I know this is WAY off-suject from the general purpose of this forum, but this is the "off-topic" section I have some friends who live in Japan and here in town split-time (their job) and they keep trying to get me to look into teaching ESL over in Japan because I am such a grammar nut if I choose to be so. (I know my posts may not have been the most grammatically correct, but hey, everyone loosens up when they are tired ) My problem is that I don't even know where to begin. They are over in Japan helping me out as we speak, but I was going to do some internet research. I don't have the first clue where to start. I know J-Lew teaches in Taiwan. Maybe someone has some input on how to format my search? Anything would be welcome! Thanks, Steven ____________ I'm schizophrenic... And so am I.
The two of you may find useful one or more of the following web sites... A good thing to read first from Japan-Guide.com ELT News: The web site for English Teachers in Japan AsiaFacts Unlimited ESL Teacher Information GEOS: Teach English in Japan Peter Payne's Generic Info on Teaching in Japan A 2002 article on Teaching English in Japan from GoNomad.com An out-of-print but still available book on the subject Some good general info on the subject from Kenji and S. Kathleen Kitao Teaching Abroad: EFL/ESL from the AppliedLanguage.com web site And then, of course, there's a good Google search on the subject.
Re: Re: Teaching ESL Thank you. I've seen them. For 3.5 years I wrote the ESL careers column for ESL Magazine . Tom Nixon
Re: Re: Re: Teaching ESL I worried that when I wrote "the two of you" in my earlier post that you, Tom, might think I meant both you an the thread starter. A logical mistake. I recognize your expertise on this issue and that you need no referential web links from the likes of me. Alas, "the two of you" was a play on the thread-starter's signature. I was addressing my post to him and him only... ...er... and... you know... his other self, too.
To both of me Oh LOL! You're the first to throw that out! I love it! Thanks for the laugh! I have been looking through these websites, and an interesting difficulty arises. Some of these say that to enter the country with a work visa, you have to have a bachelor's degree (in any subject). Others say that no degree is required, although extremely helpful, but a certificate from one of those one-month programs is required. What is the actual truth? I do not have the bachelor's degree, nor am I working on it. I went straight from high school to one of the California State approved law school (Oak Brook) by passing three CLEP exams. And three exams is not near enough to get a BA. Steven ______________ I'm schizophrenic... And so am I.
Re: To both of me You're most certainly welcome. Tom Nixon is probably precisely the guy to answer your questions. I'm sure he has his finger on the pulse of it better than I. I researched teaching English in Japan about 10 years ago. At that time the certificate of training thing to which you refer was available and was being touted as a "requirement," and I could see then that a Bachelors was going to quickly become a much more important requirement. I just assumed that by now it would be. I'm surprised to learn that any no-bachelors-certificate-only gigs still exist. But, again, Tom is probably the mane to chime-in, here. As for your current educational quest: Too bad you didn't sign-up with Northwestern California University School of Law's program. In addition to being cheaper, it offers a Bachelor of Science in Law (BSL) -- albeit it unaccredited -- to its JD candidates at the completion of their second year of JD study. All any NWCULAW JD student need do is complete the second year and ask for the BSL and, voila, they've got a bachelors. Though it's unaccredited, it is a legit "degree" from a licensed degree-granting institution licensed by California's BPPVE and, therefore, would even be legal in Oregon, I believe. And the Japanese may very well accepot it, too, as long as you also had that little ESL certificate you talked about. Just a thought. And another thought... if you're such an ace at passing CLEP exams, why don't you go for your bachelors -- an accredited one, I mean? If you've been around here for any length of time, you must know about how easy it is to knock out a ton of credits through CLEP exams at places like Charter Oak and Excelsior. There is no shortage of people in these forums with the necessary expertise to guide you.
Hello. In my opinion, Dave's ESL cafe is the place to start. However, some members there might have a dim view of some aspects of degreeinfo, so perhaps it might be best not to mention degreeinfo at the ESL Cafe. Also, the general consensus at ESL cafe is that the money is to be made in Korea, due to the cost of living and what not. Good day! http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewforum.php?f=11 http://www.eslcafe.com/ http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=8494&highlight=degreeinfo Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2003 8:13 pm Post subject: Just two links -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just two links, not saying they are at all the best, but are two I've used on and off for basic info. www.degree.net <-- this one is headed by a guy named Bear who also writes books on the subject. Not saying I really agree with everything he says, but he has basic info down well. www.degreeinfo.com <-- this is a discussion forum on the matter of undergraduate and graduate degrees, many completely online. The users on that site are sometimes highly opinionated and rather bigoted in their social ideologies -- which sometimes interferes with their educational ideas -- but at least it's a good point for standard questions.
Re: Re: To both of me Well, the reason I did not go with NWCU is that I am a Christian and prefer the perspective of OBCL in relation to the common law and its origins. Also, OBCL has a better BAR pass rate than NWCU. But it was a toss-up. So to better facilitate my decision, I went (am going through, in the last 5 weeks) through the paralegal program at Oak Brook. I have also had it reviewed by several lawyers whom I know, and they were all extremely impressed with the subject content. So, I have decided to attend at least this first year of the JD program at OBCL. We'll see what happens after that. As far as CLEPing or other standardized tests, believe me, I have agonized over that decision. The problem I have is that I have a complex. People are always telling me that I know more than I give myself credit for. So, personally, I don't think I know enough to go that route. And to boot, I am a perfectionist. So if I failed one, I'd probably slip into depression for a couple of days. I can't stand not passing tests. And I'm depressed at the moment because my grade report just came in and I dropped my GPA from a 3.92 to a 3.88. I'm serious. To me, that's horrible. But I might try anyway. Really, what can I loose? Can the GRE in English composition (or whatever the equivalent is) count toward a bachelor's degree? Or can it only apply toward a graduate? My strongest strength (other than having an opinionated personality) is English. Another thing is that I LOVE reading, but I HATE literature as a subject. Yah know what I mean? How will this affect a tested BA in English? Some colleges like UoL, the entire English degree is literature, but other colleges (don't ask me which at the moment) focus mainly on composition and grammatical theory. Do I find one of the latter and use that one as my comparison? Thanks for all the help! It's greatly appreciated! Steven ________________ I'm schizophrenic... And so am I.
