CELTA for Singaporeans - Gaijinhan

The British Council Singapore also offers the CELTA course administered by Cambridge ESOL, part of the University of Cambridge. If you check ... NowTrending: TravelingtoJapanDurin... WhatTaiwanesePeopleTh... MyEuropeInvestmentRet... HowMuchItCoststoLiv... ThankstoMikewhopostedacommentin thepreviouspostaskingaboutmychoiceoftakingCELTAinThailand,Ithoughtit’dbehelpfultootherstoo,ifIwritealittleaboutit.So,ifyou’replanningondoingtheCELTAaswell,Ihopethatthiscanhelpyouinwhatlittlewayitcould. TheBritishCouncilSingaporealsoofferstheCELTAcourseadministeredbyCambridgeESOL,partoftheUniversityofCambridge.IfyoucheckouttheCELTAcoursepagehere,youwouldseethattakingitinSingaporecosts$5,500.IncludingtheYoungLearners’extensioncourseat$3,305,youwouldbepaying$8805. Lastyear,Ispent5weeks’totalinThailanddoingtheexactsame2courses.Areturnplaneticket,3mealsaday,transportation,accomodationandaweekoftravellingtoHuahin,adayinAyutthayaplussomenightsofpartyingandshoppingcostme nomorethan$4000.Notforgettingthattheaccomodationhadfreelaundryservice,top-floorgymandarooftopswimmingpool. So,apartfromtheBritishCouncil, thereare2majorschoolsyoucandoyourCELTAat: 1)ECCThailand 2)InternationalHouse ItookmineatECCThailand.ThecoursecostsUS$1600andifyougettheearly-birddiscount,you’llonlybepayingUS$1440.Also,theythrowintheYoungLearners’extensionFREE!Iknow!ThatwordpracticallygetsusSingaporeanshigh.Wedon’tcarewhatitis,aslongasit’sfreehuh.Haha… IhavenoideaaboutthepracticalteachingclassesifyoudothecourseattheBritishCouncilinSingapore,butthestudentswehadwererefugeesfromLaos,SriLanka,Congo,Somalia,Pakistan,Iraq,Vietnam,Myanmaretc.Thesestudents donotshareacommonfirstlanguagebutonethingthey’vegotincommonisthehorrificstoriestheyhavetotell.Intheonemonth,notonlydidImanagetogetmyCELTA,ImetthesepreciouspeoplewhomademelearnalotmorethanwhatIthoughtIcould’vegottenoutofthecourse. Asaclose,allowmetomakeabriefcommentaboutCELTA.Ithinkit’sbrilliant.IfalllanguageteacherswereusingtheCELTAmethod,learningwouldbesomuchmorefunandenjoyable. Tags:BritishCouncil,CELTA,ECC,InternationalHouse,Singapore,Singaporean,Thailand RelatedPosts TheGirlwithaBallofDust 6Comments|Jul13,2013 PLAYBUTTON NoComments|Jun9,2012 LosingIt NoComments|Oct15,2012 CreatingLanguageBarriers NoComments|Jan25,2014 AboutTheAuthor gaijinhan 38Comments mike December24,2010 Reply MerryChristmas!=) Thanksforthequickreplyandthegreatpieceofinfo! IjustcheckedouttheCELTApriceindifferentcountries. ThailandandVietnamofferthebestpriceatUSD1600:SGD2000. China(Wuhan)isnextatGBP1150:SGD2310. Korea(Seoul)isnottoofaroffatKRW2150000:SGD2400. ECCThaiisagreatchoice! BTW,didyoutakeitinBangkok,PhuketorChiangMai? Youareoneultraresourcefulperson!=) gaijinhan December25,2010 Reply Wow,you’reprettyresourcefultoo.Yougotthepricesofthecourseinsomanyplaces.ItookthecourseinBangkok.Well,IguessifyouwannaexperiencelifeinVietnam,it’sprobablyagoodchoicetoo.ButthepragmaticSingaporeaninmewouldstillgoforThailandsincetheVietnamDongisprettymuchvaluelessoutsidethecountry.IfIweretogoVietnam,I’dmakesureIspendeverysingleDongbeforeIleave.Butifyou’regonnatravelVietnamagain,thenit’sstillasgoodachoiceasThailand. li April15,2011 Reply hi,mayiknowwhichaccommodationdidyouchoose?🙂thanks! gaijinhan April15,2011 Reply HiLi, IstayedinaserviceapartmentcalledSilomLoftsnearChongNonsistation.Youcanvisittheirwebsitehere.http://www.silomlofts.com ItactuallyiskindofaluxurytobestayingtherebecausemostotherfellowCELTAtraineesputupatroomsthatcostthem10,000baht(around$450)amonthwhilethisonecost36,000baht(around$1600)amonth.ButbecauseIwentwithafriend,wesharedthecost,whichcameuptoonly$800amonth.Puttingthingsinperspective,thecourseisonlyamonthanyway. AndImustsay,thecomfortsoftheroommadelifetheresomucheasierforusasitprovidedanexcellentenvironmentforourstudying,assignmentsandlessonpreparations.Givenanotherchance,Iwouldstillchoosetostaythere. Z April21,2011 Reply HeyJin, Readingyourbloghasdefinitelybeeninspiring;yourresourcefulnessisquiteimpressive.IrecentlygotrejectedfromJET,butifanythingithasonlystrengthenedmyresolvetoteachtherethisyear.I’llbeafreshgraduatesaddledwithloansinJulysoI’mafraidIwillprobablynotbeabletofollowtheexactsamepathyou’vepavedfortherestofus. Ihaveafewquestionsthough: 1)IsittrulynecessarytoobtainastudentvisainJapanbeforelookingforwork? 2)HowmuchdoyouthinkitwouldcosttoobtainaCELTAonamuchmoreconservativebudget? 3)Wouldyouhappentobeknowofanydispatchcompanieshiringpeopleinmyposition? ThepreliminaryenquiriesI’vemadehavecomeupempty,andit’sprovingtobefrustrating.Theonedispatchcompanythatwasaccommodatingtoldmethataworkingvisawasaprerequisite,whichisabitofaCatch22situationreally. Ithankyoufortakingthetimetoreadthisandlookforwardtohearingfromyou! gaijinhan April21,2011 Reply HeyZ, Thanksforleavingamessage.I’msorrytohearthatyoudidn’tgetshortlistedfortheJETprogramme.I’lltrymybesttoansweryourquestions. 1)No,it’snotnecessaryatallbutasyoumightalreadyhavereadintheotherentries,Ibelievehavingastudentvisaincreasesyourchancesquiteabitbecausepaperworkismuchlessandvisaconversiontakeslesstimethannewvisaapplication,socompanieshiringyouwouldhavelessworktodo.Again,thatdoesnotmeanit’snotpossibletogetworkwithoutastudentvisa.Infact,aSingaporeanfriendofmineactuallywenthomeafterherstudiesandflewbacktoJapanonatouristvisatolookforworkandshegotit.So,don’tholdback. 2)ThailandoffersoneofthecheapestCELTAcoursesaroundtheworldanditischeckedbyofficialsfromCambridgeESOL,partoftheUniversityofCambridge.Ifyoudon’tparty,don’ttravelanddon’tstayinthekindof“luxurious”apartmentthatIdid,youcouldprobablygetbywith$3000~3500. 3)Idon’texactlyknowyourposition,soIdon’twanttooffersomethingthatIdonotknowforcertain.Also,Iwouldn’tknowwhichdispatchcompanieswouldbehiringwhom.SincetheacademicyearbeginsinApril,Ibelievemostcompanieswould’vefilledupalltheirpositionsaboutnow,thoughsomedoacceptapplicationsincasesomeoneresignssuddenly.IthinkI’llpostthemoredetailedinformationondispatchcompaniesinthenextentrysoastobenefitotherswhomayhavethesamequestions.Andifyoudon’tmind,couldyoupleasetellmewhichdispatchcompanycontactedyou? Z April21,2011 Reply Wowthanksforyourreplyandpostondispatchcompanies;it’sverymuchappreciated.Oh,andonlyRCSgotbacktome. AmItoassumethattheirrequestformetogetaworkvisabeforecominghereisdoublespeakfor“getajobherefirstandthenwe’llconsideryou”?Whichisstrange,sincetheirsitestatedvisasponsorshipwasoneofthebenefits. Inanycase,thankyouforallyourhelp! gaijinhan April22,2011 Reply Noproblem.Idon’tknowhowmuchtheentrycouldhelpbutIjustimaginedifIwereinyourshoes,I’dwanttoknowwhichcompaniesgrantedinterviewsorofferedpositions.Anyway,Itookalookatthesiteandrealisedyou’reright.TheydidsaythatthebenefitsincludevisasponsorshipandfullsupportinobtainingthenecessarydocumentstolegallyworkinJapan.Idon’tknowthesituationandsoIcan’treallycommentonthat. Whendidyouapplywiththem?Perhapsbecausetheacademicyearhasbegun,theycannotaffordtotakethetimetoapplyforaworkvisawhichtakesoveramonthortwotobeprocessedwithnoguaranteeitwillbeapproved. Anyhow,Ithinkit’dbeagreatideatokeepinregularcontactwithwhomeverrespondedtoyou.AtthepreviouscompanyIwasat,IheardthatanALTkeptinregularcontactwiththestafftherewhentherewerenopositionsavailablebeforehecametoJapan.Andwhenthecompanywasbeginningtohireagain,theycontactedhimandbroughthimoverandthatwashowhegotstartedworkinghere.Also,youcouldtryapplyingtoALTIACentral.Theinterviewer’sagreatpersontotalkto.Ihadapleasanttimewithhimduringtheinterviewandoveremail,hewasreallynicetoo. TherearesmallerALTdispatchfirmsaroundaswellbutmaybeapplyingtobeanALTisbettertowardstheendoftheyearwhencompaniesarehiringpeopletofillinslots.Youcanalsotryprivatelanguageschoolsifyou’reinterested. Z April24,2011 Reply Heyagain, IsentinthatRCSapplastweek,becausetheysaidtheyhiredyear-round.TheirHRrepencouragedmetogetintouchwiththemaftergettingateachingcertificationorattainingacommunicablelevelofJapanesesoIguessI’llconsiderthat.IalsosubmittedanapplicationtoALTIAbutgotnoresponse. Ihadalsostronglyconsideredotheroptions(Taiwan,PRC,Korea)buttheyallhavethat“Nativespeaker”requirementwhichunfortunatelyprecludesmeasIamSingaporean. Asitstandsnowitseemsthesmallerprivateschoolsaremybestbet(Gaba,JES,etc). gaijinhan April25,2011 Reply wow,thatdoessoundlikeRCSisgivingyouseriousconsideration. allthebest! Li June6,2011 Reply Hi, Thanksforthereply! IhavesignedupforCELTAwithECCThailand(Phuket)andwillbegoingtherethismonthend!🙂 However,validstayforSingaporePassportholdersisonly30days.DidyouapplyforaspecialvisawiththeThaiEmbassy?WhatkindofVisawouldthatbe?TheEmbassywebsiteisalittleconfusingtome(andthefactthatnooneispickingupmycall!).Thanksamillion!!! Cheers, Li gaijinhan June6,2011 Reply HiLi, IappliedforanextensiontothetouristvisaattheThaiEmbassysothatIcouldstayupto60days.Itdidn’tcostanythingandapartfromtheapplicationformandpassport,IalsohadtoshowthemthatIhadatleastSGD$1,000(justshowthemthecash).Idon’treallyrememberwhatelseIhadtosubmit.Youmightwanttotrygoogleforthaiembassyandsearchonvisainformation.Youmighthavetoshowproofofyourairticketpurchaseaswell. Li June6,2011 Reply Thankssomuch!That’sveryhelpfulandsweetofyou.Appreciateit!🙂 Li August8,2011 Reply Hi,IjustwannadropbyandsayaBIGTHANKYOUtoyouforyourusefulblog,adviceandreplies!I’veearnedmyCELTAwithaprovisionalgradeofaPassB.🙂 AlthoughItookCELTAwiththehopetoteachinJapan,IverymuchwantedtobeinKoreathistime.However,thegovtdoesn’tgrantus(holdersofSGpassports)teachingVISA–onlynativespeakersfromUK,USAand5otherswouldberecognised.Ohwell.. CELTAcoursehasbeenagoodchallenge;andI’mreallygladIwentforit!TimetolookforateachingjobinJapan!!! Thanks,onceagain!HopetoseeyouinJapan!🙂 gaijinhan August10,2011 Reply HiLi, CongratulationsonyourPassB!I’mgladtobeofhelp. Hmm…Koreahuh.I’veheardofthatthoughIhaven’texactlytriedapplyingforworkthere,Ican’tsayforsure.Didyoutryapplying? Well,hopethingsgowellforyourJapanplans.=) Li December16,2011 Reply Hiagain!IjustwannasaythataftertworoundsofSkypeinterviews,I’vefoundateachingjobinanEikaiwa–willbeheadingthereinMarch!IwillbeinaratherruralplaceinOkayamaKenandI’mreallylookingforwardtoit. Again,youradvicehasbeentremendouslyhelpfulandencouraging!ItreallyspurshopefulslikemetoworkandperseveretorealisethislittledreamtoworkandliveinJapan.THANKYOU! gaijinhan December16,2011 Reply HiLi, ImustsayaBIGCONGRATULATIONStoyou!Okayamasoundslikeaniceplace.Atleastitdoesn’tsoundlikeahugerefrigeratorinwinter.Ihopeyou’lllikeitthere.=) IfImayask,whichEikaiwaareyougoingtoworkat?DoesithappentobeBerlitz? Ihopedon’tmindthequestion’causeI’dliketoknowmoreaboutwhatschoolsofferwhatkindsofinterviewssoIcanconsolidatetheinformationandprovidetheminlaterentries.Inotherwords,tellyourstorybutofcoursenotgonnawritenameswithoutyourconsent. Li December16,2011 Reply Thankyou!🙂 Well,IwouldlovetobeinsomeruralplacesinHokkaido(actually,anyplaceinHokkaido).Iknow…it’safreezerinwinterbutIspentafewweekstherelastyearandIreallyloveitthere. Andnope,it’snotBerlitz.It’sasmallEikaiwa–I’msorryIdon’tfeelcomfortablesharingithere.PerhapsyoucouldemailmeandIcouldfillyouinwithdetailssothatyoucouldtellthestoriestoyourreaders.🙂 HeartpowerTESOL October11,2012 Reply PleasenotethereisnowasecondCELTAcentreinSingapore.Heartpowerstartedinlate2010. nann November19,2012 Reply hello,thanksforyourreplyonanotherCELTArelatedpost!ihaveanotherquestion..howbeneficialistheyounglearners’extensioncourse?ifiamCELTAcertified,technicallyiamstillabletoteachstudentsofallages,no?correctmeifi’mwrong,thanks!🙂 gaijinhan November25,2012 Reply Hinann, Iactuallyagreewithyoubuthavinggonethroughtheyounglearners’extensioncourse,Icameupwith2conclusions. 1)Thecertificationisbasicallyuseless 2)Thecourseisveryuseful ThemainthingIlearntfromtheextensioncoursewasthekindoflessonsandactivitiesyoucandowithyounglearnerswhichisnotsomethingyouwouldtypicallyuseintheCELTAcoursesince“A”in“CELTA”referstoAdults.“YoungLearners”typicallyrefertostudentschildrenfromaround4to16Isuppose,soyou,morelikelythannot,wouldn’tusethesameactivities. kim October8,2013 Reply Hello. Thismightb3yearslate,butIaminterestedintakingtheCELTAinThailand.WasThaiproficiencyanissue?Likedoyouneedtospeak/readThai? gaijinhan October8,2013 Reply HiKim, Noquestionisconsideredtoolate,unlessmypunybrainfailstorememberT_T Anyway,noyoudonothavetoknowasinglewordofThaiatall. kim October10,2013 Reply Thanks! yrf November19,2013 Reply hithere I’mplanningtotaketheCELTAcourseinBKKsometimenextmarch. I’dliketoknowifpeopleactuallygetrejectedduringthepre-courseinterview? Iwon’tsayi’mexceptionallygoodintheEnglishlanguage,butI’dliketogetthiscertificatetoteachinThailand.I’mafraidImaygetrejected.Ifinanycaseiamrejected,canIre-applyagain? MayIknowwhatquestionsdotheyaskandwhatshouldIpreparefortheinterview? Ialsounderstandthattheydotestonyourgrammartoo. Hopetohearfromyousoon! Cheers! gaijinhan November22,2013 Reply Hiyrf, Idonotknowanyonewhogotrejectedpersonally,butIthinkitispossible.I’msureyoucanre-applyagainifyoutaketheinterviewtestagain.ButIhavetoreiterateIamnotspeakingbasedonknowledgeofsuchinstancesbutbasedonassumptions.It’sprobablynotveryusefulhuh? Idon’trememberwhatquestionstheyask,butit’smostlybaseduponthewrittenpieceoftestthatyouhavetodobeforethephoneinterview.Thequestionsmainlytestyourgrammaticalknowledge,aswellaswhyyouwanttodothecourse,etc. Iwouldsuggestyoubeclearabouttheanswersyoufillinthetestsheetastheymayaskyoutofurtherelaborateonthem. Bests, Ag January9,2014 Reply hiJinhan, justtoseekyourviewsonthis..butishavingadrivinglicenseuseful/essentialto(finding)teachingjobsinjapan?amcurrentlytakingdrivinglessons,andtheplanistogooverinjul/augonceipassthetest..butthat’dmeanmissingthemainintakeinapr.amtornbetweengoingovertojapanasap,andgettingthelicensesothatthere’llbemoreoptionsdowntheroad.. gaijinhan January10,2014 Reply HiAg, It’sprobablyeasiertomovearoundwithacarifyou’reatthecountryside,butmostpeopleIknowteachinginthecountrysidedonothaveadriver’slicenceorthattheydobuttheydon’tgetacar.Itreallyisn’tnecessarytobeabletodrive.Iusedtotakealittleoveranhourtotraveltoschoolbytrainandbusorbicycle.WhenIappliedforapositionwithALTIAwhichprovidescarstotheirteachers,Iwasn’tabletouseanInternationalDrivingPermit(IDP)sinceIhadbeeninJapanformorethanayearbythen.PlusthefactthatIwaslivinginNagoya,thecompanydecidedtoassignmetojuniorhighschoolsinNagoyacityinstead(althoughIdidn’ttakeupthatjobintheend)soIdidn’thavetodrive.Butifyoudoknowwhichschoolyouwillbeteachingat,youcanverywellmovenearthearea. Ag January10,2014 Reply hiJinhan, thanksforyourreply🙂amjustconcernedasquiteanumberofadvertisersindicateadrivinglicenseasoneoftherequirements,andthatsortoflimitsmyoptions.willseehowthingspanout.. FR January13,2015 Reply HiJin! Firstofall,Iwanttosaythankyoutoyoubecauseyourblogpostshasbeenamajorhelptomeinfindingwayshowa“non-nativespeaker”likemecouldfindateachingjobinJapan!🙂 Iwaswonderingwhetherit’snecessarytotakeCELTAifyouhavealreadyobtainedateachingqualificationfromMOEinordertoteachinJapan?Also,Iwouldlikeyouropiniononwhichoneisbetter?IwantedtoapplyforCELTAbuttheonefromBritishCounciliskindofpricey!!!Ugh! Thanksalot! gaijinhan January14,2015 Reply HiFR, No,youdon’thavetotakeCELTAifyouhaveaPGDE. IstillthinkCELTAhelpsbutifyoudon’twanttospendthatextramoneyonit,itisnotnecessary.CELTAisafteralljustacert,whilePGDEisapost-graddiploma. Khairul April15,2017 Reply Hijin! Thankyousomuchforthisinformativepost! Ihavequiteafewquestionsaboutyourtripandyourpost-CELTAexperience,Iwaswonderingifwecouldcorrespondbye-mailasIhavequiteafewquestionsthatIthinksomeoneofyourexperiencecouldanswer! Lookingforwardtoyoure-mail! gaijinhan April16,2017 Reply HiKhairul, Youcansendmeamailthroughthecontactpage=) K April16,2017 Reply Hijinhan! Thanksforthequickresponse! Iwashopingifyoucouldgivesomeofyourcomments/opinionsonmycurrentsituation. I’mcurrentlyaChemicalEngineeringDiplomaholdertakingapart-timeBAinEnglishLanguageandLiteraturefromUniSIM(Currently2ndyear) WhileIholdacomfortablejobinafieldIdislikenow(ChemEng),IintendtoresigninamonthonceIapplyforCELTAinChiangMaithiscomingMonday(hopefullytheapplicationisaccepted). ThereasonI’mtakingtheCELTAisbecausemyultimatedreamistoendupinMOEasafullyfledgedteacher(Iworkedasaschoollabtechnicianinasecschbefore). Iunderstandthattheylookatbothyourpolygradesandyourunigradesfortheapplication.Ihaveterriblepolygrades(GPA2.0)butmygradesformyBAinEngLangisinthefirstclassrange(notsurehowmuchafirstclassevenmeanssinceitsUniSIMandnotoneofthebig4localunis).IhopetoapplyasaMOEteacheronceIsuccessfullycompletemyBAandhopefullymyCELTAwillhelpsupplementmyapplication,anddrownoutthefactthatI’mhaveanengineeringbackground. Somyfirstquestionhereis,doyouknowanynon-degreeholders,Singaporean(ornon-nativespeakers)whohavemanagedtogetateachingjob(whetherwithMOEorprivateinstitutions)inSingaporewithaCELTA?Howmuch(inyouropinion–whichbasedonyourblog,Ifindtobequiteextensivefromyourtravelsandexperiences)doesaCELTAhelpinSingaporeapplicationstobeateachersinceCELTAismostlycateredasaESLkindofteachingmethodwhereasourfirstlanguageinSGisalreadyEnglish. Mysecondquestionisthis:I’mnowquiteanxiousforthecomingCELTAinterview,IhavedonealotofresearchonlineandtheonethatismostlikelytostrikemedumbisthegrammartestandtheSkypeinterviewwheretheyaskyouthingsbasedonyourapplication.Ihaveheardtheyasktrickyquestionslike“Whyisitheadacheandnotheadache”,thingslikethese,IunderstandthatusSingaporeansmerelymemorizeanddon’tactivelythinkaboutbackwhenwewerelearning. Additionally,Istillhave2yearstogobeforeIobtainmyBA,doyouthinkthatthatwillbeanissueinmyCELTAapplication?I’vereadonsomeforumsthattherewereoccasionswhereapplicantswithoutdegreespassedthetestsbutwererejectedonthebasisthattheyhadnodegrees… Also,doyouhaveanytipsonacingthepre-applicationtests+skypeinterview? Somebackgroundinformationaboutme,Iama25yearoldSGmalewhoisdeeplyjadedfrommyengineeringcareeranddecideditwastimetodosomethingaboutit,soIenrolledinUniSIM.I’vekindahadenoughwithmyjobsoI’mgoingtotaketheplungewithCELTAwithabout5ksavingstotryandtollmethrough.IbelieveIshouldbeabletosurvivepost-CELTAwithprivatetuitionhereandthereandhopefullyIcanlandsometempteachingjobwithaCELTAasanundergraduate? Whatdoyouthinkbro,anyopinionwhethercritical/supportiveisgoingtobeappreciated. Also,youthinkoncegotCELTA,canchargeprivatetuitionhigherornotah(putonyourtutorappsthatyougotconferredacertificationfromCambridgetoteachEnglishleh,shouldwowtheparentshaha) PS:SenthereaswellsinceI’matworkandhaveterribleinternetconnection,notsurewhethermycontactpagesubmissionwentthrough gaijinhan April17,2017 Reply HiK, Ididreceiveyouremailbutsinceyouleftthecommenthere,Ithoughtit’sbettertoreplyhere.Myfirstoptionisalwaysforquestionstobeaskedinthecommentssectioninsteadofemailsinceifonepersonhasthatquestion,probablymanyothershavesimilarquestionsandrespondingheremeanseveryonecansee. First,IhadnoideathatpolygradesaretakenintoaccountwhenapplyingtoNIE,butI’lltakeyourwordforit.Also,IwouldseeyourfirstclasshonoursatUniSIMasabigplusmorethananything.Tobehonest,Idon’tunderstandthepurposeoftryingtodrownoutthefactthatyouhaveanengineeringbackground.Itprobablydoesn’tmatterwhatyourbackgroundis.IhavepolyfriendswhomajoredinBusinessandITteachingatpublicschools.Noneoftheirdiplomasareinanywayrelatedtowhattheyareteaching.ButgiventhatyourpolyGPAwasat2.0,yourcurrentfirstclasshonoursleveldegreewouldputyouinamuchmuchbetterposition. Second,IcouldbewrongbutIbelievethattoteachwiththeMOE,onehastogothroughNIEwhichactuallygivesyouaBAorBSc.andaPGDE.CELTAisveryhelpfulifyouarelookingtoteachEnglishatprivatelanguageschoolstospeakersofforeignlanguages,butmaynotoffermuchforteachingnativespeakers.Ifyoulookatsomeoftheteachingrequirementsatforeigncountries,theyusuallyvalueaPGDEoveraCELTA,becauseafterall,howcanacertificatecomparewithapost-graduatediplomaineducation?Butit’sadifferentstoryifyougettheDELTAsinceitisahighlyvalueddiplomaforESLteaching. Regardingtheinterview,I’mgoingtobefrankwithyou.Ididn’tdowellatthephoneinterviewtotheCELTAcourse.Infact,theexactwordsoftheinterviewerwas,“wethinkyourEnglishmaynotbegoodenoughforthecourse,butwe’llgiveyouatry.”Iwentontotopthecohortof18membersfromtheBig7English-speakingnations,manyofwhomhadpriorteachingexperience.WhenIrelatedthatinterviewstorytomycoursemates,theywerelike,“somepeoplearedumbandjudgeyourEnglishleveljustbecauseyouhaveanAsianaccent.” Ican’tsayifnothavingadegreewouldbeaproblemenrollingtotheCELTA,butaquicksearchontheInternationalHouseBangkok’ssiterevealsthat“onlycandidatesthathaveformalqualificationswhichwouldallowentryintohighereducationintheirowncountryarelikelytobesuccessfulingainingaplaceonthecourse.”Sinceyoualreadyarein“highereducation,”itshouldn’tbeaproblem.That’smyguess. Abouttheinterview,ifIcanstillrememberclearly,theybasethequestionsonyourresponsestothewrittentestyousubmit.So,justbesurewhyyouansweredthemthatway,andyoushouldbefine.Remember,IwastoldIwasn’tgoodenoughforthecourse.Sodon’tgettoodisheartenedifyoudon’taceit. Asyousaid,CELTAismainlyforESLteaching.IfyouintendtoteachforeignstudentsinSingapore,itwillserveyouwell.TherearealsoprivateEnglishlanguageschoolswhoonlyhireteacherswitheitheraCELTAorproperTESOL.ButifyouintendtogointoMOE,aCELTAisnotrequired.I’mnotsurehowmuch,ifany,itwouldincreaseyourvalueinapplyingfortheNIEthough. Price-wise,Idon’tthinkyoushouldvalueyourtimeandskillsbasedonthequalificationsyouhave.Ifyouthinkyouareworth$1000anhour,youshouldchargethatregardlessofwhetheryouhaveaCELTAornot.Don’tundercutyourself.Ofcourse,I’mjustusinghyperboletogetmypointacross.Youshouldcheckoutthemarketprice.Qualificationsmaybeusefultobackyourselfupbutonlyifyouchargesignificantlyovermarketprice. IchargewhatIchargebecauseIthinkIcandosomethingformystudents.Ifyou’regoingtopayme$20anhourthenI’msorry,gofindsomeoneelsewhosetimeandskillisonlyworth$20anhour.Sure,ItoppedmyCELTAcourse,haveaBAinEnglishLinguisticswithMeritfromNUS,scoredfullmarksinTOEIC,taughtwithAEONcorporatedivision,haveexperienceteachingstudentsfromover10nationsofallages,andamacurrentsub-editorforanairlinemagazineontheside.ButIwouldchargethesameevenifIdonothavetheCELTAorneverscoredfull-marksatTOEICforthesimplereasonthatIbelieveIhavesomethingofvaluetoofferthatisworthmorethan$20.Ionceintroducedafriendsomeonewhoonlycharges$20anhourbecausethatwashowmuchshewaswillingtopay.Guesswhat?Shehadonelessonandthat’sit,becauseshefelthewasn’tgoodatteaching.FYI,marketpriceforprivateteachinginJapanisabout$40upwards,soifsomeonecharges$20,itshouldbeareflectionofsomething. Conclusion:DoCELTAifyouwanttoteachprivatetospeakersofotherlanguages.IfyourplanisMOE,Iwouldsuggesttakingthat$5kandinvestitinsomethingthatgivesyoudecentreturns. K April17,2017 Reply Ireallyappreciateyourthoroughandwellthoughtoutreplyjinhan! Asimplethankyoucan’tevensufficefortheamountofinsightyoujustgaveme=) Haha,IreadyourpostonhowyoubasicallyscoredaPassAforCELTA,that’simpressiveconsideringhowyouareupagainstteachersfromothernationsandyoudidn’thaveteachingexperience. IappreciateyourTLDRconclusion.I’vedecidedIwilltaketheplungewithCELTAandhopeIcangetsomesortofteachingstintsinSG(willkeepyouupdated)whenIamdone.MymainfocusisstillonthePGDEbuttbh,IwanttodotheCELTAasIthinkit’sagoodcerttohavetokeepmyoptionsopen;Ialsoenjoyteachingofanyform. JustafewmorequestionsthatIhopeyoucanentertainmewithasyourcredentialsandexperiencesarereallyimpressive=) 1)doyouhaveanycreative/interestingideasonhowtogetstudentsforprivatetutoring(Idon’treallywanttosignupforanagencyasI’veheardawfulremarksonagencies,Icouldbewrong) 2)I’vereadthattherearesomequestionslike“Howwouldyouteachthedifferencesbetweenaheadacheandasorethroattoaforeignlearner,andhowdoyouexplainwhyit’saheadacheandnotasorehead/throatache/viceversa” IguesswhatI’mtryingtoaskisifyoucanrecommendanybooksorgiveanytipsonhowtoteachmatterslikethisthatcomesnaturallytousSingaporeanswhohaveitasaFirstLanguage. Thanksalotbro! gaijinhan April18,2017 Reply There’ssomemisunderstanding.EveryonethoughtIwasgonnafinishwithaPassAbutIeventuallygotaPassB.HearditthroughthegrapevinethatmyfirsttrainerrecommendedanAbutwhentheCambridgeUniversityassessoraskedmysecondtrainerifheagreedwiththeAgrade,hesaidno.ThatwaswhyIfinishedwithaB. Additionalqualificationsneverhurt,soallthebest! 1)I’veneversignedupwithanyagencyinparticular.AllmystudentsarerecommendationsfrompeopleIknow.Ifyouthinknooneisgoingtoactivelycometoyou,youcanactivelygotothem.Tellthemwhatyouarelookingtodoandaskthemtoinformyouiftheyknowanyone.Alternatively,dosomethingforthechildren.BeforeIcametoJapan,Iwasfocusedonhelpingstudentsfrommiddle-lowincomefamilies.Iself-publishedessaywritingbooksandprovidedlow-costtuitionandranacoupleofprojects,evensomefree-tuitionclasses.IsortaoperatedasocialenterpriseandgotthelocalnewspaperstopublishmyprojectwhichIdidn’thavetopaysinceitwasn’tforprofit.Thatgotmealittleunder200students.Butsinceit’simpossibletohavetimetodoprivatetuitionwith200students,Imainlyguidedthemonline. 2)Ican’tthinkofanyparticularbookslikethat.WhatIdoisripapartthewordsandcompareitwithwhatlittleamountofvocabularyIhaveinmycorpus,identifythedifferencesandexplaintothem.Whatisimportantisnottheperfectanswer,butwhethertheycangrasptheconcepteasily. K April18,2017 Reply Thanksalotjinhan,yourcommentshavereallyprovidedmewithsomemuchneededfaithinmyjourney!QuitenervousaboutCELTAsinceI’mgoingtotaketheChiangMaiextrapackageandwillbelivingaloneforthefirsttime. Butanyways!IsincerelywishyouallthebestinthefutureandIlookforwardtomoreposts!Ienjoythemall! AddaCommentCancelreply Youremailaddresswillnotbepublished.Requiredfieldsaremarked*Comment:*Name:* EmailAddress:* Website: Savemyname,email,andwebsiteinthisbrowserforthenexttimeIcomment. Notifymeoffollow-upcommentsbyemail.Notifymeofnewpostsbyemail. 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