Job Discussion Forums

[kygentleman]

Background: I'm a recent college grad with one year of professional work experience but no teaching background. I'm moving to Colombia to teach English and plan on earning a CELTA with the goal of teaching at the university level.

I'd like to hear from anyone who has completed the CELTA course recently at International House or the British Council. I'm interested in two things:

1) Has IH's program improved and how does it currently compare to the BC's program? There are many negative posts about the IH program on this forum and others, but nothing has been posted within the past two years.

2) Does the British Council have a significantly better reputation or post-CELTA placement record than IH? I realize a CELTA is a CELTA, but I've seen posters describe the British Council as having an excellent reputation in Colombia - I'm wondering if that translates to better job prospects, especially at the university level.

Any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[superteacherIHbogota]

Both are very good.

I did mine at IH so I am biased. It costs a bit less at IH and from what I have heard from mates and friends of friends that IH just beats the BC in terms of quality and service.

The 2 tutors they have at the moment (and I don't work with them but they have done some sessions with us) are Magda and Oliver. They are both really good.

Also, I think the BC is moving to partly distance or online courses so if that suits you, I would go there. IH has about 10 courses a year including a few in Medell�n.

I got a job with IH straight after my CELTA. Guess I was lucky and they needed me. I know that that is not always the case but if you get a B or even an A then you might get offered a few hours a week to start with and that usually leads to more especially if you suck up to management and show you are keen like going to the training sessions and being pushy.

BC as far as I know doesn't take people off a CELTA but after 1 year or more at IH you can sometimes get work there but they are very strict with things like 3 observations and a difficult interview. They pay better tan here.

Hope this is useful. I am biased but I would choose IH to do your CELTA.

[windowlicker]

[The Internationalist]

Dont waste your time.

For University you will not need the CELTA. ie The cost and time is not justifiable imo.

For University all you need is a BA and generally some experience teaching in a classroom. A MA is real nice to have.

For getting a Uni gig my advice would be

1) Get to Colombia and find a colegio job.
2) Work that for a year and build up contacts in the Universities in the city.

After your year is up use your contacts to try and get you a job.

[HLJHLJ]

[G22]

windowlicker is correct, BC blows IH away in terms of quality and available resources. I did the CELTA at IH in 2010, it was a huge waste of time and money. The resources and materials they have are terrible, broken copy machines, computers from 2001 and lack of text books are just some of the things you can look forward to at IH.

On top of that, their instructors are sub par and really lack professionalism. They treat the students like they are elementary school kids. If you absolutely want the CELTA (as others have said it is not necessary at all to teach in Colombia) then please do yourself a favor and go somewhere else other than IH. Just my personal experience, I know others have had a more positive experience with them, but mine was pretty awful.

[summerrain]

I have a related question...hope it's ok if I ask here instead of starting a new topic.

Are there any places that offer the CELTA besides IH and BC (and are they worthwhile)? Is Teaching House the same as IH?

[windowlicker]