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qualifications for teaching english

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gabatronn
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qualifications for teaching english

Post by gabatronn » Tue, 27 Sep 2005 10:50 am

Hi,

My partner and I are thinking of moving to Singapore next year to teach English. We are both Australian residents and native English speakers.

Neither of us have a degree but we are thinking of doing a TESOL course.

What do you think our chances are of getting ESL work in Singapore?

Do you think we might be able to save some money on a teaching wage in Singapore?

Does anyone have any advice for us?

Thanks,
Gabrielle

smithy
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Post by smithy » Tue, 27 Sep 2005 11:43 pm

Hi Gabatron,

I'm singaporean. I hate to burst your bubble, but i'd say that your chances of getting ESL work in Singapore are next to nil. English is the working language in Singapore and just about everyone under the age of, say 45, went through school in english. Sadly, a lot of Singaporeans do not speak very good english, although, i'd say the younger generation is starting to impress in that department.

I would strongly suggest Japan though. I work here, in Japan. Japanese covet the ability to speak english. There are lots of english teachers here.

good luck,
smithy

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k1w1
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Post by k1w1 » Wed, 28 Sep 2005 11:19 am

I beg to differ with Smithy. There are heaps of Asian expatriates here, and the majority of ESL work is teaching them, not the locals. And the younger generation is still nothing close to impressive in their English skills, on the whole. Especially considering they generally speak English at school, home and around Singapore.

The money varies in this industry, but is pretty bad most of the time. With two of you you will be able to save, but not as much as in Japan, Korea or the Middle East.

However, without a degree you will have trouble teaching English at all, I'm afraid. Most companies expect you to show that you have an excellent command of English, and a degree is thought to do that. In fact the decent ESL jobs these days expect masters degrees in TESOL, and without experience it will be tough.

This has been something of a boom industry for the past five years, so the market is saturated with teachers, and schools/companies can demand more and pay less.

I did know a couple of people in Japan who didn't have degrees, but that was a few years back now, and I don't know what your chances will be like now.

Pinchy
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Post by Pinchy » Wed, 28 Sep 2005 9:53 pm

k1w1 was spot on with the schools, jobs, and the money. And without degrees it'd be illegal for a school to hire you.

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