Job Discussion Forums

[man_of_words]

Hey guys,

I am new here but I have been stalking some of these threads. I am considering an online TEFL course offered by International TEFL Corporation.

Is the online option bad for any reason? Will it seriously limit my options as I look for work or will it cause me to earn far less in most markets?

[Chris Westergaard]

I run a TEFL course in Prague, so I don't want to be biased with anything that I could say. In general though, teaching is a skill. You can't really learn too much from taking on online course. You will leave the course with information, but your actual ability in the classroom will be the same.

You will get better at teaching really by only teaching and having people critique (shape) you. The more times you get observed (shaped) the better.The same way that taking an online basketball camp would probably not help you improve skills on the court too much. Teaching is a skill - it is not just about information. There really is something of an art to it regarding graded language, ttt, lesson planning,,,yada yada

Now, if online is your only option, then you'll have to go through it. Some kind of training is always going to be better than no training at all. Just be aware that schools will test you during the interview to see if you know what you are doing. This will come in the form of a demo lesson. If you have never actually practiced the techniques taught to you, you might not be able to pull it off.

There are many different online courses and some have even tried to get some sort of practice teaching into the course (via videotape I believe). Go with those. However, if you can, I would suggest taking an onsite course that has at least 6 hours of teaching practice.

There are still places in the world that love native English speakers so much that they will hire you just based only on that. What a lot of our trainees had done is teach English in Korea for a year or two and then take a training course.

[craftynick]

hi. I did my TEFL course through i-to-i. This consisted of both an online course & supervise teaching practice. I know they also offer the online course on its on - dont waste your money!!!!! Not only is the course a bit crap but you really would not be prepared for the big wide world of teaching from it alone!!!! I know this well as i have just started my 1 st teaching job & am eternally grateful now for those few hours i got to practice teach - also ive just gone through the job hunting process - i really dont think 1 of them even noticed i had also done an online course - all they were concerned about was my teaching experience (and rightly so i think) - hope that helps a bit

[pollitatica]

Consider doing some volunteer work as a classroom assistant and doing some tutoring, especially if you do the online only course. It is extra time, but it will help you immensely!