Course advice

[curtis]

Hi everyone,
Im currently looking into doing TEFL and would like some advice. I found this recently http://www.huntesl.com/teach-english-in ... orea.shtml and was wondering if anyone could tell me the pros and cons of doing it this way.

Cheers

[ICAL_Pete]

It depends on what you are after and how much time, money, and commitment you are prepared to invest.

Online courses are a good option particularly if you have a limited budget to further your studies or if you have other work and/or family commitments that restrict the amount of time you have available to study. You can find good online courses that provide quality training and allow you to work at your own pace. Having no deadlines but those which you set for yourself is a great advantage.

Working on a course with a flexible schedule where your personal tutor can be contacted 24/7 or your coursework can be submitted whenever ready has allowed many of our students – teachers to complete successfully their TESL/TEFL Certificate course, further their knowledge and gain better prospects of employment.

If you are interested in quality online TESL training check also the ICAL Certificate courses.

[curtis]

Thanks Pete,
What about the short weekend courses? Would something like this allow me to get the same standard of job or is there some kind of qualification hiararchy?

[ICAL_Pete]

HI Curtis,

You can find courses worth 40, 60, 80, 100 hrs. The general perception is that the less hours a course is worth the less is the value of the certificate. It’s got to be said though that employers rarely specify how many hrs a TESL/TEFL Certificate should be worth. What matters to them is that you are certified.

Personally I would recommend that more than the number of hrs attached to a certificate you look at the course content. Start by asking a few providers for their course syllabus and compare them. Check their tutors’ credentials. Make sure the course requires some actual work on your part and it is not based on “Yes or No” answers or “Read This Unit and Summarize It” type of coursework. Try and find out what other students who have taken the course say about it. Basically do as much research as you can.

You could start by taking a look at TEFLWatch. This is a site where TESL/TEFL courses and course providers are independently reviewed and rated.

With regards to employers’ requirements these vary greatly according to where and at what level you wish to teach. It might be useful to contact a few schools where you’ like to work and ask them for their specific requirements.