TEFL / TESOL - Why is it all so confusing?

Hi,

I wish to teach english abroad in about a years time, once i have finished my degree, hoping to go with my boyfriend. Ive just done a google search and been completely blown away. Im so confused about the whole thing. Does anyone here recommend a company to go with? How about i-to-i? They find you a job after you finish the course, id prefer this. Can anyone break it down for me, how do i got about getting the correct qualifications then finding a job.

Thanks :)

i-to-i isn’t a great company if you are wanting to teach english. they give you a crap, more or less useless qualification and charge you money to set up things you could do yourself.

It isn’t necessary to have a TEFL qualification if you want to teach English as a foreign language. Often you only need a degree (or you can also get jobs without even that as a native speaker). However, if you are serious about it then a proper qualification could be useful. The most widely recognised is the CELTA so if you are going to get qualified then that’s the one to do. Don’t go for an online one which may indicate you have interest in the area but little else.

As for a job, it depends where you want to go. There are a few people on this website who are teaching in South Korea so could advise you specifically on that. Also there are specific schemes such as the JET scheme for Japan, otherwise it is just a matter of looking into it and the jobs available.

Like Llamas said, you’re qualified already by having a degree and being a native speaker - specific qualifications (that would qualify you in the UK, for example) like TEFL and teaching experience will get you a better job, but aren’t strictly necessary.

Most stuff you can sort out for yourself - the first question is where do you want to go? After that you can research requirements and potential problems as they differ from place to place.

if you can get a stopover in thailand, chiang mai univercity is a very highly regarded one and is celta qualified.

you just deal direct with the univercity and its bout 800 for the month.

theres a good one in prague, barcelona, trinity cert qualified. cant remember the name

The most widely recognised is the CELTA so if you are going to get qualified then that’s the one to do.

What is CELTA? I’ve never heard of this, is it very different to TEFL?

I’d quite like to teach abroad after uni; how easy is it to find jobs? I taught in Hong Kong this summer but the company was pretty crap and disorganised - I wouldn’t want that to happen again and I think that if I actually had some sort of qualification there’d be less chance as hopefully I could get a better job?!

What is CELTA? I’ve never heard of this, is it very different to TEFL?

I’d quite like to teach abroad after uni; how easy is it to find jobs? I taught in Hong Kong this summer but the company was pretty crap and disorganised - I wouldn’t want that to happen again and I think that if I actually had some sort of qualification there’d be less chance as hopefully I could get a better job?!

CELTA is type of TEFL qualification, and one of the most widely recognised ones. They are normally quite intense, last a few weeks and cost quite a lot when compared to the internet courses and i-to-i weekend ones you can do but the result is that you get something that is regarded as a proper qualification that will allow you to teach english as a foreign language pretty much anywhere. It’s examined and regulated by Cambridge Uni and part of the course give you so many hours hands-on observed teaching time so the people looking to employ you know you have had to pass a certain level of comptency in actually teaching in order to get the qualification. Having the CELTA qualification would also mean that, assuming you were going somewhere where english teachers are in high demand, you can be quite picky about the jobs you take on. If you’re interested in teaching english long-term then i’d definately look into the CELTA course. Maybe try googling and seeing if there’s any CELTA schools you can ring up and have a chat with?

Another good thing about CELTA is that you can actually do them in loads of different countries (and some cheaper to do it in then the UK) and, as long as you are sure that it is a CELTA course you are doing then you can be sure that you’ll be studying the same syllabus and end up with exactly the same qualification and recognition as you would have if you studied in the UK.

The non-CELTA qualifications do have their place though, if you’re just looking to teach for a shorter period of time, aren’t too bothered about having the highest paid jobs available and are looking to go to a country where English teachers are in such high demand that you’ll be able to get a job without having a formal qualification then the non-CELTA courses could be cheaper (although not always!), less intense and could be just enough to give you some tools and confidence to use in the classroom. So it really depends what you’re looking for…

Oh okay, NEVER heard of that before! Thanks for the reply though, it sounds really interesting ... and probably a lot more reputable than the online weekend TEFL courses I’ve looked at. Would be nice to be able to pick and choose jobs!! :)

Here is an unbiased TEFL course review site:
http://www.tefl-reviews.com