Job Discussion Forums

22marmosets · Joined: 24 Apr 2014 Posts: 2

I live in southern California; does anyone know the best and/or cheapest place to get a CELTA? Based on a couple of Google searches, it seems like the most popular one is the Teaching House. Does a CELTA normally run $2500+?

On that note, what is the best and/or cheapest place to get a TESL certificate? I found some at UCI/UCLA Extension, but they take up to a year and cost $3000+. I'm looking for something cheaper and within a shorter time frame. My plan is to get some sort of TEFL/TESL certificate right now, go to a place where certification is not super important for about a year, and then come back and get a CELTA at home. Does anyone any reputable places where I can earn a TESL certificate in a short amount of time?

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

You're asking for leads on a cert course that's cheap-n-quick but it must be "reputable." Well, there are plenty of cheapo, quickies out there to choose from, but forget about the reputable part.

Instead of doing random Internet searching, go to the main CELTA site, cambridgeenglish.org, to see where the course is being taught in your area and then check each course provider's site to see if they meet your budget. Otherwise, consider doing the CELTA in the country you first plan to teach in; sometimes that's an affordable path to take.

22marmosets · Joined: 24 Apr 2014 Posts: 2

Sorry, let me clarify: the most important factor is that the course is legitimate and offers a quality education. Of course, out of all the legitimate quality options out there, I would like to find the quickest and cheapest. I suppose my real question is, are all of the TESL certification courses about the same price and length of time? ($3000+ and a year?)

Thank you for the link to the official website! According to that site, it seems that Teaching House is the only place in LA I can get a CELTA. That's useful to know. It doesn't seem like there are very many options at all.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

CELTA, Trinity, and SIT TESOL are all quality basic standard certs.
They are normally 30 days on-site, and include (key) supervised teaching practice with actual students.

Courses shorter than 30 days, online, or without supervised teaching practice with real students, are usually considered less than the standard entry level.

Ditto nomadsoul's advice: consider a CELTA in the country where you want to start teaching.

ebsarver · Joined: 14 Jan 2012 Posts: 10

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

jtea · Joined: 22 Apr 2014 Posts: 69

I paid $2500 for mine and it was a 3 month course, total 150 hours. If you want cheap, you can probably find one on Groupon. I know where I live there's one for under $100 (and they advertise 100+ hours). Would I recommend it? Hell no.

If you're serious about this, don't try taking a short cut or the cheap way. You'll just be wasting your time. Find a course that you can complete in 100-120 hours + as that's the standard a lot of places will require. I can't recommend a place in Cali but I'm sure you can find one doing a google search. I did mine at a foreign language institute in my city and had amazing teachers.

I also recommend you do a course in person and not online, you'll get more out of it. As for the one you saw that takes a year, that seems really excessive. What are the class times like? How many hours total?

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world