BlueLightSpecial

I definitely agree with the above. It is a huge investment both in terms of time and money. I negotiated for about 6 months with my employer to taken the necessary steps to take paid time off, so I was able to cover the cost. As I mentioned above, the course is incredibly intensive. Your life is CELTA for that month, so if you have anything major going on in your life (divorce, death in the family, crazy boyfriend/girlfriend, etc), then they strongly caution you against doing it. They were quite upfront about this during my interview. There was one girl in my group from South Carolina who was going to do hers in Boston, but she went to Playa instead because it was cheaper, even with airfare and so on. I believe my course was about $2,000 or so, and my lodging was about half that. If you have one in your hometown or college town and you can do it without having to pay additional cost of living, it may be more affordable. You can find a list of all the centers on the Cambridge/CELTA website. One recommendation for those of you who want to get some exposure/experience in the classroom before jumping into a program like Fulbright, volunteer! There are plenty of opportunities to volunteer teaching if you're in a large enough city. I know of at least two here in Dallas that have nightly classes. My girlfriend is currently volunteering two hours each Monday night. Google is your friend in trying to locate volunteering opportunities. Moreover, interestingly, Peace Corps English Teaching placements require 6 months of ESL volunteering before you can be invited to join. I received a nomination during my senior year of undergrad, which is why I ended up having a fair amount of volunteering experience. I don't know if Fulbright has a similar requirement or recommendation either for experience or a TOEFL.

Thanks for sharing! I definitely agree that practical experience, just kind of getting in there, is effective. In my opinion, it's useful up to a point with significant diminishing returns, i.e. more years does not translate into increasing skills. I also agree that everyone applying for an ETA will likely be a capable instructor, but there are many degrees of effectiveness with capable, or good, as the baseline. Nothing wrong with that, but it is always important to be aware of what else is out there. We aren't reinventing the wheel, after all. ETA's are also a little less than a year, so it isn't like Fulbright is expecting people to make a career out of ESL, so capable would absolutely be a sufficient threshold to determine the potential aptitude for educators. I figure, personally, after a year of Fulbright or equivalent, I will know whether ESL is something I want to pursue more long-term. I suspect that goes for many applications. There was a veteran ESL teacher in my group (like 8+ years). She was not very good, mostly because she had developed so many poor habits by teaching for so long with no instruction or feedback on her lessons. A few of us, in my opinion, were more capable in that classroom setting within a few observed lessons, anyways, than she was simply because we started with a blank slate. She also spoke Spanish and used it heavily as a crunch. Having a bit of ESL volunteering background going into the CELTA, every single lesson I would think "If only I knew then what I knew now!!!" It was seriously mind-blowing. There was another guy in our group who taught in Korea for a few years, and he adapted to the lessons moreso than our classmate. He couldn't believe how much he had improved with a few taught lessons. It helped, also, that he had the requisite experience and exposure to a variety of classroom settings and lessons. Since he was receptive to change and adaptation, he really flourished into a capable teacher by the end of it. Another neat thing about CELTA is that they do as you suggest, throwing you into the classroom teaching on the second day (terrifying). On the first day, we observe a lesson where our instructor teaches our students. We take notes, and try to model what they had done (to comically bad effect). It was very little lecturing on how to teach, and even the theory components of the course were hands-on. For instance, when learning how to integrate music in the classroom, our instructors literally taught us the lesson by integrating music into it. Before we knew what was going on, we were like "..oh, damn, they have been doing what they are talking about for the past hour." It went like that for writing lessons, phonetics, conveying instructions, and so on. They basically taught us in the method that we need to use in the classroom, even though we were all fluent speakers. They were tricky, tricky... I definitely agree that structure and feedback is crucial for effective teaching. I think that is the essence, in theory anyways, of a "teaching assistantship" and not a "25-30 teaching hours per week with little to no help." I'm sure that varies based on country and particular school, though. I certainly do not feel I am at the point of, day-in and day-out, constructing lesson plans that I know I am capable of. I believe my friend in Bulgaria says she has 16 classroom hours, which is very reasonable. CELTA is neat because it gives you a strong foundation by which to recognize opportunities when they come about and be able to effectively utilize the materials at your disposal. In that way, the CELTA seems indispensible compared with other EFL certifications (I havn't heard very good thing about the others. Supposedly, you can take some online??) or simply a few years of experience. I am obviously biased, and I am sure others have differing opinions on the subject. Though you're going for a masters, if at any point you want to return to the classroom, there is a next level called the DELTA, which requires a minimum of two-years experience (and possibly the CELTA as well): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_%28ELT%29. From there, after someone receives the DELTA and continues teaching, they can develop further into teacher trainers, and then into curriculum/center directors. It was neat to be exposed to the career of ESL, as it can be stereotyped as a dead-end, non-advancing occupation for people without any other idea of what they want to do. Obviously, a year with Fulbright will increase one's earning potential and opportunities in the future if they wanted to make a career or an extended stint as an ESL instructor or teacher trainer.

I was wondering the same thing, to be honest. I have about a hundred hours volunteering teaching ESL to adults in undergrad. This past summer I received my CELTA (Certificate for English Language Teaching to Adults), which is conferred by the University of Cambridge. I received a Pass B in the course (the top fifth of CELTA candidates worldwide receive an A or a B, the others receive a Pass). I busted my tail to get that grade, and I think I was the only one in my group to do so. It is the most widely recognized ESL certification in the world. It is a 4 week, intensive program totaling 160 hours and 9 taught lessons. People with CELTA's are qualified to teach more or less anywhere in the world, and it is the preferred certification for almost any teaching position. You will see job postings that say "CELTA required or highly preferred." If ETA's don't work out for myself and others, getting the CELTA is a great way to go. I received mine in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, though I didn't have a lot of free time during the course, I bookended by trip with two weeks of vacation for SCUBA diving and volleyball: http://www.ihrivieramaya.com/celta/tesol.html. You can do the courses anywhere in the world and they are monitored by external auditing to make sure they are consistent throughout the various centers. My instructors were also AWESOME and career ESL teachers and teacher trainers (which is an interesting world in its own right). After the course, I actually feel incredibly equipped to be a teacher and I have an idea of what works and won't work in the classroom. It's one of those rare instructional settings that combines theory and practice very well. You also learn very quickly that just simply knowing English, or even those who have a background in Linguistics or English Literature, is EXTREMELY different than teaching ESL. In fact, people with previous teaching experience or backgrounds in linguistics and literature, or those who spoke Spanish fluently, were at something of a disadvantage because they either developed poor teaching habits from a lack of instruction and monitoring, didn't convey language in a manner effective for learning and focused more on the technical aspects of things, or used their foreign language knowledge as a clutch to present information when things got difficult or confusing. Moral of the story, if you're serious about teaching and want to do it well, and also have a solid backup plan, I cannot recommend the CELTA enough. If things don't work out with Fulbright, that is my get-out-of-USA card, so to speak. I found I genuinely enjoy teaching ESL, but I also recognize that many people applying for Fulbrights, recent graduates or otherwise, may either not know if they like teaching, are using Fulbright only as a means for prestige, or want to get out of the country. My friend in Fulbright Bulgaria currently said her cohort is composed of a wide array of teaching experience ranging from zero, to actual US-based non ESL teachers with a few years experience, to people like her that taught in an inner-city, drop-out recovery program for a year. She also studied and researched comparative education policy as an undergrad. It seemed like the bulk of people, in her experience anyways, had little to no background or exposure to teaching or ESL. My guess is the Fulbright commission recognizes the above, and that a lack of teaching experience will not hurt an application, as many fall in that boat, but I imagine having some experience or certifications can also improve an application. That's why most ETA positions say that no previous teaching is required whereas other programs out there do recommend or require it. That is my hope, anyways, since I have some haha. I also imagine for the larger programs like Germany, South Korea, Malaysia, and others have so many spots, that they will necessarily be filled with many people with little experience. Some of the more selective ETAs with only a few spots and dozens of applicants may be able to winnow it down to those with strong applications + teaching experience. Sorry for the rambling, but I feel like some people may find this interesting as there has been little discussion, in 120+ pages of thread, about actual ESL techniques or experiences. With others out there who have experience or certifications, I would love to hear about your experiences, too! Good luck and fingers crossed to everyone as we near the final stretch.

Conspiracy: They do this intentionally to delay making decisions. Double-conspiracy: I am actually that person following our every post posing as a Fulbright applicant. Fulbright Inception.

I am on the committee for undergraduate admissions for my university (more selective public), and when I browse College Confidential (a few days before when I knew with certainty they would find out), this is EXACTLY how I was. Maniacally twiddling fingers and all. Internally, we intended to release decisions a week earlier. This got out to the public via rumors, but we then released a week later than they anticipated. The forum was exploding, much like this one, trying to figure out what was going on. Extra sadism points for those who then complained about not gaining admission and others wondering why they did not receive a decision, unknowing that their application was incomplete. And I knew all the answers of why they didn't get in if I cared to check. One observation I, regretfully, made from browsing College Confidential is how incredibly uncivil, unsurprisingly, high school students are with the seemingly high stakes world of college admissions. Every post would be followed with questions of "post your stats!!1" As if it mattered. The process is too complex for any single factor to determine admission or not, with too many unknown variables like essay scores, resume performance, and the applicant pool. Most of the time the "stats" they were posting were not at all relevant to our admissions criteria. The board definitely skewed towards ignorance and stupidity, with only a handful of comments ever making sense or being accurate. In that regard, this place is exponentially more friendly and accepting than over at CC. Besides people talking about research interests, this place has little if any "What is your GPA brah?!" type questions, though that may be the case over in other threads.

You mean you don't care about Swedish cinema...? The posts are getting pretty neurotic. At least I have a standard by which to measure my own anxiety against and have the comfort of knowing that there are others out there who are on edge. I'm not entirely sure why I keep coming back here as country/program release times have no bearing on each other, and at this point there is very little news that can be offered besides a direct notification from Fulbright, which come can seemingly at any time during traditional business hours. I would almost have preferred to have not come to this website, but it was very helpful during the application process. I guess, like others, it has become a habit to help pass the time. And to distract myself from GRE flashcards. I also don't have post notifications on (I didn't know that was a thing). I can see inbox explosion being frustrating.

Congrats to those who have heard so far!

Must... find... pattern...

That is likely the case. Some universities, for instance, don't even require transcripts for undergraduate admission on the front end, but the students enter in their information with the trust that it is accurate and honest. Once a student gains admission and enrolls, they send in official transcripts and test scores on the back end. If there is a discrepency, it is handled accordingly. From what I've heard, this system has worked very well and significantly cuts down on processing time on the university's side. It also decreases the burden on the high school side for having to provide many transcripts for applicants to certain universities. My guess is IIE is doing something similar. It also cuts down on applicants spending money for official transcripts and then not make it past the national screening.

Likewise... Their decision-making is all totally separate though, right?

For those of you worried if they have received your transcript or not, and if they say they will notify you in the event that it is not received, that is what they mean. This question has also been answered multiple times in previous pages. I would recommend for applicants to chill out on the transcript front. I am sure IIE is inundated with phone calls exactly of this inquiry.

I was thinking the same thing about Malaysia ETA as well, but it is important to consider how many people were discouraged from applying, those who started applications but didn't finish, and those who applied but didn't get passed the university to the national screening. I have my CELTA and am qualified to teach ESL anywhere in the world, and I currently work in higher education, so I have options that may not be available to college seniors without ESL or post-undergraduate professional experience. Anyone could apply for teaching positions in China, South Korea, etc, as an ETA with Fulbright is effectively the same day-to-day work as teaching through a company or government school. The main subjective difference is the prestige attached to a Fulbright, which is why I ultimately applied for it. I reason if I am going to do similar work, may as well do it for something with name-brand recognition. Employers or graduate school admissions committees won't really care whether a given year was more or less competitive, objectively, than another. There aren't asterisks attached to totals when schools brag about the number of their students or alumni are Fulbright scholars depending on the selectively of an application period, and your family and friends will certainly not be any less proud of you because of it... I'll be stoked if I get one even if the numbers of applications are historically lower than years past, and like you say, I was encouraged as well by the lower numbers. It is still, likely, a highly qualified applicant pool, which is a privilege to be a part of anyways.

Thanks for passing this along. ~70 less applicants for ETA Malaysia this year and the same number of grants. That's promising... I assume the number of applications means all of those who were nominated by their university and at large, but also include those who did not make it past national screening?

I have been recommended for an ETA in Malaysia. I also oversee the admissions process for a large, more selective university. We release our decisions March 1, and at least 2-3 times per day I have to tell them to be patient. I have now experienced first-hand how, well, not fun that is. I am sorry for those of you who were not recommended. Sometimes students at my university are not admitted and it can really be a head scratcher. From everything I have read, it seems Fulbright does a pretty thorough job in their review. Often times, it just can't really be explained other than the pool of applicants one competes against, which is entirely outside one's control. Good luck to everyone who was recommended!

I am an undergraduate admissions counselor for a large, more selective public university. We release our decisions only months after the deadline has passed whereas less selective schools let students know within a few weeks. Now I am having to practice what I preach of being patient and waiting for the decision . It is also interesting being on the inside of a seemingly abstract process, college admissions, while still being mystified by how Fulbright makes their decisions. That article about Fulbright Scholars was definitely insightful, though. Hopefully we receive good news soon! Fulbright ETA, Malaysia

This is very good advice. I am an admissions counselor for a large, more selective public university. So many of my students (and even worse, parents) stress over the admissions process. My fundamental advice for them is simply to put forth their best effort on all aspects of the application, and if in the event they are not admitted, then you have the peace of mind that you gave it your all. There are many qualified applicants and a finite amount of spaces available. Many of my students are the big dogs in their schools, but that pond suddenly becomes an ocean once the competition is opened to students across the country. That is what I keep telling myself about this process, anyways... I also feel the same way about my "backups." One of them has a 10% acceptance rate, seemingly more competitive than Malaysia ETA.

I have a quick question: the Fulbright statistics list how many people applied and how many individuals were ultimately accepted. For instance, in Malaysia, if I remember correctly, it was ~230 applicants and 75 grants. Does this 230 include the number before or after national screening?

I applied to the Malaysia ETA.

Thank you for the response!! Could you elaborate on what you mean by "it was quite hard to turn down the PiA fellowship"? Do you mean to say that it was hard for you to turn that opportunity down personally, or were you contractually obligated in some way to take the commitment? Obviously, it doesn't reflect well professionally if you make a commitment and back down during the finalization process with the local institutions. Then again, choosing between one of those programs and a Fulbright, if I am fortunate enough to be invited to both, isn't the worst position to be in... I believe I will follow through with the application process to both programs.

I have recently submitted my ETA application for Malaysia through my alumni institution. I also intend to apply for the Princeton in Asia and Princeton in Africa programs. Both programs have tentative decision release dates for mid-March. Applicants, if selected, have four days to accept. However, after reviewing last year's Fulbright thread, it seems most decisions were released after mid-March. Are any of you considering applying for these programs? I am trying to decide if it is worth doing so... Good luck to everyone applying!!