TEFL

insinkerator

Im kind of interested in doing a TEFL course (i hope this is the right forum), and a quick look online shows courses ranging from 149 to 549.

Does anyone here have any experience with it?

Cat Melodeon

If you're planning on travelling and working for reputable schools, forget about an online course, unless you're doing one of the courses that also provides you with a work placement and you're happy to be tied to one employer.

Most decent schools will not consider a teacher who has not done teaching practice as part of their course. CELTA is probably the most widely recognised, any of the ones accredited by ACELS will also give you the option of teaching ESOL in Irish schools. These have a minimum of 120 hours input time with a minimum of 6 hours teaching practice. Their website provides links to training providers in Ireland: http://www.acels.ie/acelselt.htm

You may get work having completed one of the online or weekend courses, but it generally will be with less reputable schools or will be lower paid. If you are heading to Asia or Latin America, it may be sufficient as competition is not so strong, but if you're staying in Ireland or heading to Europe, schools are more clued in and will usually only hire better qualified teachers. I started off as an unqualified teacher and found it very difficult to get full-time or well-paid work until I went and did the CELTA.

The CELTA costs about €1600 to do (it's run in Dublin and Cork afaik) and takes 4 weeks. Definitely worth doing in my opinion. You can also do it in places like Krakow or Berlin for about the 2K but with accommodation included and a job afterwards if you show potential. I'm sure some folks will come on and say they did grand with one of the shorter/online courses, I taught for 7 years (including here in Irish primary & secondary schools) and would say CELTA (or equivalent) all the way.

insinkerator

Yeah, i saw a couple of people mention CELTA alright. I guess i should have stated my intentions in the OP.

The reason i want to do a TEFL is because i am considering going to Peru next summer, working as a volunteer teacher for a month minimum. According to the site, there is no requirements, but i'd like to have a rough grounding in it, rather than being thrown in at the deep-end. Would i still need a CELTA, or would a TEFL be ok in that case?

Cat Melodeon

It really depends on your intentions for afterwards. If you're just going into it to travel a bit and have a bit of a laugh, then just do the basics. If you think that you might give a few years at it or if you have any notion of becoming a full time teacher/tutor/trainer, then invest a little bit more in training now as it will stand to you.

barochoc

Cheers for that info Cat, I was only thinking about this myself & found it by pure chance tonight

FlutterinBantam

Cat Melodeon wrote: »

If you're planning on travelling and working for reputable schools, forget about an online course, unless you're doing one of the courses that also provides you with a work placement and you're happy to be tied to one employer.

Most decent schools will not consider a teacher who has not done teaching practice as part of their course. CELTA is probably the most widely recognised, any of the ones accredited by ACELS will also give you the option of teaching ESOL in Irish schools. These have a minimum of 120 hours input time with a minimum of 6 hours teaching practice. Their website provides links to training providers in Ireland: http://www.acels.ie/acelselt.htm

You may get work having completed one of the online or weekend courses, but it generally will be with less reputable schools or will be lower paid. If you are heading to Asia or Latin America, it may be sufficient as competition is not so strong, but if you're staying in Ireland or heading to Europe, schools are more clued in and will usually only hire better qualified teachers. I started off as an unqualified teacher and found it very difficult to get full-time or well-paid work until I went and did the CELTA.

The CELTA costs about €1600 to do (it's run in Dublin and Cork afaik) and takes 4 weeks. Definitely worth doing in my opinion. You can also do it in places like Krakow or Berlin for about the 2K but with accommodation included and a job afterwards if you show potential. I'm sure some folks will come on and say they did grand with one of the shorter/online courses, I taught for 7 years (including here in Irish primary & secondary schools) and would say CELTA (or equivalent) all the way.

Tsk tsk 'planning to travel'

Not a hanging offence, but tells a story.;)

Cat Melodeon

FlutterinBantam wrote: »

Tsk tsk 'planning to travel'

Not a hanging offence, but tells a story.;)

Yeeeah, I've been out of the classroom and living back in the boglands for a few years now. It's terrible how all the old bad habits come creeping back...:o

FlutterinBantam

That's a West of Ireland one I think.

"I'm going playing football" would be a popular way of saying it.

"táim ag dul chun peil a imirt" is possibly where is comes from being close to the

literal translation from the Gaeilge.

pickarooney

'Planning on verb-ing' is perfectly good English grammar as far as I'm concerned.
It's not the same at all as 'going playing' (and even that's not a concrete rule as you can be 'going swimming') and bears no relation to the Irish construction 'ag dul chun' which is analogous to 'going to'.

FlutterinBantam

Not many would agree with you there.

pickarooney

FlutterinBantam wrote: »

Not many would agree with you there.

Ah, but they'd all be all wrong, sure.

deman

FlutterinBantam wrote: »

Not many would agree with you there.

I agree with him. There's nothing wrong with "planning to travel".

"Travelling", when used to talk about the future, is something that will definitely happen as planned.

"Planning/Going to travel" can also be definite but maybe not quite 100% definite yet.

30kmph

pickarooney wrote: »

and bears no relation to the Irish construction 'ag dul chun' which is analogous to 'going to'.

I was thinking the same thing myself. Also, I'd say the West reference is wrong. "Planning on" is probably an Americanism if anything.

Just on the TEFLs - are there any good TEFL courses that can be done part-time, as I wouldn't be able to commit to an intensive 4 week monday to friday course.