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TEFL/CELTA/CELT answers...
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I teach a kid one on one. He's a pretty high level too. He's 16 years old (14 years old in western age). I made up lots of simple sheets like regular / irregualr verbs etc because these are the things high level speakers continue to mess up.
recently we've been working on sentence structure, independent, dependent sentences, simple, complex, compound, compound comples ahd stuff like that so what i do is get him to relate them to stuff he is interested in.
He also really likes cars so I spend a lot of time chatting to him and I bring my netbook with me, then we google whatever cars he talks about and then we find out more information on it. This works well because I have no knowledge of cars at all. We also do little fun online quizzes or fill in the blanks to songs I have typed out and play to him. He is too good for most of the songs so I have had to resort to playing eminem and outkast because they are quicker and it annoys him not to get them all correct, especially if I offer him money if he gets them all correct or the opportunity to punch me in the arm.
It's going to be hard for you to teach a kid you know nothing about, but what I did was give him some writing to do, using past / present and future tenses. Get him to insert the correct verb in a sentence. use either am / are/ is in the sentence. etc etc This allowed me to get a grasp of his level at the start then start working on different things to teach him and which parts of the book to skip or focus heavily on.
I typed out numbers like 100 / 2000/ 42,768 / 456,769 etc because a lot of kids in Korea mess up on this and refer back to korean numbers when doing it. despite his excellent speaking, writing and listening skills, he is still messing up on these and needs to think about the number carefully before saying it. In general conversation he just says the korean number because we are talking about korean currency and I let him away with it. I really must stamp it out.
Anyway, I hope you might find some of that useful. If you need any worksheets or anything, I could send you some stuff I have done. I also like to use chompchomp.com as it has interactive activities that you can use online or print out and use.0 -
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for you informative post. I do however have one quick question which I hope you can shed a little light upon.
I am two years into my English degree but am taking a year out for my own personal reasons. I really want to teach English abroad, say in France or Spain, and am wondering what the best courses are for me to do here in Dublin, or wherever, seeing as I don't actually have my full degree and won't. Was looking at the I.C.T.I course in Merrion Square. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Many Thanks,
RB0 -
Read through this excellent thread in its entirety on and off over the course of the day.
Just a question for LivinginKorea and Cloneslad if they are still around:
As I understand it, you both started teaching with no prior experience or training, but with a degree (as is required).
How did you go about this exactly? Did you have to organise and plan lessons yourselves from scratch using grammar books or whatever? Did the institutes there give any training or supply books etc?
On another note, do the authorities there make provisions if you want to travel with your wife?
Considering signing up for the CELT (which seems to be essentially simply the Irish equivalent of the CELTA), but wondering if it's really necessary as it would delay my departure by a couple of months (part-time course)...
Certainly would be useful in terms of picking up teaching skills but is still relatively expensive, demanding (maybe less so in the part-time format), and time-consuming.0 -
Just a question for LivinginKorea and Cloneslad if they are still around:
As I understand it, you both started teaching with no prior experience or training, but with a degree (as is required).
How did you go about this exactly? Did you have to organise and plan lessons yourselves from scratch using grammar books or whatever? Did the institutes there give any training or supply books etc?
I arrived three weeks early and sat in on classes, watched how the other teachers interact with the kids, what games are popular etc. I also asked the teachers in the school at the time what was popular, what the school expected of you etc. Each school is different so you have to cater to their needs as much as the needs of the student.
I did a TEFL course, I can't say it really helped me too much because I have had to improve my own grammar a lot through online sources to get it up to a reasonable standard. It's unbelievable just how much grammar you've lost / never learned in your life.
My school has a syllabus. Each class has a main student book focusing on reading and grammar, then these are supported with writing booking, study books to enforce the grammar, more reading books and then the Korean teachers will teach more grammar from a separate book in their class.
In my school I teach one class for 40 minutes, then, when I leave a Korean teacher comes in and teaches them for 40minutes. We share some books together so this means I should do the required 1-2 pages of the shared books to allow the Korean teacher to review it and enforce the work easily without having to start from scratch (they must also do the same for me in the classes where they are the 1st teacher)
It's not iron fisted or anything and if I am having a good speaking class with the kids then I will keep it going and just tell the co-teacher I didn't get the pages done because we were having fun. When this happens the Korean teacher will do the pages for me. This works both ways. The other supplementary books can be done when and how I feel, sometimes I mightn't teach them for a week, other times I do 2-3 pages a class. It all depends on how I'm feeling that day.
I don't believe in sticking to a schedule / lesson plan. I take note of what pages should be taught and what grammar I need to enforce, but I can do that in about 15 mins or so. I always carry extra activities into each class (scrabble etc). If I think the class has been good then I treat them, if they annoy me then they do writing. These treats may just be spending 10-15 mins reviewing the grammar we have learned recently by asking them to change the sentence. To make it interesting I would put them into teams and let them throw a ball at a bull’s-eye type target to build up points or just put them in teams and get them to race each other in writing down the answer first. It's all dependent on how I feel during the class to be honest, don’t be too ridged or and set to rules
On another note, do the authorities there make provisions if you want to travel with your wife?
Yes, there is. Your wife can come attached to your visa. If she has a degree then obviously she can get herself a job here too. She will be able to come as a dependent on your visa, I believe the type of visa she will get will be an F3 visa, which she must apply for.
She could easily come over as a tourist with you and then change her visa to an F3 when she is here. She gets 90 days in country on a regular tourist visa.Considering signing up for the CELT (which seems to be essentially simply the Irish equivalent of the CELTA), but wondering if it's really necessary as it would delay my departure by a couple of months (part-time course)...
Certainly would be useful in terms of picking up teaching skills but is still relatively expensive, demanding (maybe less so in the part-time format), and time-consuming.
If you are in a public school then anything more than a 100hour (maybe 120) course can net you an extra 100k a month. If you are going to a hagwon then I wouldn't really bother wasting my time on a worthless short term course. You would be better suited just going online, finding different activities you can play, brushing up on your grammar and generally just thinking of things you can do to make your classes more enjoyable for both your students and yourself.0 -
Read through this excellent thread in its entirety on and off over the course of the day.
Just a question for LivinginKorea and Cloneslad if they are still around:
As I understand it, you both started teaching with no prior experience or training, but with a degree (as is required).
How did you go about this exactly? Did you have to organise and plan lessons yourselves from scratch using grammar books or whatever? Did the institutes there give any training or supply books etc?
On another note, do the authorities there make provisions if you want to travel with your wife?
Considering signing up for the CELT (which seems to be essentially simply the Irish equivalent of the CELTA), but wondering if it's really necessary as it would delay my departure by a couple of months (part-time course)...
Certainly would be useful in terms of picking up teaching skills but is still relatively expensive, demanding (maybe less so in the part-time format), and time-consuming.
The only teaching experience that I got was teaching a couple of micro-teachings over the course of an intensive weekend. They were easy going and didn't receive much constructive feedback from the trainer. Having said that I knew that I had no clue so was a little apprehensive about the whole thing. Other than that I got no official training before I came to Korea. I got a couple of grammar books (which I have looked up from time to time) but that was basically it.
Looking back on it I was very unprepared. The day after I arrived I was introduced into a couple of classes, mostly small introductions and started the following day. The business classes were fine, they knew that I was new and I tried to give me lots of activities based on the textbook. After a couple of weeks I made the trip up to Seoul and got some activity based books which gave me lots more ideas. When I was in the public school I was meant to have a weeks training but after two days of observing classes I asked them if I could start and the co-teacher was delighted. I don't know she enjoyed being on show, although I never picked out her mistakes or nit picked through her teaching style.
In nearly every case you will be given the textbooks and some materials especially if you are new in the door. It is no harm to have a look on the net and come up with some general ideas for the first couple of days. Be able to introduce yourself simply for all ages, family, where you are from, famous soccer players from Ireland, singers, movies, how long it takes by airplane (I get kids to guess this to check their comprehension), some color pictures of your house, food, family are always very useful (perhaps in a small folder especially if you are teaching kids - grubby hands).
I think training is very important but it does depend which sector you are hoping to work in. If you do take a couple of months out to do a proper training course then it will give you a taste for teaching and you will know a lot more about it and more importantly, if you think you will like it or not. You don't want to come out here and find out that it's not for you. Think about it a little more. If you are desperate for some experience and cash then come out soon. However, if you want to have some qualifications and an idea about what it all entails then do a proper course. In the long run it will stand to you.
Any more questions then fire away and good luck with your decision.0 -
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Hi, first time to post here.
After searching this thread for Argentina and getting only 2 results, I must ask a few questions:
Has anyone on here taught English in Argentina - or in South America for that matter?
Do you need TEFL in order to secure a job there?
[im in the process of doing an MA and looking to head off teaching english once im finished in September and i'd sooner head to South America than anywhere else]0 -
Zion Loud Ballroom wrote: »Hi, first time to post here.
After searching this thread for Argentina and getting only 2 results, I must ask a few questions:
Has anyone on here taught English in Argentina - or in South America for that matter?
Do you need TEFL in order to secure a job there?
[im in the process of doing an MA and looking to head off teaching english once im finished in September and i'd sooner head to South America than anywhere else]
I suggest heading to Dave's ESL and look for the poster called 'naturegirl.' She's a good friend of mine. She taught in South America for a couple of years and has a MA. She's from America but would definitely be able to answer some of your questions.
What is your MA in? If it's education/TESOL etc then you should be fine.0 -
No its an MA in Migration studies - human georgraphy.livinginkorea wrote: »I suggest heading to Dave's ESL and look for the poster called 'naturegirl.' She's a good friend of mine. She taught in South America for a couple of years and has a MA. She's from America but would definitely be able to answer some of your questions.
What is your MA in? If it's education/TESOL etc then you should be fine.0 -
Has anyone on here taught English in Argentina - or in South America for that matter?
Do you need TEFL in order to secure a job there?
I'm not able to answer your question exactly, but I did a CELT course in the last couple of months and I asked about working in South America during a careers class as I'm interested in going there at some point. I didn't get an awful lot of advice but apparently having British English rather than American English is a plus as it's seen as a more prestige version of the language. I'd imagine the more qualifications you have, the better, and if your MA is in English or an education-related subject I'd say you're fine. I'd be comfortable going in with my CELT (I also have an English degree).0 -
Many thanks to Clonesland and living in Korea for your replies. (Having problems with my laptop so not able to tune in as much).
I noticed the (gargantuan) South Korean thread so possibly this is off-topic but just wanted to ask you both here before I get a chance to take a partial look through it whether or not feedback such as the below
http://blacklist.tokyojon.com/dont_teach_in_korea.html
(a particularly detailed and informative blog piece) from websites such as this
http://blacklist.tokyojon.com/
were discussed.
It seems that many people have extremely negative experiences teaching in South Korea say as compared with Taiwan or Japan. The owner of the website even goes as far as saying that none of the recruiters should be trusted.0 -
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Many thanks to Clonesland and living in Korea for your replies. (Having problems with my laptop so not able to tune in as much).
I noticed the (gargantuan) South Korean thread so possibly this is off-topic but just wanted to ask you both here before I get a chance to take a partial look through it whether or not feedback such as the below
http://blacklist.tokyojon.com/dont_teach_in_korea.html
(a particularly detailed and informative blog piece) from websites such as this
http://blacklist.tokyojon.com/
were discussed.
It seems that many people have extremely negative experiences teaching in South Korea say as compared with Taiwan or Japan. The owner of the website even goes as far as saying that none of the recruiters should be trusted.
A lot of people replied to that post in the korea thread, but for those who don't go into that thread, let me give you a brief synopsis.
People like to whinge.
People like to blog.
Join them together and you get a whinging blog by someone who never should have left their hometown.0 -
lol0
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A lot of people replied to that post in the korea thread, but for those who don't go into that thread, let me give you a brief synopsis.
People like to whinge.
People like to blog.
Join them together and you get a whinging blog by someone who never should have left their hometown.
Fair enough.
As the saying goes, if you have a good experience you´ll tell 3 people but if you have a bad experience, you´ll tell 30. What concerned me in particular, leaving aside individual grievances, was the US State warning about South Korea and someone mentioning that her binding contract was in Korean - and that this was the only one that counted.
As you say yourself, the more research you do beforehand, the more you minimise the risk. (I´ve noticed quite an amount of warnings about China as well, particularly a variety of unscrupulous recruiters using multiple aliases.)
Going back to the thread subject, have you any experience of the i to i courses or views on them? I know they are looked down on by a lot of people but at the very least they give some sort of preparation for teaching.0 -
...
Going back to the thread subject, have you any experience of the i to i courses or views on them? I know they are looked down on by a lot of people but at the very least they give some sort of preparation for teaching.
I went with i-to-i and they also did placement for me as well. They gave me a couple of choices and I picked one of them. Since I didn't know the country or anybody there it was a good option. However, now a days the placement is a lot cheaper (and admittedly riskier) if you do it yourself through recruiters/education programs, etc.
Don't know how i-to-i is viewed now but back in 2003 I did their TEFL certificate course and had no trouble getting a pay raise the following year in a public school with that cert. Could be different now of course.0 -
livinginkorea wrote: »I went with i-to-i and they also did placement for me as well. They gave me a couple of choices and I picked one of them. Since I didn't know the country or anybody there it was a good option. However, now a days the placement is a lot cheaper (and admittedly riskier) if you do it yourself through recruiters/education programs, etc.
Don't know how i-to-i is viewed now but back in 2003 I did their TEFL certificate course and had no trouble getting a pay raise the following year in a public school with that cert. Could be different now of course.
What was the length of the course you did? 60 hours or more? The prices seem to be on the increase with even the 60 hour course costing over 200 euro (still a fraction of the CELTA / CELT alternatives though). Was it combined with a weekend tutorial?
And what was the content like? I downloaded a brochure but was unable to access it.0 -
What was the length of the course you did? 60 hours or more? The prices seem to be on the increase with even the 60 hour course costing over 200 euro (still a fraction of the CELTA / CELT alternatives though). Was it combined with a weekend tutorial?
And what was the content like? I downloaded a brochure but was unable to access it.
As I was totally new to second language teaching the course content was interesting to me, lots of ideas about teaching but all a bit 'too perfect' for me. Of course, we (myself and other in the class) didn't ask any 'what if?' questions which is what we should have been doing. Everything was presented well but not in a lot of detail. The idea was probably to wet our appetites and make us sign up to the add on courses for more. I started out with the weekend intensive course in Galway and then did the adds on later on (grammar, young learners, business English...). I did pretty much everything I think as I was getting big discounts at the time. I have four separate scrolls with different hours marked on them, one of them being a diploma.
Looking back on the course now, I think it did place too much emphasis on grammar and its role in the class and too much emphasis on games too. I know that in reality most of the people who take their courses (any TEFL/TESOL course to be honest) do not know grammar well enough to teach it but that doesn't mean they have to enforce that again and again in the course. Having said that I did buy a grammar book from them on that weekend I took the course and I still have it on my shelf. I have used it from time to time and if you are going to teach English it is always handy to have a grammar reference book around. A book that will help you explain the grammar to a non-native speaker. We know the grammar as we use correct English all the time (and a lot of incorrect English too!) but we never learned the rules. Definitely invest in a grammar reference book before leaving to teach.
I still have their coursebook with me. I just flicked through it for the first time in years. Pretty light on classroom management which is probably the biggest reason why people leave the teaching profession in the first place. There are some errors too which I wouldn't have noticed earlier either along with some unrealistic lesson plans which are just too vague and pointless. It says not to use phrasal verbs and colloquialisms but that is untrue. You should always use a little of them and besides they are hard to avoid in speech. Your students do not expect you to be a computer. Also, totally disagree with the sentence that Task Based Language Teaching doesn't have any formal teaching, such as explaining a grammar point! That's totally incorrect!
Having said of that I did enjoy the course, I did learn a lot, I did realize that I wanted to be a teacher but the course is only a taster. If you take it as that then you will not be too disappointed and you will learn a lot.
Let me know if you have any further questions. It was a long time ago but I'll try to answer those questions.0 -
livinginkorea wrote: »As I was totally new to second language teaching the course content was interesting to me, lots of ideas about teaching but all a bit 'too perfect' for me. Of course, we (myself and other in the class) didn't ask any 'what if?' questions which is what we should have been doing. Everything was presented well but not in a lot of detail. The idea was probably to wet our appetites and make us sign up to the add on courses for more. I started out with the weekend intensive course in Galway and then did the adds on later on (grammar, young learners, business English...). I did pretty much everything I think as I was getting big discounts at the time. I have four separate scrolls with different hours marked on them, one of them being a diploma.
Thanks for the feedback. Appreciate it. Wondering what sort of "what if?" questions you have in mind here... is it in relation to the teaching methods, or classroom situations, or something else?Looking back on the course now, I think it did place too much emphasis on grammar and its role in the class and too much emphasis on games too. I know that in reality most of the people who take their courses (any TEFL/TESOL course to be honest) do not know grammar well enough to teach it but that doesn't mean they have to enforce that again and again in the course. Having said that I did buy a grammar book from them on that weekend I took the course and I still have it on my shelf. I have used it from time to time and if you are going to teach English it is always handy to have a grammar reference book around. A book that will help you explain the grammar to a non-native speaker. We know the grammar as we use correct English all the time (and a lot of incorrect English too!) but we never learned the rules. Definitely invest in a grammar reference book before leaving to teach.
That´s interesting. My concern was that there might not be enough grammar or practical tools, such as games, in these less intensive courses. So it´s good to hear the contrary! Certainly though, from what I´ve read, in somewhere like China, for example, it seems as if Chinese teachers handle the technical aspects of the language while the native speaker is simply required to help students with speaking and listening skills. And this seems to be the case in both public and private schools.I still have their coursebook with me. I just flicked through it for the first time in years. Pretty light on classroom management which is probably the biggest reason why people leave the teaching profession in the first place. There are some errors too which I wouldn't have noticed earlier either along with some unrealistic lesson plans which are just too vague and pointless. It says not to use phrasal verbs and colloquialisms but that is untrue. You should always use a little of them and besides they are hard to avoid in speech. Your students do not expect you to be a computer. Also, totally disagree with the sentence that Task Based Language Teaching doesn't have any formal teaching, such as explaining a grammar point! That's totally incorrect!
Having said of that I did enjoy the course, I did learn a lot, I did realize that I wanted to be a teacher but the course is only a taster. If you take it as that then you will not be too disappointed and you will learn a lot.
Let me know if you have any further questions. It was a long time ago but I'll try to answer those questions.
Thanks. i to i sounds like what I´m looking for alright. Even though I already have an English degree (it was a good while back - in the mid nineties), I have no more knowledge of the grammatical aspects of the language than the average graduate. If I go for it, the degree in English should help my chances of securing a good enough post while i to i would help with the practical preparation.
As was discussed earlier in the thread, the CELTA / CELT courses are quite expensive and means you are committed before even testing the waters. Also, as was also mentioned, they are quite intimidating in approach (particularly the CELTA).0 -
LiK, did the initial lack of detail you mentioned mean that you were left to your own devices at critical points when you got out there or did the add-on lessons help to cover up the patches?
Have you found classroom management much of a problem yourself?0 -
Thanks for the feedback. Appreciate it. Wondering what sort of "what if?" questions you have in mind here... is it in relation to the teaching methods, or classroom situations, or something else?
That´s interesting. My concern was that there might not be enough grammar or practical tools, such as games, in these less intensive courses. So it´s good to hear the contrary! Certainly though, from what I´ve read, in somewhere like China, for example, it seems as if Chinese teachers handle the technical aspects of the language while the native speaker is simply required to help students with speaking and listening skills. And this seems to be the case in both public and private schools.
Thanks. i to i sounds like what I´m looking for alright. Even though I already have an English degree (it was a good while back - in the mid nineties), I have no more knowledge of the grammatical aspects of the language than the average graduate. If I go for it, the degree in English should help my chances of securing a good enough post while i to i would help with the practical preparation.
As was discussed earlier in the thread, the CELTA / CELT courses are quite expensive and means you are committed before even testing the waters. Also, as was also mentioned, they are quite intimidating in approach (particularly the CELTA).
The what if questions would have been about classroom management, teaching in general, techniques, pretty much everything if it came to mind at the time. As I said, I was new to it all so was pretty much blank at the time.
The style of teaching among native speaker teachers and non-native speaker teachers varies from school to school. I have experienced co-teachers who section off the lesson plan into 'my part' and 'your part' meaning collaborative teaching is greatly reduced. I always stayed in the class to monitor the students or assist with the ones that had problems while my co-teacher was teaching. Some would leave when I started teaching my part, one would cite 'oh I am so busy with paperwork today' and disappear for hours leaving me to teach on my own. Generally, I have no trouble in teaching on my own but would like to have somebody near by for young kids. Older kids or adults are naturally fine for me.
A certificate program looks good for you. You can also read up on techniques and teaching methods online or in the library before you start. That way you would not be totally dropped in the deep end in class. Fail to prepare and all that.0 -
LiK, did the initial lack of detail you mentioned mean that you were left to your own devices at critical points when you got out there or did the add-on lessons help to cover up the patches?
Have you found classroom management much of a problem yourself?
Yes, I was left pretty much to my own devices in the private schools. I was given the textbook and introduced to the class and that was it. Public schools already had a English teacher, who was Korean and I taught class with them for the most part. That was both helpful and a hindrance depending on their style of teaching, openness, willingness to talk about different aspects of the lesson plan and creativity. One co-teacher wanted me to come up with the idea for the main activity (for the production part of a typical PPP cycle) for the lesson everyday and would for about 90% of the time reject my idea and go with the idea in the teacher's book. It was a power thing I recon but she left after 4 months. If you have a good co-teacher then you will not need to refer to lesson plans or extra activities (be it from the course book or Internet, etc) but in the majority of cases you will be expected to teach on your own at some point so it is best to have a few ideas up to sleeve to pull out at a moment's notice.
I found classroom management to be problematic with very young learners, mostly under the age of 10. They can be very excited around somebody new and it takes a great deal of effort to channel that energy into learning English. Also, I did not know Korean at the time so that was going to leave me open to problems. Once I learned some words, mainly swear words then I could manage a lot more effectively. Even though you only speak a couple of words, students, especially kids start to believe that you can understand a lot more and will be more cautious about using bad language around you.0 -
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Hey guys,
I did an I to I course and I went to Milan, Italy and I've been teaching English for over a year now (currently teaching at a language school called the British Institutes). Alls going well but next year I'd like to teach in an international school either here in Milan or in Spain. Problem is, I think you must have various qualifications such a state teaching certificate (hdip in Ireland) and have IB qualifications.
I have a degree in English and History from UCD but it is only a 2.2- is this insufficient to get into a hdip course? Also, how much is the course?
I would be very grateful if someone could help me out.
Cheers0 -
I was looking at The International TEFL College of Ireland - they award a Graded Teaching Certificate in T.E.F.L, does anyone know is this accreditation any good? It doesn't seem to be CELT/ CELTA...
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Hey guys,
I did an I to I course and I went to Milan, Italy and I've been teaching English for over a year now (currently teaching at a language school called the British Institutes). Alls going well but next year I'd like to teach in an international school either here in Milan or in Spain. Problem is, I think you must have various qualifications such a state teaching certificate (hdip in Ireland) and have IB qualifications.
I have a degree in English and History from UCD but it is only a 2.2- is this insufficient to get into a hdip course? Also, how much is the course?
I would be very grateful if someone could help me out.
Cheers
AFAIK, a 2:2 should be more than enough to get into a H Dip.
http://www.education.ie/home/home.jsp?maincat=&pcategory=10900&ecategory=19312§ionpage=12251&language=EN&link=link001&page=1&doc=169140 -
Well everyone, I'm looking to head to South Korea to teach english but am wondering what course to do. I have a BA degree and am planning on doing an online tefl course as I don't want to splash out so much for the CELT courses. Is i-to-i a reputable site to use to do TEFL courses through?0
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Hey guys, first of all cheers for giving me twenty pages of good information to sift through, it answered a lot of my questions. I do however have a few more if you would be so kind as to indulge me.
First of all il give you a bit of a background on my situation. Im twenty two years old and without a degree(Although I did spend two years studying English and New Media at U.L.). For the last year I was living in Germany and was even offered an interview for a language teaching school there, now at the time I didnt take it because I had already found a job, but it did put the thought of English language teaching into my head.
Im currently planning to head to Austria in the next few months(Vienna to be precise) and I was thinking about doing a TEFL/TESL/CELTA before I head over. Right now I have three options before me and they are as follows:
1. I to I TEFL course (140 hours) http://www.teflireland.com/tefl-courses/140-hour-combined-course/
Im a bit weary of this one due to its half online half offline structure. Its price is attracting me towards it but I would see it more as a taste which I can later build on. Im also not quite sure exactly what qualification(if any) I would receive after completing the course.
2. TESOL course with Atlantic School of English and active leisure http://www.atlantic-english.com/courses/teacher-training-cert-tesol/
This one im not really sure about, I have never heard of this college before in my life but they are the only TESOL certified institute in Ireland apparently. Either way 1500 euro is a lot of cash to sink in, would I be better of with a celta?
3. Celta with UCC http://www.ucc.ie/en/esol/teach-train/
Some people may tell me its a no brainer and to go with the celta. Its a recognized certificate from a recognized institution. However as I do not have a degree, what worth does a celta have for me? What piece of paper will I actually receive upon completing this course, and is it really worth it? Also if I were to pick up a celta now, and ended up with an English Degree later could I upgrade my celta?
So guys which option would you pick if you were in my situation? Im utterly confused here.
I should probably note that I do not wish to teach English as a career. I want to use the next year to save for college in the Netherlands and I think that English language teaching would be a good way to do that.0 -
Hey guys, first of all cheers for giving me twenty pages of good information to sift through, it answered a lot of my questions. I do however have a few more if you would be so kind as to indulge me.
First of all il give you a bit of a background on my situation. Im twenty two years old and without a degree(Although I did spend two years studying English and New Media at U.L.). For the last year I was living in Germany and was even offered an interview for a language teaching school there, now at the time I didnt take it because I had already found a job, but it did put the thought of English language teaching into my head.
Im currently planning to head to Austria in the next few months(Vienna to be precise) and I was thinking about doing a TEFL/TESL/CELTA before I head over. Right now I have three options before me and they are as follows:
1. I to I TEFL course (140 hours) http://www.teflireland.com/tefl-courses/140-hour-combined-course/
Im a bit weary of this one due to its half online half offline structure. Its price is attracting me towards it but I would see it more as a taste which I can later build on. Im also not quite sure exactly what qualification(if any) I would receive after completing the course.
2. TESOL course with Atlantic School of English and active leisure http://www.atlantic-english.com/courses/teacher-training-cert-tesol/
This one im not really sure about, I have never heard of this college before in my life but they are the only TESOL certified institute in Ireland apparently. Either way 1500 euro is a lot of cash to sink in, would I be better of with a celta?
3. Celta with UCC http://www.ucc.ie/en/esol/teach-train/
Some people may tell me its a no brainer and to go with the celta. Its a recognized certificate from a recognized institution. However as I do not have a degree, what worth does a celta have for me? What piece of paper will I actually receive upon completing this course, and is it really worth it? Also if I were to pick up a celta now, and ended up with an English Degree later could I upgrade my celta?
So guys which option would you pick if you were in my situation? Im utterly confused here.
I should probably note that I do not wish to teach English as a career. I want to use the next year to save for college in the Netherlands and I think that English language teaching would be a good way to do that.
The CELTA is the most internationally recognised. Many places will demand a degree and CELTA or its equivalents. Some places, such as South Korea and China, only accept those with a degree. Much of the rest of the world is more flexible. For example, in Eastern Europe the emphasis is primarily on being a native speaker. Some of these latter places will accept the online version of TEFL. I believe it should be possible to get work in Germany at least without either the degree or the TEFL. I know someone who was teaching for a year in Germany part time and has neither and mentioned that there are plenty of opportunities there.
I considered doing the i to i but, in the end, decided that it would be a waste. Indeed I got offered a job (which later fell through for different reasons) without it. The people offering were just very anxious for a native speaker.
The comments on the i to i 'infomercial' review here I found helpful:
http://www.teflcoursereview.com/i-to-i-tefl/
I don't know much about TESOL but it appears regularly on ads as a requirement so I imagine it's fairly highly esteemed, but a google or wiki search should confirm that.0 -
johnnycnandy wrote: »Well everyone, I'm looking to head to South Korea to teach english but am wondering what course to do. I have a BA degree and am planning on doing an online tefl course as I don't want to splash out so much for the CELT courses. Is i-to-i a reputable site to use to do TEFL courses through?
My impression is that, although it is cheap, it still probably isn't worth the money. See above comments.0 -
Yeah, im actually going to Austria(im just back from Germany) but id imagine the same points would apply?The CELTA is the most internationally recognised. Many places will demand a degree and CELTA or its equivalents. Some places, such as South Korea and China, only accept those with a degree. Much of the rest of the world is more flexible. For example, in Eastern Europe the emphasis is primarily on being a native speaker. Some of these latter places will accept the online version of TEFL. I believe it should be possible to get work in Germany at least without either the degree or the TEFL. I know someone who was teaching for a year in Germany part time and has neither and mentioned that there are plenty of opportunities there.
I considered doing the i to i but, in the end, decided that it would be a waste. Indeed I got offered a job (which later fell through for different reasons) without it. The people offering were just very anxious for a native speaker.
The comments on the i to i 'infomercial' review here I found helpful:
http://www.teflcoursereview.com/i-to-i-tefl/
I don't know much about TESOL but it appears regularly on ads as a requirement so I imagine it's fairly highly esteemed, but a google or wiki search should confirm that.
Where did you head off to where you were offered a job with no qualification?
Also do you have any advice on where I can look for TEFL type jobs in a selected area?
Thanks.0 -
Yeah, im actually going to Austria(im just back from Germany) but id imagine the same points would apply?
Where did you head off to where you were offered a job with no qualification?
Also do you have any advice on where I can look for TEFL type jobs in a selected area?
Thanks.
I assume so as regards Austria. I was going to write 'Germany and Austria' but only know of southern Germany for certain.
I myself was going to go to Eastern Europe. (Still not quite sure what happened but I suspect they wanted someone more convenient to themselves as it involved bringing and accommodating both myself and my wife).
There are certainly opportunities there- Poland, for example, is constantly on the look out for native speakers- the salaries though low by western European standards are much higher than what other teachers are paid. Also the cost of living is much lower. This means that, in practical terms, you are getting more than you would for most equivalent jobs here in Ireland.
The best places to search are on online job sites within the country itself; this bypasses the TEFL agents, who profit by placing you in positions.0 -
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Just wondering can anybody please help and advise me on what are the best regarded and intensive/comprehensive T.E.F.L courses that can be done in Dublin. I do not have a degree and am 27. I am well educated though and would like to teach in either France or Spain. Thank you for any advice whatsoever. Note, I am thinking of doing the 450 euro month long weekend course by Merrion Square in the 'International TEFL College of Ireland'. It is 9-5 Saturdays and Sundays for a month. Is this sufficient for teaching in say Spain, France, Germany, Czech Rep., Austria etc? for a year.0
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