<p>So where to start. I'm a junior attending a top 20 college, majoring in International Studies with a minor in Sociology.</p>
<p>After years of not knowing what I wanted to do or study, unlike my pre-med, pre-bus, pre-law, pre-i-know-where-i-am-going-in-life-at-least-until-i-screw-up friends, I felt like I didn't have a direction in life. I tried the pre-med route and hated it. I interned for a law firm - never again. I worked in an office - the 9-5 sitting behind the desk kind of job was definitely not for me. I have been tutoring children for years and I also volunteer at an adult literacy program tutoring refugees and immigrants ESL.</p>
<p>Then it hit me - I enjoy teaching others English. I realized that I want to work as an ESL teacher professionally, at an international school abroad (at the primary and/or secondary level). Not a doctor, or a lawyer, or what have you. I want to become a teacher. I decided to graduate a semester early, in December. I am feeling a bit uneasy about what to do after wards, so I would like your comments and suggestions about my post-grad plans:</p>
<ul>
<li>After graduation, work for an ESL program for a few months (I want to walk in my graduation in May, so I would like to stay in the area and remain productive until then)</li>
<li>Teach English abroad starting in the fall, for 1-2 years (either Korea or Japan, or even both)</li>
<li>Then return to the States and get my Masters in Education with a focus on teaching English as a Second Language at John Hopkins University</li>
<li>Then find employment, hopefully at an international school abroad</li>
</ul>
<p>What do you think? Do you think going into ESL professionally would allow me to have a long, stable job (i.e., job security) both in the U.S. and abroad?</p>
<p>ESL teachers are always heavily sought after in the U.S. and also abroad. In the U.S. it’s especially useful if you speak Spanish as well as English. Is there any particular reason you want to work in Korea and Japan? You might consider a Spanish speaking country as a better place your teaching English abroad training if you’re thinking about a career in the U.S. For many schools abroad, you don’t need fluency in the native language of that country in order to teach English, whereas to teach ESL in the U.S. it helps a lot if you also speak the students’ native language (also helps with parent relations, etc.) </p>
<p>I think this sounds like a good starting plan. Obviously as you move forward you’ll probably change your mind a lot, your experiences will shape your path. This sounds like a good guideline, I just wouldn’t be too focused on rigidly following it.</p>
<p>While I agree that learning Spanish (if you don’t know it already) could be useful, there are parts of the country where knowing some Asian languages would also be extremely helpful. There might never be a better time to go to somewhere like Korea. I have a friend whose son just spent a year in China. It was a pretty amazing experience - he was way off the usual tourist track. He’s not going into teaching, but it was well worth doing anyway.</p>
<p>It’s true, knowing Asian languages can be really helpful in some areas of the country, and I think going to Asia is perfectly worthwhile in general. But in terms of having a lot of flexibility and long-term job stability in the US over the widest area, knowing Spanish is a huge plus. It’s not the only way to get a steady job as an ESL teacher in the U.S., but it’s a sure bet.</p>
<p>Whoa, I didn’t know learning Spanish would be THAT beneficial. I have been studying Japanese for 2 years and French for a semester, so I guess I might as well add Spanish in my list of languages to learn… </p>
<p>(Totally random, but do you think Rosetta Stone would help with Spanish?)</p>
<p>I think how much Rosetta Stone helps with any language depends on how dedicated you are to studying it on a disciplined, regular basis. </p>
<p>Have you tried just googling “ESL teaching jobs in XX place” (for XX place, put in any part of the country that you think you might want to work). I bet you’ll come up with a lot of positions that say Spanish speakers preferred. I doubt you’ll come up with many that ask for French speakers, unless it’s a district with a high concentration of Haitian immigrant families or families from French speaking areas of Africa. But you know, I’m not the world’s leading expert on ESL teaching, so definitely google around and look at job listings, or better yet, see if your career center or professors can put you in touch with people who are ESL teachers in the US now. </p>
<p>I just think that again, while you don’t necessarily need to know the native language to teach English in a country abroad, it’s usually a big edge in getting hired as an ESL teacher in the US. Depending on the district and the immigrant population there, that language might be Spanish or it might be something else, but I would suspect that Spanish would allow you to have access to the greatest number of jobs.</p>
<p>Having a Masters from a “name” university is definitely beneficial if you want to teach in Asia, where school prestige is very important. So I support the Johns Hopkins idea. A friend of mine has lived and taught in Japan for years - he said that it was his graduate degree from Berkeley that helped him get into the very lucrative world of teaching English privately to corporate executives.</p>
<p>If you want to teach in grades K-12 in the US, you should complete a program that leads to teacher’s certification. Teaching in a community college would normally require a Master degree, but certification wouldn’t be necessary. As for teaching overseas, some places will train you, others will require experience and/or a recognized training (such as CELTA), others will want a Masters.</p>
<p>As a public school teacher, I’ll add the cheery news that new (or experienced) teachers with masters degrees are having a hard time getting hired in this economy. I have heard stories of applicants volunteering to not list their masters on an application, so the district can hire them on the BA salary schedule. However, if it’s your masters that earns you your certificate, this wouldn’t work. </p>
<p>Sorry to be a Deputy Downer. </p>
<p>ESL/Bilingual is a high need specialty now, though, so the law of supply and demand should prevail. On the other hand, it’s usually poorer districts that hire the most ESL and bilingual teachers, so local economics (property tax base) makes this a complicated situation. (Clear as mud?)</p>
<p>I agree that Spanish is very handy for a US K-12 job. Many first generation Latino-Americans are becoming ESL teachers. (Actually, it’s called ELL now.) That said, there are some areas of Chicago where Polish is needed, so it depends on where you work.</p>
<p>I vote for working overseas. Sounds like great fun. Good luck!</p>
<p>(You might want to try this thread again under a name that specifies ESL. I only opened this one cause my daughter’s doing a gap year.)</p>
<p>Thank you so much for all of this information!! I truly learned a lot, and I look forward to pursuing the path of education and ESL (or ELL now?). I will definitely look into studying Spanish, either during the summer or after graduating from undergrad. </p>
<p>I’m currently looking for internships or opportunities to teach in a classroom setting, because I talked with a lot of the school programs in my area that I am interested in teaching for during my gap years, and even though some do not require certifications (like adult literacy programs for instance), they do require teaching experience in a classroom/group setting. </p>
<p>Does anyone have any suggestions? Something similar to Breakthrough Collaborative, but not too time-consuming since I will be balancing work and summer classes as well. </p>
<p>Have you looked into alternative certification (if your state allows it)? Around here AC coursework is offered thru the local community college to BA/BS recipients who don’t have education degrees. </p>
<p>No classroom experience is required for entry into the program. (Though taking the state teacher certification exam-level 1 is, as well as a written personal statement and an interview with program coordinator)</p>
<p>AC is allowed for all grade levels and teaching fields, but critically needed specialties (i.e. math, science, spec ed and ELL) get preference for the limited number of slots.</p>
<p>AC classes are all offered in the evening to accommodate jobs and acceptance into the AC program qualifies one to get a temporary emergency certification (good for 2 years but non-renewable) which will allow school districts to hire you as a teacher.</p>