Canterbury College Madrid

[glamracket]

Hello all

I've been thinking about this for quite some time and now I feel I'm ready to head to Madrid to start a TEFL course.

I've been reading up on a college (actually advertised on this site also) called Canterbury. It looks perfect for me.

The only problem is the accreditation. The website tells me that this course is accredited by the College of Teachers, London. I can't see either whether the course is a true TESOL course.

How can I find this out for certain?

Also, has anyone had any experience with this particular college and/or course?

All information gladly recieved (apart from spam and advertising:-)

Gareth

[Lucas]

Hello,
The College of Teachers is not an accrediting organization. Any school can become a member for a small annual fee for the benefit of receiving material and information about the industry.
Lucas from Ontesol
www.ontesol.com

[glamracket]

Thanks for that.

So essentially, this course is not recognised or not considered as highly as other TEFL courses?

[Loulou]

Hmm, Lucas, I could be wrong but I'm not sure that the College of Teachers is not an accrediting body. I once looked up on their site and yes, you can pay a fee to become a member but it seems to me that there is also a whole page dedicated to explaining how their accrediting body works and it has nothing to do with becoming a member.
I think the best thing to do woud be to check it out because there is a difference between an institutional membership eea nd an accreditation fee. Look at this link:
http://www.collegeofteachers.ac.uk/accreditation

[Loulou]

...otherwise, there is always EBC Madrid who run a good course!

[Lucas]

I take it back, they do seem to accredit courses as well and Canterbury College is accredited by them. To other TEFL candidates, if the school you are looking at is just a member, check if they are accredited by another reputable organization.

[glamracket]

Invaluable help...this system seems overly convoluted and difficult to penetrate.

How - for example - can I assertain whether or not the College of Teachers is considered a respectable accreditor?

[Lucas]

I don't think that College of Teachers is a bad organization because it is focused on TESOL/TEFL and members get a lot of important information so they definitely know what should be on a course. Bad organizations are those that accredit anything from knitting classes to whatever distance course there is.
In short, if you are looking to work abroad, you need a minimum of a 100-hour certificate. Some schools ask for a CELTA, Trinity, or equivalent. An equivalent course is usually a 100-hour course with practicum but not every course, whether online or on-site, is considered as equivalent because there are certain components that must be within the program to meet CELTA and Trinity standards.
TESL Canada, ACENTIS, ACTDEC Level 2+ with practicum, SIT, and accrediting bodies under the QCA ensure that the courses are Trinity and CELTA equivalent. I don't know about the College of Teachers, but many of the schools that they accredit are also recognized by at least one of the organizations mentioned above.
Lucas from Ontesol
www.ontesol.com

[systematic]

I don't think that College of Teachers is a bad organization
In short, if you are looking to work abroad, you need a minimum of a 100-hour certificate. Some schools ask for a CELTA, Trinity, or equivalent. An equivalent course is usually a 100-hour course with practicum but not every course, whether online or on-site, is considered as equivalent because there are certain components that must be within the program to meet CELTA and Trinity standards.
TESL Canada, ACENTIS, ACTDEC Level 2+ with practicum, SIT, and accrediting bodies under the QCA ensure that the courses are Trinity and CELTA equivalent. I don't know about the College of Teachers, but many of the schools that they accredit are also recognized by at least one of the organizations mentioned above.
Lucas from Ontesol
http://www.ontesol.com

As there is no international accreditation for TESOl, there are of course no international standards whatsoever. Forgive me for being bold, but as the information is also partly misleading, I would suggest the message to be yet another ploy to promote your own courses - particularly when considering the blatant advertisement in your signature.

[systematic]

Invaluable help...this system seems overly convoluted and difficult to penetrate.

How - for example - can I assertain whether or not the College of Teachers is considered a respectable accreditor?

Rather than take notice of half-baked messages here that only have the purpose of promoting the poster's courses, go direct to the information and its sources. Start here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_of_Teachers
and here:
http://www.collegeofteachers.ac.uk/

- and then you can draw your own conclusions