ESL Master's

[amy gal]

TEFL
Comprehensive information thank you. I have just completed the TEFL 120 hours and was told that this would suffice with some agencies. After passing the interview with one popular agency (yes, they allowed me to do the interview and mock class!) however, they now demand that my 3 years Arts /Education independant school diploma is not acceptable and that I will need a BA Hons or Masters. Can I study for a Masters in TEFL? do you know any websites that offer such  Degree qualifications? OR is there a particular course or certificate that you know of that will suffice education needs instead of the degrees?

 



[quote pid='306701' dateline='1587247236']
So, I've been doing some thinking during this whole pandemic and might like to retire from my museum director position. I am looking at trying to find a legitimate teaching job from home. Maybe teaching ESL. Does anyone know anything about this? Do I need a master's? Maybe Certificate? Has anyone done this? I have never taught formally before but am ready for something new.
[/quote]

You definitely have some options. You can pursue a Masters degree in TESOL or ESL or just obtain a graduate certificate in the subject. There are plenty of colleges and universities that offer them. On Groupon, there are companies that offer an online TESOL/TEFL certification that are inexpensive and takes much less time. Some companies that come to mind are TEFL Fullcircle and International Open Academy (their TESOL certification course). There are plenty of other online and in-person training options in addition to those two options. There is also something called CELTA, which is a top of the line, one month program that focuses on teaching English as a Foreign Language. The CELTA program is in-person and full-time for the month that you take it. If you decide to pursue your TESOL certification online, watch out especially since you haven't taught in the classroom or online. Teaching English is an unregulated industry. Some companies are very good with their online TESOL/TEFL and others aren't. Some claim dubious accreditation and others don't. When deciding which program you want to train from, find out if the online program will show how to create and present a lesson or have you create one at the end of the program and then evaluate you on it. If it doesn't, you may want to pass on it since you've never taught online or in the classroom before. That feedback is very useful to some one new to teaching. With your credentials right now, you could also apply to VIPKIDS or Cambly. If VIPKIDS accepts you, they would teach you how to teach TESOL/TEFL online and you would earn your TESOL certificate through them. Cambly basically takes any native English speaker as one of their tutors regardless of academic credentials but the pay is very low. You will, however, get experience with teaching and talking with foreign students. There are also a few companies that offer free online TESOL training. One of them is on the CANVASS platform. I can't think of the name at the moment; however, if you do a search of the courses on CANVASS platform, it will come up. The other free online TESOL trainings are called TEFL Professional Development Institute and English First Free TEFL certification programs. I don't know how good both of those training programs are but free is a good price to pay--plus, you learn something. Another option is Literacy Volunteers of America, which teaches tutors some English as a Second language technique in a 18 hour course. It is a volunteer opportunity, but after the training, you get a chance to tutor ESL and decide if it's something that you want to do without a lot of investment of time or money.  Well, I apologize for overwhelming you, but it does give you something to think about. Good luck!