i to i in Lyon, France

[britgirl]

Hi

I'm looking at doing an on-line 120 hour course with i to i in Lyon. There is a teacher training component of 20 hours. Has anyone done this course?

Do employers recognise it? The fact that there is the teaching part seems to be a good idea.

I'd be happy for any feedback. Has anyone used any other organisations in France?

thanks

[Briona]

Hi there,

If an employer wants you to have a (as in any) TEFL certificate, this one is fine. If they want you to have taken a TEFL course which includes the all-important assessed teaching practice, then an online TEFL certificate from i-to-i (or any other online provider) will not suffice. There is a big difference between the 6hrs of assessed teaching practice on a CELTA or equivalent, where you are teaching real students, and the weekend/classroom element of an online course, where you are teaching your fellow trainees.

If you can't afford to take a CELTA or Trinity CertTESOL, either from a cost or time perspective, you can take i-to-i's 140hr online TEFL certificate and then pay an additional fee to take their new EDI CertTEFL. It is a Level 5 qualification and as such is equivalent to a CELTA/Trinity CertTESOL.

Briona

[britgirl]

Hi Briona

thanks for your helpful and clear answer. In fact, the 140 hours teaching course does include 20 hours teaching over a weekend but your point about upgrading to the EDI certTEFL is definitely worth following up, especially as I do not have enough time to devote to a CELTA course. May I ask how you know of i -to-i?


Have a good day

[Briona]

Hi again,

As I said in my previous post the 20hr weekend element on online/combined courses is NOT the same thing as the teaching practice on a CELTA/Trinity CertTESOL/EDI CertTEFL course. On the weekend course you 'teach' your fellow trainees whereas on a CELTA/Trinity CertTESOL/EDI CertTEFL you teach real students. Having that experience will always stand in your favour, so I would definitely look into doing the EDI CertTEFL.

About three-and-a-half years ago I took i-to-i's 120hr online TEFL course as a sort of 'taster' to see if TEFL was for me. Satisfied that it was, I went on to do a CELTA. I've been teaching for a little over two years now, mainly in Europe. I'm a fairly regular contributor (under the same user name as here) to i-to-i's Chalkboard community.

If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Briona

[britgirl]

hi Briona

thank you for your helpful information- I understand the crucial difference now! If things go according to plan, I definitely will be looking into the EDI cert. At the moment, however, it is not offered in France so I shall have to make do with the on-line 120hours one for the time being.

Have a good day

[harrybro]

thanks for your helpful and clear answer.