Want to teach overseas, very confused/lost
Posted: 08 Feb 2012, 03:02
Hi there. My post got a bit long so I've included a short version.
The short version:
I need to find a company or mentor or counselor to hold my hand through training and job placement. Suggestions and advice would be much appreciated.
The long version:
So I currently have this amazing grand plan to spend the next few years of my life traveling the world and teaching the people of the world English.
I'm kind of at a loss as far as what I need to do next. I'd applied to the Japan Exchange and Teaching program (JET), but was not accepted. I was looking into a company called TESOL Training International as a back-up plan, which sounded great as it provided training and guaranteed placement, for a fee, but a couple of sources around the net have called it a scam - I found 1 good review and about 3 bad ones, but that was all there was. Should I dismiss it completely or take a chance with it?
I also see that there are tons of places to find a TESOL or TEFL certification, but I don't know which school I should pick, don't know which country I want to go to, don't know if I should do TESOL, TEFL, CELTA or something else, and there are so many choices and combinations that I feel like I'm just drowning in the available information and not getting anywhere with it. It also doesn't help that I'm in California and all the schools I DID find are located in other countries or on the other side of this one - I'd LIKE to do in-class training.
Do I even NEED to do training, or can I just start applying to jobs overseas?
Are there any legitimate companies out there that will take me through good training and set me up with a job? Or, barring that, are there counselors somewhere who can walk me through the process? I really want to do this but...I just feel like I'm floundering helplessly right now and I need some guidance or direction. Thanks in advance for any advice.
The short version:
I need to find a company or mentor or counselor to hold my hand through training and job placement. Suggestions and advice would be much appreciated.
The long version:
So I currently have this amazing grand plan to spend the next few years of my life traveling the world and teaching the people of the world English.
I'm kind of at a loss as far as what I need to do next. I'd applied to the Japan Exchange and Teaching program (JET), but was not accepted. I was looking into a company called TESOL Training International as a back-up plan, which sounded great as it provided training and guaranteed placement, for a fee, but a couple of sources around the net have called it a scam - I found 1 good review and about 3 bad ones, but that was all there was. Should I dismiss it completely or take a chance with it?
I also see that there are tons of places to find a TESOL or TEFL certification, but I don't know which school I should pick, don't know which country I want to go to, don't know if I should do TESOL, TEFL, CELTA or something else, and there are so many choices and combinations that I feel like I'm just drowning in the available information and not getting anywhere with it. It also doesn't help that I'm in California and all the schools I DID find are located in other countries or on the other side of this one - I'd LIKE to do in-class training.
Do I even NEED to do training, or can I just start applying to jobs overseas?
Are there any legitimate companies out there that will take me through good training and set me up with a job? Or, barring that, are there counselors somewhere who can walk me through the process? I really want to do this but...I just feel like I'm floundering helplessly right now and I need some guidance or direction. Thanks in advance for any advice.