EAL teaching requirements

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earmstrong
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Joined: Mon May 29, 2017 6:43 am

EAL teaching requirements

Post by earmstrong »

Could anyone tell me a general outline of what requirements a decent international school has for an EAL teacher. I'm about to graduate uni (my major is anthropology) and I have a TEFL certificate (120 hours with approx. 24 hours of teacher pracs). Would I have to go get a postgrad degree in education? I would appreciate any information!
sid
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Joined: Sat Dec 02, 2006 11:44 am

Re: EAL teaching requirements

Post by sid »

The best schools are going to want a recognized teaching license plus at least 2 years of relevant experience after earning that license. The license could be a US state-granted certification, or a UK PGCE/QTS, or whatever your home country offers.

The worst schools will take anyone with a pulse and a parent who spoke English.

Other schools are on a sliding scale in between.
earmstrong
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Joined: Mon May 29, 2017 6:43 am

Re: EAL teaching requirements

Post by earmstrong »

If I got a Master of Arts in the Teaching of Languages with an emphasis in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages would that count? Or would it have to be some other type of teaching certificate? Would my experience need to be in my home country or could I work at a language school or regular school overseas?
sid
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Joined: Sat Dec 02, 2006 11:44 am

Re: EAL teaching requirements

Post by sid »

Some schools will require an actual license, as will some countries in order to get an employment visa. It's the safest route to go. For others, the Masters will be sufficient.
sid
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Joined: Sat Dec 02, 2006 11:44 am

Re: EAL teaching requirements

Post by sid »

Experience can generally be in any country, but the type of school and type of teaching will matter considerably. Teaching in a language academy is very different than supporting EAL acquisition in a K-12 school, and the good and best schools will want you to have that specific experience.
earmstrong
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Joined: Mon May 29, 2017 6:43 am

Re: EAL teaching requirements

Post by earmstrong »

sid wrote:
> Experience can generally be in any country, but the type of school and type of teaching will matter considerably. Teaching in a language academy is very different than supporting EAL acquisition in a K-12 school, and the good and best schools will want you to have that specific experience.

Thank you so much!
PsyGuy
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Location: Northern Europe

Response

Post by PsyGuy »

Your TEFL certificate is worthless in IE. While there are ISs that do hire uncredentialed ITs, these ISs are the bottom of tier 3 and generally wouldnt care if you didnt have the TEFL certificate, they are generally hardship regions and will take anyone with a pulse.

The general bar to entry in IE is a first/undergraduate degree, a professional educator credential, and 2 years post certification experience at the K12/KS level.

You do not need another degree, though your academic preparation will likely qualify you to some extent to be competent in the humanities, most likely history. What you do need to do first is obtain a professional educator credential. This would be a state certificate in the US, which you can obtain the traditional way through a Uni EPP/ITT program, or though a number of alternative (ACP) ITT/EPP programs. Typically they involve about a year of work. There is also the assessment only pathway offered by a number of states. In the UK this would be one of the many ways of obtaining QTS which would include a PGCE, but there is also the AO pathway, and School Direct options as well. In AUS and CAN this would mean full registration with one of the licensing authoritys.

Generally you would then want to obtain 2 years of teaching experience in a K-12/KS environment, but this will likely be problematic for you, as history is generally a saturated field in DE, and unless you know someone who can hire you you could be waiting years if ever getting an appointment. Though you will find that within IE only 3rd tier hardship ISs are going to be interested in you.

This is often misunderstood in IE, but a qualification is not a credential. A Masters in TESOL that doesnt lead to a credential such as QTS or a US state credential is not a substitute for an actual credential. While a Masters will increase your band on the salary scale, you need a credential to get on the salary scale to begin with.

Your experience can be in any country, though you will likely find more scrutiny and challenges from outside western DE. If you taught in a JP IS for example thats fine, but if you taught in a JP DS that didnt have an international academy, then they are likely going to consider that your were essentially an ET teaching English, unless you have a very high level of Japanese language proficiency. There are a number of ESs globally that are essentially running EAP programs and marketing themselves as ISs.
If you continue to teach ESOL, understand that unless it was done at a reputable DS or a known IS, and you have a professional credential as an ESOL DT/IT than a lot of recruiters are going to consider that experience as ES experience, which is generally regarded as poison in IE. Lots of ETS think teaching in an Eikaiwa or Hagwon, etc., is comparable to teaching at an IS, it is not, yet many of them tender applications anyway.
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