Job Discussion Forums

dfields3 · Joined: 14 Feb 2007 Posts: 29 Location: Atlanta

Hello everyone. I am going to be taking a TEFL program in Mexico this summer and was wondering which school would be the best. The school that I have been looking at is ITTO. Does anyone have any experience with this school? Any info would be cool and greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Derrick Fields

J Sevigny · Joined: 26 Feb 2006 Posts: 161

You will pay your money and you will get a certificate that tells immigration, and of course potential employers, that you are an English teacher. The job placement at ITTO leaves much to be desired.

geaaronson · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 948 Location: Mexico City

A friend of mine did get a job immediately at the Canadian Center in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas. That`s not much of a recommendation considering the school, but she did say that there were other jbo prospects that ITTO had offered her.

dfields3 · Joined: 14 Feb 2007 Posts: 29 Location: Atlanta

I am actually not going to be looking for a job immediately when I finish the program as I have a year to go at my university in Atlanta. I just want to get the certificate this summer to have one. I might want to teach after I graduate and would probably not be using their job placement. I guess my question is, is the certificate reputable when you go looking for a job?

geaaronson · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 948 Location: Mexico City

Yes. Absolutely.

Samantha · Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Posts: 2038 Location: Mexican Riviera

Derrick, are you planning to teach in Mexico after you graduate in Atlanta?

hlamb · Joined: 09 Dec 2003 Posts: 431 Location: Canada

I attened ITTO two years ago. The programme is decent when you consider that it is only a month long. They manage to pack a good deal of information into a short time. I was offered several jobs through their placement service. I ended up finding my own jobs because the ones they offered were either not in areas where I wanted to work, or I didn't like other aspects of what was being offered. But it did give me an idea of what was out there. I think a lot of schools in Mexico probably recognize ITTO but I'm not sure about outside the country.

dfields3 · Joined: 14 Feb 2007 Posts: 29 Location: Atlanta

Yea, I want to teach after I get my degree in Atlanta. I am minoring in Spanish so that is why I was looking at Mexico. I had thought about going to grad school for ESL after I teach for a year or two.

lisa1968 · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 52

I looked into all the programs that I could find in Mexico before making my decision, and I decided against ITTO. One of the things that turned me off was the big business attitude they seemed to have. I went for a smaller, more personalized program in Chiapas. I don't think you will have any problems finding a job in Mexico with their certificate, but I didn't either with mine. I went on to teach in Asia with the certificate that I got and went back to teach later in Mexico. I don't think that either certificate is recognized in the States for teaching, but may count for experience. If you want details of the program in Chiapas, you can PM me.

periodista-masajista · Joined: 13 Jun 2005 Posts: 54 Location: Texas, USA

This topic comes up regularly on this board, so you can look at older threads for opinions at ITTO as well. Bear in mind that there's been some turnover there of late, so things might be different. When I attended two years ago, there was some grumbling because one of our two teachers was less than skilled at his job, not to mention being kind of a tool as far as his personality went. He got the boot shortly thereafter.

ITTO's fine...it's a lot more like high school than college in that the curriculum's kind of dumbed-down and there's lots of busy work. But the great thing is they have student teaching as part of their program...excellent experience if you've never taught ESL...not to mention the most enjoyable part of the course. It'll be what you make of it.

MELEE · Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2007 2:54 pm Post subject:

An observation about ITTO.
They seem to be constantly hiring new TEFL course trainers, based on the ads I see for those positions.

Why can't they keep their trainers?

Sgt Killjoy · Joined: 26 Jun 2004 Posts: 438

I'd say that what I've heard through the grapevine suggests that the program is pretty good. One thing I would suggest is to ask to talk with a few of the trainers before being assigned one. Some trainers are better than others.

An issue when programs continually need to hire new trainers is the fact that you may get a trainer who does not have experience teaching the class and may be lacking in a lot of TEFL experience.

srtab · Joined: 16 Oct 2005 Posts: 24 Location: Arizona

MELEE,

What schools don't have as high teacher turnover?

The International House?

Still haven't signed up for a course, was thinking of ITTO just for the location, be easier to travel and find a job from there. But I want it to be a worthwhile course.

danielita · Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 281 Location: SLP

srtab · Joined: 16 Oct 2005 Posts: 24 Location: Arizona

What school is HH?

IH only has the one school in Playa del Carmen, right?

Just still not sure where I'm going to take the course.