cactustefl.com

[AndyPoots]

Hi all,

Has anyone had any experience with Cactus?

I was thinking about taking the "pre-course course" and then going on to do a weekend + online course.I can only do a weekend course due to working a 50 hour week, and wanted to do the pre course to gain some insight and build a bit of confidence.

my ultimate goal is to move back to S.E Asia (where I've lived for the best part of the last 8 years) and teach English.I will be going to Thailand for at least 6 months at the end of November and at that time want to take a CELTA course or other 4 week course.

In the mean time I'm hoping to volunteer here in the U.K, either at a local language school or offer free tutoring to foreigners here learning English. Would this experience help on getting on a CELTA course?

Thank you for any advice.

AndyPoots

Thank

[systematic]

Hi Andy,

The CELTA course is designed for people who have no previous teaching experience. There are a couple of good providers of the CELTA course in Thailand.
Any practical teaching you do beforehand as a volunteer will certainly give you a taste of what is to come, and in my opinion will make any pre-course course superfluous.

[systematic]

Thank you, troll.

[ICAL_Pete]

Volunteering with local associations involved with EFL teaching is a great idea. City Councils, Parishes and local Libraries often organize literacy programs for immigrants, for example, and volunteers are always welcome. With practical experience under your belt you would not need a pre-course or a weekend course, but could take a quality online TEFL Certificate course or a CELTA. Whatever suits your time and finances best!

By volunteering in projects like these you will not only contribute to your local community but you will also be able to apply TEFL theories, strategies and techniques discussed in the course and appreciate their full value.

[systematic]

Hi all,

Has anyone had any experience with Cactus?

I should have mentioned before that as far as I know CACTUS is just a broker or an affiliate advertiser and not a course provider.

[AndyPoots]

Thank you all for the replies,

The main reason i wanted to take the pre course course, was to get more confident with and improve my grammar. Here is a link to the course.

http://www.cactustefl.com/tefl/online_c ... se_id=2827

After doing this, the weekender and hopefully some volunteer work, I will feel better equipped looking for work back in Thailand or any where else in S.E Asia.

As i mentioned before my ultimate goal would be to get a CELTA. I've contacted a course provider in Bangkok, and was told i would need a pre university qualification to get on the course or a very strong application. As i don't have a pre uni qualification i was hoping that doing the shorter courses and getting as much work experience as possible, would one day help me get on a CELTA course.

Silly idea??

Thanks again.

Pooots

[Alex Case]

Makes sense as far as getting on the course goes, but you will still find it very difficult indeed to get jobs even with the CELTA, given your lack of a degree or even qualifications a step under that. In most of Asia, you won't even be able to get a working visa, as a degree is much more important for that than a CELTA or equivalent

[systematic]

Alex is perfectly correct in his comments concerning Thailand and degrees.
However, many course providers are careful not to mention that a degree is required. A close friend completed a TEFL course in Thailand several months ago. He is of mature age, a published author, and speaks fluent Thai, but he has no degree. He has not been able to find legal employment, and is not prepared to accept the one or two very shady or badly paid part-time offers for living and working on the wrong side of the law.

[AndyPoots]

Thanks for the heads up guys.

Your right, not one course provider has mentioned anything about needing a degree to get work after completing the course.

How quickly my dreams are flushed down the toilet

[KevinUK]

Hello,

That's not good news for me either, knowing that a degree is important for almost all jobs. I think once I finally take a course and get the certificate it's still going to be a challenge looking for work.

I'm thinking about some of the smaller countries, the less popular ones and wondering if this might be a way forward to at least start off. Surely employees will not just look at your qualifications but also at other factors like appearence, attitude, maturity, confidence etc.

I've read that jobs are available to people without any degrees but these are the lesser paid ones. If this is the case I would go for these, at least it's a job and experience. A jobs a job and you should take any oppertunity you can.

Just my thoughts. Hopefully, I've get some more advise.

Kevin

[Alex Case]

I think the main two questions are, even more than "Can I get a job without a degree in that country?":

- Can I get a working visa without a degree in that country?
- Can I afford to live there until I do find work?

Never been to any of them, but one of the cheaper EU Eastern European countries sound logical choices for EU passport holders. Any thoughts from anyone who knows them??

Alternatively, just go back to school and get a degree first, or at least do a distance study one like Open University as you do other things. You're going to want to get a decent TEFL job or go back home sooner or later, and for both a degree is almost essential