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question(s) about certification

 
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rdarabos



Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 13
Location: Philadelphia, PA

PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2015 2:29 am    Post subject: question(s) about certification Reply with quote

I'm unsure if this is the correct place to put this post, so if it is not apologies.

I am planning on taking the 250 hour diploma offered by OnTesol, with accompanying 20 hour Teaching to Young Learners ad on and a 20 hour practicum.

The OnTesol website makes it sound like you get "three certifications for the price of one." However, after looking into the Canada and ACTDEC certifications they say you qualify for, they forget to mention that they each cost quite a bit of money.

Are these certifications worth the prices associated with them? The Canada one was some where around $300 or so, and the UK one was $400+, I believe. I have no intention to actually teach in Canada. Is there any point of it otherwise? I would love to teach in the UK, but I'm unsure of the competitive market.

I guess I'm wondering if these "certifications" serve any purpose if not teaching in them countries?

Thanks for any advice.
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esl_prof



Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 2006
Location: peyi kote solèy frèt

PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2015 2:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Isn't ONTESOL an online certification program? If so, you'd likely do better to pursue other options. Which options, however, may vary depending on where you hope to eventually teach. As it appears that you're based in Philadelphia, Canada and the UK are typically not viable options for U.S. citizens looking to teach English.
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suphanburi



Joined: 20 Mar 2014
Posts: 916

PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2015 3:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Canadian one won't get you past obtaining a work visa (unless you already are Canadian or have a Canadian wife OR they are unable to find an English speaking Canadian to fill the position).

I also didn't see it listed in the TESOL Canada website as a recognized program so the short answer is that it would not be worth the money.

I suspect the same is true of the UK.

Bottom line:

The TEFL world is not what it was even 10 years ago.

If you already have a legitimate degree (authentication required for work in some countries) then pick a corner of the world and see what the visa requirements are for a US citizen:

    Most of Central and South America would be open to you.
    Most of eastern Europe and Western Asia would be an option.
    The Middle East would be tough to enter if you only have minimal qualifications.
    Most of SE and East Asia would be open.
    Most (all?) of Western Europe is closed to you.
    You'd be unlikely to get a work visa for Canada


In most cases (outside of Europe and the Middle East) a TEFL/TESOL/TESL cert is nice to have (and certainly a benefit when it comes to doing well and keeping your job) but not a legal requirement for employment.

IF you do not have a valid degree then the point is moot.

LEGAL work (defined as having the proper visa and/or permits) as a teacher in most of the non-anglophone world is not an option (although there are still a lot of tourist teachers running around). Caveat Emptor - buyer beware.

.
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spiral78



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

PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2015 10:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I would love to teach in the UK, but I'm unsure of the competitive market.


There are lots of qualified Brits there:-) You won't get a visa or a job in the UK or Canada, unless you have a passport from one of those countries already.

Basically, the lists provided above by suhanburi are pretty accurate. Asia is probably your most feasible option, assuming you have a degree. And you won't need the cert, most likely.
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Xie Lin



Joined: 21 Oct 2011
Posts: 731

PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2015 2:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:

I also didn't see it listed in the TESOL Canada website as a recognized program so the short answer is that it would not be worth the money.



The program has a TESL Canada Level 2 certification. Ontesol is the on-line branch of Coventry House, which offers the Trinity cert, and is a highly reputable provider. They offer tutored courses, and the tutors are well-qualified and experienced. However, the ACTDEC certification is worthless; and, as others have said, it is unlikely you could become employed in either the UK or Canada for visa reasons. So don't pay extra for additional certifications.

Frankly, if I were doing a program through Ontesol--and not concerned about Canada Level 2 certification--I would start with the lower level (and considerably less $$$) certificate course, plus the YL and practicuum. That, however, is a personal opinion, and there are a couple of cafe old-timers who started their careers with the 250-hour course, and recommend it.

.
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rdarabos



Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 13
Location: Philadelphia, PA

PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 1:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

[/quote]

The program has a TESL Canada Level 2 certification. Ontesol is the on-line branch of Coventry House, which offers the Trinity cert, and is a highly reputable provider. They offer tutored courses, and the tutors are well-qualified and experienced. However, the ACTDEC certification is worthless; and, as others have said, it is unlikely you could become employed in either the UK or Canada for visa reasons. So don't pay extra for additional certifications.

Frankly, if I were doing a program through Ontesol--and not concerned about Canada Level 2 certification--I would start with the lower level (and considerably less $$$) certificate course, plus the YL and practicuum. That, however, is a personal opinion, and there are a couple of cafe old-timers who started their careers with the 250-hour course, and recommend it.

.[/quote]

Thanks Xie. Not sure why so many people post on here and just give advice opposite of what is asked. I was obviously aware that it was an on line certification and aware that an in person one is probably better, so not sure why that is what most of the responses were that I got back.

Thanks for your comments on the specific program that I mentioned, however, I appreciate it. It seems and looks like a good program to me and works well with my schedules and timeline.

I had contacted OnTesol the other day and asked about the "practicum" they offer, which is only available for the 250 hour diploma and not the 120 hour certificate. Is a practicum that important? What is the different between a practicum and just volunteer teaching?
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MuscatGary



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 1364
Location: Flying around the ME...

PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 1:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

rdarabos wrote:
Is a practicum that important? What is the different between a practicum and just volunteer teaching?


Practicum is observed and assessed.
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Xie Lin



Joined: 21 Oct 2011
Posts: 731

PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 2:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:

I had contacted OnTesol the other day and asked about the "practicum" they offer, which is only available for the 250 hour diploma and not the 120 hour certificate. Is a practicum that important? What is the different between a practicum and just volunteer teaching?


I wasn't aware that the 20-hour practicum could only be taken with the longer course. Too bad. And yes, it's an important piece of the training, the most important piece. The difference is that it is supervised--you will be observed teaching and then receive feedback on what went well, what needs improvement, what you could have done differently. Volunteer teaching doesn't give you this, although it is certainly a way to gain some experience in the classroom, which will be a plus.

By taking an online course, you are already limiting your employment options to the countries Suphanburi listed; it is the supervised teaching practice that will make the theory and methodology modules come together for you.

.
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santi84



Joined: 14 Mar 2008
Posts: 1317
Location: under da sea

PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 2:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would not bother unless it had the practicum component. There is an important difference between volunteer teaching and student practicum, as stated, it means a quality assessment and evaluation (by a TESL Canada 3 supervisor, aka MA TESOL-level with lots of experience).

I have an in-class 250 hour TESL Canada 2 with the practicum. The evaluations are packed into a three-inch binder. It is very thorough! If you can swing it, do it, because it has made teaching so much easier. I reference it weekly.
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esl_prof



Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 2006
Location: peyi kote solèy frèt

PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 2:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

santi84 wrote:
I have an in-class 250 hour TESL Canada 2 with the practicum.


These are the two critical elements of any good quality certificate program. I assume the practicum was with real students, correct?
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santi84



Joined: 14 Mar 2008
Posts: 1317
Location: under da sea

PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 3:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

esl_prof wrote:
santi84 wrote:
I have an in-class 250 hour TESL Canada 2 with the practicum.


These are the two critical elements of any good quality certificate program. I assume the practicum was with real students, correct?


Yes, with adult newcomers. My university required 60 in-class hours with real students. I think 10 hours is the minimum, if I recall.
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suphanburi



Joined: 20 Mar 2014
Posts: 916

PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 3:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You people can argue until you are blue in the face over the quality of the certificate course and who will/won't/may accept such a course but the bottom line for the OP still remains the same:

If the OP has a legitimate bachelors level degree (he hasn't said anything about his background) then pick a region/country and see specifically what they require for a US citizen to acquire a work visa and necessary permits to work as a teacher. It varies by country.

TEFL/TESL/TESOL certificates, while nice to have are USUALLY NOT a legal (and often not an employer) requirement for a native speaker to find (LEGAL) entry level work as a teacher in most countries of the world. The undergrad degree (almost universally now) is.

Specific to the original post, Canada and the UK are NOT options for an American citizen looking at entry level EFL/ESL positions unless s/he also has other ties to the country (derived citizenship, spousal immigration, etc).

.
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rdarabos



Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 13
Location: Philadelphia, PA

PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 7:51 pm    Post subject: more info Reply with quote

Thanks for the replies thus far. I never knew how important the practicum was, so that's great information.

Someone mentioned about my previous education, I forgot to mention that in my initial post. I have an Associate's Degree in general education, with the bulk of the classes being in English, primarily literature and grammar.

My Bachelor's degree is in the Fine Arts. I switched from English to Art, for some reason. I wa also studying for my Masters in Fine Arts, but had a drastic change of heart and no longer am interested in finishing the degree.

As far as placement, I'm also fine with the Asia countries. I'd also love to be able to work on more certifications while teaching in said countries, if possible.

I've also recently been looking into the Oxford Seminars course. They offer in-person classes, but no practicum. OnTesol offers on-line courses, but a practicum. I'm also not currently interested in the CELTA.
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spiral78



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

PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 8:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oxford is well-known for not including practice teaching with real students. If that's not important to you/your potential employers, fine, but as you have heard here before, it's the key component of generally-accepted cert courses.

The word 'placement' as it is used by many cert courses can be misleading, by the way. In almost every case (the exception being big companies that hook their grads up in their own schools), the only job assistance is to give you contacts at schools. Don't expect 'placement' in that the training center is going to find you a job. Highly unlikely.
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suphanburi



Joined: 20 Mar 2014
Posts: 916

PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 11:56 pm    Post subject: Re: more info Reply with quote

rdarabos wrote:
Someone mentioned about my previous education, I forgot to mention that in my initial post. I have an Associate's Degree in general education, with the bulk of the classes being in English, primarily literature and grammar.

My Bachelor's degree is in the Fine Arts.

I've also recently been looking into the Oxford Seminars course. They offer in-person classes, but no practicum. OnTesol offers on-line courses, but a practicum. I'm also not currently interested in the CELTA.


If you already have an associate in general education then go back and finish the B.Ed. The difference is enormous.

Entry level EFL in Thailand or China (as examples) pays about US$1000 per month with no benefits. Even with a TEFL cert that is where you will be starting out at.

With a B.Ed you can get jobs in Thailand or China (English programs in mainstream schools) starting at US$2000. You'd earn about the same in Korea.

With a B.Ed AND teacher certification and 2 years of experience you'd be looking at the international school circuit with jobs paying in the $3-5000/month PLUS benefits like housing, airfare, medical, pension, etc.

As to which TEFL cert... for the cheap certs it really doesn't matter.

They all offer essentially the same... and the ONLY reason for their "20 hour face to face" component was that 20 hours F-F within a 100-hour on-line course is a requirement for recruitment to the Korean government school programs like EPIK/GEPIK (they did it to meet the demand).

If you have your degree and are OK with Asia then start looking now.
The school year in most of Asia starts in the spring (March to June) the exception being China (Sept).

http://www.eslcafe.com/jobs/china/
http://www.eslcafe.com/jobs/korea/
http://www.eslcafe.com/joblist/

Try a year or so then decide if you want to spend the money to progress further in EFL (get your TEFL certs, CELTA/DELTA or post grad (MA/M.Ed)) or move to mainstream teaching (B.Ed, PGCE, teacher certification) or pick another career path (outside of education).

.
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