TEFL - not a respected career choice?

Apologies if this topic has already been done here and apologies for the rant, but I'm really fed up of the attitude most people have towards TEFL teachers. That teaching English isn't a 'real' job, that it's for backpacker bums, requires no teaching ability, the list goes on. This attitude is also reflected by most employers - TEFL wages really aren't even enough to survive on in many places. For example, in London, many schools pay around £12 an hour. When you consider that you don't get paid for prep time, get few or no paid holidays and usually given under 25 hours a week, you actually end up worse off than the receptionists and the cleaners. How on earth can that be justified? Yes, I know about supply and demand and all that, but it just isn't a fair wage.

I've been thinking about this a lot in the last week or so, as the career I'm in/going into can often be pretty boring, with little interaction with others or job satisfaction. I've realised that teaching is what I really love. The buzz of coming out of a successful class is brilliant - it beats leaving the office after 8 hours of sitting in front of a computer! I love pretty much everything about it except the pay. I'm not driven by money, but there's no way on earth I could ever rely on TEFL. There's just no job security there at all, no safety net in case you get ill (if you don't teach, you don't get paid). I know that older/more experienced DELTA qualified teachers have it better, but it's still far from what other employees take for granted, especially considering the time, effort and expense that goes into obtaining the DELTA. I would love to have TEFL as my primary career, but it just doesn't seem possible in the long term. What are your thoughts and opinions?

livinginkorea

I think this is a very realistic and fair question. Most people get into TEFL by accident it seems. They want to travel the world for a bit, pay off their student loan, have a working holiday, experience a different culture, try a new job out, etc and TEFL seems to be the easiest job to do.

But the reality is that a lot of those 'teachers' are not good at all. They go into a country, think they are superior cas they speak English, do not prepare for class, play lots of games with the kids (which are basically activities, by that I mean no new language is learned, only the language that the class learned already is loosely supported - the main reason why I never play games in my class), no professional development, drink and sleep around, etc I could go on. These 'teachers' give the industry a bad name. Just because you can speak English does not mean you can teach English. This often transfers into grammar being avoided in class. Gives the impression that TEFL teachers do not know grammar at all. Most of the problems (crime, drugs, sexual abuse, contract issues) stem from these people passing through TEFL. They are not in it for the long haul and even if they are they want to milk the system as much as they can.

However, there are some teachers who fall into TEFL (like myself) and realise that this is what they want their career and life to be. Even though they have little to no experience teaching, they research and buy TESOL books, go to conferences/workshops, take courses to improve their skills and get some theory behind it all. They even spend time outside of class taking about teaching skills (heaven forbid!)! In my case I got a 180 hour cert. before I stepped into my first classroom. It wasn't much but it did help me a bit.

In Korea I think the average private institute teacher is looked down upon by most Koreans, public school teachers have more respect, business and university teachers have more again. However, that doesn't mean the teachers themselves are better when you get to business and universities. I once worked with a guy who went into one of the biggest companys in Korea to teach every week wearing shorts and flip flops. Another 'teacher' once asked me if we had a future conditional in English. The worst type was a girl from England who proceeded to sleep her way through the class and then pretend like nothing happened when those students tried to contact her again.

I guess I am ranting too. I could go on. Still a lot of private institutes can offer low pay with bad conditions because people will still take them. I still see jobs advertised for 2.0 million won in Korea; the same rate when I first came here in 2004. The owners know that they will always get packpackers to take those jobs.

However, I went off and did a MA, networked a lot to get better jobs and worked my way up the ladder so to speak. I specialized in Business English for a couple of years and then English Teacher Education. In reality if you want to make more money than the average TEFL teacher then you will have to find a niche. For some people it is exams like TOEIC or IELTS. For others it is owning their own private school. For others it is private tutoring for students who are going aboard to live. For me it's teacher education. This is the only way you can have a sucessful career and be happy in the long time.

Find your niche and try to get to the top of that ladder.

Tom Dunne

My own personal opinion is that it is a bad career choice.

And here's why.

In the 3rd level college I work in, English teachers make up the largest cohort. The language is integral to all our degree programmes, plus there is a large number of support teachers for the language, such is the importance the government here have put on students learning English.

However, I can't help but notice the number of English teachers who seem to have spent their career wandering from country to country teaching English. And I am not talking backpackers here, I am talking about people in their late 20's, 30's and older. One or two in particular seem to be in a kind of rut, knowing that they can never return to their home country to get a job, so they are essentially trapped in this cycle, with no clear ability to "settle down" (a lot of biological clocks are ticking).

I would compare that to myself who lectures in IT, I am fortunate enough to have the option of returning to industry should I wish to triple my salary.

So while I don't personally think TEFL is not a respected career choice, I do think that those that chose it as a career are the ones who may respect it the least.

ytareh

"Most of the problems (crime, drugs, sexual abuse, contract issues) stem from these people passing through TEFL."

Thats got to be one of the most outrageous comments Ive read on the internet in a long time and THATS saying something!!!!!

livinginkorea

ytareh wrote: »

"Most of the problems (crime, drugs, sexual abuse, contract issues) stem from these people passing through TEFL."

Thats got to be one of the most outrageous comments Ive read on the internet in a long time and THATS saying something!!!!!

Ya sorry, I was on a bit of a rant, but it is true (especially in Korea from my experience) that the 'teachers' using TEFL to 'experience life' or take a couple of years off who are not serious about teaching are the ones who mostly give the industry a bad name. It is extremely rare that a qualified TESOL teacher causes problems or was in the news for such offences. It does happen of course, but not as much as the non-qualified ones.

Even at university level I saw how unprofessional some 'teachers' were. There are two months vacation per semester in one university I worked at and some 'teachers,' once the final exam was done they were on the first plane to Thailand that same day, marking their exams on the flight and entering the grades on the webCT system with cocktails in one hand. Seriously, they wouldn't shut up about how they were so great. Naturally, once the students' grades were relased a couple of weeks later, and if those students had any questions or wished to appeal their grades those 'teachers' were no where to be seen. After this happened a good few times, the department decided that everyone had to stay in Korea until after the appeals period was finished (which basically means stay in Korea an extra two weeks per semester, not working - just be in Korea for the students). There was uproar. People saying they can't do this and I'll quit if they make me, etc, etc. Funny, it was actually in their contract and they all signed when they joined but the department was too easy with them and let it slide for years.

Department said sorry you feel wronged and we respect your decision to leave if you wish. Nobody left. Surprise, surprise because those 'teachers' knew that they have no other place to go and complaining about waiting to fly out to fun land for another two weeks (which again was already in their contract which they signed) instead of marking their students' papers correctly was childish.

I have a zillion of these stories, some of them really not suitable for any board. I once walked in a class on a 'teacher' making a move on a student, I mean a physical move. Another smoked weed with his students. Another gave drink to a minor and tried to take advantage. I could go on but shouldn't.

For every good professional and dedicated teacher/instructor/professor I have met in Korea, there are another 10 who really don't care about their job. Unfortunately, that is why the industry has a bad name.

livinginkorea

Tom Dunne wrote: »

My own personal opinion is that it is a bad career choice.

And here's why.

In the 3rd level college I work in, English teachers make up the largest cohort. The language is integral to all our degree programmes, plus there is a large number of support teachers for the language, such is the importance the government here have put on students learning English.

However, I can't help but notice the number of English teachers who seem to have spent their career wandering from country to country teaching English. And I am not talking backpackers here, I am talking about people in their late 20's, 30's and older. One or two in particular seem to be in a kind of rut, knowing that they can never return to their home country to get a job, so they are essentially trapped in this cycle, with no clear ability to "settle down" (a lot of biological clocks are ticking).

I would compare that to myself who lectures in IT, I am fortunate enough to have the option of returning to industry should I wish to triple my salary.

So while I don't personally think TEFL is not a respected career choice, I do think that those that chose it as a career are the ones who may respect it the least.

One of my beefs who those wandering teachers is that they do not develop themselves further. I have met loads of them teaching for years and all that some of them do is bitch and moan about how they have so much experience but still can't get a university gig (it's always gig to some people, not a job!).

Having said that, the amount of people in their late 30s~40s taking MA courses (Education, TESOL, Applied Linguistics, etc) has risen sharply in the last couple of years. Some of my students are 10 years older than me. Great to see. People are finally beginning to realise that being a native speaker does not mean you can teach English even if you are teaching for 10 years. You need qualifications to go places and to go up the ladder.

leeroybrown

You summed up the problem yourself. TEFL is seen by a large number of people as a way to earn some money while travelling to countries they would otherwise not be able to get work in. Of course the wages are going to be low if there is a readily available workforce of people who are happy with part-time hours and relatively low pay. I know plenty of people who've done it and they were relatively happy with that situation because of why they did it.

If the country was full of people with my skills I'm pretty sure my rate of pay would drop through the floor too.

seachto7

what about the grad dip in languages in UL where you do TEFL as a subject to be taught in post primary?

livinginkorea

Interesting replies, wish I'd got around to checking the thread sooner.

livinginkorea wrote: »

But the reality is that a lot of those 'teachers' are not good at all. They go into a country, think they are superior cas they speak English, do not prepare for class, play lots of games with the kids (which are basically activities, by that I mean no new language is learned, only the language that the class learned already is loosely supported - the main reason why I never play games in my class), no professional development, drink and sleep around, etc I could go on. These 'teachers' give the industry a bad name. Just because you can speak English does not mean you can teach English. This often transfers into grammar being avoided in class. Gives the impression that TEFL teachers do not know grammar at all. Most of the problems (crime, drugs, sexual abuse, contract issues) stem from these people passing through TEFL. They are not in it for the long haul and even if they are they want to milk the system as much as they can.

I agree with you on most of those points. I suppose those 'teachers' are the ones to blame for the situation TEFL teachers are in. I personally have no time for that type of person and unfortunately, there are many of them around. I got into quite a heated discussion last week with a 'teacher' who was insisting his 'method' of sending students home with bilingual word lists and advising them to read the dictionary was effective. There is just no excuse for that kind of rubbish. He kept insisting that it worked for him, but that is not what students are paying for. We could all sit and read dictionaries if we just wanted to acquire a passive knowledge of a language. It's just lazy teaching and an arrogant, couldn't-give-a-**** attitude dressed up as 'I know better because I speak other languages/have studied linguistics/am amazing'.

However, there are some teachers who fall into TEFL (like myself) and realise that this is what they want their career and life to be. Even though they have little to no experience teaching, they research and buy TESOL books, go to conferences/workshops, take courses to improve their skills and get some theory behind it all. They even spend time outside of class taking about teaching skills (heaven forbid!)! In my case I got a 180 hour cert. before I stepped into my first classroom. It wasn't much but it did help me a bit.

Indeed. I think employers need to start understanding the difference between the two types of people. It's almost always immediately obvious who is there to have a laugh and a joke with the students and who actually takes their job seriously.

I guess I am ranting too. I could go on. Still a lot of private institutes can offer low pay with bad conditions because people will still take them. I still see jobs advertised for 2.0 million won in Korea; the same rate when I first came here in 2004. The owners know that they will always get packpackers to take those jobs.

That's a whole other topic, I think, but it drives me mad when people accept that kind of pay. It really does harm everyone else. I have the same problem as a translator - I can't make a living because rich housewives with nothing better to do see no problem accepting low rates. Like everything in life, though, you get what you pay for. I think employers need to start copping on and realising that the teacher they're paying £7 an hour is (usually) crap. I had a boss in Belgium who didn't pay that well and he complained about the quality of the teachers. I told him straight out (after I quit because he cut the pay again) that he got the teachers he deserved.

However, I went off and did a MA, networked a lot to get better jobs and worked my way up the ladder so to speak. I specialized in Business English for a couple of years and then English Teacher Education. In reality if you want to make more money than the average TEFL teacher then you will have to find a niche. For some people it is exams like TOEIC or IELTS. For others it is owning their own private school. For others it is private tutoring for students who are going aboard to live. For me it's teacher education. This is the only way you can have a sucessful career and be happy in the long time.

Find your niche and try to get to the top of that ladder.

I'm thinking about it, but still, can you make a good living out it? Do you think the salary you receive is fair for the work you put in?

Tom Dunne wrote: »

However, I can't help but notice the number of English teachers who seem to have spent their career wandering from country to country teaching English. And I am not talking backpackers here, I am talking about people in their late 20's, 30's and older. One or two in particular seem to be in a kind of rut, knowing that they can never return to their home country to get a job, so they are essentially trapped in this cycle, with no clear ability to "settle down" (a lot of biological clocks are ticking).

I'm not entirely sure I agree with that. Why is it so bad to 'wander from country to country'? Some people just like to move around and they probably got into TEFL for that reason. I know I did. I love teaching but I also love the fact that I can do the job almost anywhere in the world. The biological clock thing is a personal issue for those people and tbh, I don't think travelling causes you to become unsettled. I think they travel because they're not content with staying in one place. I suppose it becomes a vicious circle.

I would compare that to myself who lectures in IT, I am fortunate enough to have the option of returning to industry should I wish to triple my salary.

But what about people who teach English/French/German/Irish in secondary schools/universities? They get fair wages and benefits and holidays. They don't need to consider going into industry just to support themselves.

leeroybrown wrote: »

You summed up the problem yourself. TEFL is seen by a large number of people as a way to earn some money while travelling to countries they would otherwise not be able to get work in. Of course the wages are going to be low if there is a readily available workforce of people who are happy with part-time hours and relatively low pay. I know plenty of people who've done it and they were relatively happy with that situation because of why they did it.

If the country was full of people with my skills I'm pretty sure my rate of pay would drop through the floor too.

Well, yes, sure, any native speaker of English can 'teach' English and there are plenty of native speakers. But look at it this way. I can cook pretty well, sure I cook dinner every day. Does that mean I can get a job in a Michelin starred restaurant? There are billions of things that just anyone can do to some extent, but most employers don't give jobs to just anyone and then pay peanuts to everyone. So why is it like that with TEFL? Why do so many people continue to think that speaking English = being able to teach English?

E.T.

Armando Narrow Phlegm wrote: »

Why do so many people continue to think that speaking English = being able to teach English?

I think you'll find that many people have a view of teaching in general as a p*ss easy job. If I'd a penny for every time I've heard/seen comments about anyone being able to do it, or people going on about how they know for a fact that teaching is easy, because they went to school themselves, I'd be a little bit better off!

leeroybrown

Armando Narrow Phlegm wrote: »

But what about people who teach English/French/German/Irish in secondary schools/universities? They get fair wages and benefits and holidays. They don't need to consider going into industry just to support themselves.

The minimum qualification standards for these second and third level positions provide to a barrier to entry that keeps numbers down and also builds a requirement for suitable qualification levels. Completely different to the TEFL market, rightly or wrongly.

Armando Narrow Phlegm wrote: »

Well, yes, sure, any native speaker of English can 'teach' English and there are plenty of native speakers. But look at it this way. I can cook pretty well, sure I cook dinner every day. Does that mean I can get a job in a Michelin starred restaurant? There are billions of things that just anyone can do to some extent, but most employers don't give jobs to just anyone and then pay peanuts to everyone. So why is it like that with TEFL? Why do so many people continue to think that speaking English = being able to teach English?

Yes but a reasonable workplace canteen would hire an acceptably qualified/experienced chef. They'll probably never work in a high-class restaurant but they'll do an acceptable job and cost less money. Someone with only work experience and the required food safety certs get the job. Employers will hire English teachers they think fit the job so they're either knowingly hiring 'unqualified' staff or the TEFL qualifications aren't worthwhile.