The Language of Learning
Whitney Marcus
Issue date: 5/4/05 Section: Features
Students interested in a career in education while getting the chance to travel, might want to take notice of a relatively new program available at City College.
Education 105 is a six-unit course only offered during the summer. Students enrolled in the course go through 108 hours of training before they receive their teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) certificate. The certificate enables students to teach the language in a country where English is not the primary language spoken.
Lou Spaventa has been involved in the program from the beginning. He teaches the course with Patricia Nunez who also helped create the program along with deans Marilynn Spaventa and Pablo Buckelew.
The course originally started with the intention of attracting foreign teachers who wanted to brush up on their English teaching skills. The six-week course comprises six different components: English language, second language acquisition, methods of teaching, cross cultural communication, testing and assessment, and education technology.
Spaventa was trained to teach English during the four years he served in the Peace Corps and spent most of his 20s and 30s abroad. He said he sees a big mix of students enrolled in the course. On average, 25 students ranging from the ages of 22 to 65 enroll each summer. "There is a big mix of UCSB graduates and members of the local community," Spaventa said.
"People who are just beginning their career, or deciding to start their second or third career characterizes most of the students."
"There was a high demand for people with a TEFL certificate in the 60s and 70s, which is when the field really grew an identity," Spaventa said. He stressed that the program offered at City College is only an introductory course.
Spaventa thinks it is important for students who are seriously interested in pursuing this as a career to already have their bachelor's degree, in addition to receiving their TEFL certificate.
The program at City College does not offer placement for students who wish to go abroad with their TEFL certificate. Students enrolled in the course are informed of professional organizations such as Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, which can assist in job opportunities.
The job opportunities vary depending on which country the student chooses to teach in. The pay also varies depending on the country and the cost of living in that country. A TEFL certificate is not necessarily required to teach English in a different country, but it is preferred.
Students who are studying abroad and wish to earn money while in a different country may see it as not only a perfect job opportunity but also "a way to gain a unique view into the language and culture of a different country," Spaventa said.
Education 105 is a six-unit course only offered during the summer. Students enrolled in the course go through 108 hours of training before they receive their teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) certificate. The certificate enables students to teach the language in a country where English is not the primary language spoken.
Lou Spaventa has been involved in the program from the beginning. He teaches the course with Patricia Nunez who also helped create the program along with deans Marilynn Spaventa and Pablo Buckelew.
The course originally started with the intention of attracting foreign teachers who wanted to brush up on their English teaching skills. The six-week course comprises six different components: English language, second language acquisition, methods of teaching, cross cultural communication, testing and assessment, and education technology.
Spaventa was trained to teach English during the four years he served in the Peace Corps and spent most of his 20s and 30s abroad. He said he sees a big mix of students enrolled in the course. On average, 25 students ranging from the ages of 22 to 65 enroll each summer. "There is a big mix of UCSB graduates and members of the local community," Spaventa said.
"People who are just beginning their career, or deciding to start their second or third career characterizes most of the students."
"There was a high demand for people with a TEFL certificate in the 60s and 70s, which is when the field really grew an identity," Spaventa said. He stressed that the program offered at City College is only an introductory course.
Spaventa thinks it is important for students who are seriously interested in pursuing this as a career to already have their bachelor's degree, in addition to receiving their TEFL certificate.
The program at City College does not offer placement for students who wish to go abroad with their TEFL certificate. Students enrolled in the course are informed of professional organizations such as Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, which can assist in job opportunities.
The job opportunities vary depending on which country the student chooses to teach in. The pay also varies depending on the country and the cost of living in that country. A TEFL certificate is not necessarily required to teach English in a different country, but it is preferred.
Students who are studying abroad and wish to earn money while in a different country may see it as not only a perfect job opportunity but also "a way to gain a unique view into the language and culture of a different country," Spaventa said.