TEFL

SingingBowl

Hi everybody,
I've come to the forum to request some help. I am a recently qualified primary school teacher and I would like to complete a TEFL course this year. I really want to improve my ability to teach english to those who do not have it as a first language and I would also like to use it while travelling.
The only problem is I don't have a clue about TEFL.
I vaguely remember somebody telling me that only certain TEFL courses entitled them to teach abroad because the course has to be certified by some type of agency. I have also heard about JET and I am just as clueless about that.
I have looked up the TEFL website but it isn't that informative, it basically just lists a variety of courses they have, some combining online work and hands on classes.
Has anyone completed a TEFL course that was particularly useful? Have they been able to travel with it? What are the requirements for JET?
If you could fill me in on anything you know I would be very appreciative, I don't want to fork out money until I'm really sure I'm choosing the right thing!
Thank you:)

mikedragon32

Moving this to the Languages forums

Happy0range

You need a TEFL course that is accredited by ACELS such as a CELT (a postgraduate Certificate in English Language Teaching).

Courses accredited by ACELS are recognised internationally and also by the Dept. of Education.

I did mine in Atlantic Language College in Galway but there are plenty of other course providers around the country.

edelnig

The following is my response to a similar post on a slightly different thread. Might be useful to you...

There are some tefl courses (eg.i-to-i) that are only a few hundred euro and look like good value. I did the full CELT (Certificate in English Language Teaching) course costing 1,150 euro though, as it was the qualification I needed for my work in a VEC. Everyone I know says don't bother with the i-to-i as they are not accredited and many schools abroad (and in Ireland) don't rate them. But I don't actually know anyone who has done one, so I can't really judge it.

The CELT course was very intensive. I'd been working as a resource teacher with foreign students for a few years so my experience helped me, but the others on the course were occasionally overwhelmed with the amount of new information. We had 120+ hours of lectures, 7 sessions of live teaching practice (some half hour, more one hour) where we had to plan and deliver a class to real students, while being observed and assessed. There were 6 teaching observations divided between watching DVDs and observing real teachers. Then there were a number of written assignments, amounting to about 4,000-5,000 words in total. We did the course over one month, with the fifth week of the month spent putting our portfolio together.

The content was definitely useful. I got plenty of good tips on how to engage students, how to handle bad behaviour, how to plan out lessons to include various skills, how to source resources, how to arrange students in pairs, groups etc. to vary lessons. Also important were the lectures on points of grammar, integrating the four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking, using textbooks, assessing students' abilities, use of technology in the classroom and so on.

I would recommend the course. It is Dept. of Education recognised here in Ireland so that you can get work in schools and VECs. And it is recognised by International House, one of the biggest language schools worldwide.

If you are thinking of signing up for a course in Ireland, look it up on the ACELS website, the official government body charged with accrediting TEFL courses.

Hope this helps!

IzzyWizzy

I think the i-to-i courses are basically worthless. No decent schools abroad accept them and you won't be able to teach in Ireland with that certificate. You'd be better off spending the money and doing a proper CELTA or CELT course. BTW, you don't need any TEFL qualifications for JET, just a degree, unless things have changed since I was accepted. I remember they actually preferred candidates with no teaching or work experience.

lecker Hendl

If one was to get the CELTA qualification, what earning potential could you be looking at..we'll say in Europe?

I'm looking for a way out of IT. It doesn't interest me, and even though I'd rather do a German course, I would definitely do a TEFL one and look into full time positions. However, I don't want to be scraping the bottom of the barrel with money.

Amber Lamps

Are there any TEFL courses that are up to the CELT standard without needing a degree already. From what I can find you need a degree in something before you can do this. What is the best course to do if you don't hold one? I am hoping to go teaching in south america.

edelnig

lecker Hendl wrote: »

If one was to get the CELTA qualification, what earning potential could you be looking at..we'll say in Europe?

I haven't travelled with this at all, only working in Ireland. VECs pay the best here, up to 36 euro an hour, I think. Private schools range from about 15 -20 euro an hour. I hear you can get resource work in schools too, which would be at least 20+ euro per hour but probably not too many jobs going here at the moment.

International House seem has been recommended to me as the place to go once you have the qualification in terms of working abroad. Maybe their website would give you some idea of pay and job opportunities? They are a world wide tefl provider.

edelnig

Amber Lamps wrote: »

Are there any TEFL courses that are up to the CELT standard without needing a degree already. From what I can find you need a degree in something before you can do this. What is the best course to do if you don't hold one? I am hoping to go teaching in south america.

When I was doing my CELT course, the tutors spoke about a "life experience" angle, where the amount of workplace experience you have could count towards a degree equivalency but they didn't seem sure if it was fully in place yet. One of my co-students was following up on it, by getting on to ACELS directly to find out. Maybe if you tried the same thing?

lecker Hendl

edelnig wrote: »

lecker Hendl wrote: »

If one was to get the CELTA qualification, what earning potential could you be looking at..we'll say in Europe?

I haven't travelled with this at all, only working in Ireland. VECs pay the best here, up to 36 euro an hour, I think. Private schools range from about 15 -20 euro an hour. I hear you can get resource work in schools too, which would be at least 20+ euro per hour but probably not too many jobs going here at the moment.

International House seem has been recommended to me as the place to go once you have the qualification in terms of working abroad. Maybe their website would give you some idea of pay and job opportunities? They are a world wide tefl provider.

Thanks for that. It's good to hear. I wouldn't mind travelling too much, but if there were decent earning opportunities in Dublin then it would be great.

madmoe

IzzyWizzy wrote: »

I think the i-to-i courses are basically worthless. No decent schools abroad accept them and you won't be able to teach in Ireland with that certificate. You'd be better off spending the money and doing a proper CELTA or CELT course. BTW, you don't need any TEFL qualifications for JET, just a degree, unless things have changed since I was accepted. I remember they actually preferred candidates with no teaching or work experience.

Hey guys,
What is the difference between the CELT and CELTA??

Cheers,
M

CiboC

madmoe wrote: »

Hey guys,
What is the difference between the CELT and CELTA??

Cheers,
M

About 600 euro!

Seriously though, nothing really. The CELTA is a UK based qualification issued by Cambridge English, the CELT is an Irish based qualification issued by the Irish Department of Education (through ACELS / QQI).

They are equivalent and equally well recognised. They run over the same period of time and cover pretty much the same material.

The CELTA course is generally a fair bit more expensive for no particular reason I think than people perceive there to be more prestige attached to it.

madmoe

CiboC wrote: »

About 600 euro!

Seriously though, nothing really. The CELTA is a UK based qualification issued by Cambridge English, the CELT is an Irish based qualification issued by the Irish Department of Education (through ACELS / QQI).

They are equivalent and equally well recognised. They run over the same period of time and cover pretty much the same material.

The CELTA course is generally a fair bit more expensive for no particular reason I think than people perceive there to be more prestige attached to it.

I'm on the CELTA right now here at Kaplan International, first week almost done! I decided to go with the CELTA and pay the extra (€600 is not too much more when I have already paid €1,000) and I feel it's more recognised internationally.....just my two cents!!

CiboC

madmoe wrote: »

I'm on the CELTA right now here at Kaplan International, first week almost done! I decided to go with the CELTA and pay the extra (€600 is not too much more when I have already paid €1,000) and I feel it's more recognised internationally.....just my two cents!!

The CELTA is a good course, certainly.

600 euro is 60% more than the equivalent CELT course so I would consider that a fairly large margin. The CELT course is widely recognised too so it comes down to personal preference. Good luck with the course!

madmoe

CiboC wrote: »

The CELTA is a good course, certainly.

600 euro is 60% more than the equivalent CELT course so I would consider that a fairly large margin. The CELT course is widely recognised too so it comes down to personal preference. Good luck with the course!

Thanks a million! Week 2 has just started and crazy busy! I read here on boards.ie that you can pay €40 and get the CELT as well once you have the CELTA.....not sure how to go about it exactly but I'll definitely be trying to get it! Make that €1650 go that bit further ;-)

savsss

hey couldn't find any recent threads for this but I'm just wondering does anyone know if those i to i tefl courses are worthwhile if you just want to teach abroad and not ireland? I need to go to Spain for college and plan on doing a masters in education after my degree I just thought I could do a TEFL to allow me teach over there for the summer? or would I be better of doing the CELTA one?

HalloweenJack

I have a TEFL (though it was four weeks intensive) and it's got me jobs in Spain, the UK, the Czech Republic and Brazil. I think if you're only going to teach English for a bit, then it'd be easier to invest in a TEFL as it's cheaper than a CELTA.

The only problem with teaching in Spain for the summer is that there's not that much work and a lot of the schools that run summer courses will pick teachers that've been with them all year to do the summer groups.

There are also some summer camps so you could try them.

CiboC

savsss wrote: »

I just thought I could do a TEFL to allow me teach over there for the summer? or would I be better of doing the CELTA one?

You should consider only doing either a CELTA (UK based qualification) or a CELT (Irish Dept. of Education) course.

Fewer and fewer countries are accepting unrecognised certificates and you will run into difficulties if you are not properly certified, particularly in Europe.