Anyone completed a TEFL course, is this a good deal?

Shicky

Shicky

Shicky

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Saw this on groupon today:

http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/national-deal/startefl/4337529?nlp=&CID=UK_CRM_1_0_0_86&a=1664

I've been considering doing a year or two teaching abroad after I finish my graduate programme and figured this is a pretty cheap way to get prepared as well as a good way to fit things around my current job.

So cost wise, this seems to be the best thing on the market?

So does anyone have any experiences of star tefl? I found all positive reviews but I'm sceptical if they're real or not.
 
I'd check exactly what the certificate is. You should be aiming for the Trinity TESOL or the Cambridge CELTA as they are the British council-approved teaching certificates and are accepted universally. I'd imagine that the cheaper courses and online ones are different - a generic "TEFL" certificate may be accepted by some places but it's no proof of teaching ability and therefore some places (and most definitely the prestigious places abroad) will not accept them. Many people get into the trap of doing a teaching + certification abroad, only to find that the certificate that they receive can only be used in a certain school.

Does your university offer any courses? When I was an undergrad at Sheffield, I did the CELTA there as the staff are excellent, plenty of teaching opportunities at the English language teaching department and the course was also (at the time!) subsidised for students of the university.


edit/ CELTA from tends to be circa £1000 for the course - remember the old adage "you get what you pay for". I'm not sure how much the Trinity TESOL was (Sheffield Hallam offered it, so I didn't do it :p) Look at TEFL jobs where you would possibly want to teach in the future and see if the cheapo certificate would cut it - whilst it's entirely possible that schools may accept generic certificates, I think most will say in their requirements "CELTA or TESOL".
 
Have got a friend doing this at the moment (whether this exact course or not, I'm not sure) and will be teaching in South Korea for a year if all goes to plan. Looks like an amazing experience, go for it!

Seems very cheap!
 
As said, many places abroad will only accept teachers with a CELTA/TESOL qualification, as these include actual classroom teaching practice and are standardised and externally assessed each time a course is run. I just completed my CELTA, and found it incredibly helpful and rewarding, both at sorting out my knowledge of the language and giving me experience of standing up in front of groups of 4-14 people and actually teaching.

that said, I know plenty of people who have gone abroad and just picked up jobs on the basis of being a native English speaker - one of the major qualifications will just open up more jobs to you and make you more of a commodity than someone to be replaced as and when the school feels like it.
 
Chose the country you want to go to.
Find the most popular teaching/expat forum in that country.
Look for local info.
For example in Korea (best example I know) you don't need this type of qualification, but it may help you personal ability and sway a few interviewers.
 
i've been advised from a friend who's currently working abroad teaching english that the CELTA certificate is the best to go for. that's what i'm currently looking into too as i'm planning on this also.

i'll keep an eye on this thread ^_^
 
Dave said:
I'd check exactly what the certificate is. You should be aiming for the Trinity TESOL or the Cambridge CELTA as they are the British council-approved teaching certificates and are accepted universally. I'd imagine that the cheaper courses and online ones are different - a generic "TEFL" certificate may be accepted by some places but it's no proof of teaching ability and therefore some places (and most definitely the prestigious places abroad) will not accept them. Many people get into the trap of doing a teaching + certification abroad, only to find that the certificate that they receive can only be used in a certain school.

Does your university offer any courses?
jpg1
When I was an undergrad at Sheffield, I did the CELTA there as the staff are excellent, plenty of teaching opportunities at the English language teaching department and the course was also (at the time!) subsidised for students of the university.


edit/ CELTA from tends to be circa £1000 for the course - remember the old adage "you get what you pay for". I'm not sure how much the Trinity TESOL was (Sheffield Hallam offered it, so I didn't do it :p) Look at TEFL jobs where you would possibly want to teach in the future and see if the cheapo certificate would cut it - whilst it's entirely possible that schools may accept generic certificates, I think most will say in their requirements "CELTA or TESOL".
Click to expand...

English language teaching department and the course was also (at the time!) subsidised for students of the university.
 
I cant advice you strongly enough AGAINST doing an online course.

my girlfriend and I did one a few years ago with I to I which supposedly GUARANTEED a place in korea. needless to say we paid our money £400, did the course, which was okay, nothing special, then never heard from then again about the job! From reading about this seems relatively common.

Also their course is pretty much only accepted by them and you wont ever be able to teach in the UK with it.

Eventually we did manage to get a job with a difference company but we could have done that without the certificate in the first place.

As others' have said, do a TESOL or a CELTA or don't bother :)
 
Shicky said:
Thanks all, think I'm best leaving this on the shelf!
Click to expand...

In contrast to most ppl i would say no dont do celta/tesol IF you are only going for a gap year or to teach while travelling.
If you want to teach longterm then yes the celta/delta etc route i would advise.

Further why spend £1000+ on something if you dont know if if teaching is for you.

A lot of countries asia especially do not require the celta at all.
 
Actually that's a really good point surfer. I was pushing the celta option as a kinda "avoid online courses like the Plague" route.

If you want to teach in the uk you need a celta. Also in Korea and potentially a few other countries, you get paid slightly more with one. It obviously helps your employment prospects but it is an investment. Teaching for one year will pay it back but you have to think how good the return actually is. If you think you'll want to teach for 2 years plus with the option of teaching as a backup if you're ever unemployed in England means IMO its worth it. I wish I'd done one myself really.

However anything less is probably not worth it as surfer says :)
 
Hmm, I'm quite interested in this actually, I'm moving to Poland over the summer and had considered doing some English "conversations" to earn a bit of extra cash. I wasn't going to bother with a qualification as the prices were too high but this is temping and a few letters after your name always look better than none.
 
Yeah it will help get a better position with more money.
personally i would advise teaching first so u get some exp and can decide whether u want a career out of it. the celta is pretty tough if you have zero teaching exp imo. When i dd it at least half the class had some form of teaching exp.

the celta online is available this summer in selected places worldwide. How its going to work if its online and your not in a class with students i dont know.
 
Going to do the CELTA/TESOL asap. I know that Glasgow University offer it, but places are extremely hard to get as it's subsidised I believe. Just going to dig deep and pay for it myself.
 
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