Comments on: 6 Ways TEFL Certificate Courses Try to Rip You Off – Part 3

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 04:19:23 +0000

Just ran across something very interesting. TEFL Interntional is now teaming with Disney to offer what appears to be a very good deal.

–flight to Thailand
–FREE TESOL Course
–Flight to Shanghai
–Job working for Disney Language earning about $2,000+ per month.
–flight home

i know i know, its a scam.

You guys are a broken record.

By: TEFLista

TEFLista — Fri, 27 May 2011 10:35:04 +0000

And a new piece by Alex that might also be of interest to some readers:

TEFL International Guaranteed Job Placement – Treat with caution
http://www.tefl.net/alexcase/tefl/t-training/qualifications/cert/tefl-int/tefl-international-guaranteed-job/comment-page-1/#comment-36576

By: Alex Case

Alex Case — Thu, 26 May 2011 06:48:01 +0000

Part 5 now up:

http://www.tefl.net/alexcase/tefl/t-training/qualifications/slippery-accreditation-multiple-websites/

By: Leslie

Leslie — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 01:14:21 +0000

It does, dunnit?

By: jim

jim — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:46:46 +0000

CELTA should come with a lifetime guarantee of poverty

By: Alex Case

Alex Case — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 13:23:41 +0000

Also, it’s difficult for teachers with no experience to get jobs in Western Europe, that salary is too high for a starting teacher (as TEFLista says, especially one with just an online cert), and French schools almost never help with accommodation at all, let alone offer you a free flat.

By: teflista

teflista — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 08:07:24 +0000

I would also like to point out a brilliant piece by Alex that is very much related to the issue of guaranteed Jobs. Sometimes recruiters will tell half truths to newbies about teaching conversation classes, too:

No Qualifications or Experience Needed to Just Teach Conversation
http://www.tefl.net/alexcase/teaching/tefl/tefl-links/just-teach-conversation/

By: teflista

teflista — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 07:35:57 +0000

I don’t know anything about this company at all, but in general, there is a saying that applies to most scams: If it sounds too good to be true then it usually is.

Your post also brings up an important point. For Americans, even well qualified ones with MAs, working in Europe (legally) isn’t an option 99.9% of the time. It has to do with visa laws and all the paperwork involved. They can just hire someone from the UK without any hassles, and generally prefer British English anyway, so that is what’s done there. If someone is offering long-term employment to an American with an online TEFL cert, then it’s probably a scam.

By: An interested party

An interested party — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 17:14:43 +0000

I enrolled and completed on July 20th the Business Course online through World Tesol College, which promises a high paid job in the country of my choice (in my case, France). I am waiting to hear from them regarding my teaching contract with a school in Paris, as well as the starting date.

Following are excerpts from our correspondence: “Yes we have plenty of well paid openings available in Paris for this season. It is a bonus that you speak French and will make it easy to place you in any of our associated schools in Paris. Every school we are working with is offering free furnished accommodation within walking distance from school, competitive salary, and free upfront airfare. Two of the schools (in the Montmartre area of Paris) need three teachers to start either August 15th or October 15th – one year contract. The salary is 2400 Euro per month / Net. We will start working on your teaching contract the moment you enroll online. The school will start the upcoming visa process as soon as you agreed on all terms and conditions mentioned in the teaching contract. All terms and conditions are written in English for your understanding. It will take the host school approximately two weeks to get your work visa done, which is valid for one year of time. However, the work visa can be extended after that. All costs and fees for the visa are covered by the school.”

Before enrolling I asked regarding references and received this response: “Please note that the US BBB is usually not related to UK companies and institutions. The BBB is focusing on ‘offline’ businesses. However, our online courses are registered and approved by several accreditation bodies such as the ECE and the OAE. Further our online courses have been named several times “best online courses” by the renowned EFL Journal.” I cannot locate on the internet either the ECE or the OAE, nor can I find the EFL Journal quotation. I have asked World Tesol College for these links without response.

If this program is fraudulent, what are my options for receiving a refund of the $600 I spent?

Thank you.