Hey folks,
My wife and I will earn USA teacher's licenses in ESL in February 2012. Is it worth it to attend the AASSA fair in Atlanta in November 2011 if I have yet to get my license? We both have 6 years ESL/EFL teaching experience abroad.
Thanks. :)
Should I attend the AASSA fair?
One more quick question...
DCGIRL,
Thanks for the reply. I have one more quick question if you would be so kind as to give your opinion. Do you think that a newly certified teacher with a licensure in ESL from a USA uni would be in demand or is ESL one of the lesser needed teaching areas?
Thanks again. :D
Thanks for the reply. I have one more quick question if you would be so kind as to give your opinion. Do you think that a newly certified teacher with a licensure in ESL from a USA uni would be in demand or is ESL one of the lesser needed teaching areas?
Thanks again. :D
Re: One more quick question...
[quote="kruegs4"]DCGIRL,
Thanks for the reply. I have one more quick question if you would be so kind as to give your opinion. Do you think that a newly certified teacher with a licensure in ESL from a USA uni would be in demand or is ESL one of the lesser needed teaching areas?
Thanks again. :D[/quote]
IMHO I think that you're in a good position because teaching couples are highly sought after in the international teaching job market. There seemed to be a good number of ESL positions at each of the fairs that I've attended. Of course not as many as classroom teachers, but still enough that it's worth attending fairs. I think that AASSA had the lowest paying jobs (I realize this doesn't mean the lowest standard of living or savings), the most number of ESL teachers searching for those jobs and a limited geographical area (of course). With ESL, I notice that a lot of the postings required experience-which is seems like you already have. Now your experience will have a certified stamp. I have an ESL certification but no experience. It's not my main area, but I thought that it might be desirable for some schools. I never got any interviews for ESL specifically, but I did get several more in my other areas and I think the ESL certification was a bonus. I don't know if this is a possibility, but I think a combination of ESL/Special Education is helpful. Many schools don't have Special Education as such, but they're looking teachers to provide learning support in a variety of ways.
I don't know if you're only interested in South America, but there are also a good number of schools from the region at the UNI fair. I would take a look at both of the websites to see which fair has the larger amount of schools that are interesting to you both. I would also take a look at TIE online and see what the schools hiring for ESL are looking for. I think that even newly certified teachers have a good chance finding a job regardless of what fair you attend. It may be a matter of selling yourself a little harder but it's definitely achievable. Good luck.
Thanks for the reply. I have one more quick question if you would be so kind as to give your opinion. Do you think that a newly certified teacher with a licensure in ESL from a USA uni would be in demand or is ESL one of the lesser needed teaching areas?
Thanks again. :D[/quote]
IMHO I think that you're in a good position because teaching couples are highly sought after in the international teaching job market. There seemed to be a good number of ESL positions at each of the fairs that I've attended. Of course not as many as classroom teachers, but still enough that it's worth attending fairs. I think that AASSA had the lowest paying jobs (I realize this doesn't mean the lowest standard of living or savings), the most number of ESL teachers searching for those jobs and a limited geographical area (of course). With ESL, I notice that a lot of the postings required experience-which is seems like you already have. Now your experience will have a certified stamp. I have an ESL certification but no experience. It's not my main area, but I thought that it might be desirable for some schools. I never got any interviews for ESL specifically, but I did get several more in my other areas and I think the ESL certification was a bonus. I don't know if this is a possibility, but I think a combination of ESL/Special Education is helpful. Many schools don't have Special Education as such, but they're looking teachers to provide learning support in a variety of ways.
I don't know if you're only interested in South America, but there are also a good number of schools from the region at the UNI fair. I would take a look at both of the websites to see which fair has the larger amount of schools that are interesting to you both. I would also take a look at TIE online and see what the schools hiring for ESL are looking for. I think that even newly certified teachers have a good chance finding a job regardless of what fair you attend. It may be a matter of selling yourself a little harder but it's definitely achievable. Good luck.
While the packages in South America seem low, so is the cost of living. I was surprised to live comfortably (and pay my U.S. mortgage) on a salary of just $21000 plus housing.
Regarding which fair to attend: when I was trying to decide among Search fairs, my Search representative advised me that is wasn't a matter of simply how many of the schools I was interested in were attending a particular fair, but how many of those schools had positions open that I could fill. That clarified everything.
Regarding which fair to attend: when I was trying to decide among Search fairs, my Search representative advised me that is wasn't a matter of simply how many of the schools I was interested in were attending a particular fair, but how many of those schools had positions open that I could fill. That clarified everything.