Tefl?

JaneHudson

Do we have a TEFL forum? If so sorry this is in the wrong place. Anyone teaching english to foreigners in Ireland? I want to do the CELTA course and I was wondering what the work is like.
thanks,
Jane

browneyedgirl

hi
i'm also thinking about doing a tefl course during the summer. i want to teach english to foreign people in ireland predominantly. ive heard that its necessary for the course to be acels recognised in order to do this. does anyone know if thats true? and if i chose to do an acels recognised course, will this also qualify me to teach english to foreign people abroad if i decide to travel?
thanks.

Dalas

Hey guys,
its really important to get a TEFL course recognised by ACELS if not no language school in Ireland can hire you. please be careful of some of the schools out there though. They are some real cowboys. . I did one two years ago and it was a nightmare I dont know how they got away with it. I do know some fantastic schools too.
If you are not planning to teach in Ireland dont bother with any kind of TEFL course, do not go near any of the weeknd ones. They are not worth anything. Most schools abroad (depending on the country) do not require qualifications and if they do its more experience than a weekend TEFL course. Anything less than 110 hours isnt worth it.

SteveCarr

I got jobs teaching in Thailand and South Korea with i-to-i's weekend TEFL course, so not all of them are completely useless. If you want to teach in Europe I believe you need the CELTA qualification.

gaeilgegrinds

ACELS is the only way to go.

tvr

Sorry for bringing up an old thread , but I am very interested in adding a tefl qualification to the cv. I am just wondering can anyone direct me to a legitmate course . Are the online courses that google has a scam? What is the general cost and lenghth.

Really just want to have as a fall back in case I have to teach english on the weekends in China.

Any comments would be great.

thehamo

I have been considering doing tefl my self for a while and i have done alot of reading up on this.

So far, the TEFL offered by i-to-i seems to be the safest bet so far. I am considering doing the 60 hour on-line course which looks faorly comprehensive. This cert is accredited by the ODLQC (open and distance learning quality council or something i think) and the SQMS(scottish Quality mgmt system). And allows you to teach all over the world. It is also recomended in such publications as the Lonely Planet.:)

With regarding to teaching in irish schools, it is a requirement to be accredited by the ACELS. However, other tefl qualifications can be handed over to the ACELS to see if there is an equivilancy to their standards, and if there is they will give you their seal of approval!

I should also think that experience teaching in foreign schools would stand to you in this situation.

kronsington

has anyone done the weekend i-to-i course? im considering doing it as i would like to teach for a short period abroad in the coming months. would people recommend this or the 60 hour online option? is it difficult to get work once the course has been completed? sorry if these questions have already been asked

kittex

I did a 40 hour i to i a couple of years ago.
It involved the 20 hour weekend one, plus a 20 hour online course. I found it OK, but then I'm a qualified teacher and was only doing it to get some summer EFL work one year.
It really was aimed at people who want to use it to travel, with or without degrees. It was a total crash course in some teaching techniques and I think if you've got some cop on yourself it's enough.

I think ACELS are pretty strict about not recognising the i to i weekend courses though...

InTouch

kittex wrote:

I did a 40 hour i to i a couple of years ago.
It involved the 20 hour weekend one, plus a 20 hour online course. I found it OK, but then I'm a qualified teacher and was only doing it to get some summer EFL work one year.
It really was aimed at people who want to use it to travel, with or without degrees. It was a total crash course in some teaching techniques and I think if you've got some cop on yourself it's enough.

I think ACELS are pretty strict about not recognising the i to i weekend courses though...

The forty hour one is useless. go to dorset college and do a course there. that's what i'll be doing soon enough anyway. Thing is, there's no point wasting your time on money on something you can get elsewhere for better value and quality. I got offered jobs from abroad with my TEFL Certificate however when i tried to apply to a school here to do some part time work I was told that their course isn't recognized by their school so I was sent walking and feeling robbed from the 40hour thing! 60 hours is probably the same. I think if you have a 110 hours course you then have a right to demand good payment. most places who pay well also look for someone with third level degrees too. but not all places.

The White Rose

I think the minimum ACELS will accept is 110 hours.

Do not do an online course. They are useless and accepted by nobody. Contact ACELS directly (6767374) to see which courses they approve.

As a career it's not great unless you want to live abroad

kittex

InTouch wrote:

The forty hour one is useless. go to dorset college and do a course there. that's what i'll be doing soon enough anyway. Thing is, there's no point wasting your time on money on something you can get elsewhere for better value and quality. I got offered jobs from abroad with my TEFL Certificate however when i tried to apply to a school here to do some part time work I was told that their course isn't recognized by their school so I was sent walking and feeling robbed from the 40hour thing! 60 hours is probably the same. I think if you have a 110 hours course you then have a right to demand good payment. most places who pay well also look for someone with third level degrees too. but not all places.

I should have added that I didn't pay for mine. To be honest, if I had I might have been unhappy that it wasn't recognised. However, as it was offered to me for free so I saw no harm in doing it.
The 'online' element of the course was actually done via a grammar workbook and was fairly easy. the real part of the course, was face to face.

It really depends on where you are going and what you want it for.
A friend of mine is teaching full time in Korea, in a nice little private school. He only had the 20 hour weekend course and is getting paid very well.

As Intouch says, you've no chance of working in Ireland, Europe or Dubai withouth a 100 + hours course from somewhere considered more reputable.

InTouch - I was under the impression that i to i Ireland have to tell you that the course isn't recognised in Ireland? Did they mislead you? If that is the case, perhaps you could look for your money back.

kronsington

what would people recommend for someone like me who is not pursuing a career in teaching but thinks doing a tefl course would be something worthwhile and could be used within the next 6 months somewhere abroad, there's many options and i dont know which is most suitable, any thoughts?

DAVIDDOLAN

I am considering doing a 120 hour online course in a few months. Do you know if this stands at all for me to teach in europe or in other countrys. I know that degrees are not accepted in all countrys but i dont know if this course is worth anything at all. can you give me any info or feedback

Toto Wolfcastle

DAVIDDOLAN I have already moved your previous post to the TEFL thread. You should look there for responses and to ask more questions.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=69934753#post69934753

Please do not bump old threads. This one is from 2007.

Locked.