Job Discussion Forums

[jencoyle]

Hello all. I'm currently working in Bilbao, sunny Spain and looking for an out for next year. Having worked for EF in China before I thought that doing an EF Distance Diploma might be a good way to get more qualified while moving up the greasy pole. If anyone has taken this course before I'd be glad of some general info on how it went, the pros and cons and whether it leaves you enough time to be a senior teacher or DOS at the same time. Also, did anyone one do it while not working with EF? and did anyone who did it in China have any difficulties because of the location?

I've read reams of pages on different Diploma courses and I'm wondering whether there is any real difference??...the material covered seems to be the same.

Any and all advice would be much appreciated. All the best.

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Dear Jen:

Since this is a new course by EF, I doubt whether anyone will have had first-hand experience with it, but here's the link for those who may be interested. They are offering 2 variations in terms of moderation & Diploma awarded:

1. internal moderation by EF (EF Diploma in TEFL)

~ or ~

2. external moderation by Trinity College London (LTCL Dip. TESOL)

Here's the link: http://www.ef-tefl-training.com/teacherinfo/training/online/default.asp (EF Online Diploma in TEFL)

~

[Gregor]

Funny you should ask.
Yes, this is a new course offered by EF. Their second class is on the course right now. I was on their first.
Here's the deal as it stood last time I talked to the guy running the course:
You can take the diploma course at so much money. If you pay more, you can sit the Trinity College, London exams. I suggest that you do so.
It is exactly the same course otherwise, which is Trinity. You want to have the accreditation that Trinity has, though. If you have that, it is a postgraduate qualification.
Here are some further links, to prove that it's straight up.
This one is Trinity, London, regarding their diploma:
http://www.trinitycollege.co.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=tesol_diploma.home
Here's the page from the British QCA about what these numbers mean:
http://www.qca.org.uk/493.html
And here's the British QCA's database which talks about this particular qualification:
http://www.openquals.org.uk/openquals/qualificationDetails.aspx?QualificationID=1085

This is becoming an issue because I don't actually have a bachelor's degree and China is cracking down on that. I have printed out these pages and taken them to a government approved translator/notary public, and she has agreed that it does qualify as a higher degree.
The problem was that they don't translate the word "diploma" as a very useful thing. They simply don't understand. She took my papers, researched it herself and called back to tell me that she will alter her translation accordingly.
I don't know if other Asian countries will do the same, but it has certainly made life easier for me here in China, and I don't see this as being a problem down the road.

Jen, to answer your other questions, I was working as a DoS while on the course, here in China (I was in Shenyang at the time). Many EFs here offer a deal (which I took) whereby you sign on as DoS for two years and they pay 11,000 RMB toward the diploma. They dock that out of your pay a little at a time, and if and when you finish the contract, they give it back. That will more than cover the EF Dip I believe, but I'd still suggest you go with the Trinity. Again, same course, but one is accredited and the other is not as far as I know, so far.
The course is awesome. The guy who runs it is the nicest guy you'll ever want to meet, a HELL of an educator, and very tough on his students. Tougher than the Trinity monitor, according to the Trinity guy I had. HE was right impressed with the EF guy.
His name is Huan Japes, and he still runs the thing. Note, though, that if you want the Trinity people to check you out, you have to do the face to face portion in Shanghai (you can do just the EF one in Moscow or Sulewasi, Indonesia).
Also note that you cannot do the entire thing online. There is a face to face portion. It wouldn't be respectable otherwise.
But not only can you do it while you work, you almost have to. It requires a lot of self-observation for various things, and the observation of other similarly qualified teachers.
For me the location wasn't a problem because I was already a director here. And it IS a lot of work. But now it's done and I've got the thing and no one can take that away from me! HA!
We'll see if it does my career any good.

As for other diploma courses, at that level of qualification, don't muck about. Go with either the DELTA (Cambridge) or the LTCL Diploma TESOL ("LTCL" indicates that it's Trinity College, London). Those are the two that have accreditation. I've heard DELTA is more la-dee-dah, but that's just because it's Cambridge. I don't think it's any higher of a qualification. But don't go with just anyone, like a lot of people do with the certificate level. This is for real, so get the accreditation. You're doing the same work, after all. Pay a couple extra pounds!
Good luck.

[Zero Hero]

As the first page you refer to states, the only reason it can be referred to as a "post graduate qualification" is that (stress mine):

"All candidates must have completed a Trinity validated course. In addition they must have a first degree or equivalent [...]"

Obviously, any qualification that is gained after graduating and for which graduation was a prerequisite is a "post graduate qualification".

It is most certainly not a higher degree as you claim, or equivalent to one. It is a diploma; nothing more and nothing less.

[DKatz]

oops

[Stephen Jones]

The same question is alive in another thread. I'll post here what I posted there.

Dear Gregor

Basically you have managed to pull the wool over the eyes of the translator and either by luck or influence over the Chinese immigration authorities as well.

Your Trinity Diploma is not the equivalent of a higher degree anywhere. And certainly not in the UK.

You will not be allowed to work in a Grade 1-12 school anywhere a degree is required, which is pretty well the whole planet.

Your Diploma will give you a good chance of getting a teaching job or a DOS job at plenty of language schools, though if a degree is a requirement for a visa you will have problems outside of China where you appear to have bamboozled your way in.

Apart from this your advice is fairly good. The Trinity Diploma is considered the same as the Cambridge/RSA Delta, and unlike most other vocational TEFL courses is widely recognized. There are plenty of other places where you can do the theory part by distance though. Sheffield Hallam for example allow you to credit the Diploma courses taken towards and MA in TEFL, and if you plan to get work in universities then this option may be the best one.

[Gregor]

The whole issue is murky, really.
It seems reasonable enough that teachers should have a university degree. But the thing about teaching ESL is that there are other factors, many of which are not teachable at uni, involved in teaching English abroad, not the least of which is culture shock. Another is relatively crap pay, and one more is living a lifestyle that we didn't grow up watching on TV, therefore it's hard to convince ourselves (and our families and friends) that it is actually a valid way to exist.
Some of the best-suited people for TEFL jobs have no degree. Others have degrees in completely irrelevant things. I have one teacher now who actually has a degree in pri