Prospective Teacher looking for Advice!

Discussion about courses, qualifications etc

Moderator: Joe

jdaddy997
Member
Posts: 1
Joined: 09 Sep 2015, 17:34
Status: Prospective Teacher

Prospective Teacher looking for Advice!

Unread post by jdaddy997 »

Hello Everyone! :D

I recently graduated college with B.A. in Mass Communication and am hoping to get a TEFL certification to teach English in Europe, but I am a little overwhelmed with the sheer number of TEFL (as well as TESOL and CELTA) websites.

Would anyone be able to recommend which websites that are legitimate or at least those that would be best to avoid? Also, is getting certified online a good route to take to get hired?

Thanks again everyone! :mrgreen:

Jdaddy997
Briona
Top Contributor
Posts: 199
Joined: 29 Jul 2009, 20:33
Status: Teacher

Re: Prospective Teacher looking for Advice!

Unread post by Briona »

Hi there,

You haven't said where you're from, but I'm guessing you're American/Canadian. If that's the case, and you don't have a passport from an EU member state, either through birth or ancestry, the chances of your finding legal work in Europe are slim to none. EU hiring law dictates that in order to hire a non-EU citizen, employers first have to prove that there were no suitably-qualified EU citizens who could do the job.

If you are an EU citizen or you already have a passport from an EU member state, please disregard the above.

There are two types of TEFL qualifications - online/blended courses and face-to-face intensive ones. The former are as good as useless and many employers refuse to accept them. This is because they don't include the all-important observed teaching practice. Note that the classroom-based weekend element of online/blended courses is not the same thing because it involves "teaching" your fellow trainees as opposed to actual students. If you're serious about wanting a career in teaching, or even just landing a decent job, you need to shell out for a face-to-face intensive course that includes real teaching practice. The most well-known are the Cambridge CELTA and the Trinity CertTESOL, both of which will be accepted around the world.

For more information on qualifications and teaching in Europe, have a look at my advice guide: http://toiberiaandbeyond.blogspot.com.e ... urope.html

Hope that helps, and if you have any other Qs, please ask.

Briona
Experience teaching in Vietnam, Portugal, Poland, Spain, the UK, and Qatar
Teacher42
Member
Posts: 5
Joined: 17 Sep 2015, 17:58
Status: New Teacher

Re: Prospective Teacher looking for Advice!

Unread post by Teacher42 »

Hello!

Congrats on your BA! I did my 120 hour qualification with The TEFL Academy. As Briona queried, I'd be curious as to where you are based? As you can see, The TEFL Academy only has locations in the UK, but if you give them a ring they can walk you through their online courses as well.

Best of luck!
Graduate, Teacher, and outreach provider for http://www.theteflacademy.com/
Allophony
Member
Posts: 24
Joined: 02 Jan 2016, 13:37
Status: Prospective Teacher

Re: Prospective Teacher looking for Advice!

Unread post by Allophony »

i to i seems nice.

They emailed me and when I went to their websites I could get them to phone me and they did. We discussed my back ground and whether this was right for me (of course they said it was :) and recommended some exact courses.

They are one of the oldest tefl organisations and are apparently recognised all over the world. Or in an impressively high amount of countries at least.
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