Wow, this post makes me want to be English teacher more than before. Actually I've been teaching English for more than a year. I also learnt how to teach it in my college, since my major was English Education. Nevertheless, I still feel  hungry to learn more about teaching English. I think I can upgrade my skill through the EFL course in i-to-i. I wish I can take the courses soon.

I'm actually from DRCongo, a French speaking country, but I grew up speaking English and English is my first language, and in addition, I have 5 years experience as an ESL teacher. what do you call me a native English speaker or a French one? because most of overseas jobs require an English native speaker. hope you are going to help me.

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Seriously CheroGoth - Please read the comments carefully...All my comments are, as you put it, BEING REALISTIC for the people who do TEFL and go abroad (im not sure if you've realised but this is a TEFL website and most people, not all but most, just want to go abroad for a year or 2, sometimes a little longer) - your realistic advice is for those who take on high demanding jobs, as well as extra work and take long time preparing.

So TO BE REALISTIC - if you are serious about being a fulltime teacher and your only passion is teaching and you cant get enough of it then find yourself a job in a city and a company/school whereby you have lots of teaching time and very little prep time and then take on additional private classes - please note by doing this you wont have time to travel (also note that if the company or school dont give you enough prep time during your working hours then you are being overworked and will probably have to do unpaid overtime)

IF you are interested in teaching fulltime or parttime but want time to travel and see the country your in then go to asia like so many people do...most companies give you prep time during your working hours...in japan you have 29hours contact time in class teaching but also prep time inbetween every week - your working hours are full time between 8am and 9pm although usually only 9am - 4pm...some schools will request you eat lunch with the kids or do English Club. Private lessons are optional. All schools work from text books and normally you have to stick to them, high schools like worksheets (create a template and stick to that format e.g. section 1 - listening, section 2 - reading, section 3 - speaking/writing, challenge section) schools prefer this because it provides a structured lesson, like a lesson plan. Language schools usually provide lesson plans and material

Part 2-

So to conclude certain jobs in certain countries will mean you probably wont have time to travel, IF you opt for extra work etc...Most jobs around the world will give you time at the weekend, holidays etc to travel...China and Japan offer the most national and personal holidays - in fact for south japan you get a whole month for summer plus 22 additional person and national paid holidays

as for my comments i did agree with some of your things - but i do feel your opinions are for a minority - it does really depend on where you end up teaching - i think France and Italy are the most demanding but for the rest of the world, especially asia its less demanding and means more time to travel...

as for that website - again it depends where you teach but for asia i would say myth 1, 2, 3 are only partly true, but myths 6 and 8 are not true...

As for you point 1, no i never mentioned the economy but i presume that was a given that jobs are difficult because of that...as for point 2 - if at a good school/company full time hours should include teaching AND prep time...if you work in England you get this for normal teaching, sometimes they take work home.

Realistically it is different for everyone - so to state in general that you wont get a job when you return home, or CELTA is more suited for you than TEFL (i know you didnt say this), or that you will work long hours etc etc is wrong...being realistic would be to state how it is for your position/country/style of teaching/attitude towards work etc

all i can say is there is more to teaching than just teaching - there is a whole world out there to be seen to inspire you and your students.

hopefully this will solve a lot of problems

Im with Steve on this one, but seriouly Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Your spamming my email account.

Much Love <3

all i can say is please re-read your comments...they were very hurtful in the fact you came across all high and mighty because you have done CELTA and all other kinds of certificates without even knowing our back grounds and jump to conclusions and implied we are bad teachers.

i maybe a young teacher and new to teaching english (although ive now been at it almost 10months) i also have previous experience in teaching youths, helping with scouts, doing film and tv demonstration for new students and evening courses, and also 4 years teaching history and archaeology for school children, college students, enthusiasts, seminars, etc etc and if that wasnt enough once a month i did film viewings and seminar discussions once every 2 weeks to 80 students.

I've never needed to prepare a lesson plan - i do a lot of research and know my stuff so that i can have a basic outline of how the lesson will go in my head but if the students ask questions i am not afraid to cater the lesson around their needs...plus as steve mentioned in asia most lessons are text book led - there are many ways to teach...using lesson plans is just one

"teaching abroad won't guarantee you a job". That is what I was trying to say before. - your original comment was trying to say you cant travel and be a teacher at the same time - "Getting paid to travel" and "A stint teaching abroad can help you find work" when in fact we've established it can but probably not at the moment due to the economy in the UK and USA. - your second comment was very sarcastic and because im able to travel you implied i dont work as a teacher "I guess that means you don't work full-time or teach other languages, both in private and state high school or do any actual lesson planning" - in the third comment you implied that we clearly dont know what we are talking about because we dont have all your qualification - you then implied that steve was a bad teacher because he didnt do lesson plans "but please be realistic and teach English because you want to teach, not bum around in another country" not only did you call him a bum but you went on to say "or a teacher not to plan any lessons or reflect cannot say that they work hard. Bottom line."

so you see no one has twisted you words - i will agree CELTA and TEFL are for different people - so me and steve are being realistic and honest for the people interested in TEFL and asia (where most people end up) 

As for what i said in my last comment TEFL online can be done anywhere, anytime...CELTA is limited to locations, only certain times or the year and some centers only offer during the day - for the same cost of an average CELTA course you can go on a 6months TEFL internship gaining way more experience and all the certificates (better value for money)

It actual fact i personally view both TEFL and CELTA more or less the same with some differences - such as CELTA making it a little easier to get a teaching job in England compared to those who only have TEFL (although it is possible for TEFLers to do the same)...on the other hand TEFL opens up the door to teacher to so many more people who cant afford CELTA or dont have the time to commit 4-6weeks training - 

Yes its viewed by some that CELTA is high and might and TEFL is just for those who are serious but to be honest is does depend where you go as to what you need and also what experience you already have.

here in Japan a CELTA is not necessary - in fact i know people who's done it and after talking to those of us who did the 120hrs i-to-i TEFL felt they had been ripped off by doing the CELTA course...i have friends who got jobs here without TEFL and are now doing TEFL just so they have the qualification, again they feel they dont need CELTA.

But i do stand by what i said - most people who do CELTA are usually those who take teacher more seriously and want to do it as a career (this doesnt mean other people who do TEFL are less serious, they just unsure of the future) and from my experience people who have done CELTA usually aim for the higher jobs whereby they over work and dont have time for stuff...although there are people who get jobs they could have got with just TEFL and so can travel

at the end of the day its not a certificate that makes you a teach, its you - after all some of the most intelligent people have many certificates but are unable to stand up in front of people so will make crap teachers

I've just read this entire conversation, and two things stood out for me.

PDixon said "If you are more serious about making it a career, then do CELTA but you will find less time to travel". This is not necessarily the case, and indeed I have not found it to be true. Having decided to change career, I did the CELTA. I then spent the summer working in Vietnam, and visiting various places on my days off. I am now working in Portugal, and I go different places most weekends. At Christmas I went to Paris, London and Lisbon. For Carnival I am looking at Italy or possibly Morocco, and for Easter I am considering Scandinavia. When applying for jobs, the important thing for me is the number of contact hours. In Vietnam it was 20-24hrs pw and here, it's 21hrs pw. My friends with CELTAs are the same - we work fewer hours than we would have worked in the UK in our old lives, and we spend our free time travelling.

The other point that I feel obliged to respond to is Cherogoth's. He expressed shock and (dare I say it) disdain at Stevebudd's lack of lesson planning. With just six months' experience, I have gotten my lesson planning down to just 10 minutes per lesson. My lesson plans are just that - plans - and I have been known to change them on the hoof. I work with a teacher who has over twenty years' experience. He never writes a lesson plan. Does this make him an unprofessional teacher? Personally, I don't think so. 

Reading between the lines, I suspect that there's a bit of "them and us" (i.e., CELTAs vs online TEFLers) going on here. Those with CELTAs want to remind everyone that we're professionals and teaching is more than just bumming around foreign shores; those with online TEFL certs want to say that they've done training to and are as much a teacher as the CELTA grads. As a person with both an online TEFL and a CELTA, I say live and let live. :)

forgot to mention - the reason for students to learn is also different - for elementary here is not even part of the curriculum and for most students they only need basic english for the uni exams. However, most students dont need english what so ever...the same in other asian countries...they will use it in school and thats it, they may only come across another english person once or twice after school - its only in the big cities where you will find more english being used

-so the reality is, teaching is different depending where you are, we all have to do a different amount of work which can be mentally or physically demanding...if you are more committed you are going to be doing more work then other...some people will be going above and beyond, others the bare minimum, most are doing whats required

for TEFLers it is perfectly acceptable and possible to travel and see the world whilst earning money through teach. If you are more serious about making it a career, then do CELTA but you will find less time to travel

As for employability - for most people doing TEFL it will make you stand out when you go back home, it wont guarantee a job but if the employer has a choice between you and another person whereby the only difference is youve been abroad, then you probably will get the job - i know people whos started their own magazine, photo books, website and earn money because they taught abroad