How to teach English as a foreign language in the UK?

saintjammyswine

^^ Mainly but similar numbers from across Africa and also several generations from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

ThriftyWanabee

Thank-you for all the helpful information people have posted. I'm currently halfway through a BA (Hons) Humanities with the OU, so would I have to complete that before doing CELTA?

From what people on here have said CELTA seems to be the best course to do to be qualified to teach. In the meantime I will also look at getting some voluntary work in education somewhere

Does this sound like a good plan?

silly-girl_2

It does sound like a good plan!

I've just been accepted onto a CELTA course (received my offer this morning!) at my local college. The course takes one month to complete and is pretty intensive from what I was told in my interview. It will cost £850, this has been recently reduced from £990 as they didn't have enough successful applicants to fill the course. I will be able to teach English as an additional language both here and abroad once I've completed the course, though there is the option to stay on an complete a two year diploma if I wanted to. I haven't worked out how I'm going to pay for it yet(!) but similarly, I am in my 30s and really need to do something to better myself and increase my employment prospects.

I do have experience of working as a Teaching Assistant, which has no doubt been in my favour when applying for the course. My advice is to try to do some volunteering if possible and to brush up on English grammar, the entrance test was all about grammatical functions, tenses and so on.

Good luck!!

silly-girl_2

Oh also, if you have a degree, a local Teaching Job Agency will probably take you on to do supply work as a Teaching Assistant if you tell them you want to become a teacher. This would be a good way to gain experience and earn a little money at the same time. Unfortunately there isn't as much work as there once was as many schools have faced budget cuts but it's worth registering anyway as whatever work you can pick up will be good experience for you. You will need to pay for a CRB Disclosure though (approx £40).

ThriftyWanabee

silly-girl wrote: »

It does sound like a good plan!

I've just been accepted onto a CELTA course (received my offer this morning!) at my local college. The course takes one month to complete and is pretty intensive from what I was told in my interview. It will cost £850, this has been recently reduced from £990 as they didn't have enough successful applicants to fill the course. I will be able to teach English as an additional language both here and abroad once I've completed the course, though there is the option to stay on an complete a two year diploma if I wanted to. I haven't worked out how I'm going to pay for it yet(!) but similarly, I am in my 30s and really need to do something to better myself and increase my employment prospects.

I do have experience of working as a Teaching Assistant, which has no doubt been in my favour when applying for the course. My advice is to try to do some volunteering if possible and to brush up on English grammar, the entrance test was all about grammatical functions, tenses and so on.

Good luck!!

Thanks for the info!! It's good to hear I'm not the only one looking for a change in direction at 30 :beer:

When are you starting your CELTA course? Are you hoping to teach in the UK once you've completed it? Please let me know how you get on, I'd be really interested to know what you think of the course.

If you did the 2 year diploma what would that qualify you for that's extra to the one month qualification?

silly-girl_2

I start mid July and finish mid August.

From what I understand, if I did the 2 year course, I would be able to teach a variety of courses and not just basic ESOL here in the UK. With regard to working overseas I don't think it would make a difference.

I applied to go on the course with a view to working in the UK, I have worked with a number of children classed as EAL (English As An Additional Language) in schools as a Teaching Assistant and really enjoy this, so I thought this course would improve my employment prospects as over the last six months it has been increasingly difficult to find work. Having said that though, I have no commitments in the UK so may consider using it to work abroad in the future.

ThriftyWanabee

Good Luck on your course

Do you know what sort of salaries are around for teaching English in the UK? From what I've been able to find out the salaries if you work abroad are pretty good but I haven't found much info on jobs in the UK.

silly-girl_2

ThriftyWanabee wrote: »

Good Luck on your course

Do you know what sort of salaries are around for teaching English in the UK? From what I've been able to find out the salaries if you work abroad are pretty good but I haven't found much info on jobs in the UK.

It depends on the organisation you work for and what other qualifications you have. I have seen some advertisements stating £30 per hour but in terms of salary I've seen variations from £20-30k so not really sure exactly what you should expect. I just know it's considerably more than I earn as a TA and that the prospects are much better.

Croatoan

Re-opening an oldish thread.
I'm considering taking the Celta course but personal circumstances (old and with a wife and kids) mean I can't really teach abroad. Does anyone know if there's a market for home tutoring in the UK on a purely self-employed or Agency basis?
I'm currently a nurse who wants to get out of nursing. I have a (non-nursing) degree, and am looking to get a few hours work alongside my full-time job, but should it go well and I can earn a living wage then I'd bin nursing and do this full-time. Not out to earn a fortune or even match my current earnings.

skattykatty

sounds like a great plan OP. and as for a new career in your 30s... I'm going for it in my 40s! training with others in their 50s and 60s...enjoy the journey. you can do your CELTA as you work towards your OU degree..only you know how much you can take re. study. good luck.

Croatoan...there's a private tutor thread you may want to look at here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/577838