Job Discussion Forums

Roselyn1792 · Joined: 21 Sep 2005 Posts: 7 Location: suNny saN diEGo siDe

I'm thinking of taking the ESL online courses but I keep seeing "TESOL" and when I see the price of it, it's like $1000+. is there a difference between those two?

Freddie_Unbelievable · Joined: 06 Jun 2003 Posts: 288

Why don't you ask the people at the International school where you "plan to apply".

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

TESOL is a teacher's organization from the US.
ESL is English as a Second Language

You might be thinking of TEFL, which is a certificate called Teaching English as a Foreign Language.
If you want to teach English then you get a TEFL certificate.

bluffer · Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 6:07 pm Post subject:

Gordon - think I will disagree with you on that.

Rosslyn - see the answers on the other thread you started in Thailand.

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=29900

Rosslyn, its not normally a good idea to start the same thread in more thn one country area.

and dont take an online course. I dont think there is one i have seen that would be worth the money for a newbie to the business. Take one of the residential courses.

saint57 · Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 1:04 am Post subject:

TESOL = Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
TESL = Teaching English as a Second Langauge

If you get your certificate from a Canadian or American company it will be TESL. If you get it from a company in the U.K. it will be TESOL. I did mine online while I was teaching but I a newbie shouldn't do this.

philbags · Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 149 Location: 1962-69

the other ( and original - i think ) variant is CELTA - Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Adults. its ratified by the Cambridge (U.K.) examining board and is the standard across the world, ooooh!. Tesol is a bit younger and (I THINK) ratified by trinity/oxford. niether of these are much more than an eye opener, it takes most people a couple of years to get to grips with teaching in different environments so really experience would be the key issue if not for new teachers.the certificate gives you a license to go out and start teaching but doesnt guarantee you as a professional. Real classroom experience plus theory is what these courses offer, and of course endless feedback and peer analysis.I cant imagine that on-line courses could provide this.
In any case - I havent looked back since i started teaching; its a fantastic job for more reasons than i can be bothered to write here( im a bit drunk you see)
Oh yeah, im really enjoying reading these threads 'bout cambodia - that khmerhit's some dude. maybe see you round.

SheZook · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 187

When I first thought about teaching English overseas I wasn't sure whether it would be for me or not. I didn't want to fork out $1500 to do a CELTA course if I wasn't sure that I wanted to teach overseas. I decided to come to China without a TESOL certificate to see whether I would enjoy teaching English. I'm expecting to get flamed here but let me say this first...no, I wasn't sure if I would like it but at the same time I did know that even if I didn't like it, I still have the ability and determination to do a good job and complete my contract. I didn't come here thinking that if I didn't like it, I would just pack up and go home a month or so into the contract. I came prepared and committed to doing a good job whether I liked it or not. And before you ask, yes, I did have prior teaching experience (not English), in fact, it was my students at home who encouraged me to give it a go. Thankfully, my first 6 months in China were fantastic and I've discovered that I really love this job, hence the reason I am staying on until February. I think I have done fairly well but at the same time I know that there are areas in which I am lacking and need to improve on and as such, I have decided to do the TEFL International course when I finish this contract. Now that I know that I want to continue teaching ESL, I can justify the expense of the course. I am actually really looking forward to it!

guruengerish · Joined: 28 Mar 2004 Posts: 424 Location: Australia

Have to agree with Philbags here. Teaching can be a lot of fun, especially if you are interested in the subject.

I did the Cambridge course in Australia, and spread it over a few months as there's a lot of pressure with the one-month course. It gave me time to do some reading and learning which would not have been possible otherwise.

You've seen how it's done, now do the theory and enjoy it!

I just wish I could get back into it - but age is agin me. Sad

marklatham · Joined: 06 Aug 2006 Posts: 12 Location: perth WA

I wood lik to teech inglish in kambodee-wher shood I lern?