Hi everyone,
First of all, my apologies, as I realise this seems like a really rookie question.
I am in the process of choosing my PGCE, and just wanted to make sure I am not on totally the wrong track.
My aim is to teach English in international schools abroad, ideally within Latin America. I therefore applied to do my PGCE in English Language and Literature. I presumed this specification of course was correct, even though the IB appears to blend the skills of English Literature and Language with, naturally, some teaching of English as a Foreign Language.
However, I have now also seen that there are PGCE courses to train as a teacher of English as a Foreign or Other Language. Would this option offer more potential for teaching internationally, or less?
It is just because I have taught abroad as an unqualified teacher of EFL before, and this seems to be a less reputable, or at the very least, less well-paid area of the international teaching market. On the other hand, I don't know if this qualification would fit more with the IB specifications overseas? I would be ultimately looking to teach at international school level, rather than solely at bilingual schools.
Anyone who can provide any further clarification - it really would be greatly appreciated!
To be eligible to teach English in IS: take a PGCE in English as Foreign Language, or in English Language/Literature?
Response
Short Answer: Literature.
Long Answer:
For the LCSA region it doesnt matter. That region as a whole struggles (the exception being the handful of elite tier ISs) for credentialed ITs. The difference between English Language and Literature or EFL as long as you have QTS isnt one thats going to matter in very many (if any scenarios).
I wouldnt rely very much on alignment with the IB categorization of courses. Those course names have a history of changing and they make little difference in recruiting. Either youre a Language IT or youre a literature IT, or possibly both (two distinct credentials or qualifications).
You already have work experience in teaching English and youre native language is English so a PGCE (and QTS) in EFL makes for a more fuller resume, but ESOl tends to be viewed as poison especially any experience pre-credential or outside of the K12/KS environment. Whereas without the PGCE (and QTS) in any variation of Literature, unless your bachelors/first degree was in literature, without the Literature PGCE you have a resume with a lot of white space (essentially blank). Though as a literature IT your probably at least nominally competent on the basis of having studied some of the classic literally works and literary genres in general. Im sure you could put together some kind of unit on MacBeth or R&J if you had to. You probably are a reasonably proficient writer by virtue of your undergraduate preparation.
Generally, It would be easier to obtain a credential (US) in Literature (ELA, etc) than in EFL (ESOL, etc.) if you had to obtain a second credential. Again, though if thats all there is to your resume as a Literature IT its going to be a lot of white space.
Without dancinga round the elephant anymore, If youre white and a westerner its assumed you can teach ESOL in the LCSA and anything more just checks the appropriate boxes, which you will have if you do your PGCE (and QTS) in some variation of Literature.
You didnt mention it, but a PGCE in Literature and Drama would be more marketable than Literature alone or Literature and Language. Since for practical purposes leaders and recruiters either think that anyone who is a NES and has QTS can teach English as a Language or they have much higher standards of which a PGCE is only going to be part of a strong application. Literature and drama lets you fill two roles, especially in locations with small ISs (like the LCSA) where ISs in general tend to be frugal with their coin, and a two role IT in a small IS describes a lot of the ISs in the region.
Long Answer:
For the LCSA region it doesnt matter. That region as a whole struggles (the exception being the handful of elite tier ISs) for credentialed ITs. The difference between English Language and Literature or EFL as long as you have QTS isnt one thats going to matter in very many (if any scenarios).
I wouldnt rely very much on alignment with the IB categorization of courses. Those course names have a history of changing and they make little difference in recruiting. Either youre a Language IT or youre a literature IT, or possibly both (two distinct credentials or qualifications).
You already have work experience in teaching English and youre native language is English so a PGCE (and QTS) in EFL makes for a more fuller resume, but ESOl tends to be viewed as poison especially any experience pre-credential or outside of the K12/KS environment. Whereas without the PGCE (and QTS) in any variation of Literature, unless your bachelors/first degree was in literature, without the Literature PGCE you have a resume with a lot of white space (essentially blank). Though as a literature IT your probably at least nominally competent on the basis of having studied some of the classic literally works and literary genres in general. Im sure you could put together some kind of unit on MacBeth or R&J if you had to. You probably are a reasonably proficient writer by virtue of your undergraduate preparation.
Generally, It would be easier to obtain a credential (US) in Literature (ELA, etc) than in EFL (ESOL, etc.) if you had to obtain a second credential. Again, though if thats all there is to your resume as a Literature IT its going to be a lot of white space.
Without dancinga round the elephant anymore, If youre white and a westerner its assumed you can teach ESOL in the LCSA and anything more just checks the appropriate boxes, which you will have if you do your PGCE (and QTS) in some variation of Literature.
You didnt mention it, but a PGCE in Literature and Drama would be more marketable than Literature alone or Literature and Language. Since for practical purposes leaders and recruiters either think that anyone who is a NES and has QTS can teach English as a Language or they have much higher standards of which a PGCE is only going to be part of a strong application. Literature and drama lets you fill two roles, especially in locations with small ISs (like the LCSA) where ISs in general tend to be frugal with their coin, and a two role IT in a small IS describes a lot of the ISs in the region.
Re: To be eligible to teach English in IS: take a PGCE in English as Foreign Language, or in English Language/Literature
Thanks! Your reply really put my mind at rest.
Sadly, I think I have already missed the sign-up cycle for also applying for Literature and Drama PGCEs, though this sounds like it would have been an excellent idea. For these kinds of joint roles including Drama, is it possible to make oneself eligible through other qualifications than PGCE - for instance, if I got some hands-on experience teaching a drama club at school during my PGCE, or might there be some internationally-recognised Drama short courses I could take to edge into that market at a later date? Or would ISs only be hiring those with a PGCE in both?
Sorry if these questions are overly specific, - but if you have any further advice you can offer on this area, that would be great!
Sadly, I think I have already missed the sign-up cycle for also applying for Literature and Drama PGCEs, though this sounds like it would have been an excellent idea. For these kinds of joint roles including Drama, is it possible to make oneself eligible through other qualifications than PGCE - for instance, if I got some hands-on experience teaching a drama club at school during my PGCE, or might there be some internationally-recognised Drama short courses I could take to edge into that market at a later date? Or would ISs only be hiring those with a PGCE in both?
Sorry if these questions are overly specific, - but if you have any further advice you can offer on this area, that would be great!
Reply
@Sarah10
Short Answer: Your 'thing' could have marketability under the particular conditions of a specific scenario depending on the individual IS.
(Really) Long Answer:
Well the gold standards are a degree qualification and a credential (Ill get to this again later).
When you start asking "what if" and "what about" any particular achievements or accomplishments that are below that then youre deluding yourself over their actual value. Lots of ITs have experiences that they can impart to others such that the recipient develops some understanding about a concept or the beginnings of how to practice a very basic skill. The practice of surgery takes many years of study, observation and practice under supervision as skill development scaffolds to more complex procedures. You can however accomplish stitching a wound in a couple of pages (or a few minutes of video) in a "how to" and be reasonably successful. You might miss the underlying bleeding any they die from blood loss, or an infection develops which might not matter much if you have antibiotics available, or you can get them to more advance care and start a course of antibiotic therapy. A number of complications could result in very poor outcomes but this might be balanced against the conditions and the environment, your backpacking through the mountains with multiple days travel in any direction to a medical facility and if you dont close the wound infection may happen, assuming the individual doesnt bleed to death, go into, shock, or succumb to environmental stresses complicated by the injury (dehydration, heat stroke, hypothermia, etc.).
When you look at the global picture of IE its along a somewhat adjacent continuum, but just as the example above, youve got ISs that are perpetually desperate because their region is a hardship one for most ITs, or their just isnt a lot of coin, or both or a combination of other factors that just make it difficult for them to recruit. Nothing surprises me in IE anymore, so there is a space on that continuum where and IS may very well need a literature IT and youve got a PGCE, and QTS and youve been in a classroom before (you know which side to stand on) and their IS doesnt go into upper secondary and if they could get someone to teach a dram/theater course as well as the literature classes; and here you are with a line item on your resume where you where the theater counselor at a summer camp, or you ran an after school theater club, or maybe you just watched a lot of High School Musical and Glee was your all time favorite show, well thats one less problem they have to spend coin to solve (leaders are almost never disciplined for saving coin) Is that scenario something you could find in the LCSA region, and not just find as in its not impossible but not so inconceivable to be in the realm of rare, or maybe even uncommon....sure.
When a leader is looking at the record (your resume) and supporting documentation there are three elements: 1) What an IT can teach (degrees, qualifications, credentials, etc.). 2) What an IT has taught (experience, test scores, performances, etc.). 3) Special Skills. Of those experience is king, and strong experience with a record of high performance can compensate for a lot of other shortcomings..... but those are usually niche cases, what a recruiter really wants to see is some evidence from each of the three. Thats where the degree and (traditional) credential gold standard come in, add that to 2 years of post credentialing experience in a K12/KS classroom so that they know youve struggled with classroom management and instructional design, and thats the 'teach and the taught', all thats really left is that little something extra in the way of a special skill and the all important divination of "fit" and thats it, that gets you past the finish line with the gold medal. At least for some IS somewhere, which may not be the one your applying to, but somewhere, and hopefully multiple somewheres that will get you an offer(s).
What youre asking, because the major forum contributors get this often, is asking if silver and bronze, or three bronze, or a silver and an honorable mention, etc. are comparable, equivalent, equal, etc to gold, and the arent, because its not a compensatory process. A recruiter or leader with an IS might accept and ultimately appoint an IT with less than gold, because they might be one of those botom tier or hardship (or both ISs) thrilled to get 10 applicants for a position, being more than twice what they expected, because they arent one of those elite tier ISs in romance regions that can get hundreds if not a thousand applications for one vacancy that might only become available every half dozen to a dozen years.
Yes, ISs and not a trivial number of them will hire the best they can get, which might not be a very capable or even competent IT. At a certain point you need an IT with a pulse and either knows more than the students or is 'engaging' enough that some of the content material just sticks. There is a sizable cadre of ITs who will scratch out a lesson with two objectives (define some concept, and be able to explain said same concept) and if most or even some of the students are able to do that, they count the lesson as a success, put it in a binder/folder, note the term for a future quiz/test/exam/prompt and move to the next.
Get good at that and other edus will start to think you know what youre doing, because you make what youre doing look so organic, authentic, and reflective. Youll explain youre approach using terms like scaffolding and modeling, with a focus on organic guidance and facilitation, rather than telling. Your assessments based on reflective introspection and authentic voice expression. When all youre really doing is chalk and talk (direct teach), and skill and drill (journaling) with some obscure edu jargon (or a pop.ed acronym).
Unfortunately like most things, technology has ruined the game for a lot of marginally proficient ITs and edus, and like most of the concepts (pop.ed) in edu it gets dumbed down enough that leaders can assimilate it in a one paragraph or one page (executive) summary and then they blow it up beyond the confines of its capabilities or they understand it so poorly that they implement it poorly.
Nonetheless technology has sped up this process considerably such that it takes much less time for a concept to go through its evolution stages and become a working paradigm and ultimately if theres enough coin and consultants behind it, a 'best practice'. Thats what the gold standard has become, and the silver and the bronze and the honorable mentions and the spin of this experience and this certificate just dont rise to the level of expectations that leaders and recruiters want to see.
Will some of them accept less, yes, if they have to (for whatever factors effecting them).
You could do a US (MA) credential (Provisional, Entry grade) requiring a couple of pro.edu exams (MTEL) that you can take online remotely (from home). It would provide you an effective lifetime credential that would not require renewal or PD. This is a non-academic (traditional pathway) but combined with your content adjacent PGCE and QTS its going to be considerably better than the worse alternatives and considerably less coin and resources than the better alternatives.
After your PGCE you may want to look at a Uni. like Buckingham for a Masters, preferably in something other than C&I (teaching) such as Ed.Ld. or an MFA (Creative Writing, dramatic arts, etc.) where a proportion of ISs will still consider it a terminal degree. UPe also has a USD$4K C&I M.Ed that is neither too taxing or expensive. Otherwise if you have the rep/cred: a Masters from Oxford in Eng. Lit./Comp. Lit./M.L., OxBridge for Edu, or RADA if you want to go the performing arts route. Otherwise you may as well look at Coursera.
Short Answer: Your 'thing' could have marketability under the particular conditions of a specific scenario depending on the individual IS.
(Really) Long Answer:
Well the gold standards are a degree qualification and a credential (Ill get to this again later).
When you start asking "what if" and "what about" any particular achievements or accomplishments that are below that then youre deluding yourself over their actual value. Lots of ITs have experiences that they can impart to others such that the recipient develops some understanding about a concept or the beginnings of how to practice a very basic skill. The practice of surgery takes many years of study, observation and practice under supervision as skill development scaffolds to more complex procedures. You can however accomplish stitching a wound in a couple of pages (or a few minutes of video) in a "how to" and be reasonably successful. You might miss the underlying bleeding any they die from blood loss, or an infection develops which might not matter much if you have antibiotics available, or you can get them to more advance care and start a course of antibiotic therapy. A number of complications could result in very poor outcomes but this might be balanced against the conditions and the environment, your backpacking through the mountains with multiple days travel in any direction to a medical facility and if you dont close the wound infection may happen, assuming the individual doesnt bleed to death, go into, shock, or succumb to environmental stresses complicated by the injury (dehydration, heat stroke, hypothermia, etc.).
When you look at the global picture of IE its along a somewhat adjacent continuum, but just as the example above, youve got ISs that are perpetually desperate because their region is a hardship one for most ITs, or their just isnt a lot of coin, or both or a combination of other factors that just make it difficult for them to recruit. Nothing surprises me in IE anymore, so there is a space on that continuum where and IS may very well need a literature IT and youve got a PGCE, and QTS and youve been in a classroom before (you know which side to stand on) and their IS doesnt go into upper secondary and if they could get someone to teach a dram/theater course as well as the literature classes; and here you are with a line item on your resume where you where the theater counselor at a summer camp, or you ran an after school theater club, or maybe you just watched a lot of High School Musical and Glee was your all time favorite show, well thats one less problem they have to spend coin to solve (leaders are almost never disciplined for saving coin) Is that scenario something you could find in the LCSA region, and not just find as in its not impossible but not so inconceivable to be in the realm of rare, or maybe even uncommon....sure.
When a leader is looking at the record (your resume) and supporting documentation there are three elements: 1) What an IT can teach (degrees, qualifications, credentials, etc.). 2) What an IT has taught (experience, test scores, performances, etc.). 3) Special Skills. Of those experience is king, and strong experience with a record of high performance can compensate for a lot of other shortcomings..... but those are usually niche cases, what a recruiter really wants to see is some evidence from each of the three. Thats where the degree and (traditional) credential gold standard come in, add that to 2 years of post credentialing experience in a K12/KS classroom so that they know youve struggled with classroom management and instructional design, and thats the 'teach and the taught', all thats really left is that little something extra in the way of a special skill and the all important divination of "fit" and thats it, that gets you past the finish line with the gold medal. At least for some IS somewhere, which may not be the one your applying to, but somewhere, and hopefully multiple somewheres that will get you an offer(s).
What youre asking, because the major forum contributors get this often, is asking if silver and bronze, or three bronze, or a silver and an honorable mention, etc. are comparable, equivalent, equal, etc to gold, and the arent, because its not a compensatory process. A recruiter or leader with an IS might accept and ultimately appoint an IT with less than gold, because they might be one of those botom tier or hardship (or both ISs) thrilled to get 10 applicants for a position, being more than twice what they expected, because they arent one of those elite tier ISs in romance regions that can get hundreds if not a thousand applications for one vacancy that might only become available every half dozen to a dozen years.
Yes, ISs and not a trivial number of them will hire the best they can get, which might not be a very capable or even competent IT. At a certain point you need an IT with a pulse and either knows more than the students or is 'engaging' enough that some of the content material just sticks. There is a sizable cadre of ITs who will scratch out a lesson with two objectives (define some concept, and be able to explain said same concept) and if most or even some of the students are able to do that, they count the lesson as a success, put it in a binder/folder, note the term for a future quiz/test/exam/prompt and move to the next.
Get good at that and other edus will start to think you know what youre doing, because you make what youre doing look so organic, authentic, and reflective. Youll explain youre approach using terms like scaffolding and modeling, with a focus on organic guidance and facilitation, rather than telling. Your assessments based on reflective introspection and authentic voice expression. When all youre really doing is chalk and talk (direct teach), and skill and drill (journaling) with some obscure edu jargon (or a pop.ed acronym).
Unfortunately like most things, technology has ruined the game for a lot of marginally proficient ITs and edus, and like most of the concepts (pop.ed) in edu it gets dumbed down enough that leaders can assimilate it in a one paragraph or one page (executive) summary and then they blow it up beyond the confines of its capabilities or they understand it so poorly that they implement it poorly.
Nonetheless technology has sped up this process considerably such that it takes much less time for a concept to go through its evolution stages and become a working paradigm and ultimately if theres enough coin and consultants behind it, a 'best practice'. Thats what the gold standard has become, and the silver and the bronze and the honorable mentions and the spin of this experience and this certificate just dont rise to the level of expectations that leaders and recruiters want to see.
Will some of them accept less, yes, if they have to (for whatever factors effecting them).
You could do a US (MA) credential (Provisional, Entry grade) requiring a couple of pro.edu exams (MTEL) that you can take online remotely (from home). It would provide you an effective lifetime credential that would not require renewal or PD. This is a non-academic (traditional pathway) but combined with your content adjacent PGCE and QTS its going to be considerably better than the worse alternatives and considerably less coin and resources than the better alternatives.
After your PGCE you may want to look at a Uni. like Buckingham for a Masters, preferably in something other than C&I (teaching) such as Ed.Ld. or an MFA (Creative Writing, dramatic arts, etc.) where a proportion of ISs will still consider it a terminal degree. UPe also has a USD$4K C&I M.Ed that is neither too taxing or expensive. Otherwise if you have the rep/cred: a Masters from Oxford in Eng. Lit./Comp. Lit./M.L., OxBridge for Edu, or RADA if you want to go the performing arts route. Otherwise you may as well look at Coursera.