Tefl.NET Forums

I was contacted directly by I to I, a tefl training company. They are rarely mentioned here as unlike Celta or the other one. So I wanted to know if anyone else has experience with it and I would like to know what people think of it. Is it a scam?

They claim to be globally recognised and that if I didn't find a job in 6 months I'd get my many back.

I went onto their site and they phoned me up to talk to me and recommended for the "professional course" which is 120 hours and a weekend getting practical experience for about £250.

I am a UK citizen and have a BA.

I would appreciate any help.

Hi there,

Online TEFL courses are much of a muchness. If an employer accepts online qualifications, they'll accept them from any provider. However, be advised that an increasing number of employers refuse to accept them because they don't include the all-important six hours of observed and assessed teaching practice. Note that the weekend element of online/blended courses does not meet this criteria because you 'teach' your fellow trainees as opposed to real students.

i-to-i is a well-established company that offers online TEFL courses of varying duration along with the EDI CertTEFL, a blended Level 5 course that's equivalent to the CELTA or Trinity CertTESOL. I actually did their 120hr course several years ago as a sort of 'taster' to see if TEFL was for me. Having decided that it was, I went on to do the CELTA, and it's that rather than the online TEFL course that I've used to find work.

If you simply want to spend a year or two teaching abroad, an online TEFL course is fine. If, however, you want to make a career out of teaching, I'd recommend investing in a more reputable qualification, such as the CELTA or Trinity CertTESOL. It will open doors that an online TEFL certificate never will.

Hope that helps, and if you have any other questions, please ask.

Briona

Thanks for the reply.

So if I only wanted to teach English for a few years, partly for the experience of the thing itself and partly to get my foot on the employment ladder for I have little experience that makes me very employable, I may want to consider I to I?

Is it a better course to that purpose?

Hi again,

The course you should choose depends on where you want to work. Here in Europe the CELTA is king. Most employers insist on you having it (or an equivalent), but even those that don't frequently hire teachers with a CELTA over teachers with just an online TEFL certificate. If, however, you'd like to teach in Asia, an online TEFL certificate is fine, although as previously mentioned, certain employers will refuse to hire you on the grounds that the course didn't include a minimum of six hours of observed and assessed teaching practice.

In short, my advice is either to (a) choose a country and then an appropriate course, or (b) do what I did and take an online TEFL course to see if it's something you'd be interested in, and then make further decisions at the end of it, be that seeking work with that qualification or investing in further qualifications.

Hope that helps.

Briona

I read your post and thought I would tell you that they tried to sell me a TEFL course last month with a guaranteed job placement promo. I almost fell for their BS until I found and read this here http://www.eslbase.com/forum/viewtopic/ ... -from-u-k/