Specific TEFL courses for young children?

[Christina]

Hello everyone

I am studying Early Childhood Education and as living abroard I do know that there is always a great demand for ESl/EFL teachers. So I was looking for EFL courses(online) for young learners but I coundn't find any, so I was wondering if anyone here knows if such courses exist and where I can find them and if you did such a course I would also like to know how it was.
Thanks a lot for your help

Christina

[systematic]

Hi Christina,
Are you looking for an early learner's course for teachers, or courses for children?
I just Googled "early learning english online" and got 28,900,000 listings.
You say you are working abroad, but you don't state which country.

[Christina]

Hi
I want to get a TEFL certificate and I am teaching kids, so that this certificate should give me some practical help as well theoretical background knowledge that is relevant to the age group of Kindergarten and Primary children. Therefore was I wondering if there is a TEFL certificate that I can obtain that is specific for teaching ESL/EFL in Kindergarten and Primary classrooms. As the learning style and the teaching methods for younger children differ from those used for adults or older children. And I need to do this Online. I am in Germany at the moment. We just moved here form Korea where I needed no certificate but I do know that Germany is crazy about certificates and the right certificate makes things a lot easier here.

Thanks for your help

Christina

[systematic]

Hi Christina,

You don't need to tell me about Germany, I lived and worked there for 18 years and 9 of those at the TU in Berlin ;)

A 2-minute GOOGLE search turned up all these online training courses for teachers of Young Learners. However, you may find that if you don't have a TEFL already, they might only offer these courses as an additional option to a full course.:

http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/online/young_learners.html (online)

http://www.englishtc.co.uk/teaching-young-learners (CdRom or download the course)

http://www.ontesol.com/Welcome.asp?modo=13 (online)

http://www.cactustefl.com/tefl/online_c ... se_id=3547 (online)

http://www.learn4good.com/tefl/tesol_uk ... ourses.htm (online)

You may wish to check these sites for further information:

http://www.britishcouncil.org/teacherre ... arners.htm

http://www.teflcorp.com/specialized-course.htm (this is TEFL INternational - search this site for comments, and read Alex Case here http://www.tefl.net/alexcase/blog/ and search this board and the Internet for comments on TEFL INternational. They operate under a confusing number of names and websites.

http://www.onlineteflcourse.com/tefl-yo ... bout.shtml (this is also TEFL INternational - search this site for comments, and read Alex Case here http://www.tefl.net/alexcase/blog/ and search the Internet for comments on TEFL INternational.

http://www.celt.edu.gr/certificateTEFL.htm (not online)

http://www.cambridgeesol.org/exams/teac ... eltyl.html (not online)

Be very careful how you choose your course.

Good luck,
Systematic.

[ICAL_Pete]

The type of course you are after are TEYL courses (TEYL=Teaching English to Young Learners). They are marketed to those who want to specialise in teaching English to young children and teenagers but they are often an add-on feature, given away free when you register in a TESL or TEFL course.

Not sure about their worth as a good TESL or TEFL course should cover all sorts of teaching scenarios and prepare their teachers for all age groups. And as a teacher you don’t want to be tied in to one age group.

[AmandaUCSC]

Hello,
I was wondering if you had tried these courses and what you might recommend?

I am looking to move to Berlin in July to be with my husband after I complete my PhD qualifying exams and I'm looking for a course that would prepare me for teaching there. I have taught and tutored (without certification) in Taiwan and China, but I believe that Germany will required a bit more than my advanced degree. I'd like to be prepared!

Thanks!

[systematic]

I certainly don't wish to dampen anyone's enthusiasm, but as reported by several posters, TESOL jobs are not easy to get for people who do not have EU passports - which carry an automatic right to work in any EU country. This right is not extended to US citizens and a spouse's status is unlikely to have much influence.