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New Horizons - Qualifications

Posted: 08 Jan 2013, 06:15
by Fontane
Greetings to the TEFL community!

I'm new to the boards here, so I do apologise if I have placed this thread in the wrong forum. I couldn't determine what forum was the most appropriate for my status!

I'm on track to finishing a law degree in Queensland, Australia. Becoming quite tired of law, I sought advice from friends and family as to what direction I should launch my career upon graduation. My only goal in life is to travel the world a thousand times over, slowly moving from one country to the next while learning all the local cultures and customs. One intriguing individual mentioned that I should consider teaching English as a foreign language.

With excitement, I began scouring the internet for any tidbit of information I could find. However, I am completely overwhelmed by the sheer number acronyms, training organisations, qualifications, policies and procedures relevant to teaching overseas. So I decided to throw my situation out in to the knowledge base that is TEFL. Here's my situation:

1. I'm on track to graduation, which should give me the degree required for a lot of teaching positions.

2. I have no idea what qualifications to get; TESOL, TEFL, MAs, Certificates, Short Courses, Hours Requirements, CELTA, DELTA etc.

3. No corner of the globe is boring to me; I have particular emphasis on the European Union and the United States.

4. I would like to get experience in Australia before going overseas, as to strengthen my application.

I know each country normally has different requirements, however I thought I would ask the forum as I'm sure there are hundreds of companies that hand out meaningless certificates. I have identified this as my innermost passion, and I'm willing to spend every last dollar I can get my hands on. I just want to know where to start.

If anyone has any insight to any or all of my issues, please feel free to comment of PM me. Otherwise, I'd even be happy with a URL to some place that may offer some sort of assistance.

Thank-you for helping me embark on my journey towards my dream job!

Dan.

Re: New Horizons - Qualifications

Posted: 10 Jan 2013, 01:05
by Fontane
To add to the above, I've been doing some research and found that there seem to be plenty of short courses around in Australia that enables one to voluntarily tutor migrants and refugees. To anyone else in a similar situation, this may be a great start to getting experience for better paid positions overseas, while giving back to the community.

In Australia at least, these volunteer courses appear to be predominantly State Government or charity funded.