English (TEFL) Teacher Training Opportunity

[wolfman61]

Hi all,

This is just a heads-up for any native English speakers who would like to pursue a career in Teaching English as a foreign language in Finland. You will know by now that getting a teaching job here is not easy if you are unqualified.

A vocational course is due to commence at Lansi-Suomen Opisto at the end of this month and lasts until January 2010. LSO - in Huittinen, near Vammala - is a private language school catering mostly for foreign students (i.e. non-Finnish people).

The college has been planning a teacher-training course for some time. The good news is that if you are currently unemployed, and depending on your financial circumstances, you will be able to get funding from Kela to pay the course fees. You should also still be able to claim the paiva-raha via the tyovoimatoimisto while attending the course.

Accommodation for students is apparently available.

Here is a link to their web-site with some details about the course:

http://www.lansisuomenopisto.fi/engpage/intstudies.html

[sammy]

(since this was cross-posted, I'll do the same - apologies)

That's a good thing as such, however those considering a qualified English teacher's post at a Finnish school might wish to check from the National Board of Education about the required qualifications. IIRC a TEFL certificate as such is usually not enough, you need to have an academic language teacher's degree (usually a Master's) including pedagogical studies.

You can ask from the NBE - for contact details, click here.

TEFL may give you some opportunities, and having a certificate like that never hurt anyone... just double check according to where you are aiming to teach English, and what the actual requirements are.

[raamv]

Apparently, no one wants to know what "Huittinen" is like!! and How Sastamala is during Winter....

[Rosamunda]

(since this was cross-posted, I'll do the same - apologies)

That's a good thing as such, however those considering a qualified English teacher's post at a Finnish school might wish to check from the National Board of Education about the required qualifications. IIRC a TEFL certificate as such is usually not enough, you need to have an academic language teacher's degree (usually a Master's) including pedagogical studies.

Yes, that's a good point. The Oulu UNiversity course is probably better for those wishing to work inside the Finnish Education system. Most (not all) TEFL teachers work outside the national education system (in companies and public institutions). So I am a bit confused as to the target audience here. Also, as a TEFL course it appears to lack a module in English grammar (which, paradoxically, is what most native English speakers need most ) similar to, for example, Module One of the DELTA.

I think it's a GREAT initiative but I think it would be significantly more attractive if it offered a recognised Cambridge qualification such as CELTA or DELTA. TEFL certificate courses can be taken on-line these days, so who in their right mind would go to the additional expense of attending a residential course that might not even be recognised outside FInland (and let's face it, a TEFL certificate is only good if it is recognised all over the world)?

A good certificate course should contain a grammar/vocabulary module, teaching methodolgy, and teaching practice.