Yay! I remember being very relieved when I finished mine!
Year out abroad, what to do?
- Thread starter Nikkormat
- Start date
I was going to say before, but didn't as I didn't want to discourage him, it's not actually true that everyone passes... when I did mine, the tutor said that the group the month before had had about ten fails in a group of 15...
Wolveryeti
Detty Pig
They must have been fucking dreadful. IMO if you put the hours in a CELTA is very hard to fail. Very hard to get a B in (let alone an A)... but very hard to fail too.
Sweet FA
✪ Three rounds Lord, in my .44 ✪
Done, finished, passed
Thanks again for the words of encouragement, folks.
I'm probably heading for the Czech Republic soon.
Congratulations! CR's fucking great tho', as ever, check your school out in detail before you commit - anywhere where EFL's big business will have a large percentage of piss-takers. Make sure you talk to teachers at the school re: getting paid, holidays, planning time, contact hours etc. You'll have a ball mate, well done
Sweet FA
✪ Three rounds Lord, in my .44 ✪
As long as you're suited for the course imo - not everyone can do it simply by putting the hours in; you've got to have some kind of aptitude. The situation that RD mentions sounds as though they didn't select particularly well for the course. If 2/3 of the intake failed, the interview process must have been shite. That, or the course administrators didn't give a fuck and just took the cash - not unheard of either.
Squatticus
for an armed populace
Write a blog in the Guardian, that always goes down well
Beat me to it; still there's always the 'full moon parties', whatever they are...
Nikkormat
Well-Known Member
Congratulations! CR's fucking great tho', as ever, check your school out in detail before you commit - anywhere where EFL's big business will have a large percentage of piss-takers. Make sure you talk to teachers at the school re: getting paid, holidays, planning time, contact hours etc. You'll have a ball mate, well done
Thanks for the advice. I was initially put off Europe because of the relatively low wages and horror stories of dodgy schools. I've been looking at a school in Olomouc, it's run by a friend of a friend, but the teaching is by the Avalon Direct method, which I'm not too sure about. I need to speak to them and do some research first.
rather than reading the resto fo the thread can i jiust third this. when i did my CELTA the person who knew the most about grammar was the spanish girl. you'll pick the grammar rules and things up as you do more classes.
I bet this is repeated later on.
a good bit of nodding with advanced classes always goes down well.
Scott Thornbury, the chief of not actually doing any teaching but writing shit loads of books about how it should be done.
Sweet FA
✪ Three rounds Lord, in my .44 ✪
I always found a wry smile and a shrug of the shoulders went down well when faced with some ludicrous piece of rarely used discrete grammar...'English grammar eh?' <knowing chuckle>'
Although to be fair to him, you could say the same about pretty much any of the EFL writers. At least his stuff is usable & has been trialled in classes (mainly in Barcelona obv...). You should see some of the bollocks spouted by writers in the Primary Ed business. Some of which has been taken on board & become policy in UK schools. Plenty of coin to be made if you want to write a 'phonics for kids' book atm...
purves grundy
ambient clown remix
Just seen this - congrats on getting through!
ESL message boards are indeed populated by doom-mongers! It's that old adage about telling two people if you get great service, eight people if you get shite servive, or however it goes. I've never had a better lifestyle than when I've been teaching abroad.
Use the message boards wisely, though, and they can be useful. You can detect patterns: NOVA - consistently bad; EF - consistently bad. I reckon you just need to avoid the huge conglomerates and the one-room baby-sitting operations. Something medium sized with a decent rep and decent pay.
Let us know when you have a few choices.
ESL message boards are indeed populated by doom-mongers! It's that old adage about telling two people if you get great service, eight people if you get shite servive, or however it goes. I've never had a better lifestyle than when I've been teaching abroad.
Use the message boards wisely, though, and they can be useful. You can detect patterns: NOVA - consistently bad; EF - consistently bad. I reckon you just need to avoid the huge conglomerates and the one-room baby-sitting operations. Something medium sized with a decent rep and decent pay.
Let us know when you have a few choices.
purves grundy
ambient clown remix
Bobbins. How can an ELT author, course co-ordinator and DELTA tutor have not done any teaching? My mate did her DELTA under his tutelage in Barcelona and also got to watch him teach a few classes - fuckin brilliant by all accounts.
It's an absolute peace of piss in China, even on the most bog-standard wage (note: not in Shanghai, which is populated with up-their-own-arse extwat tossers and where bar prices exceed those of London).
Seriously, I was on a standard wage for 3 years and a bit better than average for the last year or so, and I've bought a house over here and also saved about 15000 quid. And i've been on some cool trips too. Also managed to fly back for my PGCE interview without even thinking about the cost.
Korea would be even better, though.
I would add that my friends are teaching in Spain in bog standard TEFL jobs - 1000 euros a month each - and they say they are living quite well on the combined income of 2000 euros. Renting a nice flat in madrid etc.
Lo Siento.
Second As Farce
applying for a job in Leon, Mexico at the moment. Anyone got an idea how far 6,500 Pesos a month, with accommodation & transport all found will stretch?
That's 315 quid, might be OK if accommodation and transport are free.
Sweet FA
✪ Three rounds Lord, in my .44 ✪
Talk to someone who's already teaching there. The school should be happy to give you a phone number of a current teacher. Unless there's a reason why they don't want you to talk to their teachers
Like RD says; what else are you getting on top?In four years you've bought a house and saved 15 grand?? Bloody hell, china is paying well these days!
Nah, not that well. It's just that it's so cheap to live and we don't splurge that much on western stuff. If you do that the money soon goes.
Talk to someone who's already teaching there. The school should be happy to give you a phone number of a current teacher. Unless there's a reason why they don't want you to talk to their teachers
Also it's general set up. In Wuhan I was getting about the same money, but with lowish hours, a nice free house, and not too much hassle.
october_lost
It's not hip any more...
Between a friend doing a recent ESOL course with the prospect of him departing to Japan (via SaxonCourt) and some of the positive reports on here its reignited my wanderlust. Im curious as to what these ESL message boards your referring to are? It seems CELTA in London isnt as expensive as I had imagined and some places just offer the examination.
Nikkormat
Well-Known Member
Dave's ESL cafe
It's a mine of information, but there is an overwhelming amount of negativity there.
I've completed the CELTA and am in the process of applying for a job in Korea. I'm planning to spend a year there and save enough money to spend a year in Nepal afterwards.
purves grundy
ambient clown remix
They have a British Council in Katmandu. A couple of years experience and you're in. Good times...
