Job Discussion Forums

[Lizzy4Dubai]

Hi there,

I'm a mature, Canadian woman on my way to Dubai. I'm currently visiting friends in England. I have a few questions and I was hoping that someone out there may have some answers for me. I currently have a B.A and am going to Dubai to take the Trinity CertTESOL course through Woods James Consultants. The course begins July 01 06. Does anyone have any information about this company. I'm becoming somewhat concerned as no one there is responding to my emails. Also, I have been assured that I will be able to find employment easily once the course in finished. Will this be the case or was I being naive in believing them? I've already invested so much money into this excursion that should something go wrong, i.e I'm not employable, I think I might finf myself stranded there and I don't want that
Any info would be appreciated!!! thanks!

[veiledsentiments]

I've never heard of the company, but can you check that they are providing an approved CELTA? (is it the CELTA? all these various certs just confuse me) As long as you come away with that, it should be worth the trip and an experience. Though I must say that July is NOT the month that anyone would choose to visit the Gulf. This is when everyone with a decent paying job gets the heck out!! Be ready to melt in the stifling heat and even more stifling humidity.

I am wary of places that promise employment. Unless you have extensive teaching experience pre-Cert, you will only be eligible for the bottom level jobs. Since you are there, you will likely be local hire and thus receive no benefits. The Emirates are NOT a cheap place to live.

I hope someone will come on with info about the company, but at this time of year most people are on leave, not online.

VS

[younggeorge]

I've also never heard of Woods James, but the Trinity Cert is a good one. However, as VS says, it's an entry-level qualification, and Dubai isn't really an entry-level kind of place. Can you find out more about what kind of jobs they're suggesting you might find? Accommodation is going to be your biggest problem: if you can find a job with housing, you can live (after a fashion) on the kind of salary you might get, but without it then you'd be better off taking your Trinity Cert and going to Thailand or Korea for a while.

[Lizzy4Dubai]

As I understand it, the Trinity CertTESOL and the Cambridge CELTA are nearly interchangeable as they are both moderated by the London College and any institution who provides the course is subject to review at the end of each teaching session to ensure adherence to the curriculum set out by the London College. Woods James Consultants is the only place for potential teachers to receive this training in the UAE.
As for the weather, hot weather does not bother me. Not that I've ever been in weather as extreme as in an arab state but I've always appreciated heat!! Regardless of the fact that I'm Cdn and come from one of the coldest cities in the prairies, I abhor the cold...I hibernate during fall, winter and spring because the cold temps start right after Labour Day w/e!! So, I'm actually looking forward to some extreme heat....I wonder if I'll regret that some time in the future? Yeah, I'm somewhat worried about employment because it would HAVE to include accomodation. I mean, for the 5 wks of the course, I have to stay in a hotel! $$$$$$$$

[thrifty]

The London College does not exist. Who told you that?

Trinity and CELTA are moderated by different organisations.

A four weeker in Dubai is unlikely to get accomodation.

[veiledsentiments]

[Lizzy4Dubai]

I wasn't told by anyone in particular. I have researched both certifications through several dozen websites and they all cite the London College as the moderators of the certificates.
Even going through the job board on Dave's main page, many employers request potential teachers to have one or the other of these certs.
Do you know what the separate organizations are that govern the moderation of these certificates?
I appreciate the info, Thrifty but what then, are the facts?
Also, I'd like to point out that |'m not a completely blank slate. I do have a B.A, I have been in the working world, and I don't expect a huge salary with just a 5 week certification course. I'm quite willing to work hard for whatever I earn. The tone of your post seems to suggest that I have offended you in some way. No offense meant to anyone. I'm only looking for info, that's all.

[Lizzy4Dubai]

To VS,

I do hear you!! As I said, I might regret saying what I did about handling the heat!! MN, ND or SD? I think ND....
How long have you been in UAE? Do you enjoy it?

[veiledsentiments]

I retired a few years back... now home living near elderly parent for most of the year.

I enjoyed very much living in the Emirates, but I was on a lucrative contract with housing and all the bells and whistles. It would not be a country where I would want to live on subsistance pay. No problem with the short time getting the Cert, but I would not plan to stay there and work afterwards if I were you.

VS
(don't mind thrifty, his posts are often terse... but I think his facts were probably correct)

[younggeorge]

[Sole Survivor]

Fellow Canadian here in Bahrain.

Today it is 43 C. The funny thing is that once you've been in the region for a while the heat becomes bearable. I find that when I go home for the summers, 27 degrees feels rather chilly!! Don't worry about it.

My advice is go to Dubai. No matter what you post on this board you will always get the same answers that tend to try and dissuade people from going. Is it that important which of the two organizations deal with which certification? (no). Will a K-12 school investigate into the organization that granted you the Celta? (no, they are too busy and perhaps too needy).
Of paramount importance for you is when you are offered a contract insist that it be an overseas hire contract, not a local hire contract. If you sign as a local hire your pay drops, you get no flight home for vacations, etc.
ENJOY YOUR TIME IN DUBAI - IT'S A GREAT CITY!

[Afra]

Try this.
http://www.teflworld.com/show_school.php?con=2&cou=AE&id=109

[veiledsentiments]

Now I must say that was one of the least informative sites that I have visited in a long while. But since most of us hadn't ever heard of the organization, I guess that might suggest that they really do exist... though haven't yet hired anyone with any internet skills.

At to the temps... It took me 2-3 years to really acclimate to the extreme heat and I never got comfortable with the extreme humidity that accompanies it in the Emirates. Much depends on your age, and it was easier in Kuwait and Oman with their lower humidity.

You definitely start digging out the sweaters when the temps start plunging down to... oh... less than 25. (whereas where I live now people dig out their shorts when the temps get up to 7 or 8..)

VS

[nstick13]

Bump.

Anyone done this program recently?

[veiledsentiments]

Note that it still hasn't been mentioned in the last three years since this thread.

I read that Woods has lost contracts in Africa, so the same may also be true here.

VS