This is our 2022 fall summary of ESL News.
( It feels like Post 911 combined with SARS all over again. )
ESL in-person Teaching Jobs declined by 95% from March 2020 to March 2022.
On-line ESL teaching jobs are through the roof.
The current major influencing factors are the slow sputtering economic recovery, the lower Canada dollar, increased violence in the USA, shooting war in Eastern Europe and war of words in Asia.
As travel lockdowns and restrictions are reduced more international students will arrive.
More students means more teaching jobs in Canada. If you can get a job and be paid fairly for your qualifications and experience.
We recommend teaching in a stable established professional school with standard pay rates and full teaching resources.
Overseas teaching is now dangerous in some parts of the world as teachers have been used as political hostages - do not put yourself in a bad location.
This World situation does feel like 2001 - 2003 all over again. Students did not want to get on a plane and fly to North America to study. We took the ESL in Canada English Camps to Korea. Korea English Camps 2002 to 2006
Being a new ESL teacher is difficult
Most North American ESL schools are marketing organizations. They like to sell their school as the best (in everything) to the international students. The schools like to present themselves as established, well organized, professional, with highly qualified and experienced teachers, proven curriculums, lots of resources, a history of happy students.
If you want to teach ESL in the competitive private school industry then you have to realize that as an ESL teacher you are part of a packaged commodity. Remember that most ESL schools pay for advertising, marketing, salesmen, agents, flashy brochures and have to travel to expensive international student education fairs to recruit students. ESL schools pay from 25 to 50% to get ESL students in the door.
For most ESL teachers to get a job in North America you have to have a combination of personal qualities, education and teaching experience. The ESL schools that try to cover 10 levels, 45 electives, activities, and self-directed programs are usually stretched because of budget restrictions. Many schools are on low-margin, high-volume operations programs and cannot afford to make hiring mistakes.
To be a successful career ESL teacher you can look at the stages most teachers go through. The start can be wonderful or ugly. It depends on your preparation. Many successful career ESL teachers tutored while they finished their university and teacher education programs. As a tutor you can really learn how to help a student. You can see their struggles and provide the solutions. The next step is the classroom. The leap from one student to 15 is major and requires all the theory and methodology necessary to operate as a classroom professional. You have to do this in person. Get the practicum supervision and corrections necessary to teach ESL professionally.
Experience can be gained in North America as a community volunteer, operating your own classes, team teaching classes, teacher observations, or tutoring. Traveling internationally where experience is not required can be exciting and educational - however one has to consider the dramatic life-style changes and risks which accompany these opportunities.
After 2 years of mistakes and corrections, continuing education, workshops, professional exchanges, brainstorming, team teaching, collaboration, students calling you wonderful, others not so happy - then many of the higher paying professional organizations consider you job-ready. Career ESL teaching in North America is not easy and not available overnight with most professional organizations.
New ESL teachers should take an internet tour of teacher white, grey and black lists, personal webpages and blogs to see good, bad and ugly teaching experiences.
May the force be with you.
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