CELTA vs. TEFL - English language teaching - Munich

Hi everyone!

I'm a US citizen wishing to move to Germany - specifically Munich. I've lived in Germany for several years earlier, and I'm pretty fluent in the language. This would be a career-change for me because teaching wasn't something I've always wanted to do. It was something I warmed up to and I think I would quite enjoy. I don't have a certificate, but I'm curious to know how to go about this: should I invest my money in a program that offers CELTA or TEFL? Should I complete my course here in the States or find a school in Munich? It's hard to make a decision only because I don't have any prior teaching experience and because I'm not an EU national.

Does anyone know of any people who are in the same situation as me? My advantage is that I do speak German, and I know that a lot of German employers look for bi-lingual candidates.

Also, which is more important when looking for a teaching job? Teaching experience itself, or no teaching experience with certificate?

Any information will be GREATLY appreciated! Thank you!

Best,

Lidi

Get yourself a qualification in English teaching ASAP, and get some experience behind you!

(the Germans look for a qualification for EVERYTHING, so if you don´t have one, your chances are not so good!)

CELTA IS TEFL!!

TEFL is just the broader term - teaching as a foreign language. You will find plenty of courses offered for TEFL which are not CELTA. CELTA is the most widely recognised certificate of TEFL. Other TEFL courses may be a lot cheaper to do, and some not as accepted worldwide as CELTA. There are other threads on TT on this subject which discuss the merits of various options.

Only the thousands who've had exactly the same idea. Read this site and you'll see plenty of "I think TEFL is my way into Germany posts". Some make it, some don't. In some places, supply of potential teachers seems to exceed demand, the opposite in others. Robinson100 is right, a qualification and experience will help a lot for TEFL. Proven business experience does if you want to go into the business EL side. Connections may also help you. Your big disadvantage compared to many in the TEFL field is the need for a work permit / visa, as you say, so make sure you sort that out with whoever offers you work. And with TEFL, the concept of "employer" is loose, anyway, it's often feeelance (client) work. Another big disadvantage is not already being here - the integrated, known quantity tends to have an advantage.

Looking in more general employment, remember that the market often focusses on specific skills / education /experience (ie. it's much less "generalist" than the US / UK ones). And also that there's a recession, employment times are hand enough for many Germans and integrated immigrants.

Thank you everyone for your comments!

Ruapehu - I did some research on TEFL and CELTA courses, and TEFL courses are not always cheaper to get! It seems that CELTA is more widely accepted across the globe than a TEFL certificate! I found the CELTA course here in Boston about $200 cheaper than a TEFL and I will pursue it.

Also, I got in touch with Inlingua and asked them about possible employment opportunities. Has anyone worked for Inlingua before? What kind of teaching environment do they provide? I read that they provide their own training to teachers, and oftentimes, the teachers do not even have a certificate. Is that the case?

Hi,

I would definitely recommend getting your qualification before you go! If you've got the certificate in your hand when you arrive finding a job will be much easier. I would also say that having a cerftificate is pretty essential. Language schools, especially in Europe, are more fussy about their teachers and a qualification will be a bonus, a good comoany to look into is i-to-i, they do weekend courses in the US and online courses; which you could complete once you get there if you wanted to! The website is http://www.onlinetefl.com

Hope this helped!

Hi lidi,
Well im also thinking about teaching english. In berlin i did tutoring and also attended a german course and i found it quite interesting to give it a go. my german teacher gave me the thumbs up.
although im not perfect in german, im willing to give it a shot. did some research, and the muenchner volkshochschule here offers celta courses. im not sure about the costs though but apparently you can also do it online. it varies from site to site. though it is best to have a visa of some sort to be able to work here. but what worries me is im an aussie and when i go back to aus, would i be able to continue teaching eng to foreigners? i dont know much about the profession but i think it would be fun!

good luck

Maria