I’m currently enrolled in a 54 credit (2 year) masters program in education. It’s a dual certification, first year in K-8 general ed and the second year in K-12 ESL. Both require year-long internships in a mainstream and ESL classroom respectively and will qualify me to teach public school in either K-8 or ESL in my state in the US. The final degree I will receive is an “M.S. ED in Teaching and Learning.”
I’ve often thought about going back overseas, but I’ve heard that a lot of decent paying teaching jobs (not buxibans) are looking for applied linguistics or TESOL masters holders. I don’t even think the unis in my state offer these programs. My question is: If I have six years experience teaching ESL and multiple certifications, are the applied linguistics and TESOL masters really necessary? What would I get from them that I wouldn’t get in this bundled gen-ed/TESOL program?
Gotcha. I’ve taught all levels in the past, but I’ve been thinking that if I decide to teach adults at some point, would I need this additional masters degree? Let’s be honest, a lot of these TESL courses are just common sense.
Well, in the case of TAS, there are teachers working there from all over the English speaking world, so does it really matter what country the teachers got their degree “from” as long as it’s an officially recognized English-speaking country?
I guess what I’m trying to do is find a short-cut between teaching ESL to high school students and teaching ESL to adults without having to pay through the nose for another %$#% masters. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it works that way.
No idea about TAS - never known anyone who worked there or studied ther, although I think someone I know went there and speaks OK English. But generally the difference between international schools around the world, and local ‘bilingual schools’ is that staff are imported because they provide the same education that a kid would get in a private school in the expat parents’ own country. nationality isn’t the barrier, but certification and a track record in that country’s system is generally a prerequisite.
btw, I currently know six people doing certification in Britain, including an American and a Polish teacher, both of whom are qualified in their own countries. They want to work in the UK, and the Brits are all after doing the international circuit in Asia.
For high-school students in Taiwan, the most important qualification for a non-Taiwanese, unqualified in The Taiwanese school system, is a JFRC or APRC… The various schemes to import qualified teachers don’t necessarily pay as well as buxiban.
Anyway, i’m going to bow out now, because people with much more wide-ranging and current info will be happy to advise.
Yeah, I guess it depends. My brother taught at TAS for several years with only a bachelor’s degree, but he had taught math at an international school in Europe before that, so he had that experience. I met many teachers there from Australia, UK, and New Zealand, so I don’t think American schools are so strict about where you got your degree or experience, though maybe the British schools are different.
Anyway, I’m more interested in teaching ESL, so from what it sounds like, teaching adults would entail more course work. Thanks, Buttercup.