Viewing topic: New to Tefl

Alright folks, I've been browsing this site and contemplating the Idea of becoming a teacher for about 2 years now.. finally I have decided that I will give the Tefl life a bash
First thing is course selection,I will come to either Moscow or Piter for it as I've been to Russia numerous times and speak the basics of the language. Do I really need a celta? or Trinity TESOL? How does a standard,say.. via lingua TEFL cert do, compared to these for getting jobs in Russia?

Martin =)

Hi Martin,

Welcome to the site!

If you're planning getting a certificate, there are a few things I'd recommend keeping in mind:

a) Taking a certificate course once you have a bit of classroom experience behind you will help you get a lot more value out of the training.

b) If you're looking for a certificate that will give you maximum mobility, forget ViaLingua. It's not nearly as widely recognised and accepted as CELTA or Trinity.

c) If you're planning doing a course in SPb or Moscow, and you're talking about ViaLingua, I guess you've been considering the Benedict School and their cTEFL course? Don't! This is a total waste of time and will get you nowhere, and will possibly just cause you problems in the long run. (See the appropriate forum topic, and the reviews in the directory)

There are schools that would take you on an 'internship' - type basis, with free or discounted training and fairly flexible requirements in terms of commitment to teaching for them.

In the TEFL guide I've gone into a fair amount of detail about how to get started as a teacher without qualifications.

Hello both!

Bobs12 - you would be more knowledgeable than I about these things, but I don't believe it is possible to get a CELTA in SPB. It certainly wasn't when I did mine a few years ago and I therefore studied for four weeks in Moscow to get it.

I have to say that it was the best money I have ever spent (except, of course, on beer) I had decided that if I got the course cost (then about 850 UK pounds) back within a couple of years, then I would be happy.

But soon after getting it things really seemed to start to move - although I have to say that it was also a combination of being in the right places at the right times. I reckon that the CELTA paid for itself in my case within 3 or 4 months. Plus it is highly portable, as you say - and you can walk into almost any school worldwide with it and get instant work.

So I would strongly recommend going for a CELTA which is, I believe, far more widely 'revered' than Trinity....

I would probably steer clear of all the other online variants as being laughed out of somewhere most often smarts a little...

Yep, nobody in SPb does CELTA training.

If you plan to go on a course, I say get some classroom hours in first, even just as an assistant, before going for a certificate. That way you'll be able to work out what in the course is useful and what is just total dross. In Russia, the schools that insist on certificates are pretty few and far between. There used to be more. Hmmm.... wonder why

Just bear in mind that it's about 1K GBP for 4 weeks (don't forget living costs) of throwing sponge balls around and cueing tape recorders You have the book - call around the schools in the directory, pretend you're in St. Petersburg now and try the varying stories to get an idea how much difference it will make in wages terms

All agreed Bobs12.. but I can probably save Martin the hassle of phoning round...

He will get 2 types of offers of rates from schools - the p*ss-takers and the reasonable ones. It all comes down to what kind of face and attitude you have. If you act dumb and new to the game and have what I call "a $5 face", then surprise, surprise - that is what you will be offered (even 'less tax', maybe )))!!

The 2nd will be the more reasonable ones - and I would guess that you could expect anywhere between $13-18 per academic hour to be suggested. But don't be surprised if they then 'forget' what they first said and offer you less, especially if some time elapses before you actually arrive....

The biggest scam I ever shot down in flames was from our friends at ILA a few years ago... They agreed a rate with me just before I started - but at the end of the month I got 75% less than expected. This was 'explained' by the fact' that they said they were agreeing chronological hours and I was talking academic hours rate in our negotiations....

We quickly resolved resolved the problem and reached an agreement however.... This was by the method that I pointed out that I had mentioned that we were agreeing academic hour rates at least 3 times in discussions and if they didn't want shut-the-f*ck up and stop bullsh*tt*ng me then I was outta there!

I got the correct rate thereafter but (rather amusingly) I discovered along the grapevine that they had pulled the self-same 'cunning stunt' on at least 3 other people that I knew....

Well, if you go in saying 'eat me, eat me' that's what will happen However, short-changing a Glaswegian would defy the laws of physics and is something that shouldn't happe

Er, Steve, when was the last time you were out working for a school? I know people out there, with certificates and without, all working just below and above that range for various schools. It's not going to make a hell of a lot of odds.

There are totally pissy schools out there that completely take the mickey. We've all met them and all learned to avoid them. Then there are mediocre schools and then there are slightly less mediocre schools. Admit it, they're all rubbish

The fact is that if you've got your head screwed on right, you can get what you want out of most of them. It's a buyer's market for teachers - demand exceeds supply. Non-certified teachers only get a worse deal if they let it happen to them.

Once you have your foot in the door with a decent school on a freelance basis, then as long as you're worth your salt you'll quickly get paid more as the school wants to give you extra classes. Crap certificate- and non-certificate-holders face a long road home alike

Putting a person through a 4-week CELTA-or-equivalent course doesn't guarantee that he comes out much better a teacher than someone who trained himself. It's all about attitude and ability.

It's been so long since I had the 'pleasure' of working for a school that I have almost forgotten what they are!!

The $5-face example I gave was just that, an extreme example which probably wouldn't exist now... but I still bet you I could go out and get myself offered $5/acad if I really tried, even now!!

Perhaps we should start a competition?... "Who can get the lowest offer in SPB..." ?

Certainly I also agree that my stated rates were just a guide and not definitive figures and that having a CELTA or other certificate can often make little or no difference. Except, of course, if you wanted to work for the British Council, who would never take anyone on who didn't have a CELTA minimum...

But they are now long gone, at least in teaching mode, from Russia - and we are still here...

Cheers for all the advice Bob and Steve. Decisions.. decisions .. I was saying to Steve, I might come out to Piter and see if I can observe some lessons there to make a start...don't know how easy that would be?

Concerning calling up schools, I could probably talk the talk to get a place at a school, but when it came to walking the walk I would be twiddling my thumbs to be honest... some observational experience is a definite must!

I was looking at www.irr.ru for some flatshares, seems to be some considerably cheap options about there. I guess the only other place for cheap habitable dwelling would be the local newspapers?

cheers , Martin

Observing lessons could be done over here - just don't do it in schools where you plan to work later That said, some of the more 'progressive' schools have a policy that you observe lessons throughout training and all through employment.

Get some weekend conversation classes to get your feet wet.

irr is full of dodgy scams (rooms for 3500 roubles that, surprisingly, don't exist). Also try flatmates.ru

Right now I have an American lodger who is only just in the process of moving out of my spare room - it's taken him a month to find a place to move to. Local papers, contacts, other teachers, etc. etc.

irr.ru, I had suspected there could be something fishy about some of those worryingly low prices...hmm.
I see a few communal places about too, but i'm not to keen on that unless of course the other tenants were a trio of women closely resembling виа гра

Do you know if there are any TEFL courses(or such like) in Piter? with exception of the Benedict mob.

Martin

I'm not sure there are any accredited courses of any kind here at all, but I knw that ALM and Language Studio pretty definitely offer 'jobs with training'. ALM's variant on this is pretty far away from the usual 'internship' scenario where you and all your offspring are tied into slave wages.

Also speak to Educacenter - haven't heard a peep from them in ages but a while ago they were mumbling something about offering training courses.

Trio of stunning flatmates? Hmm... put your picture up on a uni notice board somewhere saying you're looking for females to share a flat with, and add a cheeky hint that you might wear (or not wear) a kilt around the place...

Heh heh!! Is that a new epiphet?...

OH NO! IT'S THE BENEDICT MOB!!! Lock up your daughters and run for the hills....!!

Hi Martin. I'm sure that either Educacentre or another school will take you as long as you can do the business. Educacentre will let you observe lessons and give you all the help and advice you need (although you'll have to ask for it all the time). A qualification is not important.
Once you've got a little experience behind you, you'll be in a position to pick and choose work. Don't spend too much time thinking about all of this, you won't have any problems as long as you can give a lesson competently.
Russell

Hi Russell, thanks for the info. I might just get in-touch with Educacentre once I finally arrive.
It all just seems like a big step at the moment because I have no experience in teaching whatsoever.
Once I go over a some tefl methodology material and get to grips with lesson planning i'm sure my confidence will pick up.