Job Discussion Forums

[ehrensing]

I am trying to get an TESL position in Inner Mongolia through a relative, who has placed teachers in the past. A friend of mine, who is doing the certification with me, plans to teach in Vietnam. Both of our contacts have told us an online certification program is sufficient for the positions, so we came upon the website teflonline.net - International TEFL Teacher Training, or ITTT. It sounds nice, easy, convenient, and for these reasons possibly a scam. Furthermore, I've never even heard of "TEFL" before. If somebody could tell me their experience with certification requirements in mainland East Asia, I would greatly appreciate it. I'm curious what my relative, whose English is not a prime feature, might probably mean by certification in Chinese standards, if we should use this website's program, and if not what is a better way to go. Thanks![/code]

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

The competition for jobs is not fierce in either of those areas and so they will accept the online certificate, even if they think it might be a bit of a scam (because in truth, a lot of people in Asia think that any teacher training that is concerned with teaching your own language is a scam, but they like the name of a Masters). That type of certificate is often not accepted in countries where there is more competition for jobs- the ones that pay better and have higher standards of living.

TEFL means Teaching English as a Foreign Language (in an area where English is not a commonly spoken language and it isn't a national language either). It's a common term that is used to differentiate itself from Teaching English as a Second Language (in an area where English is a natioal language and sometimes where it is a lingua franca though not an offical language).

TESOL means Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and so could mean either.