Thinking of taking the TEFL plunge

Discussion about courses, qualifications etc

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BanthaFodder
Member
Posts: 2
Joined: 10 Jun 2013, 16:39
Status: Prospective Teacher

Thinking of taking the TEFL plunge

Unread post by BanthaFodder »

Hello all,

I've been a serial lurker here for some time and have finally created an account in order to ask some (probably inane) questions.

As the subject suggests, I was considering taking my first steps into the TEFL world. Following some research (primarily internet-based) I've come to the Earth-shattering conclusion that a majority of jobs advertised are seeking CELTA (or equivalent) certification.

However, notwithstanding the cost of the course, I have some reservations relating specifically to my situation and was hoping that this might be the place to post in order to canvass some responses. If you're still with me (thanks, I promise I won't go on for too much longer) then here goes...

I'm forty years of age and fairly recently (2010) left a steady but utterly uninspiring job in IT in an attempt to embark on a career as a teacher (what's that you say? Mid-life crisis?). Initially, things went well and I spent a fantastic year at college during which I 'aced' my access course. There followed acceptance in to university and unfortunately here things took a turn for the worse. Very quickly I realised that the course I was reading for wasn't for me (BEd in primary education) and so after several months, I left.

Since leaving university, I've been working in IT again and am once again bored witless.

The 'teaching dream' is starting to stir again and having always been a competent practitioner of English - as well as someone who is passionate about this subject - I wondered if perhaps TEFL, free as it is from the suffocating influence of the national curriculum, might be a better fit for me.

I hope that if you've got this far then you might be willing to offer a reply. I would be particularly interested to hear from anyone in a similar situation to my own who has had a stab at TEFL (especially those without degrees).

Cheers!
Alex Case
Top Contributor
Posts: 539
Joined: 17 Aug 2007, 01:53
Status: Teacher

Re: Thinking of taking the TEFL plunge

Unread post by Alex Case »

My advice would depend on what it was about the B Ed that wasn't for you.
BanthaFodder
Member
Posts: 2
Joined: 10 Jun 2013, 16:39
Status: Prospective Teacher

Re: Thinking of taking the TEFL plunge

Unread post by BanthaFodder »

Hi Alex, thanks for replying.

There were a number of things I didn't like about the BEd.

Foremost would be the way in which pretty much everything about the way in which I was taught while at Primary school was denigrated. While I am more than aware that teaching methods need to evolve over time (and that a lot of time has passed since I was at school), I nevertheless found it difficult to accept that the methodology of everything I had been taught was fundamentally flawed.

I also found it quite difficult, if I'm honest, to relate some of the 'high concepts' spoken about in lectures to the realities of teaching a class - but maybe that's just me.

There were of course other reasons, and leaving the course was not a decision I took lightly.
Alex Case
Top Contributor
Posts: 539
Joined: 17 Aug 2007, 01:53
Status: Teacher

Re: Thinking of taking the TEFL plunge

Unread post by Alex Case »

Well, there's not a lot of theory on the CELTA and it's only a month if you don't agree with the assumptions behind it, but that does mean there is even less time for talking about and questioning the fundamental basics of pedagogy if you do have problems with it. The CELTA methodology is even more anti chalk and talk than primary teaching, so if that was your issues with the B Ed...
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