Cruisers Forum
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 24-10-2009, 02:45   #1
Registered User

Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: France
Posts: 9
Teaching English as a Foreign Language

TEFL, Teaching English as a Foreign Language

There are dozens of CELTA (Certificate of English Language Training to Adults) courses to be had, from 3 week basics to full one year diplomas.

What more info, feel free to email me.morris.jensen@auis.org
Gauguin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 25-10-2009, 15:16   #2
Registered User

Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: France
Posts: 9
Please Note

Folks, this is not an ad, I'm not selling EFL courses. I've been teaching English as a Foreign Language for years and truly believe it would be a feasible option for anyone setting off into the sunset and who would want to top up their sailing kitty en route.
Gauguin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 27-10-2009, 02:27   #3
Registered User
 
beachgirl1952's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: I'm done sailing around the world
Posts: 116
Images: 13
"it would be a feasible option for anyone setting off into the sunset and who would want to top up their sailing kitty en route".

I have NO clue what you are talking about ...
but then, English is not my first language ...
__________________
Anya ... ~~~~ _/) ~~
https://gigglesopreis.com
"to get something you never had, you have to do something you never did"
beachgirl1952 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 27-10-2009, 06:01   #4
Registered User

Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Tortola
Posts: 756
Images: 1
Send a message via Yahoo to bvimatelot Send a message via Skype™ to bvimatelot
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gauguin View Post
Folks, this is not an ad, I'm not selling EFL courses. I've been teaching English as a Foreign Language for years and truly believe it would be a feasible option for anyone setting off into the sunset and who would want to top up their sailing kitty en route.
Well - it might work but its a bit "clunky" surely? Surely you'd have to advertise prior to arrival in a foreign port to get students? Then of course you are on the radar screen for the authorities which raises the questions or Trade Licences and/or Work Permits. Then, presumably, you've got to stay in one place for possibly quite some time, to offer more than just one lesson? I dunno.....
Tony
bvimatelot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 27-10-2009, 06:05   #5
Registered User

Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Tortola
Posts: 756
Images: 1
Send a message via Yahoo to bvimatelot Send a message via Skype™ to bvimatelot
Quote:
Originally Posted by beachgirl1952 View Post
"it would be a feasible option for anyone setting off into the sunset and who would want to top up their sailing kitty en route".

I have NO clue what you are talking about ...
but then, English is not my first language ...
Ah, Anya - You sound like an ideal candidate for my first course which I shall offer on the beautiful island of Curacao (I would have written this in Dutch of course but I havent attended the "Learning
Dutch as a Foreign Language Course" Yet
bvimatelot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 27-10-2009, 06:38   #6
Registered User

Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: France
Posts: 9
Hi Tony, Not so chunky really, and it has worked for lots of people travelling who want to earn steady cash as they go along.
There are several good websites for EFL teachers that offer jobs for native speakers. Normally the minimum qualification is a CELTA (see original posting).
If you had a rough date of your arrival in a country it wouldn’t take much nowadays to set up several interviews, with local language schools via email, especially since, in all probability you’d be starting with local language schools at the cheap end. Another point here, many schools (and we’re taking a small 3 to 5 room offices) hire an experience teacher, a Brit, American or such to manage the place and co-ordinate the other teachers, set progress tests and hire teachers, so you won’t need to speak the language of the country you are in.
You don’t advertise for students, you send your CV and/or make a few inquiries to all these language schools where the students go. Language schools are always on the look out for extra native speaking , qualified teachers to work the more unsociable hours, early morning and evening, and even weekends while they give the better hours to the permanent staff. Believe me I know, I started out that way in France.
The employer sorts out the work visa, if they are enquired. It’s not usually a big deal because you are not doing the work that a local resident can do. Plus to be honest, most local authorities are not interested in the kind of money an EFL teacher is going to make working a few hours at the language center he sends his kids to.
Now here’s the best part and the bit most people find hardest to believe. In the world of EFL it’s an advantage to your employer that you don’t speak the language of your students. Think about it, if you were paying good money to be taught say, French would you want your teacher to be chatting to you all the time in English?
Check out these websites http://www.tefl.com/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teaching_English_as_a_foreign_language
Happy to answer any other questions.
Gauguin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 28-10-2009, 18:10   #7
Registered User
 
scook1's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Bourbonnais, Illinois
Boat: McGregor venture 15 "IMP"
Posts: 506
How interesting!
I am a spanish speaking american student and would love to look into this further. In your experience is there a minimum amount of time that one would be expected to stay around?
Spencer
__________________
Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air…
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
scook1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 28-10-2009, 18:28   #8
Registered User

Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: France
Posts: 9
I have know teachers hired just for a week. But 2-3 weeks would be more reasonable for you and the employer. Summer schools prefer 6-8 weeks. It can depend on the type of EFL teaching you want to focus. (ESP, English for Special Purposes) Young learners, Business. TOELF training. It's a huge business, one that many native English speakers don't realise exsists outside their counties.
Gauguin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-10-2009, 05:07   #9
Registered User

Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Tortola
Posts: 756
Images: 1
Send a message via Yahoo to bvimatelot Send a message via Skype™ to bvimatelot
Ah, I see what you're getting at now! I originally thought that one would have to set up one's own mini mobile Language School.

Thanks for the info: I now think its probably quite workable! Tony
bvimatelot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-12-2009, 10:12   #10
Registered User

Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Washington, USA
Posts: 210
I have looked at this a lot, but was under the impression that jobs were more scarce and the salaries low in basically all the non-european countries people go cruising to.

I could see using it as a way to work 6 months on/off though. Work in Korea/Japan/Taiwan for a 6 month contract then take off. Pay is low but so are the taxes and housing usually paid by the employer.
jm21 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-01-2010, 08:36   #11
Registered User
 
Trebek1's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 110
DAVES ESL CAFE (google it). Tfl is good business depending on your qualifications. Many countries allow you to teach with just a degree and a TFL course. A few will allow a non-degreed person with just tfl teach. Thailand, China, Korea, Japan, and many more places all around the world seem to be always hiring. Most want a one year contract so they can afford to make you legal.
Trebek1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2010, 14:34   #12
Registered User

Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Chester, MD for now
Boat: Pearson Ariel 264
Posts: 124
Sounds like a great way to get involved with the locals and provide a service at the same, as well as put a little coin in the pocket. Sounds like a win-win-win option. Gonna have to give this some serious consideration as a useful skill to have in my cruising bag.
__________________
Keith
International Man of Leisure
Chattcatdaddy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-03-2010, 09:51   #13
Registered User

Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Victoria
Boat: Custom, 35' Sloop - Privateer II
Posts: 22
I am interested in TEFL. What are the best schools out there to get a degree from?
cyberkitty is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-03-2010, 10:12   #14
Registered User

Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 55
Really interesting stuff. I crewed for a family around central america who made income this way, but it did not seem super easy -- just my impression. They were looking for schools in Costa Rica and Panama to make some cash in for a while, but they continued on to Columbia last I heard so I don't think they found a language school there. I believe she had the CELTA Cambridge certification...

It does seem like a win-win-win scenario, a great option. The real question, with a limited budget, is it worth the $2000+ for the CELTA certification? It appears in California that I would be looking at around $2400 for the 1-month intensive course...That month I would also be sacrificing job income, so the entire course would carry an opportunity cost of around 5k ... kinda heavy.

On one hand, it seems like a no-brainer - get certified and be able to cruise longer! On the other hand, when it costs as much as new standing rigging or a dinghy+outboard setup, how high does it figure on my list of expenditures before leaving. The fact that I could use it as a way to top up the kitty when needed (say if repairs were needed, etc.) is extremely appealing.

I spent a lot of time traveling in Chile and I had several friends doing this and making upwards of $10/hr, and visas/legalities were not a major obstacle, seems like short contracts were done under-the-table and for longer-contracts the school went to the trouble of working out a visa...Probably for all the reasons mentioned in this thread, that it is a beneficial service, not displacing a local for the same position, etc....
matrix is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-03-2010, 09:26   #15
Registered User
 
bangkaboat's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Sihanoukville, Cambodia
Boat: looking
Posts: 593
Images: 3
In the early 1990s, I spent a couple of years teaching ESL, as a partner in an ESL school, and as a foreign director, in Taiwan. While the rules and opportunities have changed, there are still opportunities to earn decent money, provided that you are willing to stay for a while. By "a while", I mean a couple of months. Don't bother arranging employment prior to going there or you'll end up with a contract that pays the minimum going rate. The same opportunities are available in other areas of Asia & Central/South America, though the renumeration covers little more than your daily expenses, in most areas. Susan Griffiths wrote a very good book on this topic, from a U.K. perspective. She wrote, as well, books on working your way around the world. As has been mentioned, there are various ESL sites on the internet for more current information.
Mike
bangkaboat is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
english

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
What language(s) are the most common? JB_in_Fla General Sailing Forum 23 09-12-2016 18:08
Teaching English as a Second lauguage? mohave_steve Boat Ownership & Making a Living 18 26-12-2007 10:20

Advertise Here


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 01:21.


Google+
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Social Knowledge Networks
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

ShowCase vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.