Comments on: What to Do If You’ve Been Had by Your TEFL Course

By: Kelly

Kelly — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:43:55 +0000

I’m writing an article on TEFL and teach abroad scams. If anyone has information or contacts who have had bad experiences with either of these, please send me an email at kellyhep@gmail.com

By: Tim Torkildson

Tim Torkildson — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 04:43:30 +0000

Teaching anything, including English, takes years to master. Yet some people think they can do it overnight. When they learn they can’t they get bent out of shape and look for scapegoats, such as their TEFL course provider. As was said long ago concerning Alexander the Great, there is no royal road to learning — or to teaching. Sometimes it’s grunt work or babysitting. So what? A mature person works through these things to discover the positive aspects; an immature person writes a blog and goes home crying to mother.

By: Systematic

Systematic — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:34:31 +0000

Re: Spreading the Word

Postings on forums and comments on blogs are indexed very quickly by Google, often in a matter of minutes or hours. Complaints will be viewed by everyone who searches the name of the offending institute. Done systematically, this can bring a really rotten course provider to its knees. Moreover, their directors will sometimes join the forums and try to defend themselves, but by doing so they usually end up by shooting themselves in both feet.

Two more places where unfortunate experience can be discussed without fear of retribution are at:
http://miathai.com/rose_with_any_name/?page_id=6
and
http://www.nittayo.org/tesol_discussions

By: Systematic

Systematic — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:59:08 +0000

Congratulations TEFLista on an excellent article.

Funny how I always have Thailand in the back of my mind wen I read your posts and articles. Thailand has a reputation for being one of the world’s most corrupt countries, but it *is* their country, and corruption is part of the culture. Unfortunately, some American owned businesses go there and think it is cool to join in.

Teachers and educators are generally some of the most well-meaning – and naïve – people, and are hence an easy target for any one with a business plan based on a scam.