Tefl.NET Forums

Hi Lucy,

I hope you're well.

I'm 22 and living in South Africa (I'm South African). I really want to teach English abroad, but I'm stuck on a few things.

Firstly, I don't have a university degree, so I am aware that getting a work permit in certain countries is not possible. But nevertheless. The main thing is that I get a teaching course behind me, as teaching is still very much possible without having a university degree, as you'll know already :)

Secondly, would you recommend me doing a course here in SA, or rather in the country I would like to teach in? I'm keen to teach English in Vietnam or Thailand (at the moment). If I do a course in SA I would apply for a job before I leave and try get a job offer too as this may help with the visa application process, or am I under the wrong impression?

Thirdly, would you recommend me doing the CELTA or the TEFL teaching course, given my no-degree situation. I really want to do the right thing, but in the same breath - if I will come right doing only the TEFL course, I would prefer that as money is a bit of an issue. But if the CELTA is much more beneficial, then that's fine too :P

I would appreciate any help, from anyone.

Thanks so much.

You say "CELTA or TEFL course" as if they are different things. They are not. "TEFL course" is a generic term and the "CELTA course" is one particular TEFL course -- it happens to be the most widely recognized TEFL course, but it's still a TEFL course.

Now to answer your question about where to do a course, in my opinion provided you do a good and well-recognized TEFL course (by which I mean recognized world-wide) it shouldn't matter where you do it.

The important thing is to do a decent, recognized course :mrgreen:

Don't fall for some cowboy outfit just because it's a bit cheaper or got a fancy location.

Hi Josef,

Thank you for your reply It's Much appreciated.

I agree with you about doing a decent course. I'm going to be paying a company soon (within the next two days) and I was actually just busy looking into the company.

How would I know if a course is recognised? Sorry if that sounds like a stupid question!

Thanks!