Review of TEFL Schools

[simpler]

I am looking into doing a TEFL in the UK with a vuew to using it abroad. Probably Spain/Latin Am. All the online research I have done so far has said that you should choose a reputable school. Where can I go to to discover how reputable a school actually is?

Is there an online directory of some sort? One of the schools I'm looking into is a CELTA TEFL at Milton Keynes.

Simpler.

[shlee]

Other than the people promoting their own programs I would say there is not a truly comprehensive website outlining the scorecards on TEFL training programs. The best option would be to do your homework before ever spending money on a program. Programs claiming to be accredited may or may not actually be recognized as a legal company by the country where there program is hosted...There are several things you can do you tell if a program is legitimate or not...PM me and I can give you more details...

[simpler]

I wrote to the school. They told me that they are registered on the CELTA website which is a pretty good start I guess.

The thing is they are charging £50 just for the interview and a further £945 for the 4 week intensive course. Seems a bit steep.

Thanks for offer for contacting you. May well take you up on it!

[Peter Easton]

The thing is they are charging £50 just for the interview and a further £945 for the 4 week intensive course. Seems a bit steep.

Just a bit. Daylight robbery springs to mind.

If you're confident enough don't bother getting a TEFL. Just read some books on teaching English, choose your destination, book your flight, and get out into the world and teach.

Drop in at the deep end so to speak. You'll learn stuff along the way and save yourself a bit of cash by not taking the course. You'll find after a while that teaching English is really easy and you don't need a certificate telling you that you can do it.

[jasminade]

I agree with Peter. Many schools would accept an applicant with 1st language English and a decent education.

Teaching English is like riding a bike.

£50 to attend an interview??? They're havin' a laff!

Good luck.

[simpler]

It is £50 to attend the interview. I have it in front of me. They only have 12 places or something for the 4 week course.

I'm glad I posted here as 2 days ago, I dont doubt the quality of the course, but a small part of my brain was doing sums and cooking up ways to raise a grand!

Anyway, you guys seem positive that I could get straight into it, without even having a TEFL. I'm not that brave. I'm sure with a bit of condidence experience I could teach english. Its just that I
like the idea of having something formal backing me up.

[shlee]

There are good programs for much less money. CELTA is the grand daddy of programs because it was the first major player in the industry. However, people have begun to realize that a program can be high quality and inexpensive at the same time. I you want a guest pass into a program that is both high in quality and inexpensive as a TEFL training option, PM me...

[Alex Case]

I still think CELTA serves a function and you get something extra for your extra money- you know it is accepted absolutely everywhere without having to do any more research. it's a safe option. It's the Swedish or German car of TEFL courses.

However, 50 pounds (or even one pound) just to have an interview is a rip off pure and simple. Are you sure that was the Cambridge site you found them on (not just something else called CELTA)? If so, I would report this school to Cambridge right away.

[simpler]

Does anyone want me to forward them the letter, if so PM me.

I can forward the letter no probs.
Until I posted here, I thought this sort of thnig was quite the norm.

The MK group are referenced from this CELTA cambridge site which looks official to me...

[Alex Case]

If anyone is following this thread, the centre do in fact charge 50 pounds for having an interview. When contacted, Cambridge ESOL said there was nothing they could do. I say- it's an absolute disgrace that has to stop! The anti-interview fee campaign starts here, and the most important protest is to refuse to pay and just go elsewhere (I have heard of very few centres that charge this)

[simpler]

For keeping us updated Alex.
If only one or two more people know a little bit more about what represents good and bad practice in the TEFL industry, that can only be a good thing!

[glenji]

Teaching English is like riding a bike.

Why do people have this attitude? To become a decent teacher the minimum you need to do is first a 120 hour course, pretty much either the Trinity or the CELTA, then get some experience working at a school which offers ongoing teacher support and training, work hard at improving your language awareness, and after a couple of years you might have some idea of what it takes to be a decent teacher.

People wouldn't allow a dentist with no training to fix their teeth, why do people think you can become an English teacher with no training!

Okay, rant over.

My school offers the CELTA, if you complete a years contract it can work out at $600. But then it's in Vietnam not Spain or Latin America! Oh and charging an interview fee is crazy, never heard of that before.

[Emma1310]

The CELTA school I'm going to next year charged €60 for the interview and pre-interview task but it's deducted from the fees if you're accepted. I guess it's to stop people messing around and applying on a whim because it can't possibly be representative of their actual costs. It did take an hour though so I suppose you could look at it as a charge for their time.

[chrisw]

Dear Glenji,


I would take a look at our course The Language House Prague. You'd be surprised at how much more we offer than the Trinity or CELTA. We screen people as well and conduct phone interviews. The difference is we don't charge people for them. 60 Euro is a lot for a phone interview. This is not an advertisement. It's just that you saying that the only two courses out there are Trinity and CELTA is like saying the only restaurants in the world are Mcdonalds and Burger King. There are tons of independent courses that are great as well.
Seriously, compare our course to any CELTA course worldwide. We offer more.

Chris Westergaard
The Language House Prague

[systematic]

Far more important is to check out the country's legal requirement. In Thailand for example, you must have a minimum of a bachelor degree in any subject to get a visa to go there and teach. A TESOL certificate is facultative, and one delivered by the wrong institute may even lose you the job opening, so be very careful if you think of doing a course in Thailand, some of the biggest rogues in the industry are located there , but so are also some of the best CELTA courses
There are about 20 organisation offering TESOL courses in Thailand from top universities to beachside rip-offs. For a review about a specific course, click the PM button or ask here: http://www.nittayo.org/tesol_discussions/viewforum.php?f=3

[ThomasTopham]

If you're confident enough don't bother getting a TEFL. Just read some books on teaching English, choose your destination, book your flight, and get out into the world and teach.

Yeah, I suppose this is one way of going about it. How would you like to sign up and pay good money for a language course, and some guy who had just shown up, and figured "I can do it, I've read some books about teaching" was your instructor?

I don't deny that there are "natural born" teachers who have the gifts and can do effective work without any training. But there are also a tonne of backpacker pretend teachers who end up giving our profession a bad name. OK, it isn't rocket science, but it ain't basket weaving either.

[systematic]

And just to confirm Thomas's comments, there is also a growing number of schools that won"t accept holders of on-line or distance TESOL Certificates without some practical experience.