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Laurel7 · Joined: 29 Nov 2006 Posts: 13

Hello all, has anyone taken the TEFL course in Chiapas through the Dunham Institute? Would you please share your experience?

Thanks a bunch.
Linda

Prof.Gringo · Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 11:38 pm Post subject:

I took the TEFL course at Dunham in January, 2005. Pretty much everything was what they advertised. The course was 4 weeks long, there were over 120 hours in the course and there was an observed teaching practice.
The schools works like this: The coordinator and her husband run the school and also live there(it's their house, also). They "hire" native English speakers with teaching experience to come and teach for 5 months, without pay. In exchange the experienced teachers receive a place to stay with a host family and free intensive Spanish lessons. It seemed to be a good deal for experienced teachers that wanted to come to Latin America and experience a new culture and learn Spanish.
As a TEFL student, there was only one other student in the class with me. The coordinator worked with us together and one-on-one. In the mornings we learned how to make lesson plans, and we also learned some theory and background about teaching English. There were no grammar courses that I really remember. The main thing was to learn how to prepare and then give lessons, in an actual language school. In the afternoons we first observed and then later taught classes with Mexican English students. It was very helpful to be able to observe and talk to 3 different teachers. Each one had different backgrounds, experiences, and teaching styles. After about one week of observing we began to teach the classes that we had been observing. The teachers stayed in the classes and observed us. If we needed any help, they were available. Then after the class we were able to get feedback. The coordinator observed us during our last week or so, for at least 6 hours, and gave us her feedback.
The classes had about 6-10 students per class. There were 3 classes with children(about 7-13 year olds) one class with adolescents and another class with adults. This gave very helpful exposure to different age groups and the differences in teaching each age range.

The home stay was very nice. I thoroughly enjoyed the family that I stayed with. I was able to practice Spanish and feel welcomed to both Chiapa de Corzo and Mexico. My home stay house was very clean, safe, and it had a wonderful view right on the river!

Chiapa de Corzo is a pretty small place, it was a good place to get a feel for Mexico and it's safe, and very easy to get around. If you want something bigger Tuxtla Gutierrez is just a short micro ride away. There you can find stores, restaurants, a zoo, nightlife, and whatever else you might need.
I would recommend anyone that is thinking of taking a TEFL course in Mexico to check out Dunham Institute.

Laurel7 · Joined: 29 Nov 2006 Posts: 13

Pro. Gringo, thanks so much for taking the time to give me all this information. I just received an email from a lady from Dunham and she said the best way to get there is to fly into Mexico City then take a 12 hour bus ride. She said you could go by plane, but was expensive. How did you get there?

I am really leaning in the direction of this school. I had almost settled on the ITTO school in Guadalajara, but am getting more negative feedback than I need to feel good about it. Do you know anything about that course? Appears to be quite expensive compared to this one with Dunham. ITTO is offering a free week of accomodations in Puerto Vallarta after completion of their course. I can't help but wonder, when people try to give something away if there is some catch to it/hardball selling it. Don't know, but saving several hundreds of dollars and a good school seems much more appealing.

If you don't mind me asking where are you teaching now?

Thanks again.
Linda

Laurel7 · Joined: 29 Nov 2006 Posts: 13

I need to add that the free week in Puerto Vallarta comes with the Mar. 5-30 slot only.

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

Flights from DF to Tuxtla are not too bad at 121 usd I was told only yesterday...not sure how far it is to Corzo from Tuxtla...

saraswati · Joined: 30 Mar 2004 Posts: 200

The new airport "Angel Albino Corzo" is in Chiapa de Corzo. Those who are staying in Tuxtla Gutierrez are now faced with a 20-30 minute ride into town.

MamaOaxaca · Joined: 03 Jan 2007 Posts: 201 Location: Mixteca, Oaxaca

Another option would be fly into Oaxaca, Oaxaca. You might be able to get some pretty cheap fairs about now. They also have direct flights from Houston, to bypass Mexico City all together. It would still be an 8 hour bus ride from Oaxaca City to Tuxtla however.

EverReady · Joined: 19 May 2005 Posts: 48 Location: Nobody Cares

Why not just do a CELTA? Then people will at least have heard about the certificate that you get.

Prof.Gringo · Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 7:35 pm Post subject:

I took a bus from DF to Tuxtla. It was an overnight bus and I slept most of the time. It's not at all as bad as it sounds. I would pay a little more and take a deluxe bus. It's worth a little more money.

Why take a CELTA? So you can pay for the name? Is the quality of the course really any better? That's open to and subject to debate, and it's a debate that's been going on for a very long time. I have never had any problems getting a job in Mexico with my TEFL cert. Many of the Mexican school owners and directors don't even know what a CELTA is, let alone the difference between a "TEFL" and "CELTA". What is it anyways? The price? The Cambridge name? As long as you are prepared and able to teach once in the class, that's all that really matters.

MamaOaxaca · Joined: 03 Jan 2007 Posts: 201 Location: Mixteca, Oaxaca

As a person who for many years was hiring teachers, and I will be again soon so feel free to PM me Laughing

, I will say I perfer hiring CELTA grads because I know that people routinely fail the course. From what I can tell, which is actually not a lot to go on, I think these small operations pretty pass everyone willing to pay them money for the course. CELTA also have three pass levels, Pass, Pass B, and Pass A. I know that people who got a Pass A are hard workers, who put there all into the task at hand. I also know more or less what sort of qualifications CELTA course trainers have. I once met a guy who was a TEFL course trainer at one of the schools in Guadalajara, this guy had basically graduated from their course and the next week started working for them as a trainer. Hardly qualified IMHO. I would be pissed if I paid good money to have a trainer like that.

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

Prof.Gringo · Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 1:27 am Post subject:

Well, for someone who's a regular on this forum, than maybe to "MamaOaxaca" it makes a big difference. In my two years in Mexico, I've never had a prospective employer even ask if I had a CELTA or make a comparison between a TEFL or CELTA. Why would someone who is new to the ESL/TEFL world even want to shell out 4-5 grand for a diploma when the monthly pay range is about US $400-900 or a thousand bucks a month? I've talked to plenty of schools where just having a piece of paper in your hand and saying that you have some plans to stick around for a while goes a long way, especially over the backpacker-here today, gone tomorrow types.

All of the teachers at Dunham had extensive TEFL experience and backgrounds. One was a certified and experienced elementary school teacher from the US. Another one had taught English for about 3 years in Taiwan and the other teacher also had extensive experience and she had a CELTA. I remember asking her about the CELTA and her opinion wasn't very good. She said that the course was more theory than practice and that she felt that in some areas it wasn't the best.

You can always do a TEFL and then later take a TKT, CELTA, ICELTS or DELTA. Seems like a great way for Cambridge to make some more money on it's name appeal if you ask me.

"Mama Oaxaca" I'm not trying to pick a fight with you. I am sure that the CELTA is a good course for new teachers. But, I don't think that it's necessarily the best. Just because of the name and that it has over-site, still doesn't mean that a CELTA teacher is any better than someone with a TEFL or some other acronym diploma. Most of the foreigners that I know here in the DF have no training at all. Even an on-line cert. is an advantage over those folks. I think in a higher paying, more competitive job market, like some places in Asia, having a CELTA and then some would make a difference. In my experience in Mexico, it would really be an investment that's not really necessary for most of the teaching jobs here.

MamaOaxaca said "I will say I prefer hiring CELTA grads because I know that people routinely fail the course."

Sorry, that doesn't sound like a great selling point for a very expensive course. I would absolutely hate to have failed a course by a few points. Then again, I have never failed any course I've ever taken. I would have to think that it's hard enough to take an intensive 4 week course, in a country where you probably don't speak the language, are still trying to get adjusted, maybe suffering from homesickness, culture shock or both. Than, on top of that, to be worried about failing a course that someone just payed thousands of dollars for? I know that I got an excellent preparation to be an English teacher from Dunham Institute. Each person has to "shop" around and pick the school and course that they think is best for them.

"Laurel7" I am currently living in Mexico City. I teach at two schools, one is a language institute and the other one is an elementary/middle school.