The Slightly Older TEFL Teacher
Staring Teaching English Abroad at 40+
Another reader presented the following situation:
I am curious to know what you think of Oxford Seminars. Worth while?
I will be 41 in December. I have a BA in Philosophy and have spent about 5 years as an Associate Teacher [a.k.a. Substitute].
I was offered a job, and awarded E2 Visa sponsorship from a school in S. Korea. At the last minute (days before I was to leave) the recruiter informed me that the school was retracting the offer.
So I figure a TESOL/TEFL Cert. will be a great benefit/ make me more marketable.
Most Online and In-ClassTEFL programs are fine. If taking an in-classroom course, it is important to check is that it meets the acceptable international guidelines which are generally agreed to be a minimum of 100 in classroom hours and at least six hours of observed teaching practice with REAL EFL students (not your teacher trainee peers) and that you receive detailed feedback from an experienced EFL teacher.
All that said, most people would agree that it is best to take your TEFL Certification in the country where you first intend to teach.
That may not be possible in Korea though.
Don’t give up – I was exactly 41 when I took my first EFL job – also in Korea. My first six months were a real mess – but I got past it and the last 17 years have been just fantastic. Nothing wrong with getting all the bumps in the road smoothed out right at first!
Training? Great idea. Though, particularly for Korea I wouldn’t assume that is why things fell apart at the last minute.
Never hurts to build the resume and improve your skills though – can’t hurt! Even an online TEFL Cert shows that you are interested and at least put some time and energy into learning more about the job and how to do it.
TED’s Tips™ #1: Don’t worry about starting out a bit later than the “youngsters”, you have a life of experience to offer.
TED’s Tips™ #2: Do consider either an online or in-classroom TEFL course to help you market yourself.
What’s up in China? Learn what kind of jobs are on offer if you would like to Teach English in China
Go get ‘em!
Ted
PS: a good reference for TEFL programs is the website:
http://www.TEFLprogram.com
LOTS of good info there for people considering TEFL training.
Tags: Marketing yourself in TEFL, Older Teachers, teaching English abroad
Uncategorized | Ted | 
April 20, 2010 3:53 PM
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