Is TEFL recession proof?

Posted on 22/03/2009 by alexcase

March’s EL Gazette (electronic edition) leads with the story “Crunch is good for UK TEFL” and then there’s Private English Education Cost Rises 12 Percent in very much recession (and devaluation) hit Korea. And if we can just get into teacher training, it seems that there has been a huge upswing in people taking TEFL courses. So, are we immune?

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5 Responses to Is TEFL recession proof?

  1. Pete Swilks's avatar Pete Swilks says:
    23/03/2009 at 09:32

    An interesting point. For the UK, I think most people would agree that student numbers in ‘basic’ tefl are down 10% year on year at present. But the unit price in ESP/commercial applications is, if anything, slightly up.
    Re TEFL training, even in the ‘boom’ years, the certificate courses were full of mid-life career changers and people taking voluntary redundancy (they were always the awkward ones, weren’t they?). No doubt this has increased even more – but where are they going to go to find their first job?! Not the old favourites of China, Spain or Eastern Europe any more, surely.

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  2. Rachael's avatar Rachael says:
    24/03/2009 at 14:23

    If there’s no money to pay teachers, whether out of a state-funded program, private pockets or otherwise, there won’t be any classes. Simple as that. If people have less money, and are struggling to pay for their house or credit cards, are they really going to keep coming and paying for English class? If the state is struggling to pay its police, fire fighters, and children’s teachers, is it going to continue to pay the adult ed teachers?

    I have seen my minium class size grow from 15 to 18 to 22 to 25. I’ve also had several students stop coming to class because they had to get a job. And my class is free to the student, and we provide some childcare – I’m watching my numbers fall, and if they fall too low, bye-bye job.

    My husband pointed out that it really depends on how the student’s view TESL and TEFL. If they see it as a luxury item, it gets put aside when times get hard. If it is seen as a necessary item, they will find the time and the money for it. Perhaps that is the biggest factor.

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  3. Alex Case's avatar Alex Case says:
    01/04/2009 at 10:29

    Agree with all you say Rachael, especially your husband’s point. Here is some evidence to back that up: LINK NOW BROKEN

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  4. David V.'s avatar David V. says:
    01/04/2009 at 14:00

    Fair points, but you’d be surprised at how many places round the world where the last thing that’s sacrificed is education.

    I’d hate to be starting out now as a result of having lost my job and looking at this as an oportunity for a fresh start. There are going to be a lot of newbies shocked by the kind of work they find themselves in.

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  5. Teflista's avatar Teflista says:
    01/04/2009 at 18:28

    I think that adult ed might be a special situation. Outside of state-funded adult ed programs, do you really see the numbers going down in TEFL in the states? TEFL in the USA sometimes seems to thrive in times like these, but now it’s more of a GLOBAL recession that’s in place. I wonder if the latter might be more of a factor. Hard to say, I guess and I can’t seem to make heads or tales of it. I believe that the national rate of unemployment in the states is something like 8% or so. Michigan has the highest rate, at nearly 12%. I found it rather odd last month that a state university there advertised not one, but SIX new positions and was EXPANDING its program. What part of the states are you in?

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