CELTA or Trinity?

[HumourIsKey]

Hi there,

I'm being interviewed tomorrow for a Trinity TESOL course in Oxford, but I still wonder which out of Trinity or CELTA is the better course, if there is a better out of the two at all? I have no idea.

I suppose my question is: Are they both as well recognised in all the same countries around the world? I want to start my teaching in China, I hope they don't prefer CELTA over Trinity. I fear of being sold short one way or the other.

Can anyone enlighten me please? Any help would be genuinely appreciated.

Kind Regards

[Alex Case]

I would say that Cambridge are slightly better at making sure courses are standardised, but in terms of recognition they are almost the same- people who haven't heard of Trinity almost certainly haven't heard of Cambridge either. A few might just think it's great because it's got Cambridge written on it without knowing it as a qualification, but those are hardly the kinds of places you want to work. In summary, CELTA slightly edges ahead, but if that would mean much higher cost and/ or inconvenient date or location, then I wouldn't let it worry you

[LeProf]

That's a great question, and I must admit it concerns me greatly as the course director of a non-Cambridge/Trinity certificed TEFL cert course!

I have two main comments: First of all, there are other certificate validating organisations out there who are definitely worth their salt, but as you obviously appreciate, some have better 'names' than others. The one I use is called IATQUO, which is run by the retired-head of TEFL at Trinity (!) which means that the quality is absolutely but they don't ask a prohibitive price just to 'buy' a well-known name, for example. Which in turn allows our school to produce a good, seriously validated course, for a more reasonable price.

The other vital point, which is exactly the same for teacher training courses and English lessons alike, is that the actual trainer / teacher who runs the course and gives the input sessions is perhaps the most important factor governing whether or not the course will be a success. Some of the larger teacher training organisations won't be able to tell you who your trainer will be, and may even object to your asking, as if you were questioning their ability to supply top-quality trainers for all their courses. Or they may simply not feel like taking the time so it's up to you to use your intuition to decide if you are going to trust them with your future four weeks, and one of the best ways of doing this is the contact you have with the school as you are going through the application process.

That'll do for now! Good luck in your future English teaching career - it's a great vocation!
Sab Will, Will Power English

[Alex Case]

You make buying a well known name sound like a bad thing, but as a teacher that is probably exactly what you should do as that will guarantee you a job almost anywhere. If you take a cert accredited by IATQUO and your potential boss doesn't know the name and so Googles it, that is not going to help your case if you are competing against people with better known and respected (for whatever reason) ones like Cambridge, Trinity or SIT as the online information on IATQUO is mixed. If you are competing only against teachers with no Cert, which is common but usually the sign of a job worth avoiding, you will of course be streets ahead with any cert, especially one that makes a more or less credible case at being properly accredited.

[systematic]

IATQUO

It may be well worthwhile doing some very detailed research on everything and anything connected with IATQUO. According to various reports in the public domain, there are some reasons worth reading why the owner is no longer working with Trinity, and why and how IATQUO was set up in the first place. Alex Case's blog will be one of the first places to start looking.

[HumourIsKey]

Hi Systematic,

I've been on Alex Case's blog and looked through maaaaany articles but can't find any gossip regarding why he left Trinity. Could you enlighten me please? You've panicked me slightly, is Trinity going downhill or something, according to info you've read on the public domain?

Thanks for all other replies to my post too

[systematic]

Hi Systematic,

I've been on Alex Case's blog and looked through maaaaany articles but can't find any gossip regarding why he left Trinity. Could you enlighten me please? You've panicked me slightly, is Trinity going downhill or something, according to info you've read on the public domain?

Thanks for all other replies to my post too

See my PM.