Online TESL/TEFL - any good?

I have a unique opportunity which I am considering within the next 2 years as the vehicle for my return to Japan. It would be a teaching job but not eikaiwa or ALT. More of a favour through a family member of mine who is affiliated with a university. It would most likely be a semestered conversation and speaking class with tutoring on the side, and I've been told I require no diploma and that the experience I have already is enough. I'd really like to develop some additional techniques and also get myself some accreditation to boot though. Would anyone here recommend anything from the online selection of TESL and TEFL courses? So far I've found 'i and i', and a few that are offered by online American universities.

Also, as an aside, are there any private teachers here who can also recommend any books and/or teaching resources that are especially useful for young adults and university students? Team consensus of various difficulties, guided conversation exercise models, but with ESL as a focus. I suppose I could just steal from and hack together things from my NOVA years but I'd like to do that as a last resort.

Thanks ...(_ _)...

bakaKanadajin said:

I have a unique opportunity which I am considering within the next 2 years as the vehicle for my return to Japan. It would be a teaching job but not eikaiwa or ALT. More of a favour through a family member of mine who is affiliated with a university. It would most likely be a semestered conversation and speaking class with tutoring on the side, and I've been told I require no diploma and that the experience I have already is enough.

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What sort of visa are you planning to get for this, and how much teaching experience do you have?

I'm also curious about anyone who is "affiliated" with a university, and offers work like you describe. Can you say more (publicly or privately)?

I'd really like to develop some additional techniques and also get myself some accreditation to boot though. Would anyone here recommend anything from the online selection of TESL and TEFL courses? So far I've found 'i and i', and a few that are offered by online American universities.

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Look at eslcafe.com for tips on accreditation, both from the discussion groups in general (for Japan, that is) and in teacher training. Online accreditation may be accepted here, but you have to consider a couple of things:
1) No practical experience is available through online courses. So, even if an employer takes the certificate as valid, you will still have only book studies under your belt when you teach your first classes.
2) TEFL certification here is not widely needed. I have it, but I got it only because my major is not education-related, and even though my English is pretty good, I felt I needed some background in theory of TEFL. I'm glad I got it, even though employers don't care. So, whether you get online or live certification, do it because you feel you need it for your own effectiveness, not because employers want it. They don't. (On the flip side, you could look at the market today and wonder if certification is going to be something that puts you over the edge of another applicant for a job. Depends on the employer, but it you want a serious teaching job, they'll respect the certificate more, I'd think.)

Also, as an aside, are there any private teachers here who can also recommend any books and/or teaching resources that are especially useful for young adults and university students? Team consensus of various difficulties, guided conversation exercise models, but with ESL as a focus. I suppose I could just steal from and hack together things from my NOVA years but I'd like to do that as a last resort.

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Stay away from using NOVA materials. There are plenty of books out there, and every teacher has their preferences: Spectrum, ICON, New Interchange, Headway, Passport, etc. What do you mean by "with ESL as a focus"?

I teach at university, and I've taught at eikaiwa. Not much difference in many books that seem to work, to be honest. I've found Spectrum ok, First Impact useable, and Gear Up 2 not bad. Friend of mine (long-timer at an eikaiwa) just started using Touchstone (you can get split editions instead of using the whole books) and says they are pretty good.

Glenski thanks for your response, I see you have a wealth of knowledge on the topic. To answer your questions:

1) I haven't looked into what visa I'll be using. I actually have a dual citizenship so I'm investigating the possiblity of 'just going over' but I'm not sure how that plays into my employment. I'd be going over with a working visa if I go as a Canadian. I have a degree and didn't have a problem getting one last time.

2) I was (and will be) intentionally vague here just in the interest of privacy but they are a tenured professor and my understanding is they have the latitude available to offer me this opportunity and its fairly set in stone should I choose to accept it.

Your points on TESL/TEFL are well taken, any accreditation I received would only be as good as the practical experience that went with it. I do have a year of eikaiwa experience which isn't much but I did expand my horizons quite a bit because it was a small school and innovation outside of the Diplomat book was heavily encouraged. But as you mention, being a native speaker, the diploma may not be completely necessary. I would be taking this course for the exact same reason as you, to add to my repetiore of teaching tools and methods and to improve my own technical and theoretical understanding of the language.

ESL with a focus .. I guess I meant conversation techniques, group exercises, etc. Something a little less dry and more student-focused thats aimed to develop a group dynamic vs. standard listen, drill and then assign homework. I'm just going on the assumption that some resources are going to be very teacher-focused and class-room oriented and I'd prefer a more engaging approach.

I guess first I'll find out more about the course I'd be teaching and what they want from me, but I will keep those names in my back pocket for when it comes time to gather materials and resources.

Lucky for you to have Japanese-Canadian dual nationality, if that's what you meant. That work visa would be pretty hard to get if the job wasn't full-time (you did say only one class), no matter who your university contact is. Keep this in mind.

Also keep in mind that if it did materialize, you would probably not have a good working relationship with some of the other foreign staff. Getting in through the back door without proper qualifications rubs some people the wrong way. You said "no diploma", but then you said you have a degree. Which is it?

ESL focused texts abound. Many foreigners are stuck in the teacher-centered mode of thinking/teaching, but many also realize that if students are going to do anything (and if the load is going to be taken off the teacher lecturing for 90 minutes), the classroom has to be more student-focused. Look for textbooks at any of the major publishers.
Macmillan
Macmillan Languagehouse
Thomson (now called Cengage)
Cambridge
Oxford
Longman

However, your classes may be more than just conversation ones. Who can say whether you get those exclusively, or perhaps others like listening, TOEIC prep, writing, etc.? In those cases, you may face a whole new ballgame in terms of preparations.

I have done an I to I tefl course last year, and have learned some nice basic stuff from it. But I do not think that you need one when you are a Native English speaker.

For a non-native English teacher it can be handy just to show that you have some kind of certificate like this, I surely think it helped me getting a job.

I have a degree; by diploma I just meant the accreditation you'd receive from a college. I guess you could also call it a certificate or what have you.

I'm not sure what kind of relationship I'd have with other staff members, all I can say is if they aren't native speakers themselves I can't see how they'd think they would have been better qualified for the job. I think most institutions are familiar with the idea of bringing someone in to teach English from overseas. If anything, I'd have somewhat of a clean slate since I'd know someone; it would be up to me to live up to their expectations.

That's a good point about whether the work is full time. I'm sure it would be, it wouldn't be worth bringing me over for part time work but that's definitely worth investigating.

As far as full time opportunities aside from eikaiwa, I was considering JET but their website states that you have to renounce your dual nationality, which I personally don't think is any of their business provided I have proper citizenship in the country where I'm a native speaker of English. I'll have to look into that further I'm sure I'm not the first person to have this problem.

As for teaching TOEIC and TOEFL, is that training touched upon in these courses? I have some experience teaching that stuff because NOVA offered it but due to its popularity I think it'd be worth re-visiting, our programs weren't very good.

Thanks for the input guys.

bakaKanadajin said:

I'm not sure what kind of relationship I'd have with other staff members, all I can say is if they aren't native speakers themselves I can't see how they'd think they would have been better qualified for the job.

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I'm talking about the foreign teachers, most of which would have a minimum of a master's degree in linguistic (or some related field), publications, and years of experience teaching here. To find that someone has been pulled in from outside, slipped in the building through the back door, and has essentially none of those qualifications would probably piss them off royally. But, I don't think you can get a work visa anyway under the circumstances, so you'd have to rely on being hired solely with your Japanese nationality. That wouldn't be any better from your co-workers' standpoint.

I think most institutions are familiar with the idea of bringing someone in to teach English from overseas. If anything, I'd have somewhat of a clean slate since I'd know someone; it would be up to me to live up to their expectations.

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Most foreign university teachers are not hired abroad. They are recruited locally, mostly because of the need for teaching experience in Japan.

I'd be really curious to know more about your contact's "expectations" and how he perceives this issue.

That's a good point about whether the work is full time. I'm sure it would be, it wouldn't be worth bringing me over for part time work but that's definitely worth investigating.

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Well, you did mention only one course, so I assumed it was only part-time. Again, if your contact is counting on using your Japanese nationality to get you past immigration and a work visa, this is fairly moot and legal, but I don't see that you could support yourself on PT wages. You really have to find out what is being offered! Heck, even PT uni teachers (usually?) have a master's degree! Competition is pretty fierce here.

As far as full time opportunities aside from eikaiwa, I was considering JET

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JET is not an eikaiwa. Did you know that?

but their website states that you have to renounce your dual nationality, which I personally don't think is any of their business provided I have proper citizenship in the country where I'm a native speaker of English. I'll have to look into that further I'm sure I'm not the first person to have this problem.

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There is a new thread on ELTNews.com about this. Someone asks why dual nationals have to renounce. One person has given a credible answer. If you are not willing to do that, you either don't apply to JET, or you don't even mention your dual nationality and hope they don't find out.

As for teaching TOEIC and TOEFL, is that training touched upon in these courses?

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Case by case. Mine didn't. (Edit: Oh, wait! Did you mean TEFL training, or did you mean to ask whether students get TOEIC / TOEFL courses in university? I do teach a TOEIC prep course at my uni.)

Glenski said:

JET is not an eikaiwa. Did you know that?

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Hence why I said, 'aside from' eikaiwa, I'm considering JET. As in, aside from all those other options like Aeon, Geos, Berlitz, Shane, etc., I'm also considering the JET placement/exchange program as it's the next best form of full time teaching work to my knowledge. I know ALT positions are also good but a friend of mine went through one of those programs and I wasn't entirely impressed with the accommodations he ended up with and he had a heap of trouble getting set up with some other things. I have to look at those more closely but JET has come highly recommended to me as an alternative to eikaiwa.

Case by case. Mine didn't. (Edit: Oh, wait! Did you mean TEFL training, or did you mean to ask whether students get TOEIC / TOEFL courses in university? I do teach a TOEIC prep course at my uni.)

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I was just wondering whether any online course I took would include training on the teaching of TOEIC and TOEFL. I'm curious about how versatile an accreditation it is for any future considerations. Like I said, they gave me training at NOVA but that means nothing, I'm sure there's way more to know.

Glenski said:

I'm talking about the foreign teachers, most of which would have a minimum of a master's degree in linguistic (or some related field), publications, and years of experience teaching here.

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Time is limited, and there is much I hope to offer my humble opinions about on this thread when I have time, but I've just checked in here and read this comment and I have to say that I know a number of folk who are working/have worked in recent years in uni in Japan (and successfully, mind, with further job offers that they have either taken up, or are still considering).

None of them have all of the three prerequisites you suggest Glenski, and most commonly they have only one, and are lacking the two common sense might tell us are the most important, (the publications, and the specific MA.)

The one you don't mention (but very possibly imply) is fluent Japanese, and from my understanding the OP has that. Teaching experience is very important I agree, and especially experience with Japanese students, but if BK is going to take up the job a decent TEFL (or equivalent) can teach him more in a few months than he would learn by trial and error in a few years, imho, and lend him the veneer of experience he might need.

In my experience in Japan, contacts and (thus) an entry into somewhere decent (plus, of course, excelling in that role and creating more opportunities from that) are more important than having a specific MA and being published.

made of stone thanks for your input. It's good to hear the other side of it; that some are able to succeed as teachers in university environments without an MA. I think reasonably speaking the best I can be by the time I'd be arriving is TESL/TEFL accredited from a recognized program and in possession of my 1 year of prior teaching experience. And my books!

Also I'm not fluent, far from it, I may be a high JLPT4 low 3 at best Actually my purpose in going over is to immerse myself again and try and improve. But thanks. I sure hope I didn't mistakenly allude to being fluent in some other post, I'm certainly not.

made of stone has good points about people who don't have MA degrees, but by far, the majority have them, and unless the dispatch agencies take over completely in universities, the shrinking number of unis is going to push requirements even higher. Right now, you have 20-100 people applying for almost every uni position. Do you seriously think they are going to look at a BA holder with NOVA experience (no offense) instead of people with MA's and PhD's? I've seen people report like made of stone, citing people they knew without MA degrees working in universities. Not to belittle made of stone's acquaintances, but practically every report I have seen says those people were in rare situations (heavy contacts, lonely isolated universities that nobody else wanted to work in, etc.) or they had been in Japan a long time ago and got in when requirements weren't so stiff.

I can point you to several publications that review the job hunting qualifications for university teachers. Not all openings require what I wrote, but the majority do.

And, yes, to reiterate what I wrote and what made of stone wrote, contacts can also be very important. One teacher wrote that in the weeding out process, he actually heard some Japanese professors hold up a resume, ask if anybody in the room knew the person, then threw it away when there was no response. So much for qualifications sometimes.