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

Another fab guest piece by “TEFLista”

“This is the third installment in a series devoted to TEFL certificate courses and consumer awareness.

Part Three looks at some of the employment practices that course providers use to entice people to sign-up for their courses.  If you’d prefer to start at the beginning of the series or you’ve missed some it,  Part 1 is located here .

4. Offer A Guaranteed Job (and make it sound like a special opportunity when it’s not).

In recent years, competition among courses providers has become fierce and many have resorted to expanding their placement services as a way of increasing profit margins. Enter the “guaranteed job”, which is really nothing more than a promised offer of employment by a course provider. Sometimes these are stated as such directly on TEFL course websites, and at other times they may be presented a bit more under the radar on employment websites. In the latter case, the course provider simply lists a job advertisement and then states somewhere in the description or in a follow-up email that “training is provided” or something similar. In both cases the situation is essentially the same and the vast majority of these positions are based in local public schools, especially in rural areas. At this point in time, most of the placements are offered in Thailand, Vietnam, China, and S. Korea.

Why Course Providers Love Them

Mention the words “guaranteed job” to any course provider offering one and they are quick to hear the bells of a giant cash register raking it in – ca-CHING ! In some ways it’s a course provider’s dream come true. They get to charge for their TEFL course (often not a very good one), then act as a recruiter and make more money by placing teachers in schools (although many may try to make it sounds as if they don’t, which is total rubbish), then maybe take a cut for assisting with housing on the course, then a cut for setting up some weekend excursions while on the course, then a cut for assisting with a work visa, then another for assisting with housing for the job, and… well you get the idea. Basically it establishes yet another big opportunity for them to dip into your wallet.

No Love Affair

Unfortunately, if something does go horribly wrong, then there’s often no exit strategy in place for getting off the rollercoaster ride. What many providers are actually offering, and are banking on, is a job and training program that is done as a complete package. You might do most or all of your training at the beginning, but very often you are only entitled to the certificate after completing the job, which could be several months or even an entire year later. If any point during the process you decide to leave because you object to the placement, housing, working conditions, the course or whatever, then chances are you’ll end up with nothing but your suitcase and a few photos of your experience. In other words, there are ENORMOUS risks and strings attached to most of these programs, and very often the conditions are not disclosed in full until after they’ve received a deposit of some kind.

Knowledge is Power

There’s been a lot of flack in recent years surrounding the practice of guaranteed jobs, and in the true spirit of giving power back to the people, here are some of the key issues that course providers don’t want you to know about:

These are jobs that nobody wants

Every year there are hundreds of jobs in public schools in S.E. Asia that go unfilled and just sit there vacant. They will be there before you do your TEFL cert, during your TEFL cert course, and after you finish. These are the positions that course providers are offering as guaranteed jobs. The notion that they are offering you something special that only they can arrange for you is simply not true. So long as you have a BA, a TEFL certificate, and a pulse, you can snap up one of these positions on your own in a heartbeat – and you might even be able to pick the location, too. If you decide later that you really do want to take one of these positions, they will be there for you. Keep in mind that part of what some course providers like to do is prey on the insecurities of people who are overseas. They will try their best to get you to think that they are doing you a huge favor and that you should take their TEFL cert course because it comes with a promise of a public school job, and therefore there is somehow less risk involved. The reality of the situation is actually the complete opposite, and it comes with a lot of strings attached.

Big numbers 

Big numbers might be good if you’re collecting from a winning a lottery ticket, but chances are it’s not going to make your life any easier in a classroom, especially if you are a new teacher with a limited 20 days or so of training. Asian public schools can really pack in the students, and you can expect to be teaching 50-70 students per class, depending on the country. To put this into perspective, let’s imagine that you teach a total of 350 students and you decide to give them a very simple homework assignment that takes 10 minutes to correct and to put into your grade book. Well, that would work out as a total of 3,500 minutes or about 58 hours just to correct them! Oh, and don’t forget to plan your next lesson too!

Pay

Working in public schools (Thailand, China, Vietnam and S. Korea) almost always pays less than other forms of entry-level teaching.

Housing

You may be required to rent housing owned by the TEFL course provider.

Visas

In an attempt to cut corners and speed up processing (because they want you working and making for them), some providers may intentionally have the wrong visas issued. If you have problems later on with your working conditions and the course provider wants you out, then they may attempt to report you to immigration services and/or ask you to leave your housing.

No Legal Recourse

Believe it or not, there is a big difference between just taking a TEFL certificate course and taking one attached to a job. If you are just taking a TEFL certificate course that is offered by a company with ties to the States, then there are various avenues that you can pursue in the event that something does go wrong. A job with training, or a guaranteed job, is another matter altogether and consumer protection agencies will not offer any assistance with regards to job complaints overseas. This means that if you see a BBB (American Better Business Bureau) or other consumer protection logo on a course provider’s website, then it’s all pretty much worthless as far as guaranteed jobs are concerned. For more information about this topic, see What To Do If You’ve Been Had by Your TEFL Certificate Course.”

Another classic by TEFLista. Be sure to click on the links above to see the other great guest pieces, and Part Four is now up here:

Six Ways TEFL Course Providers Try to Rip You Off – The University Language Institute

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