The International Schools Review Forum

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[quote="vaellteacher"]I have another question; I am new at this so please forgive the ignorance. When I went to college (years ago) for ELL I guess I thought ELL was a very big business overseas and when I joined ISS I noticed how small the amount of job offers there were in this field. Yet when I go to Dave’s ELL café website I notice how many ELL jobs are out there and when I put our (my husband is a SS teacher) interest letter on the website, at least 10 ELL recruiters wanted my correspondence. Now I know, just like all businesses, they want our money, what I don’t understand is the high demand. Is it b/c ISS schools are just so different that the ones looking for ELL jobs, smaller schools with less money? I did notice that these ELL schools want you to get your own visas while ISS package has that covered. Or maybe it is just something else altogether and I am not understanding the discrepancy. Do I bother with these smaller recruiters who are contacting me?
I am freaking out (as I noticed other posts) that we have not heard anything from all of the submitted interests we put out there to the international schools. I realize that market is tough and competitive and I am going to take PsyGuys advice and present our resumes on resume paper and be very, extremely likable when we interview in Boston. Which hopefully we will.
Thanks in advance for any advice or answers.[/quote]

I think that the difference (if I'm understanding you) is that those ELL schools are not international schools. Those kinds of jobs/schools are more plentiful, but the number of dodgy schools and less then great positions are also more plentiful.

If you are a certified teacher then you really shouldn't consider anything other than an international school, unless you are truly desperate to get overseas. Even then, taking a job at a smaller, yet still legitimate international school would be much better for your career.

They really are different circles. Daves deals with ELL (ESL/EFL) schools and lets be honest it doesnt take much to rent some space and start a school, I know several teachers that did that. IS's are real schools, just like private prep schools back in the USA. They are also usually the better schools in a region. ELL's are really like local tutoring companies, you can compare that to a real school. Of course the difference in compensation is a huge factor. The issue your experiencing, is one of ego. The ELL's give you "attention" and the IS's arent knocking over your door to sign you. Thats how it is in the big league, its the difference between the amateur leagues and the professional leagues. Dont fall for it if you add value to a school, the IS's will be attantive, they just are more "cool" about it.

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I've wondered a little about the differences too. From what I know from many people I know, you can teach ELL around the world without being a certificated teacher. I know college students that take time out and other non-teacher people that get all these ELL jobs around the world. But they could never get a job in an international school unless they get certified and get real teaching experience first. Does this sound accurate?

Pretty much. But to give you the simple difference teaching ELL is like tutoring to a group. Basically ELL schools like to pretend they are real schools but you do it for enrichment, to learn a language. Thats the objective outcome, it doesnt matter what you do, or what the grades are, if the students are making progress with their english skills your a good teacher. If they dont, you go to another school. At an IS's your going to school because your objective is to graduate with a diploma. The law requires you to attend school, no one "has to" take ELL classes.

Yes a lot of college graduates use ELL teaching as a way to fund a trip abroad. Its an attractive opportunity because there are few entry requirements, and lots of demand, especially in Asia. Anyone can teach english language learning (ELL) who is a native speaker and has a bachelors degree. Of course there are certification programs, and they matter in some cases. The most recognized is the Cambridge/Delta Certificate, but there are a lot of third . certificate programs out there.

If your a college graduate, you can find an ELL job in less then a day, and be on your way in a few weeks. Its hard to say that in this job market, especially if you have zero experience. Some programs are very organized especially in Japan with companies like NOVA, AEON, and GEOS. Some recruiters such as footprints specialize in other areas, and are very "organized" in a professional way, but unless your working for a public/local government school, your usually working for a small, private for profit company. In some ways its like working in a call center or in retail. You show up, you teach your lessons, you collect your money.