Job Discussion Forums

Laeti · Joined: 25 Apr 2005 Posts: 6

Hello everyone,

I am a 24 year old American guy who is looking to head abroad to teach for a few years. I am mainly interested in going to Central/Eastern Europe, possibly Russia or a Russian or Slavic speaking region as I have some background in that language and would like to further develop my abilities, though I'm open to going just about anywhere that is interesting.

I've been doing a fair amount of research on this and other websites and have come to the conclusion that some kind of TEFL certificate is necessary to get a job. My plan is to take a 4 week course in a city, perhaps Krakow, Prague, St. Petersburg, etc., and then find a job in the region after that. There are so many options, all of which brand themselves as being the best (obviously). Are there a few specific schools/courses that you guys would recommend? My current plan (subject to change, of course!) is to teach for a few years before coming back and getting my Masters Degree, so I'd be interested in options that are less costly but still provide decent teacher training.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

tedkarma · Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 11:42 pm Post subject:

A couple web pages called "How to Choose a TEFL School" can help you decide with a long list of questions that you can/should direct to the school you are considering:

http://phuketdelight.com/TEFL.htm

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

Find one that is at least 100 hours, with supervised practice teaching included. The CELTA is the name brand that is the most widely recognized, but that does not necessarily mean it provides better training. You could start researching job openings in the places you want to live and see if they specifically request the CELTA or if they are open to other certificates.

If you want to be properly trained, I'd suggest not skimping on the course. Even if you plan on getting an MA in a few years, you want to be adequately prepared for the teaching that you will do before grad school! TEFL courses run from $1500 to $2000 (that's an approximation only--others can correct me as needed!). It's a worthwhile, and often necessary, investment.

I did what you're planning on doing--TEFL course in Prague, through ITC. In the past, I whole-heartedly recommended them, but they've had management problems... Then two years teaching in Prague, then grad school. And zero regrets.

Good luck!
d

Kent F. Kruhoeffer · Joined: 22 Jan 2003 Posts: 2129 Location: 中国

Here are a few options within Mother Russia & the CIS;

SIT TESOL & CELTA are both good investments, imho:

TEFL QUALIFICATIONS in RUSSIA and The CIS

http://www.bkc.ru/eng/training/ (BKC-International House / CELTA, DELTA, IH Cert + YL)

[email protected] (Queen's English Higher School of Linguistics - Moscow / ICELT)

regarding ICELT please see also: http://www.cambridgeesol.org/teaching/icelt.htm

http://www.vialingua.org/tefl-petersburg.asp (Via Lingua - St. Petersburg / CTEFL)

http://www.ih.kiev.ua/en/celta.htm (International House - Kiev / CELTA & ICTEFL)

http://www.lingua.to.kg/tesol.html (Lingua ELS - Bishkek / SIT TESOL Cert)