I am very confused, could you all please help me? On being a teacher and some other stuff?!?!?

Question

Hello!

So I would Like to be an English Teacher to China and Korea, and I would like to know... Where are some good colleges on the east side of the U.S. that offer "Teaching English as a Foreign Language"?

Also I am not too sure how to word this question... So let me try to explain~
I want to take these classes...

1. Teaching English as a Foreign Language
2. Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education
3. Korean Studies
4. East Asian Studies.

But how do I do all of them, and not spend all my life in school. Do I take one Class at a time or could a few classes be done in a day.. I am really confused... I want to spend no longer the six years in school.

Thank you so much! And if you didn't understand what I wrote please tell me and I can re-word it.

Answer 1

To teach EFL in other countries you do not need a degree in TESL/TEFL -- you simply need a bachelor's degree and often you don't need that. Some jobs will require certification from one of the national bodies such as Cambridge ESOL http://www.cambridgeesol.org/

There is such a thing as an ESL endorsement to a state teacher's certificate in some states. This requires only a few courses in language pedagogy. Your #2 would be the perfect accompaniment to an ESL endorsement, a Bachelor's degree in middle grades education (language arts or social studies) with an ESL endorsement is a very marketable degree.

Since you are interested area studies, you might want to consider this plan:

Bachelor's in middle grades social studies education with an ESL endorsement. That's essentially a four year degree option with your electives filled with the ESL courses since the area studies will be a part of the social studies content area.

This sort of program probably won't be at your local state college (though it may), you'll probably need a major state university.

Start with the state university in your own state (more cost effective) and see if they have middle grades social studies certification and ESL/EFL endorsement. Almost all colleges of any size will have the area studies you want at least at lower levels.

You may prefer to get your area studies by study abroad. It would be much more effective than reading about it in a book.

As an example of one school, The University of South Carolina has a middle grades social studies http://www.ite.sc.edu/curr.htm
and offers coursework in area studies as well as tesl.

Answer 2

Haha, you don't need to get a teaching degree to teach English in China or Korea.

In most cities in China, you don't even need a degree at all. A weekend course such as Oxford seminars will get you into China and with all the proper work papers. It'll take maybe a month and a thousand dollars to complete.

In Korea, all you need is an undergraduate degree. It could be a degree in absolutely anything from biochemistry to visual arts. It doesn't matter.

Getting western qualifications to teach English overseas is not worth it. Go to school for something that you really enjoy because if you come to China, you'll be making less money than a Walmart greeter while exposing yourself to some of the most polluted areas in the world.