What TEFL course for 1 year teaching abroad?

[katieinspain]

At this point in time, I am interested in teaching abroad, in Barcelona, for one year. I have done the standard research on TEFL courses and it seems that both CELTA and Trinity CertTESOL are geared, and therefore priced for individuals who wish to make a career of teaching to ELL. Is that true? As I only want to do a year, what is my best option for a TEFL course?

[Azariah]

Hello :)

Eerrrm... just to clear up this little rumour about CELTA or Trinity certTESOL being for those who wish to make a career out of TEFL... it's not true at all. These are entry level courses which are very quick to do and are designed to give people the basics in teaching English, even if you're only looking to teach for a year.

They're good courses mainly because of the practical element involved, so they're a lot better than most of the online courses. A teaching course without actual teaching practice isn't logical for someone with no experience and would be a waste of your time and money. I can understand that these courses are considered expensive but they're cheap compared to other professions.

My advice? Do a CELTA, Trinity certTESOL or any course which has a decent amount of teaching practice as this is the only kind of preparation that is worthwhile.

Azariah :)

[oisinbrennan]

Hi there, If you are a graduate that should be well enough to teach in Barcelona. You are though better off having a certificate. You don't need CELTA or TESOL.

[Alex Case]

I really can't make much sense of your post, Oisinbrennan. CELTA and Trinity CertTESOL ARE certificates, hence their names. You have no chance of getting a decent job in Spain without at least one of those two, especially nowadays, and most good jobs demand teaching experience and some Spanish too.