So you’re thinking of teaching English in South Korea…

    Perhaps you’re asking yourself “Do I need a TEFL to teach?” or “Should I get some sort of certificate?” or “Which is the best one to get?”.  (There, that should cover all the search engine terms – moving on).

  First off you need to decide why you want to teach English in Korea.

1)  You have a degree that will most likely take you nowhere.

2)  You want to travel.

3)  You don’t know what else to do in your life at this point in time.

4)  Your buddy did it and it sounded great.

5)  You’re looking for a culturally uplifting experience that will help you figure out your options later on in life.

  Next, what is your tolerance level for personal job satisfaction?

a)  What does that mean?

b)  I need something fulfilling and rewarding on a daily basis.

c)  Just give me my paycheque and leave me the hell alone after work.

d)  I want to grow and develop not only career wise but personally as well.

e)  Review me!  Judge me!  Tell me how I’m doing!!

  Finally, what’s your five year plan?

1)  People plan five years in advance??

2)  I know exactly what I’ll be doing and where it will be done.

3)  I have the next year planned out and will see how things progress from there.

4)  I can’t remember what I wanted to do this afternoon so … not too worried about five years from now.

5)  I’m pretty open to whatever happens.

  Why does all this matter your asking?  Well, if you plan on coming for only 1 year, have a degree that will get you somewhere in your home nation, and aren’t overly concerned about job satisfaction then you aren’t reading this.

  If, on the other hand you could possibly consider staying overseas for more than 1 year – be it regarding your degree, lack of decision making skills, desire to travel more, make more money, whatever, then you are most likely reading this.

  There are a number of courses available and you need to do some research to decide which is best for you.  I can tell you that when I first looked into teaching ESL I wanted to do some sort of course so that I would know more about the process and feel more confident in my job.  (In teaching, you will never receive positive feedback.  That’s not to say that you aren’t doing a bang up job, rather no one rates your performance unless they have a complaint and self evaluation is a difficult process to master.)  

  Before I went to Taiwan I took a course where you went for around 25 hours of in-class instruction and then finished the rest on-line.  It cost around $1000 CND (6 years ago in Canada).  At the time I thought that it did provide me with information and good ideas but the application wasn’t practical and it didn’t help me at all when I was in a classroom teaching kids in Taiwan.

  After teaching children for 2 years I decided to head back to Canada (didn’t have a plan which was a HUGE mistake – know exactly what you want to do when you go back.  If at all, possible have a job lined up or be prepared to be unemployed for a while — and subsequently broke quite quickly).  I ended up teaching adults at a private language school and there I took a CELTA.  It was pricey, time consuming and tiring.  BUT I learned so much from it.  Not only did I learn how to become better organized and learn specific methods, but, more importantly for myself, I learned how to identify my weaknesses as a teacher and how to improve on them.  Quite honestly, after finishing the course, I felt immense guilt towards “my kids” in Taiwan for the horrid instruction that I gave them for two years. The program is so hands on, and specific.  It will kick the shit out of you and you’ll be amazed how you can reflect on it much later and still draw from the lessons taught.

  Another aspect that furthers my support for CELTA is that there are strict standards that have to be met and maintained.  Unlike some of the TESOL and TEFL programs that have no standardization to them.  I liked knowing that the hard work and hard earned money that I put into that program got me something that was reputable.   As I mentioned before, I did a quasi online one before.  At the time I was happy that I had completed it and felt that it helped enough.  I had no intentions of becoming an EFL instructor for the long term (ie more than 1 year) and so was satisfied with what I had done.  I know now that had I done a CELTA prior to beginning my teaching career that I wouldn’t have gained as much as I did from it – so it was better for me to spend the money on the first program, decide that I did want to further my teaching career, and then take the time to do the second program.

  Overall, if you are considering a program, here are some minimums that it should have in order to be the best value for your money, time, and long term userablity:

1)  The minimum number of instruction hours should be 120.

2)  You need to be in a classroom with an instructor.

3)  An observed and graded practicum component where you create, instruct and are given feedback on lesson plans.

4)  There is a minimum language level that must be met to enter the program.

5)  There is an opportunity to observe other qualified instructors during their lessons.

  Other’s experiences will differ from mine, as will their advice.  Anything you’d like to add?