Reader Question: is the Delta Worth it?

Is the Delta Worth it?

"I came across your article on doing the Delta on Profs Abroad when doing a Google search for TESOL jobs in Europe with a DELTA. I've been thinking of what to do post Korea, and the DELTA seems to be the best move. Was your DELTA experience successful in improving your teaching skill and providing more job opportunities?"

My answer:

Take my advice for what it is because I've only taught ESL in Korea and can't really answer the question as to whether or not the DELTA will help you get a job in Europe. But, I can say that the CELTA and DELTA are far more recognizable just about anywhere in the world than they are in East Asia (Korea, Taiwan, China and Japan), so the DELTA could potentially open up a few doors for you. It has not helped me get a job in Korea so far, but I have not "shopped it around" yet (and likely never will since I'm moving back to Canada in about a year).

As for the teaching skill thing: yes, the DELTA did help me improve my teaching skills significantly, especially Module 1. It was the first time in my entire teaching and learning career where I actually had to put the time in to get an extremely firm grasp on English grammar since there was a quite difficult test I had to write. The CELTA did cover a bit of grammar but there was never a test so I didn't have a lot of motivation to really truly know it.

I find when teaching that I'm a lot more confident in explaining difficult concepts to my students and am able to answer questions much more effectively. Like even though my students are third and fourth year English majors, I can answer pretty much any grammar question they have, usually off the top of my head. Before the DELTA, this wasn't so much the case and I'd often have to say, "I'll tell you next class!" I'm also able to do things like give more effective feedback to students when evaluating their writing because I have a big-picture framework in my head.

Teaching English in Taiwan

I got an email from Dominic the other day over at TEFL One, mentioning that he had written this guide to Teaching English in Taiwan. I had a perusal through it and I have to say that it is a lot of great information for anyone considering a move over to Taiwan to teach ESL.  Check it out if you're interested.

As a kind of aside, I visited Taiwan a few years ago for a couple of weeks and really enjoyed it. Bubble tea in abundance. Warm weather. Bicycles and scooter lanes. Decent, cheap food. Nice hiking and scuba diving. What more could you want?  It'd be a prime ESL teaching destination if the pay was a wee bit higher I think. But, if you want a decent quality of life, definitely consider Taiwan.

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Reader Question: Airfare covered?

This question from David:

"Do I have to pay to fly over or is this covered by most programs?"

My answer:

With the exception of unis, most programs/schools in Korea cover airfare.  Although I think those days are kind of numbered and we'll probably see more and more contracts offering higher salaries in return for no airfare and housing.  If you think about it, it's a pretty big risk for a small school to pay that much upfront for someone, sight unseen.

Outside Korea?  Generally, you'll have to pay your own way with maybe the exception of the Middle East, but most of those jobs require serious qualifications/ experience which is doesn't sound like you have.

Save your pennies!  Another alternative is to find a camp of some sort (common in Asia) which offers you a modest salary and covers your airfare.  It's a way to get your boots on the ground without fronting too much out of your own pocket.

My most Popular Posts of all-time!

So, I was just checking out some stats from my blog and thought it was quite interesting to see what my most popular posts have been throughout the years.  Here they are:

1. Korea vs Taiwan vs Japan vs Hong-Kong

2. Ten Tips for Newbies to the Korean ESL Uni Experience

3/4. The 2010 Kotesol Conference Bad and the 2010 Kotesol Conference Good

5. Top 5 Reasons to NOT Teach ESL in South Korea

Taiwan vs. Korea vs. China

Another blogger's take on it:

Ted's Tefl Newbie

Reader Question about What Country to Teach In

These ones from Britton:

"The places we have looked at primarily are: Taiwan, Thailand, and China.   How are the job markets for teaching English in the various countries?  Is there still high demand? Is there anything we should seriously take into consideration concerning any specific countries before we go (neither of us have ever been to Asia)"

Britton is coming with his brother.  He is interested in the experience of living in Asia, while his brother is most interested in saving money and not working horribly long hours.  

I've never taught in these countries before, but I have followed the job boards for a few years now and have talked to lots of people who have taught in these places.  And, I've traveled to these countries during my time here in Korea, so hopefully my thoughts are helpful!

Taiwan: you'll work harder for the money that you make.  Think $15/hour as compared to $30-50 in Korea.  Plus, you'll be responsible for your own housing.  I've heard that the crappy jobs like Hess are plentiful but to get a decent job in a public school or something can be quite hard to do if you're not a qualified teacher without substantial experience.  However, in my brief travels there, I enjoyed it a lot.  The people are friendly and relaxed, the food is excellent and cheap and there is no "winter!"

Thailand: I wouldn't really consider this as a place to teach ESL because the pay is so little.  You're competing with hordes of backpackers willing to work for almost free in exchange for housing. If you want a paid vacation of sorts, then this is the ultimate place to teach ESL for sure.

China: there is a huge demand for teachers.  You should be able to find a decent job there in days.  Salaries have increased greatly over the past few years and you should be able to save a reasonable amount of money working here.  However, while China does have an interesting history/culture, I didn't really enjoy my time there.  The government seems to exert way too much control for my liking.  Facebook censorship, regulations about how much money you can send home, red-tape to do almost anything, questionable human rights.  It's not for me.