MA in TESL

Malicomatt · (#1 (**permalink**))

Hello,
I'm currently a college student in America. I will get my Bachelors in Linguistics soon with a certificate in TESL. I spent about a year in Japan learning the language (Japanese is my focus language for Linguistics) and I can speak somewhere in between the JLPT level 2 and 3 with my kanji at about level 2. My question is, how much more money do you think I can make in the long run if I got my Masters in TESL? I want to pretty much live in Japan for the rest of my life because of the awesome experience I had when I went to that immersion school for a year. My final goal is to become an interpreter in Japan, but if that didn't work out, I could just teach English and I would be happy in that. Does anyone know the answer to this, or know how I could find out?
Thanks

Tsuwabuki · (#2 (**permalink**))

With that, you're looking at an income range of ¥300,000/mo to ¥450,000/mo given you can find a full time private high school or university position. I recommend you make sure to get publications while working on your master's, and since you're in the states, I would recommend taking your Praxis and gaining Teacher's Certification in your state. This will require student teaching, and may take up to three months if you do it after you graduate with your BA. It would have been better if you had done it concurrently with your BA, but I am sure your state has an alternative certification program.

Malicomatt · (#3 (**permalink**))

Really? I didn't think that a teaching credential here in California would do anything in Japan. I thought just having a Masters would satisfy requirements in Japan. Do you think that going for the Masters is worth it? Do you think just a BA in linguistics and the TEFL Cert would be just as good?

Tsuwabuki · (#4 (**permalink**))

It's not just about the legal requirements or common requirements for the job. No, teaching certification is not a requirement legally, nor is it one that is very common. However, it is often mentioned as being preferred. It will open more doors and get your resume moved to the top of the stack. These are higher level jobs, and they are very competitive, so anything you do to get a leg up is smart.

Based on my experiences, and the jobs I want and what they require, I would say:

Masters, BA, Teaching Cert, TEFL Cert > Masters, Teaching Cert, BA > Masters, BA, TEFL Cert > Masters, BA > BA, TEFL Cert > BA

Malicomatt · (#5 (**permalink**))

Thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it. By the way, how do you know all of this?

Tsuwabuki · (#6 (**permalink**))

I'm an English teacher in Japan, but I went to university to be an English teacher in Texas. Between the student loans I had to pay back and the general state of the recession, it was considerably easier to get a well paying job in Japan.

I plan to get my Master's in Philosophy and Japanese teaching certification. With that, I won't need TEFL/TESL.