I really never thought about being an English teacher. I obtained a B.S. degree in Business from San Diego State University and then spent many years in San Diego, self-employed as a real estate appraiser. Every year I went on vacation for about a month. I visited many interesting places and in 1998, I decided to travel to Japan.
I went to a place called Toyama, located on the Sea of Japan. It was during winter and I was fascinated with the beautiful countryside and snow-capped mountains. I was moved enough from this experience to close my company in 2000, and enroll in college again to get an A.A. degree in Japanese Studies.
There were many Japanese students at the college and I began teaching them English in exchange for Japanese language lessons. In between semesters, I went back to Japan for a three month vacation to focus on my Japanese language skills. This time I went to Nara, Japan. The food, culture, people, and traditions, all made me realize I wanted to live in Japan, for at least a year or more. Visiting as a tourist meant a maximum stay of 90 days.
A friend of mine suggested I get a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate. This would enable me to stay in Japan for at least a year. I went online and researched a number of different programs. Many of these courses were online programs which meant no in-class training but the programs were pretty cheap. I read numerous posts on teacher forums which said many English schools abroad were not accepting the certificates from online courses. After a little more research I found the teacher training program at the American Language Institute (ALI) at San Diego State University.
I went through the TEFL/TESL Seminar (details below) and was fortunate to be in the pilot program. I was really new at this and had no idea what to expect. The teacher trainer was Rob Shaffer, the amTEFL Coordinator. The program was exhausting to say the least but an experience which, in a few weeks, turned me into a teacher. I cannot imagine anyone teaching abroad without going through a similar program.
In my opinion, any online TEFL certificates are useless, regardless if schools accept them or not. Going through a good University based program is the only way to go. You get the opportunity to work with experienced teachers in an actual classroom setting.
After graduating from the ALI program, I volunteered for about 6 months as an assistant and was fortunate to work with Rob in his Oral Communications and Pronunciation classes. The skills learned from Rob and the other teachers proved to be invaluable when I went back to Japan to teach a couple of years later.
Any teacher out there looking for a good TEFL program should definitely consider coming to San Diego and enrolling in the TEFL training program at the American Language Institute. The following basically describes the two programs.
amTEFL Certificate
The amTEFL is a 130-hour TEFL certification course specifically designed for inexperienced, novice North American teachers who want to live and teach abroad. The purpose of the program is to provide participants with challenging opportunities to assess and develop their knowledge and practical skills in the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). The overall emphasis is on practical classroom teaching, on assisting the participants in the preparation of materials and lessons, and on presenting techniques that the participants can use in their own classrooms and share with their colleagues. Check the following link for more information.
http://www.americanlanguage.org/amtefl.html
TEFL/TESL Seminar
The course focuses on methods and materials used to teach English as a second or foreign language to students of all ages. During this three-week program participants will be able to improve their own English while observing the teaching styles of master teachers. The seminar classes are taught by ALI master teachers who have advanced university degrees in the field and many years of experience teaching in the U.S. and abroad. Guest speakers also share their expertise. Check the following link for more information.
http://www.americanlanguage.org/tesl_tefl_seminar.html
Again, I cannot say enough about these programs. For additional information contact Rob Shaffer, ALI teacher training coordinator, good friend, and really cool dude who will be happy to answer all of your questions.
Contact Rob Shaffer
shaffer@mail.sdsu.edu
