Page 20 - ELG2111 Nov Issue 478

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SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT

The next level
The next level

How to decide if a Master’s degree is for you and, if so, which one,

with guidance from Melanie Butler

ith the most recent cohort international students who are graduating ladder, you might need one later on. The
of graduates from British from a first degree in an English-speaking quandary is summed up in a comment
universities panic buying country and think, correctly, that a Master’s I found about education in general on
WMaster’s courses this summer, in language teaching will help them compete academia.stackexchange.com: “Having a
according to The Observer newspaper, should against native speakers for teaching jobs higher degree gets you a higher pay packet,
recent graduates be looking to sign up for a back home. but it doesn’t get you the pay packet in the
TEFFL-related Master’s? In the US, by contrast, where Master’s first place.”
The short answer is no. While there’s no degrees used to be the basic starter Of course, there are some countries,
doubt that jobs that require a Master’s pay qualification for Americans looking to mostly in East Asia, where a Master’s is
better on average than those that don’t, work abroad, more and more big name accepted as an alternative to a certificate
almost all of those jobs require experience. universities are dropping their ELT-related even when it comes to teaching kids – and
And, in most countries, you need a teaching Master’s altogether, and offering shorter remember, under-18s make up 80% or more
certificate to get your first job, even a cheap and much cheaper certificate courses. Such of global enrolments. There is one sector, the
and cheerful four-week one will get you a visa, certificates are now available everywhere, universities, where it can be hard to get a job
at least if you’re a native speaker, a Master’s from Ivy League colleges like Columbia and teaching English without one. But if you’re
without a ‘cert’ may not. the University of Pennsylvania, to half the looking to teach in the private language
It’s true that there are a handful of British members of the University of California: school sector, and most teachers begin there,
universities that offer the standard four-week Berkeley, Irvine, UCLA… signing up for a year-long course before you’ve
courses as part of the Master’s package. The problem with a Master’s for beginner even dipped your toes into the world of
King’s College London offer a CELTA option, teachers is that most base-level EFL jobs English language teaching to see if you like it
for example, and Manchester Met offers pay so little that it’s not worth investing is probably a case of learning to swim before
Trinity. These add-ons are mostly aimed at in a Master’s, but if you want climb the you can paddle.

PHOTO BY COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG

Vermont’s School for International Training
20 November 2021