(no subject)

[rui]

Dear JET'ers, and/or people doing the whole teaching-English-abroad thing:

In your experience, would it be worth it for me to look into getting TEFL/TESOL/whatever certification? The JET website is incredibly unhelpful on this front. (You don't NEED a college background in education, but it's good! You don't NEED to know Japanese, but it's good! You don't NEED a TEFL, but it's good! You don't NEED anything but a bachelor's in something, English fluency, and to not be an utter mouthbreather, but having more? GOOD! urgh)

So, since you've done it or tried to do it or whatever, what's your advice?

I have:
- a BA in Literature
- a transcript saying i've taken the classroom requirements necessary to be certified to teach in PA, but not the Praxis tests or classroom observation/student teaching time
- native fluency in English with experience proofreading, correcting papers, and generally being a lit major.
- no real knowledge of Japanese but plenty of study tools
- some knowledge of modern Japanese culture

Would adding TEFL/TESOL to my resume make me more attractive, or is it a waste of my time? I ask because it would cost $1300 to get the certification from a program that actually seems legit (100 hrs of online learning time plus a week spent in classroom, observing and teaching real ESL students), and i have no desire to drop that kind of cash on something that won't pay off.

Plz help an idiot along, guys :/

Comments

[loquacious]

I won't lie to you, it will. JET is shrinking, although it might not be a permanent thing, but there are fewer jobs than there used to be. If you want it, if you REALLY want it, get the TEFL/TESOL, it WILL help. I can give you more detail, if you want. It's certainly possible to get in with what you have, but it's harder now than it's ever been before.