Job Discussion Forums

[Sashadroogie]

By the way, most online course are really just a very, very crappy cut and paste of the above methodology books. Expect their 'modules' to simply comprise judicious lifting of Harmer et al, with a few moronic self-made additions or comments. Pathetic, on the whole.

So why pay them a grand for extracts of books you can buy yourself?

[spiral78]

It's possible to fail a CELTA or equivalent course, but in my experience, people who fail usually:

1. are unable or unwilling to accept constructive criticism
2. are unable or unwilling to apply feedback to practice
3. have consistent difficulties in communicating appropriately with students
4. have problems with normal professional skills, such as being on time, prepared, and demonstrating a pleasant and professional manner

These folks often fall into either of three categories:
1. have come from a system in which failure (whether small or large) isn't a possibility
2. have taught (something) before and are utterly convinced that they know best how it should be done
3. simply haven't got a professional ethic

(it's unusual to be able to make such simple lists, but I honestly think these ones are pretty accurate in this case - again, from my perspective of 15 years in the field and work with both newbie and practicing teachers)

[Sashadroogie]

Good list, Spiral. Though it could benefit from a more basic failing that some trainees display: lack of basic intelligence and common sense. However, even that may not be enough to fail you outright God knows we see the evidence of that in many a staff room...

[Xie Lin]

Where do you live, OP? Are you located in or near Chicago? You might want to take a look at the Trinity course at Coventry House in Toronto for $1,000. A fair number of their grads go on to Korea following the (5-week) course. Of course you'd have to factor in housing and travel to see if it would save you many $$$.

And to add to tttompatz's excellent list, the SIT course in Thailand is $1,500 (or was recently; I didn't look it up just now,) and would at least locate you in the right neck of your desired woods.

.

[Xie Lin]

[Xie Lin]

[spiral78]

Oh! Yes. I'd forgotten that actually very memorable Cajun candidate from Loosiann, whom we unfortunately really couldn't certify because his English was so out of the standard range. It was a waste, because he was actually otherwise a good candidate, but he really just couldn't moderate his speech enough to be understood by even proficient non-native speakers (we couldn't understand him either). We refunded his money, though. He didn't deserve to be fleeced. In fact, I later hooked him up with curriculum design projects - he was pretty good on paper.

[tttompatz]

[lebergerrouge2]

Just for the record, I am currently in Montana. While this does mean that I have a very neutral "standard" American accent, it also implies that I about 1000 miles away from a real "city". This is most of the reason why I was blindly hoping that the online format was a godsend, and not an inferior means of flushing hundreds of dollars down the toilet. I have roots and connections in Minneapolis, but I am not finding much there as far as CELTA or SIT cert TESOL goes. Is it common to find housing included with these classes, or is it just a luck-of-the-draw situation? I did see that the class in Costa Rica is only $1200, which could almost make it worth the trip (plus, I don't see much wrong with a month spent down there). I guess at this point I'm just looking for the least costly, convenient means of taking the CELTA or its virtual equivalent. One way or the other, it's clear that I have months of research ahead of me, but thankfully this forum seems to be a great asset so far.

[lebergerrouge2]

And here's another option I am considering: going abroad with only my degree, and then after my first year of teaching obtaining a CELTA (or equiv) probably in the target country (or in a place like Thailand).

[lebergerrouge2]

Just in the off-chance that someone recognizes a semblance of legitimacy (or obvious B.S.) here's of their "credentials". It was enclosed in an email they sent me:
TEFL Institute is a fully accredited internationally recognized TEFL Provider. TEFL Institute courses are accredited through ACCREDITAT, a division of Training Issues Ltd, based in the UK. Accreditat is a leading international accreditation body for TEFL training. Courses accredited through ACCREDITAT have met demanding standards in 4 key areas in order to received accreditation status: 1) The ethics and integrity of their operation, 2) The high quality of their courses, 3) The caliber of their assessment, 4) The high capability, extensive knowledge and expertise of their instructors. TEFL Institute courses are also recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education qualifying for CPDU (Continuing Professional Development Units).

[nomad soul]

Having a solid TEFL qualificaton will get you a job. The only thing keeping you from moving forward is you. Take a deep breath and jump into researching cert training centers that offer the best bang for your buck in terms of airfare, housing, cost of living, peace of mind, and more importantly, career potential.

[spiral78]

[Sashadroogie]

Accreditat? Who they be? Means next to nothing, apart from sounding vaguely similar to the usual way of bodies like these. A training school, or a group of training schools decide to 'recognise' each other as meeting their standards, and then peddle their 'accreditation' to unsuspecting schools in other countries, or to innocent new trainees who think that an official sounding name makes their training cert 'accredited'.

Why Accreditat and not NCFE? Ach! Who cares...

[lebergerrouge2]

@Spiral-There is actually a supervised teaching component that supposedly comes with this course, but I doubt that little fact lifts it above the rank of garbage. If only I wasn't too late for the February class..Costa Rica sounds great right now!