Please help me find a course!

[robertharvie]

I am interested in teaching english as a foreign language in china/japan but I am becoming increasingly frustrated about what course to take and where. It seems everytime I think I find a tefl course with a good reputation the tefl blacklist website proves me wrong. I have no idea where to start and would really appreciate guidance or suggestions.

[josef]

It would help other members help you in a meaningful way if you gave a little more information, for example - where are you?

[Alex Case]

Although there are other options, if you are confused about options it is probably best to stick with the Cambridge CELTA or Trinity Cert TESOL. Especially in the case of the former, the courses are very standardised and it doesn't especially matter where you study.

I'm a great fan of the TEFL Blacklist (RIP), and you might find mention of me and my own comments there. Like one or two bad reviews on a hotel review site, however, it needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.

Other things to bear in mind:
- Somewhere being a bad place to work as a teacher doesn't necessarily make it a bad place to train. For example, quite a few places who offer the CELTA pay their teachers a pittance but that has no bearing on the training you will get
- There are some very popular rumours on the internet about TEFL training which are downright lies. One is that CELTA courses have a set failure rate of 3% and you can be one of those people to fail even if your teaching is up to scratch. That simply has no basis in reality at all

If there are some specific claims on TEFL Blacklist that you'd like a comment on, please put a link here and we'll see if we have anything to add

[robertharvie]

Thanks alex I appreciate the advice. My location is England, Kent Josef

[Alex Case]

I've never heard anything bad about any CELTA courses in the UK. Maybe being over-priced, but that's Britain for you...