TEFL/CELTA/CELT answers...

penzo

wondering if anyone can help us, i'm looking to do a part time celta course hoping to start in the summer.

JayC5

JayC5 wrote: »

Hey folks,

Anyone have any info on doing an MA in TESOL or something similar by distance learning? I'll be heading to S.E. Asia to teach soon but I'm trying to find some info to get an MA that'll improve my job opportunities / income over the next few years.

So far I've been looking at this course, looks pretty good and from a reputable institution:

MA TESOL

Any other insights or ideas? Also, any movement on getting the TEFL/ELT sub forum setup???


Cheers

How many years have you been teaching English and where abouts? I really think an MA TESOL would only be useful in the Middle-East.

As for the sub-forum, I requested it a year ago and even with alot of support, it got denied. Really stupid.. It would be a great place to share ideas and tips. You can't really start a thread in "Teaching and Lecturing" asking the best way to teach 2nd Conditional to an English Learner.. Most people are just subbed to a couple of these TEFL threads and don't even see new ones.

JayC5

Deleted User wrote: »

How many years have you been teaching English and where abouts? I really think an MA TESOL would only be useful in the Middle-East.

As for the sub-forum, I requested it a year ago and even with alot of support, it got denied. Really stupid.. It would be a great place to share ideas and tips. You can't really start a thread in "Teaching and Lecturing" asking the best way to teach 2nd Conditional to an English Learner.. Most people are just subbed to a couple of these TEFL threads and don't even see new ones.

Zero years teaching english at this point, just secured my first position and starting in Thailand in May. Wrapping up an i to i 140 hour TEFL course at the moment which was very useful to me; I finally know what a lesson-plan is!!

I read in other forums that an MA in education or a PGCE(i) is very useful for getting into the higher-paying mid-tier schools in Thailand. Also, I heard if you are studying for an MA in Education you get an exemption from having to do those mandatory TCT teaching tests that they have in Thailand...

A shame about the sub-forum, it's hardly that controversial a request?! The powers-that-be consider a 'Christmas Gift ideas' sub-forum to be of merit but not ESL/TEFL... hmm :rolleyes:

Bicycle

Would somebody be kind enough, please, to give me your views on this:
http://megadeals.pigsback.com/offer/65988/59-instead-of-489-for-140-hour-scholar-level-5-tefl-course-with-tefl-cambridge

I've checked on the ACELS site and they appear to say the Cambridge Level 5 is valid.

I have a Level 9 qualification already.

Thanks in advance.

Charisteas

Bicycle wrote: »

Would somebody be kind enough, please, to give me your views on this:
http://megadeals.pigsback.com/offer/65988/59-instead-of-489-for-140-hour-scholar-level-5-tefl-course-with-tefl-cambridge

Really interested in this course myself, but the description is a bit vague.

Is the full 140 hours all online? Is there no classroom teacher to student training?

Also can't seem to find any details on the TKT test, ie when, where, and how much. The website says that International House and English Academy both host the test but couldn't find anything on their websites.

Bicycle

Bicycle wrote: »

Would somebody be kind enough, please, to give me your views on this:
http://megadeals.pigsback.com/offer/65988/59-instead-of-489-for-140-hour-scholar-level-5-tefl-course-with-tefl-cambridge

I've checked on the ACELS site and they appear to say the Cambridge Level 5 is valid.

I have a Level 9 qualification already.

Thanks in advance.

Worth doing for the sake of it I suppose.. I'd nearly do it to brush up on things I've forgotten. Where would you intend to use it? It never would have helped me get a job in Vietnam cause a school that pays more for a cert won't consider an online course to be worth anything really.

Edit: Having looked at the list of modules, I might do it just for the grammar stuff without any real intention of actually finishing it.. Already have a 4 week classroom cert. I keep meaning to brush up on the more complex grammar and spending $100 would just about motivate me to actually study.

Bicycle

Charisteas wrote: »

Really interested in this course myself, but the description is a bit vague.

Is the full 140 hours all online? Is there no classroom teacher to student training?

Also can't seem to find any details on the TKT test, ie when, where, and how much. The website says that International House and English Academy both host the test but couldn't find anything on their websites.

Yes, I think the 140 hours is all on-line. No classroom training. I saw that there were places in Galway and Dublin that do the TKT exam.

88 were sold last night when I checked. I'm assuming that Cambridge will need to have something in place to maintain their reputation.

I have quite a few years experience teaching in the private sector, in another field. I'm just hoping this would add another string to my bow. Maybe help me pick up a few extra hours here and there.

I've used Piggypoints to pay for it so its not the end of the world!!

Marie212

Hey guys, would this course on pigsback be better/ more recognized than the 140 hour combined course with i to i?

Charisteas

Bicycle wrote: »

I saw that there were places in Galway and Dublin that do the TKT exam.

I live in Dublin so my options are either the Applied Language Centre, County Dublin Vocational Education Committee, or Education First International Language School.

None of their websites have any info on dates or prices of the TKT, so I've dropped them all an e-mail and will post back here the replies.

Charisteas

penzo wrote: »

wondering if anyone can help us, i'm looking to do a part time celta course hoping to start in the summer.

This may come too soon for you but the next International House part-time CELTA course is 4th March - 23rd May 2013 and their next online/face-to-face blended course is on 17th March - 29th June 2013.

penzo

Charisteas wrote: »

This may come too soon for you but the next International House part-time CELTA course is 4th March - 23rd May 2013 and their next online/face-to-face blended course is on 17th March - 29th June 2013.

do they really only have one part-time a year or has the other one not been put up yet do you know?

Charisteas

penzo wrote: »

do they really only have one part-time a year or has the other one not been put up yet do you know?

I'm not sure. The 4th March - 23rd May 2013 course was originally scheduled for 4th February - 25th April, so perhaps they pushed it back four weeks because of a lack of demand, which would also explain why they possibly only run one or two per year.

clicla

Hey everyone,

I did an online TEFL course but am looking to get a better qualification with practical experience, thinking of choosing the CELT over CELTA as it's cheaper and have looked into the Swan Training Institute, the English Academy and the Dublin school of English but just wondering if anyone know which school is bets or even know of other institutions?

Any help at all would be much appreciated,thanks!

clicla

Hey Kevin

I did an online TEFL course but am looking to get a better qualification with practical experience, thinking of choosing the CELT over CELTA as it's cheaper and have looked into the Swan Training Institute, the English Academy and the Dublin school of English but just wondering if you know which school is best or even know of other institutions?

Any help at all would be much appreciated,thanks!

Charisteas

clicla wrote: »

thinking of choosing the CELT over CELTA as it's cheaper

I would choose the course which is better for you and more suited to your needs. Don't go for one over the other because it's a few hundred Euro cheaper, sure you'll make the money back in a few days of teaching.

Bicycle wrote: »

88 were sold last night when I checked. I'm assuming that Cambridge will need to have something in place to maintain their reputation.

I don't think that this course is associated with Cambridge at all, it just teaches you what you need to know in order to pass the TKT course. The address of the company running the course is in Hong Kong which I thought was odd. Have you started the course yet? What do you think of it?

SeantheMan

clicla wrote: »

Hey Kevin

I did an online TEFL course but am looking to get a better qualification with practical experience, thinking of choosing the CELT over CELTA as it's cheaper

CELT is the same as CELTA as far as I'm aware

Where is the CELT certificate recognised and by whom?

The CELT certificate entitles the bearer to teach the English language both in
Ireland and abroad. It is the minimum requirement for employment in the
recognised sector in Ireland. Due to increased standardisation of English language
teaching certificates it is often the minimum requirement for teaching abroad too.
The English equivalent would be the CELTA. Both certificates are fully recognised by
the Irish Department of Education and the British Council.

The Gibzilla

I have an interview for the part-time CELTA course with Kaplan. Has anyone attended one of these interviews before? If so, any advice?

Bicycle

Bicycle wrote: »

Would somebody be kind enough, please, to give me your views on this:
http://megadeals.pigsback.com/offer/65988/59-instead-of-489-for-140-hour-scholar-level-5-tefl-course-with-tefl-cambridge

I've checked on the ACELS site and they appear to say the Cambridge Level 5 is valid.

I have a Level 9 qualification already.

Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone and thanks for your help regarding the above.

I rang the Galway Cultural Institute this afternoon and they told me that the exams cost €170 or thereabouts each. There are 3 exams to be completed running to approximately €510, making the course a lot more expensive than one was initially lead to believe. And they couldn't guarantee me that I would be able to work in Ireland either. They said some schools might accept the qualification and others might not.

I have a 7 day cooling off period which ends tomorrow. I'm giving serious consideration to ending my agreement.

griffdaddy

Bicycle wrote: »

Hi everyone and thanks for your help regarding the above.

I rang the Galway Cultural Institute this afternoon and they told me that the exams cost €170 or thereabouts each. There are 3 exams to be completed running to approximately €510, making the course a lot more expensive than one was initially lead to believe. And they couldn't guarantee me that I would be able to work in Ireland either. They said some schools might accept the qualification and others might not.

I have a 7 day cooling off period which ends tomorrow. I'm giving serious consideration to ending my agreement.

As far as I know you can only ever work in a language school in Ireland when you have a degree and a CELT

SeantheMan

griffdaddy wrote: »

As far as I know you can only ever work in a language school in Ireland when you have a degree and a CELT

This is also my understanding. That a CELT is required along with a degree of some kind in order to teach English as a foreign language in Ireland

Taken from the ACELS site http://www.acels.ie/acelselt.htm

Certificate in English Language Teaching (CELT): All successful trainees who are awarded this certificate are eligible to work in all Department of Education & Science recognised English language (ELT) schools in Ireland. Click here for information

Robmeister2011

Hi guys,

I think this is the appropriate place.

Basically, I've been accepted to LoveTEFL's Thailand programme and am wondering if anyone has any experience with them?

I'm naturally sceptical of anyone who accepts me this quick.

sweetthing

griffdaddy wrote: »

As far as I know you can only ever work in a language school in Ireland when you have a degree and a CELT

Is that CELT only, or do they also accept the CELTA?

wezmc1985

JayC5 wrote: »

Zero years teaching english at this point, just secured my first position and starting in Thailand in May. Wrapping up an i to i 140 hour TEFL course at the moment which was very useful to me; I finally know what a lesson-plan is!!

I read in other forums that an MA in education or a PGCE(i) is very useful for getting into the higher-paying mid-tier schools in Thailand. Also, I heard if you are studying for an MA in Education you get an exemption from having to do those mandatory TCT teaching tests that they have in Thailand...

A shame about the sub-forum, it's hardly that controversial a request?! The powers-that-be consider a 'Christmas Gift ideas' sub-forum to be of merit but not ESL/TEFL... hmm :rolleyes:

hi, just wondering about your background. What education have you done to secure a job teaching English in Thailand? i have two years done in an IT and also plenty of first-aid training, i am looking into doing a TEFL course where i am from and going teaching somewhere, (anywhere!) and looking for advice...
If i do the tefl course, can i just start applying for jobs and expect to get hired?
Was it all done via the internet?
Thanks for any information you can help me with

SeantheMan

sweetthing wrote: »

Is that CELT only, or do they also accept the CELTA?

If you bothered to read a few posts above.

Where is the CELT certificate recognised and by whom?

The CELT certificate entitles the bearer to teach the English language both in
Ireland and abroad. It is the minimum requirement for employment in the
recognised sector in Ireland. Due to increased standardisation of English language
teaching certificates it is often the minimum requirement for teaching abroad too.
The English equivalent would be the CELTA. Both certificates are fully recognised by
the Irish Department of Education and the British Council.

griffdaddy

sweetthing wrote: »

Is that CELT only, or do they also accept the CELTA?

When you do the CELTA you can pay an optional extra €40 euro to have your degree checked and the administration done to issue you with a CELT as well. Even though they're essentially the same thing I went for it because, let's be honest, how often do you get a chance to 'buy' a genuine qualification so easily?

Most schools in South East Asia would look at a CELT and think it was such a bad photoshop, they forgot the A.. Good for Ireland I suppose though?

JayC5

wezmc1985 wrote: »

hi, just wondering about your background. What education have you done to secure a job teaching English in Thailand? i have two years done in an IT and also plenty of first-aid training, i am looking into doing a TEFL course where i am from and going teaching somewhere, (anywhere!) and looking for advice...
If i do the tefl course, can i just start applying for jobs and expect to get hired?
Was it all done via the internet?
Thanks for any information you can help me with

Yes, all done via the web.
Not sure where you're thinking of going but in terms of Thailand, I've been told that the success rate for job applications is much higher for those that are already in the country at the time of applying. If applying before you go then an agency might be your only choice. I applied to AYC, heard reasonably good things about them so I'll take the risk, need some experience under my belt.


Education: Arts degree, Lib & Info Studies/History (Major/Minor)
Diploma in Social Science / Cert in Journalism
140 hour TEFL online with 2 days of in-class modules including teaching practice.
Spent 10 years working in a multinational in terms of work experience.

Jobs: I sent off an email to an agency that was advertised on the i to i TEFL jobs board, they replied and asked for a copy of my degree, passport, CV with colour photo, and TEFL cert. Got offered a job two days later, signed the contract and booked the flight. One catch tho, I can nominate a region I want to work in but won't know the exact location until closer to the time. The agency bascially do the hiring, short-list the applicants and then the schools divide them up between themselves, so I could end up anywhere in that region really. I don't mind as I'm looking for some experience plus I know Thailand quite well, been there a good few times before.

Ajarn.com and Thailandteaching.asia have great info for Thailand, a lot of stuff on there that would help you no matter where you end up really.

eslcafe.com has also been mentioned to me, haven't had a chance to look at it tho.

esljobfeed.com looks pretty good too

englishteacherx.com is good for laugh, but there's plenty to be learned on there also, a little more informal in tone (which I kinda like, less BS)

For general info and insights I like this guy's blog:
teachingenglishinaforeignland.blogspot.ie

Would you consider doing the TEFL over there and going from there? I'm thinking about doing a CELTA course over there at a later stage - I've been looking at ECC, they seem reasonably priced. A CELTA would definitely have more sway than an online TEFL cert: eccthai.com/training

Hope this helps

SeantheMan

Had my interview for the CELT course in CES starting in March.
They explained how intensive the 4 weeks would be and the structure of it etc, very interesting.

Excited to get started now

wezmc1985

JayC5,

Yeah that's my issue, no degree but would be really interested in this. I have looked a little into the doing a course over there alright, i might have more of a think about that... I still have a lot to get through in terms of finding things out but would love to go and do it... I wouldn't like to go all the way to do the course and have no job either when I could apply from here and do a course locally, but as you said, being in the country probably helps as well... My work experience isn't all that relevant to this either, primarily Retail and IT.

That TEFL course you have done is the one that I was looking to do... There is one on next weekend locally so I might call up and try get more useful information and advice from tutors...

Thanks for the response anyway, I appreciate it...

Charisteas

Bicycle wrote: »

Hi everyone and thanks for your help regarding the above.

I rang the Galway Cultural Institute this afternoon and they told me that the exams cost €170 or thereabouts each. There are 3 exams to be completed running to approximately €510, making the course a lot more expensive than one was initially lead to believe. And they couldn't guarantee me that I would be able to work in Ireland either. They said some schools might accept the qualification and others might not.

I have a 7 day cooling off period which ends tomorrow. I'm giving serious consideration to ending my agreement.

Hi Bicycle, not sure if you ended your agreement or not, but just to let you know that County Dublin VEC run the module exams at €50 each.

The next TKT test is May 30th with registration deadline of April 8th.