open university degree recognised in world of tefl ??

[teachme]

hi

a few weeks since i posted. i managed to pass, and was accepted, onto the CELTA at 'lewis school', barcelona

however, with much further research and consideration with regard to my degree-less situation, i have decided to defer to such time a i might have a degree. all of the countries i had dreamed of teaching in, require a degree and it was quite the eye-opener to discover that it would be the same if i had the CELTA and a *hitload of experience

so, with that in mind, i have been looking into the prospect of taking an online degree. 'the open university' seem to be very highly regarded as it shows great application, motivation and determination to study while also working to support oneself

does anyone know how these degrees are perceived abroad ? ..if the course was a 360-point, 'honours' degree, would that be a worthy substitute for attending a brick university ??

any help would be appreciated

[Alex Case]

It will never quite be considered an equivalent, but it might be enough, especially if the people who are reading your application actually know the institution. For example, if you mean the UK Open University, it should be okay for most jobs in the EU and anyway you don't need a visa if you are a UK citizen.

In Korea, by contrast, online degrees do not count and you won't get a teaching visa. Some other countries are moving in this direction, because of people with basically bogus online degrees and as a another way of ensuring that they really get native speakers (by only accepting teachers who went to university in an English-speaking country).

[teachme]

Thanks for the reply

Yes, I was looking into 'The open university' Uk distance learning courses.

The situation in Europe seems to be one of a surplus of teachers. Having a degree seems to have become a way of filtering some of the applicants from the process - employers can afford to be choosy.

Thing is, I really want to live and teach in Thailand (or similar area). Of all the online degrees that are available, i would have thought that 'open university' would be one of the easiest to 'qualify'. It is held in very high esteem in some circles as it indicates a whole other level of determination to succeed while also keeping on top of a full-time job

As for the 'native speaker' thing, I'm sure a British passport, birth certificate and clear UK accent would go some way to clearing that up

i do appreciate you answering me. It's not your fault, but this is getting very frustrating. It seems that no matter how much effort I am willing to got to, i will not be able to realise my dream

[iWorthington]

Looks like you may need to educate your prospects: The OU is held in very high regard (check out the ratings of the OU business school for instance), don't let them confuse it with any old distance learning uni.

The OU admins office itself should be able to help with this process.

[Astronaut]

How old are you and where do you want to teach? I do not have a degree but I took the CELTA. Now I am in my mid 30's so I had a lot of work experience as well. I decided to go to Naples in Italy. For myself and my husband (also CELTA qualified) it was the best decision.

What I would say is if you decide to do your CELTA before or during your degree, really study beforehand so you can get the best mark possible as that will also separate you from the crowd, also being professional and dressing nicely will (particularly in Italy).

There is also the University of London that has distance learning.Any course you decide to do it may be worth looking into partial credit for the CELTA for any course as they do give them for DELTA. I think OU might.