Job Discussion Forums

[jen_blue]

Right well. The British Council grant will only cover me for a course in the UK, it would cover me for a online course however these are all administered over a 12-week period so thats out now too.

I emailed every provider in the UK last night (including all the online ones) and have found a lot of courses running and completing by the end of March, some starting 5th Feb in various parts of the UK but many starting 5th and concluding 30th March. There also courses at International House in London, Oxford, Bornemouth and Norwich, Cambridge, Newcastle and Canterbury in Kent - so quite a few choices.

One or two providers suggested they could bill me for the full cost of the course before the end of March and I can complete the course after this period, say the beginning of April.

Accomodation ranges from �110 ish right upto �300 a week to stay in uni or homestay type places. However, one of the admin people who replied to my round email suggested Christian/Buddhist Centres might be more reasonable. I've done a ring round and made enquires, most cant offer a full month or are full but a couple seem more promising.

I also rang British Council and spoke to Jana to ask whether it was a case of invoice dates in which case I will pay the full fees by the end of March regardless of when the course concludes. She said unfurtunately she needs a certificate of completion in order to release the fees (so I guess if I completed 30th March I would need to ensure the provider faxed the completion certificate the same day or on the 31st. I also asked about my chances of receiving the grant again and she said it wasnt a case of being the best application, as such but being eligible and having my quals, experience and eligible graduation year means I am, so if I wasnt able to complete in the required time period then I have a fair chance of receiving the grant again. She said, however that as yet the details of the next round hasnt been released by the management - so she cant say whether there will be another round 100%.

I feel a bit stuck now, money is a huge issue but I really would like to do this course. But trying to co-ordinate all this is quite an ordeal. How do I choose a provider, then get accomodation sorted to all co-ordinate together?

I dont have any figures yet on hostels/christian centres and I havent looked further afield than London as yet - I quite fancy Nottingham although I've no idea why.

I also rang Manchester Academy of Teacher Training (who have a course starting 13/02) and whose application I sent ages ago and havent heard anything from, but last time I rang to get their application said they had one place left. They're the only provider in my area who I havent pestered yet to see if they could manage an extra person on their course. The lady said she will speak to the admissions team and see what is happening.

Jenny

[spiral78]

Jenny, it sounds as though you're being as proactive as you can, and good luck to you:-) It's not really the moon on a stick, but hopefully it will work out somehow.

[HLJHLJ]

Ok, now we are getting somewhere

From the list you have, given your location, I would say go for Nottingham. There are loads of B&Bs and hostels in Nottingham, and it's off season so you should be able to haggle a decent rate once you get there.

Also, you could ask the course provider to put you in touch with other people on the course (they can send your contact details out if they are worried about data privacy). You may find another trainee who is willing to share a room and halve the costs, or maybe someone who lives locally would be willing to rent a room to you, or they may have a friend who would.

With so little time you don't have much choice but to book the first week up front, but you can always change if you find a better deal later.

laterooms.com are showing The Clarence for �23.50
hostelworld.com have the Earl Howe with a single room shared bath for �16.67 a night
lastminute.com have The Britannia for �29 a night
booking.com also have The Britannia on offer at �96 for 5-9th Feb
smoothhound.co.uk has a B&B for �17.50 a night

I'm afraid I wouldn't have a clue where to start with religious centres, but there is a very active YMCA in Notts and they might be able to suggest places.


If Nottingham is no good, then for me, in order of preference would be Newcastle, Bournemouth, Norwich. Purely in terms of the probability of there being cheap accommodation. However, the cost of travel to the latter two might outweigh any savings for you.

I wouldn't worry about the provider. The CELTA course is tightly regulated and though things sometimes slip a little abroad, there won't be much to choose between them in the UK. The trainer will make more difference than the course provider and you simply don't have time to be doing any research into that (if you can even find out ahead of time who the trainers are, many courses won't tell you.)

Once you have a place sorted, make sure they know you need the certificate of completion on the final day and it shouldn't be a problem, they may even be able to email something to you to speed things up. No UK course provider is going to want to upset the BC by not getting paperwork sorted out promptly.

Just take a deep breath and jump in.

Good Luck!

[Perilla]

HLJHLJ seems to offer some good advice. Best of luck. Incredible that the banks won't lend you such a relatively small amount of money for a course that pretty much guarantees work. It's plain bad economics, no wonder the UK is going to the dogs.

[artemisia]

It all sounds very tricky and stressful. If it were me, I'd still follow up on the Liverpool, Manchester possibilities (as well as other places) and do the commute if I could get into a course in either of those locations. Liverpool sounds very tight datewise as you still have to do the pre-interview requirements. I guess it's possible though.

Commuting sounds cheaper to me than trying to get accom elsewhere and less stressful overall. Would you be eligible for student discounts on trains as you'll be in full-time study for one month?

[Tudor]

I doubt it's still an option nowadays what with austerity measures and the like, but, in the past, the benefits office used to pay for unemployed people's TEFL courses as it pretty much guaranteed getting said person into employment and off their books. I know two people who had their courses paid for by the dole office (I know you're not unemployed Jenny, it's just a general comment).

TBH, I could understand a bank's reluctance to offer a loan in this situation; if they know or suspect the recipient will be going to work overseas after completing the course then that's going to make it doubly difficult for the bank to get their money back if the loanee defaults. I used to work with someone who actually did this except they used a credit card rather than a bank loan.

By the way, I love the expression "moon on a stick" - haven't heard that for years!

[HLJHLJ]

[jen_blue]

Right well it's all changed again ........

I have by complete fluke really, managed to get on a course at Manchester Academy of Teacher Training. I sent an application to them ages ago and when I rang they said they had filled the last space so figured my application hadn't been successful. However, I rang on Tuesday and spoke to an administrator who said she wasnt sure, but would check when the relevant person was back in the office. Well they rang yesterday morning and they CAN offer me a place!!!!!!!!!! They said they have had my application on their system since early January and have no idea why I wasnt emailed/phoned and told that I had a place if I wanted it.

I must admit I was kind of looking forward to some new scenary, I've heard some good things about Nottingham recently but I doubt it would help the learning process since this course is going to be intense enough without worrying about rooms/self-catered cooking/finding the correct places etc in a new city.

I start on the 13th Febuary. I'm so so so relieved. I've no idea if this is the effect of "the universe" my friend is adamant it is and Im not going to argue - I'm just happy that I have a place.

And to top it off some books I ordered off Amazon to start studying arrived yesterday, I have English Grammer in Usage and Teach EFL.

Thank you everyone for all your help.

Jenny

[HLJHLJ]

Congratulations! Give yourself some credit as well, it�s your perseverance that has paid off.

[chinaamber]

Congratulations Jenny!

I haven't posted any advice as had none which was different to others but have been following. Glad it's worked out for you!

[Perilla]

Well done Jen and good luck. It's funny how life-changing events often turn on such last-minute offers, random happenings and the like. Taking myself as an example, back in late '95 I was happily lined up to do the CELTA at an EFL school in Jersey. At the 11th hour I discovered in a newspaper ad that I could do the course for free (ie. fees paid) with Coventry Tech (because I was signing on at the time. No idea if this offer still runs, btw). So I changed course and went to Prague with CT instead. It's impossible to be 100% sure, but I suspect my life would have gone down a whole different track if I'd gone to Jersey. In idle moments I sometimes wonder ...

[artemisia]

Great, that one sounds like it's the best in terms of the date and location.

[jen_blue]

Well I've had a really shitty day. When the lady from MATT rang she gave me the impression that they had a place and were asking me along for an interview for a "meet & greet" type thing, especially since there were loads of tasks included with their application form and then she asked me to send a �300 cheque to secure the place.

But today I went along for the interview which involved a 3 minute teaching session, a grammar exercise and a short essay on what qualities and skills I believe make a good efl teacher. I thought I did ok, but the lady pulled me back and asked me to correct my errors in my short essay. I did find it that easy because I bacame paranoid; every word looked wrong. She says she will let know whether I have a place tommorrow, when she has spoken with the director of the school. I feel like shit.

To add to it, my landlady has become even more difficult than she always has been and it looks like I might have to jump ship, so to speak adding even more hassle to my life.

I'm seriously beginning to wonder if there is a place in this world for me anywhere.

[jen_blue]

I've decided not to pursue the CELTA course with Manchester Academy of Teacher Training based on the feedback I received from the interviewer that my grammar and prose werent really up to standard. Plus that email declaration they sent me and asked me to sign really scared me "grave concerns about my ability to be sucessful on this course" and "completion does not guarantee success" obviously it doesnt but the way they were carrying on I can barely manage to speak english.

Anyway I emailed them requesting my �300 cheque be returned and she came back saying that as per terms and conditions they will only return �250.00 as �50 is "administration and consideration costs". Thus since the cheque hasnt been cashed I have requested that my bank cancel the cheque on the basis that I wasn't informed of this when the lady telephoned me claiming they had spaces available on their course. It does make me wonder ....... to be honest whether they have purposefully jarred my confidence to extract this "administration and consideration cost" from me.

Anyway, I plan to move house immeniently because my LL has behaved appalling this past few days and it seems that having looked around at one-bed flats, I'm not nearly in as a bad position as I thought. I am going to start researching shortly for courses in my area and then I can be first to apply plus work on my grammar and prose writing in the meantime.

Jenny

[spiral78]

Sounds like a good plan: good luck!