Tefl.NET Forums

HI all

Wondering if any one could give me some help and advice.

Im moving to Turkey, Kusadasi in november and have been looking into doing the 120 hours online TEFL course, I currently work at Blackpool college in Learning Support, I do not have a degree but do have a HND in Business Management and experience with working with students doing in class support.

Could anybody tell me if the online TEFL courses are any good and if the certificate would help me find work teaching English without a degree in Turkey, I have read on other forums that some Turkish schools will take you on with only the TEFL cert, could any body add to this or maybe recommend another course that might be suitable.

Many thanks

Becky

Hi Becky,

Ideally, you should take a CELTA, Trinity, or TESL Canada course. If you are going to take a 100-hour or a 120-hour online course, you shouldn't pay more than US$300. These are introductory courses for people who want to travel and are not sure if they want to pursue a teaching career for the long term, but they can be helpful as long as they cover the essentials in grammar, phonology, and methodology. It's important that the course you take covers lesson planning thoroughly so that you learn how to prepare real lesson plans. Many courses ask you to submit short written assignments, which are easy, but won't help you to become a good teacher.

On-site Trinity and TESL Canada courses in Toronto, Canada
http://www.study-at-coventry.com

Online courses recognized by TESL Canada and ACTDEC UK
http://www.ontesol.com

A lot of people feel that the CELTA course is overkill for a new teacher. It is a very good but very intensive course and without at least a couple of years teaching experience you are likely to flounder and struggle. Having previous experience before CELTA is a great help.

A basic TEFL Certificate is sufficient for teaching in Turkey and this includes an online TEFL Certificate. We have a number of graduates working in Turkey having secured work with the ICAL TEFL Certificate, for example.

Thank you for the information, I will look into this

Many thanks