarding....it becomes very monotonous....you will be asked to teach very young children who don't want to be taught....so you become a glorified baby sitter.
I eventually won a lot of money from the school after taking them to court(only with the help of my Spanish girlfriend).
I did learn a hell of alot on the job about english grammer.......which years later made me feel quite proud after a disscusion with an arrogant Dutch man who thought he spoke better english than most English people.....i asked him to give me an example of adjective order....which he couldn't do and i could.Example:Intensifying adjective(f##king) followed by adjective(fat) followed by noun(bastard).

Hindu1936 10 Feb 2008 15:18

There are some exceptions as I have mentioned before. You can get two months work in the summer or winter breaks in Korea and the pay is somewhere around 25-30,000 won per hour or 27-38 USD. This will include meals and lodging, and subtract almost nohing for taxes. On average over the past 13 years, I have earned an additional 6000 USD each year doing the camps and one winter break I managed to squeeze in two camps. The academies are crying for help during those times. You are required to have a four year degree, and sign a contract that is submitted to the Ministry of Immigration. The other part that makes this very attractive is that you can teach privates after the camp session ends (usually about 5:00 pm) and there you are only limited by your greed. Some teachers fleece the parents for 50 bucks an hour while others, including me, will settle for half that or less. Your visa would be for 90 days or 180 if Canadian and since the camps are usually 3-5 weeks, that would give you time to either do two camps, or spend the time wandering round the country.

Charlotte Goose 13 Feb 2008 17:52

Blimmin marvellous! :D

That was just the thread I was after. Thank you to everyone for their, as ever, forthright opinions, and I must say, the intrigue of a TEFL course for me has quickly diminished. I didnt quite realise there were so many negative aspects...having never tried teaching (other than when I was about 7 years old playing "school" with my friends) I am not sure I am cut out for it....and to be honest I would much prefer to follow in Hindu's steps, and sing for my supper! Fabulous!

Just to complete my curiosty, if you do a TEFL course, does anyone know the qualification's period of validity, i.e could you do a course and then not teach for two or three years, and it would still be valid?

Cheers

Char :scooter:

Simon Kennedy 13 Feb 2008 20:26

The TEFL will stay valid forever.

And that is a long time.

It's utility depends on where you want to use it. Some places will take anyone who can speak English, others want more than a paper qualification. Pay and conditions will reflect the standard of entry criteria. There's plenty of stuff on the net about all this.


Simon

Hindu1936 13 Feb 2008 21:20

The TEFL certificate is like a diploma from any other school. It doesn't expire. At least there is no expiration date on the dozen or so certificates I've seen.

PocketHead 13 Feb 2008 21:46

I'm currently doing mine online, it only cost $220 compared to the $1800 it costs in a classroom. Even if I don't use it then it will still take up some space on the resume :)

Izatafac 14 Feb 2008 11:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hindu1936 (Post 173722)
There are some exceptions as I have mentioned before. You can get two months work in the summer or winter breaks in Korea and the pay is somewhere around 25-30,000 won per hour or 27-38 USD. This will include meals and lodging, and subtract almost nohing for taxes. On average over the past 13 years, I have earned an additional 6000 USD each year doing the camps and one winter break I managed to squeeze in two camps. The academies are crying for help during those times. You are required to have a four year degree, and sign a contract that is submitted to the Ministry of Immigration. The other part that makes this very attractive is that you can teach privates after the camp session ends (usually about 5:00 pm) and there you are only limited by your greed. Some teachers fleece the parents for 50 bucks an hour while others, including me, will settle for half that or less. Your visa would be for 90 days or 180 if Canadian and since the camps are usually 3-5 weeks, that would give you time to either do two camps, or spend the time wandering round the country.

Just want to add a few things to this:
The degree needed is only a 3 year degree.
Teaching privately is illegal, as is working on a tourist visa, and if caught, the teacher can be subject to a fine and deportation.
In general the procedure for getting a valid work visa is tightening up all the time, with many more time consuming checks to be done, i.e criminal records and drugs/medical/Aids tests, due in large part to one particular cretin who posted swirly-faced photos of himself on the internet. But there are many jobs available and a shortage of teachers so in time these rules are (imho) likely to be relaxed otherwise teachers will go to easier places in Asia to save themselves the hassle.

PocketHead 14 Feb 2008 12:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Izatafac (Post 174437)
Just want to add a few things to this:
The degree needed is only a 3 year degree.
Teaching privately is illegal, as is working on a tourist visa, and if caught, the teacher can be subject to a fine and deportation.
In general the procedure for getting a valid work visa is tightening up all the time, with many more time consuming checks to be done, i.e criminal records and drugs/medical/Aids tests, due in large part to one particular cretin who posted swirly-faced photos of himself on the internet. But there are many jobs available and a shortage of teachers so in time these rules are (imho) likely to be relaxed otherwise teachers will go to easier places in Asia to save themselves the hassle.

I'm glad they caught that bastard

Alexlebrit 14 Feb 2008 12:39

For those interested you might want to look at Welcome - TEFL.com which is probably the best site out there for job finding and also all sorts of information.

It does seem that a lot of schools what a CTEFLA which is the Cambridge certificate and seems to be recognised the widest as being the best. There are however numerous different certificates, but not all have the acceptance.

I accidentally moved to France ten years ago through having mine which I'd done as a four week crash course, loads of fun, lots of work and a fine amount of beer drunk. It might not be the best way to pay your way round the world, but it can be very rewarding nonetheless.

Caminando 8 Mar 2008 13:54

Great advice here. Just remember - teaching can be tough. I used to work in a supposedly tough area - steel fabrication on North Sea oil production platforms. I'm now an English teacher in London. I tell you now that the platforms were the easy option!!

Hindu1936 9 Mar 2008 10:37

I was a timber cutter for more than 30 years. the last 15 were for helicopter companies. teaching English is duck soup compared to that. I have not broken any bones on the job, seen anyone killed on the job, nor seen anyone crippled. As a logger, noone every brought me chocolates. Noone ever bowed to me, and I never had 22 weeks a year paid vacation. As a logger I worked 42 hours week, not 10. I worked in snow, cold, heat, fought fires, walked untold miles up and down mountains carrying 70-100lbs of gear, not a briefcase with class notes. naw, give me the teaching job anytime.

Caminando 9 Mar 2008 12:59

Fair points here - but try a South London school where some pupils killed a man, spat on him and laughed. You have to teach people like that. Some suffer such neglect at home, they take it out on you - daily. A bunch of them will damage the education of others, and then someone calls you to account if exam results are poor. You're obliged to teach Shakespeare to kids who can barely read - so they kick off with a range of insults. The thing is to control your temper on the 20th time you're called a F******* C***. No! give me the North Sea any day. 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off.

Hindu1936 10 Mar 2008 04:09

Yes Caminando, what you say just about curdles the blood. It's why I won't teach in America. Twenty percent don't speak English. Fifty percent are armed and those that are not will be next year. You need to hang it up there and come to Korea. If one of my students comes in late, he or she bows very contritely and asks for forgiveness. weapons at school are totally unheard of. It has never happened at any university I know of. For a student to even think about striking a teacher would probably cause his heart to go haywire. Walking down the sidewalks downtown and running into students they will all stop and bow until you have passed or stopped to visit with them a bit. Nope, I sure would not want to be in your shoes.

Come on over here where you are respected, paid well, and have 22 weeks a year of paid vacation (plus all the holidays --another 4 or 5 weeks, plus no work during university week, festival week, sports week, review weeks, and in some universities, even exam weeks are monitored and administered by the university staff and not the faculty. I save about 1800 USD a month. I pay 50,000 won or $52 a month for medical insurance that covers 80-90%. My apartment is free, but I do have a electric bill, internet, phone, etc that comes to about 200USD. AND WE ARE SAFE! Children can play outside at night without a parent anywhere around and there is no danger. Women can go out at night for walks in the parks --alone--and no danger. Personal crime is almost non-existent. It's the traffic that will kill you.

If you would like to give it a try, pm me.

Joe

Hindu1936 10 Mar 2008 04:23

to izatafac
 
The 3 year degree acceptance ended three years ago unless it is from Canada and has the same course requirement that a U.S. degree demands. It is only illegal to teach privates if: your contracted institute objects; you hold only an E-2 visa; you are working for the government which always forbids teaching outside the contract.

Any holder of an "F" visa can pretty much do anything a Korean citizen is allowed. I can rent an aprtment in my name, drive taxi if I meet the requirements, open a shop, teach privates, ad inf. An E-1 visa holder can teach privates without permission from his contracting agency. The C-1 visa which most people get if they are just coming over for the winter or summer camps is good for 90 or 180 days and allows the holder to teach once his or her obligation to contract is completed. That means teaching privates is allowed. Teaching on a tourist visa is not allowed under any circumstance, but thousands do every summer. Occasionally someone gets caught. My daughter works for the Ministry of Immigration. They estimate they catch about 1/5th of 1 percent of the illegals.

The laws are tightening up considerably as to admission to the country. You have to have a criminal background check. You have to have your 4 year degree notarized. You have to have a medical check and be free of any communicalble diseases.

Caminando 11 Mar 2008 16:26

Funnily enough, I was going to try Korea some time back, but I gathered that the money wasnt too great at the time. But you never know!

I went to Abu Dhabi instead and the school was amateurishly run - that was a bummer! Pay crap too-but I really wanted the change away from the UK. But I'm back now!

The UK is heading in the direction of the US, with armed pupils. Nothing effective is done. You, like me, have seen another way of working, which is why I find it hard to restrain myself from these minithugs. In industry, these jokers would be gone or "sorted" in 5 minutes.

Hindu1936 13 Mar 2008 01:24

Well Caminando, the pay is pretty good. I just took a job at what I call low pay, but at my age have to be satisfied with what I can get. I am working for about $3000.00 USD. I will pay 3.5% tax. My medical will about 47 USD a month and cover 80 of all medical, dental, pharmacy needs. Sadly enough though, I have to work 25 hours a week instead of the university 12. If you are younger you could have a job in 10 minutes and they would pay your airfare here. You would get more money than I do, but you would also have to pay into the pension fund--about 150 a month. Because I am more than 60 years old, I don't pay the pension fund anymore. You will get it back when you leave, plus the equal amount the employer pays. also you will receive one months pay for every year you work. most universities give 10 or 11 weeks vacation in the winter and summer--paid of course. Some require that you work in one of the vacation periods for 4 weeks teaching a camp--extra pay of course. If you work 12 hours a week, it is usually 4 hours a day 3 days a week, so you might work M, W, F, or something like that, but never a weekend. You will always have one weekday off even if you have to work 16 hours a week. I worked 18 hours week because I wanted the overtime. Six hours overtime a week at 47.50 an hour made a nice pay pack at the end of the month.

Get out of England where the kids are rude, conditions are bad, and come over here. There are jobs going begging that pay better than what I make.

Joe


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