Anyone Teach ESL or Adult Classes?

[retiringby50]

I am interested in teaching ESL or other literacy related classes to adults locally, so I'm trying to figure out where to start. I have a bachelor's degree in business and have almost 20 years in the corporate world.

This teaching job would be something I'd do on a part-time basis in retirement, which might encourage me to retire earlier or something I do full-time soon after I get whatever credentials I need. I'd like to find out what the going hourly rate would be for a job like this.

Where do I start my research? Do I need to return to college for a certificate or another degree? I definitely want to teach adults only but don't want to teach my field (business or HR), although I would consider teaching English in a university, but only the basic classes or the ones where kids attend when they don't pass their English test.

Thanks.

 

[youbet]

I can only give you second hand knowledge based on research the son of a friend did. He was interested in teaching ESL/literacy classes after graduating from Univ Wis Madison with a degree in Sociology and spending a year with Vista Volunteers.

He found several volunteer opportunites but the competition for paying jobs was very stiff. The lack of fluency in another language (esp. Spanish) hurt him. Also, moonlighting certified teachers seemed to be scooping up many of the paying jobs.

Get a class schedule from your local community college. They'll probably be offering ESL classes. Determine the department offering them and call the head of the department. Or, call HR and ask about job openings and requirements.

 

[TickTock]

I can't help you with a paid job. But if it's something you want to do, consider getting certified as a Laubauch Literacy Instructor.

Might (or might not) give you an advantage in getting paid for similar work later. And would definately give you the ability to help folks now.

 

[Tiger]

My wife manages an Adult Literacy/ESL center for the library. My suggestion is to find out if your public library has a literacy program and if they do you should be able to get good advice there. Here in NY there are also literacy programs financed by grants from large philanthropic foundations so possibly a Google search can help you find similar programs in your area.

I can tell you this, most tutors in these programs are volunteers. In order to work in literacy programs you either need to have a degree in the teaching area or work experience that qualifies you.

 

[ronin]

What state do you live in? Requirements vary by state. I teach adult school. Pay for credentialed teachers here at my level is approx $40 per hr. Your local school district HR Dept could tell you what they require to do what you want and what the pay scale is. You'd need to contact a college school of education to get the requirements for a credential in teaching ESL if that's what's necessary.

 

[retiringby50]

Thanks everyone so far. I've spoken to a few more people now, and it looks like I'll definitely need a certificate and get credentialed for at least part-time teaching, and then need to take some more classes and work for 4 semesters on my own to be able to teach full-time. The credential part initially scared me, but after more research, I think it'll be okay. Most of my classes are transferable, so I think all I need is to take a test and of course, finish those classes.

Hopefully, I'll be employable though. This is a little different than going to college when I may not know exactly what I wanted to do. In this case, I'm going back to school specifically to take get a job.

 

[ronin]

Well, best of luck to you. I really enjoy teaching adult school. It is quite different from my day job of teaching high schoolers. I like them both though. Hang in there. My experience with the credentialing program was that it is something like a negative filter, to frustrate and piss off those with the least tolerance for bureaucratic BS. There alway seemed to be one more useless hoop to jump through. Other than that, I learned next to nothing about teaching there. You can count on your first 4-5 years of teaching to figure out what the heck you are doing. That's when most new teachers bail; when reality starts to really sink in. But as I said, I really like it. Started in 1975 and still going strong.