Showing posts with label Teaching overseas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Teaching overseas. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Teaching ESL in North America

Being a new ESL teacher is difficult. Career ESL teaching in North America is not easy and not available overnight with most professional organisations.

Most ESL schools are marketing organisations. They like to sell their school as the best (in everything) to the international students. The schools like to present themselves as established, well organised, professional, with highly qualified & experienced teachers, proven curriculums, lots of resources and a history of happy students.

If you want to teach ESL in the competitive private school industry then you have to realise that as an ESL teacher you are part of a packaged commodity. For most ESL teachers to get a job in North America you have to have a combination of personal qualities, education and teaching experience.

The ESL schools that try to cover 10 levels, 45 electives, activities; and self-directed programs are usually stretched because of budget restrictions. Many schools are on low-margin, high-volume programs and cannot afford to make hiring mistakes. The ESL schools are risk adverse and concentrate on revenue retention.

To be a successful career ESL teacher you can look at the stages most teachers go through. The start can be wonderful or ugly. It depends on your preparation.

Many successful career ESL teachers tutored while they finished their university and teacher education programs. As a tutor you can really learn how to help a student. You can see their struggles and provide the solutions.

The next step is the classroom. The leap from one student to 25 is major and requires all the theory and methodology necessary to operate as a classroom professional. You have to do this in person. Get the practicum supervision and corrections necessary to teach ESL professionally.

Experience can be gained in North America as a community volunteer, operating your own classes, coop classes, teacher observation, or travelling internationally where experience is not required.

After two years of mistakes and corrections, continuing education, workshops, professional exchanges, brainstorming, team teaching, collaboration, students calling you wonderful, others not so happy - then the higher paying professional organisations consider you job - ready.

Comments, questions or complaints should be Emailed to info@eslincanada.com

Original Post
December 2001  ESL in Canada

http://teachenglishblog.blogspot.com/

Monday, October 23, 2006

ESL Teacher Information Articles

ESL Teacher Information Articles


Some interesting "2006" facts for new ESL Teachers


The world has definitely changed since September 11, 2001.

Overseas travel is still down 20% (5 years later)

Teachers interested in Middle East positions has declined 95%


Good News for ESL Teachers

Worldwide demand for English language training has increased over 10%.


Samsung will use English as the head office language by 2007


China needs another 1,000,000 English speakers for the 2008 olympics


China wants 300,000,000 English speakers by the year 2020


Worldwide requests for overseas teachers up 300%.


Teachers' salary in China - 2001 was $2500RMB now is $5,000RMB up 200%.


Bad News for the ESL Industry


Estimated % of individuals using fake certs to get overseas jobs 60%


Number of fake teachers deported from Korea for fake degrees 416


Best estimate for fake certificates sold in Asia to native English
speakers since 1980: 42,000.


Number of Asian agents selling fake certs charged, convicted, jailed 0.


Cost of fake degree, TESL cert, transcripts and special university
hotline phone number to verify degrees: $600.


Estimated % of worldwide illegal ESL language schools that are not
properly registered, licensed or operating 40%.


In the mad rush to get a good TOEFL score before the speaking section
becomes manditory - the cost for a Korean pro test writer to create fake ID and write a 600 score: $1,500 USA and the cost to bribe a Chinese test proctor to complete your test after the exam: $10,000 RMB.


Most obvious nonsense school ads: good looking English teachers to teach older gentlemen English at their home during the evenings.


Most brutal stories of Middle East ESL teacher mistreatment include: locked up in apartments with no food, water or heat, strip searches, robbery, assaults, death threats.


Most evil fraud: using J1 program to send underage prostitutes to the USA



Being a new ESL teacher is difficult


Most North American ESL schools are marketing organizations. They like to sell their school as the best (in everything) to the international students. The schools like to
present themselves as established, well organized, professional, with highly qualified and experienced teachers, proven curriculums, lots of resources, a history of happy students.


If you want to teach ESL in the competitive private school industry then you have to realize that as an ESL teacher you are part of a packaged commodity. Remember that most ESL schools pay for advertizing, marketing, salesmen, agents, flashy brochures and have to travel to expensive international student education fairs to recruit students. ESL schools pay from 25 to 50% to get ESL students in the door.



For most ESL teachers to get a job in North America you have to have a combination of personal qualities, education and teaching experience. The ESL schools that try to cover 10 levels, 45 electives, activities, and self-directed programs are usually stretched because of budget restrictions. Many schools are on low-margin, high-volume operations
programs and cannot afford to make hiring mistakes.



To be a successful career ESL teacher you can look at the stages most teachers go
through. The start can be wonderful or ugly. It depends on your preparation. Many successful career ESL teachers tutored while they finished their university and teacher education programs. As a tutor you can really learn how to help a student. You can see their struggles and provide the solutions. The next step is the classroom. The leap from one student to 15 is major and requires all the theory and methodology necessary to operate as a classroom professional. You have to do this in person. Get the practicum supervision and corrections necessary to teach ESL professionally.



Experience can be gained in North America as a community volunteer, operating your own classes, team teaching classes, teacher observations, or tutoring. Travelling internationally where experience is not required can be exciting and educational - however one has to consider the dramatic life-style changes and risks which accompany these opportunities.



After 2 years of mistakes and corrections, continuing education, workshops, professional exchanges, brainstorming, team teaching, collaboration, students calling you wonderful, others not so happy - then many of the higher paying professional organizations consider you job-ready. Career ESL teaching in North America is not easy and not available overnight with most professional organizations.



New ESL teachers should take an internet tour of teacher white, grey and black lists, personal webpages and blogs to see good, bad and ugly teaching experiences.



May the force be with you.



Original Post: ESL in Canada