Waiting to apply for 2012. Anything I can do to get experience in the meantime...?

seachto7

Hi all,

I have lurked on this forum for a while, and posted the odd time. I had been humming and hawing for the last year about applying for the dip, and obviously the time has come and gone. I had decided I was going to apply for the French and EFL dip in UL.

Here's my background:

undergrad: Euro Studies (French and Gaeilge). Postgrad in Tech Comm and 2 years teaching English in Italy.

I also speak Italian quite well, but never studied it. My Gaeilge is not recognised by the Teaching Council, so I have established I would have to do some type of course again to bring it up to the level required (possibly, not sure how exactly yet...).

So, in the meantime, would you have any advice on how I could tip away and get some bit of experience or contact in a teaching environment, rather than just sit around and wait for the next year....?

My angle would be to potentially teach French and Gaeilge eventually...

eager tortoise

I would find out exactly how you can bring your Irish up to a level that's acceptable to the TC. There are probably modules or something that you can do part-time to bring it up to scratch. TC will be able to advise you on what can be done or others on here may be able to help. It's a great subject to have under your belt as is not as common a teaching subject as others and is still a core subject in every school

seachto7

I heard zero back from the TC, but will follow them up again. I am thinking that getting involved in some kind of teaching in some way (not quite sure) would be beneficial, rather than just sitting around. I'm not even sure if having an undergrad degree in Irish would stand to me longterm even if I didn't manage to bring it up to the level required by the TC.

It's not on the list of recognised subjects for my undergrad on the TC site, so in theory, it's like I never studied Irish at 3rd level, that's the problem for me there,
But I'll keep an ear to the ground, see if there is anything I could do which would help me along the way......

whiteandlight

The modules will usually count but presumably there weren't (combined) enough to constitute Irish for teaching. Usually you need to do additional modules as opposed to a whole new undergrad

seachto7

That's what I was thinking.....

AirmidOg

Hi seachto7,

Have you checked with the TC is they will recognize your qualifications in your subjects? That's the first thing you should really do. Then I'd suggest while you're waiting for the Dip to do a TEFL course and do some teaching in one of the language schools here. It's a great way to get some teaching experience and classroom time. Whatever you do though make sure that the TEFL course is ACELS accredited. ACELS is a branch of the Department of Education and if a TEFL course isn't approved by them don't go near it as you won't get a job in Ireland after you complete it. Hope this helps!

Dionysus

seachto7 wrote: »

Hi all,

I have lurked on this forum for a while, and posted the odd time. I had been humming and hawing for the last year about applying for the dip, and obviously the time has come and gone. I had decided I was going to apply for the French and EFL dip in UL.

Here's my background:

undergrad: Euro Studies (French and Gaeilge). Postgrad in Tech Comm and 2 years teaching English in Italy.

I also speak Italian quite well, but never studied it. My Gaeilge is not recognised by the Teaching Council, so I have established I would have to do some type of course again to bring it up to the level required (possibly, not sure how exactly yet...).

So, in the meantime, would you have any advice on how I could tip away and get some bit of experience or contact in a teaching environment, rather than just sit around and wait for the next year....?

My angle would be to potentially teach French and Gaeilge eventually...

As with other posters, I suggest you ring the TC and see what credits you need in order to be qualified to teach Irish (and French). At this late stage, I'd suggest you also ring one of the Irish departments in a university near you, explain your situation and see if they have a course you could do which would give you those credits. I know UCD's School of Irish is looking at the number of applicants at the moment and deciding whether it has a sufficient number to run diploma and degree courses at night.

Dionysus

AirmidOg wrote: »

Hi seachto7,

Have you checked with the TC is they will recognize your qualifications in your subjects? That's the first thing you should really do. Then I'd suggest while you're waiting for the Dip to do a TEFL course and do some teaching in one of the language schools here. It's a great way to get some teaching experience and classroom time. Whatever you do though make sure that the TEFL course is ACELS accredited. ACELS is a branch of the Department of Education and if a TEFL course isn't approved by them don't go near it as you won't get a job in Ireland after you complete it. Hope this helps!

Good post. The ACELS CELT or even the CELTA would be worth doing - although the CELTA is @ €1500 v. €1000 for the CELT. Both are equally recognised in Ireland. You will get your money back in a month or so of teaching the usual 15 hours per week at @ €20 per hour. It's good additional summer money but ... it requires a huge amount of work for the money involved. I taught for most of the summer and in a country as expensive as Ireland the money is just not adequate, and the job security (15 hours per week guaranteed only in July) is really poor. Additional hours, and the way they are distributed, would turn anybody off ESL/EFL teaching in Ireland unless they are writers/artists who just need a subsistence wage on top of their SW payment. If you are that way disposed, there is work all year teaching ESL; I was just phoned today to teach English for the rest of the year (with very uncertain hours, of course) based on my ACELS CELT tefl and having worked for the company in question already.

So, invest the money in either of those two tefls as a means to get an additional wage; but tefl teaching as a "full-time" occupation is no life for most teachers in Ireland.

seachto7

I did follow up the TC, but really should follow them up again. They got back to say that I needed to provide them with a brochure of the course when I did it. It doesn't exist anymore, as the course has been changed so I can't give it to them. That's besides the point.
I have a TEFL qualification and taught it for a few years, but it may possibly not be recognised anymore. I did it as a subject for a year and a half as an extra subject in my undergrad....