My situation
I am 23, living at home and working at a secondary school in the UK. I want to get into teaching, and I have an offer for my PGCE in Secondary Education (Spanish and French) to start September 2010.
I graduated from Aston University in July 2009, with a BSc. Hons International Business and Spanish - including a work placement abroad in Madrid.
I have various paths that I can go down, I just don't know which one to choose.....
My Dilema
Do I defer my PGCE to 2011?
Do I really need a TEFL to teach English in South/Central America?
Which country do I go to?
Or do I start my PGCE and just get on with it.......?
I do want to go to South America, but I always told myself I could do that once I was qualified and I could use the school holidays to go. However, when I found out that I could defer to 2011, I though why not? If I start my TEFL now, and start saving, I could set off come January 2011 for about 6 months....
I'm just really bad at making decisions, and some of the choices I have made in the past didn't bring me the happiness I expected. What I do know now is that my passion definitely lies in teaching, I want to teach languages in the UK - but I think this experience in South America will enhance my career. However, some people are just telling me to get on with my qualification....I don't want to lose my passion for this career choice by making the wrong decision.
Please help......
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I am having (almost) the same problem, I've decided that this time next year I will either be doing my PGCE or I'll be teaching English in Central/South America and am trying to decide which would be best to do first! I'm applying for my PGCE for 2011 now but I'm edging towards the abroad option. I'd say, if you've been accepted and you have the option to defer then do it! Once you've done your PGCE you'll be tied in to 1 years teaching anyway to become a fully qualified teacher so you're looking at either goiing in 2 years or doing it in between academic years and going over the summer which will be wintery/ rainy months, depending on where you go. Of course, money is the other issue. Can you afford to go now? Or will a couple of years on a teachers salary go a long way? Ah decisions!
I agree with the person who stated to do research, make a list of do's and don'ts. I am 62 years young and have found in life that when I made poor decisions it is because I had not thought matters through thoroughly. the list of do's and don'ts help focus on the thinking process and help make the decision.
I reckon just do it. I mean it's only going to make your resume look better having another string to your bow. And they'll see that you've already travelled so your less likely to quit after a year because you want to travel...this is what I did haha.
Hmm... this is a tough one - I reckon though it's always better to regret something you DID do rather than something you didn't do. I figure when else are you going to get a chance to travel for 6 months AND do something that helps your career too?
I would say you probably will need some kind of TEFL certificate to teach in central America, but your teaching experience will certainly boost your applications. There's more information here: http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com/travel-guides/151-Do-I-Need-a-TEFL-TESOL-Certificate-to-Teach-Abroad-
In terms of countries, Ecuador has the highest demand (http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-jobs-abroad/tefl-ecuador.html) - you might want to chat to Kallen, who's just started working there: http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com/kallenfranchise.
I think the best option is to start doing some research into different opportunities abroad, then sit down and write a list of the pros and cons of staying at home and starting your PGCE and the pros and cons of going to South America to teach English.
Good luck and if you have any questions feel free to get in touch!
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