Tefl --accreditation/affiliations?

Discussion about courses, qualifications etc

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Danila
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Tefl --accreditation/affiliations?

Unread post by Danila »

Hello, I´d like to know if anyone is familiar with the following organizations who give their accrediation to TEFL on line schools? Such as --CIACQ, Learn Direct, British Institute for Learning and Development, iatelf, IATQI, and the TEFL Board --which consist of a list of TEFL trainging schools. Would appreciate it if anyone can tell me if these affiliations are legitimate? these are the organizations that accredit LTTC an on line course which I´m considering to study.
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ICAL_Pete
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Re: Tefl --accreditation/affiliations?

Unread post by ICAL_Pete »

There is no independent accrediting body for international online TEFL courses. Therefore no provider can claim to have independent international accreditation.

This means that each institute, school, or organization recognizes their own Certificate and accreditation comes from good practice, professional standards and reputation.

Recognition often comes down to how the TEFL provider is perceived by the individual employer. If you are concerned about the validity of the certificate, then the only sure way to find out is to talk to the school(s) where you'd like to work. They will have their own preferences.
D_77
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Re: Tefl --accreditation/affiliations?

Unread post by D_77 »

Hi ICAL_Pete,

Thanks for the information, it has come in handy! I have started the tefl course. thx again. D_77
systematic
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Re: Tefl --accreditation/affiliations?

Unread post by systematic »

ICAL_Pete wrote:There is no independent accrediting body for international online TEFL courses. Therefore no provider can claim to have independent international accreditation.

This means that each institute, school, or organization recognizes their own Certificate and accreditation comes from good practice, professional standards and reputation.

Recognition often comes down to how the TEFL provider is perceived by the individual employer. If you are concerned about the validity of the certificate, then the only sure way to find out is to talk to the school(s) where you'd like to work. They will have their own preferences.
The above is an excellent statement that applies equally to all face-to-face courses. Many TEFL course providers claim to be accredited - they are not.
Generally, the more hype there is on their websites, the less quality there is in their courses. Some operate a dangerous scam. Franchise chains of schools are notorious for creating their own 'independent' accrediting organisation. One must also check them too.
I offer any information or advice 'as is' and hope that it has been of help. I am not an admin of this board, and my postings do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the board management.
PaulB
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Re: Tefl --accreditation/affiliations?

Unread post by PaulB »

I have investigated all of the organisations you have listed & which are from the LTTC website & here is quick synopsis of what I was able to find out:

ASET - I can find no mention of the LTTC on the ASET website & ASET doesn’t appear to list qualifications connected with TESOL/TEFL distance learning.
The certificate shown on the LTTC website is only an LTTC one, with no mention of ASET. If the courses are accredited by ASET, they are the Awarding body which sets the curriculum for the course, validates and monitors the course provider, and issues the final qualification (certificate, diploma, etc.). So, exactly what part do they play? Do they set the curriculum, audit/validate the LTTC courses & issue a certificate/diploma?

CIACQ - Appears to be Swiss Quality award based on quality of systems/service. Similar to ISO9001, but nothing to do with TESOL/TEFL course evaluation or accreditation.

Learn Direct - Yes, the LTTC are listed as a course provider on their website, but this is not an accreditation either, nor any sort of quality standard.

The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry - LTTC are apparently a member, but what bearing does it have on what is on offer? It’s not an accreditation is it? Surely it’s a ‘club’ for businesses?

The British Institute for Learning & Development - As full members it appears that an individual or two within the LTTC can show by this membership, that they are qualified to teach. Not an accreditation scheme though.

IATEFL - Virtually an international trade organisation for TESOL/TEFL course providers & teachers. Not an accreditation body.

IATQI - Do they exist or are they another organisation which appears to have been set up by a school themselves? I can only find reference to them on LTTC websites. I have searched Google, MSN & Yahoo, but they don’t appear to have a website, apart from a web page which is a Web Hosting domain, coincidentally with the same details as one connected to the LTTC.
I have found the IATQuO on some sites, but having investigated them, it would appear that they are a one man band, with virtually no recognition so far as qualifications are concerned.

TEFL Board - Although LTTC are listed, it would appear that the TEFL Board is just a subscription based course listing & not an accreditation scheme.

I have challanged the LTTC to correct or refute any of the above findings & they say they do not want to enter this sort of debate, so do draw your own conclusions, just as i have.

That's the lot for here but there is more in my other posting, connected with the LTTC within another forum here on: http://www.tefl.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1890


I hope this is useful.
systematic
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Re: Tefl --accreditation/affiliations?

Unread post by systematic »

Paul,

If you are going to run a check on every TESOL course and every so-call accrediting body, you are going to have your work cut out. As administrator and recruiter for the largest single group of independent but non-profit schools in Asia, I've been there and done that. Practically all the accrediting organisations you list are indeed little short of a scam, and three of them are, but many TESOL institutes have been naïve enough to pay them.

The LTTC however provides a perfectly good distance-course; it is very theory based as naturally there is no way in which an on-line or a distance course can provide any practical training to enable candidates to gain classroom confidence. The LTTC course is well moderated, and candidates are sometimes required to resubmit their assignments (at no extra cost). I have a copy of the course and can vouch for the academic value of its content, and I recognise their certificates. To feel uncomfortable about the LTTC would be to feel uncomfortable about 90% of all TESOL organisations.

There are some organisations, especially one or two which have sophisticated websites and make claims to being the largest in the world, which are an outright scam and must be avoided at all costs. Anyone who would like further information, please contact me through this forum or through my blog article on this subject at:
http://miathai.com/rose_with_any_name/?page_id=6
I offer any information or advice 'as is' and hope that it has been of help. I am not an admin of this board, and my postings do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the board management.
systematic
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Re: Tefl --accreditation/affiliations?

Unread post by systematic »

What you have done is to provide a service to the community by indeed having confirmed, fairly accurately, a whole situation which has not been going unnoticed, and you will be able to proceed with caution when choosing your course by following your own advice to yourself and that of others. Attempting to police the grey alleys of the TESOL towns and their cyber world single handed will probably have as little effect as trying to stop them posting fake dialogues on forums to promote themselves.
PaulB wrote:I?
I have found the IATQuO on some sites, but having investigated them, it would appear that they are a one man band, with virtually no recognition so far as qualifications are concerned.
The above is true, and the facts are that it was originally set up by a Thai based organisation to accredit its own chain of TESOL branches whose existence, it was rumoured, might not extend much beyond cyberspace, in an attempt to appear far bigger than it really was (or is). That organisation recently publicly denounced its own 'IATQuO' following an internal change in focus and the staff member running it tried to go it alone. It is defunct, but its owner apparently does not know how to remove his site from its server.
This site is therefore a perfect example of how the responsible CEOs of what claim to be (see Alex case's TEFLtasic blog on this very site) the world's largest and fastest growing TESOL institute, behave in public. The fact is that the fake iatquoinfo.com site is registered (information in the public domain) by the CEO of a company called TEFL Internatoinal, in his own name and from his real home address. An still his 'branches' are supposedly accredited by IATQuO. The hard talk starts here, you will need to scroll to the very top, it is a long report, and to draw your own conclusions.

Sure, the profit ratio and the ROI on on-line training is enormous (600%) and the buccaneers of education are having a field-day at the expense of volunteers and low paid teachers - but at the end of the day, the recruiters are the ones who collectively approve, or disapprove of a course provider. And we do.
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