Greetings :D
Well, let me just introduce myself then. I am Tina and I am (hopefully) starting a TEFL online course soon. I come from a smallish country called Croatia (I wouldn't be suprised if no one's heard of it), and I belieive it's obvious by now that I am a non native speaker. English is actually my third languge. That being said, I am fresh out of high school (just graduated, got a job, saved up some money, and so on), no college / university diploma. Just a curious, adventurous and cheerful girl here. And then as luck would have it, I met a girl at my job who told me about TEFL and I immediately became intrigued. Cutting the story short (I wouldn't want to smother you with it right from the start), I have some questions for all of you out there who are willing to answer them, and help me finally make up my mind about taking (or not taking) this course. Well here it goes:
Taking into the consideration, that I am not a native english speaker, that my english is not perfect and that I have no degree whatsoever (except a high school degree in nursing O.o) do you think I stand a chance of landing any kind of job "out there"? I am not really picky about where I wish to work, I just want to teach :D
I appreciate any kind of responses
Cheers :D
Tina
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Hello Rod,
I must say that I am suprised that so many people have heared of Croatia. Usually when I mention it to my foregin friends it's like "Say what?". It is rather cold during the winter, even now. It's -28 today. Well, that said, I will definitely take the TEFL course. I already talked to Ms. Draper and she said that with my level of English, I could definately get a job somewhere. Perhaps I could charm my potetial employers with my cheerful personality ^^
Thank you for your comment, really appreciate it.
Cheers
Tina
I lived and worked in Zagreb in the grey days just before the war, I left as the tanks were coming up the motorway and my bosses shipped me out by the midnight train to Austria. Loved it while I was there though although the winter was a bit nippy, -17 as I recall. Your written English is excellent and I am sure you would have no trouble with the course, my ex-missus was from Czech and she sailed through it although that was in a UK learning centre rather than online. Her introduction to English apart from as a kid in a Czech school was listening to my cockney accent and she ended up beating me at Scabble so she was quite impressive.
As for teaching work I am afraid I don't know, but I do know that having the TEFL(or something similar) impresses employers, she found no problem getting work in the UK and for a few years was the head cashierat quite a big company. She actually applied for the job of a cashier but they were so impressed with her English that on the way home from the interview she got a call promoting her before she had even started work.
So Good Luck, you will never regret any qualification.
Rod
Hello
Well, I will try to get a CPE or IELTS degree as soon as possible. About the living in the UK, that would be a problem. I am a bit money short when it comes to that, but I do have a back up plan. I am currently living with my ex English teacher, who is Welsh, so talking to her daily and listening to some audio books read by British nationals helps a bit with my speech and accent. I will do the 120 Online course by the beginning of March, and hopefully someone will take me. It's always been my dream to go to Japan, so I'll try applying there. I have nothing to lose, right? ^^
Thank you for all your answers, they have been really helpful.
Tina
Hi again,
With your level of English, you will definitely be able to find work somewhere. That said, I do think that having a recognised assessment of your level of English would help - ideally CPE or IELTS (although it is possible to find work with CAE, it limits who you can teach). Cambridge exams are usually taken in June or December. It would be possible to sign up for a course now and take the exam in December, subject to recommendation from your teacher.
Use the following link to find your nearest Cambridge exam or IELTS centre: http://www.cambridgeesol-centres.org/centres/index.do.
The other thing I would suggest is that if money is not a problem, have you considered studying in the UK, even just to take a Cambridge exam? Living in a native English-speaking country would fine-tune your use of the language, you'd get a chance to live abroad and also to get a much-needed piece of paper. If you come on a student visa you get up to 6 months in the country (up to 11 months if you are taking an English language course), although you cannot work on that visa. If you need to work you'd need a Tier 4 visa, to which there are obviously various conditions attached. For more information see: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/studying/.
Hope that helps.
Briona
Hey there,
I'm glad you've been to Croatia, it truly is beautiful.
You were right on about the issues. But, if there's still a chance that I could get a job, I will go for it. It has always been my dream to go to Japan, unfortunately to get a job there I need a university degree, which sucks. Now that you've mentioned it, I don't have a CAE, CPE or IELTS diploma. Considering everything, it would be the best to get one, right?
Thank you for your answers.
Hi Tina,
I am in the middle of doing my 140 hours TEFL course and just attended a two day weekend course (20 hours). From what the teacher was saying, English is an international language and provided you can speak and write it, you will stand a chance of teaching it! I think what is needed is courage and the rest is available for you (teaching tools). I hope this is helpful.
Hi Tina,
I am in the middle of doing my 140 hours TEFL course and just attended a two day weekend course (20 hours). From what the teacher was saying, English is an international language and provided you can speak and write it, you will stand a chance of teaching it! I think what is needed is courage and the rest is available for you (teaching tools). I hope this is helpful.
Hi Tina,
Firstly, not only have I heard of Croatia, I've actually been there - it was stunning! I spent 10 days visiting Split, Dubrovnik and some of the surrounding islands. This summer I hope to visit Zagreb. :)
Anyway, the way I see it there are two issues here, the first being the lack of a degree and the second being the fact that you're a non-native speaker.
Not having a degree will massively limit your options. Currently your best bets are China, Cambodia, Ecuador and Costa Rica. Of course once Croatia joins the EU (July 2013), the whole of Europe will be open to you.
Now for the non-native speaker issue. While being a non-native speaker means that some schools will not even consider your application, there are plenty of others who will - I've worked with teachers from The Philippines, Thailand, Poland and Serbia among others, all of whom could do the job just as well as any native speaker. Your chances of finding work will be greatly improved though if you've taken a Cambridge exam (ideally CAE, CPE or IELTS) and have the certificate to prove it.
If you want to work in Europe, taking a CELTA or Trinity CertTESOL (a more intensive and expensive type of TEFL course complete with 6hrs observed teaching practice) will improve your chances ten-fold. Since non-native speakers are not accepted on to the course unless their English meets a certain standard (tested through a pre-interview task), it would prove to potential employers that your English is good enough.
I hope that helps and if you have any other questions, please ask.
Briona
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