Job Discussion Forums

[Johnny_C_NYC]

Wondering who offers it here and if anyone has any knowledge of the schools and how much they are and the consensus view on doing one here or in the country where I hope to teach. Realize this is pretty generic but any thoughts appreciated. Also is there a cost differential? The schools I have been looking at in Poland and the Czech Republic all seem to be $1,500 or more for a typical 4-week course.

[spiral78]

There are a lot of advantages to taking your course in the country where you want to start.

Firstly, keep in mind that 99% of private language schools in the Czech Rep and Poland don't hire from abroad - you have to be there in person to get a job in any case.

Secondly, taking the course in-country gives you a chance to get your feet wet in country/culture while you still have a support system. The training centres ususally pick you up at the airport, arrange for your housing during the course, and offer local orientation. Further, your practice teaching students will really be representative of those you'll be working with. You can be sure that your certification will be accepted by local schools, and the training centre can give you invaluable information about reputable employers in the area.

[FemaleNomad]

Hi -- I was in a similar situation as you as I'm from the NYC area. When I looked around it seems that no one in NYC offers the 'official' CELTA that is from the Univ. of Cambridge. From the CETLA website the only official centers in the US are in Texas and Hawaii I think. There are many TEFL courses but from what I read, they're not as valuable in the EFL teaching world as the CELTA is. I actually took my CELTA in Spain and paid $1900 but ended up getting a job outside of Warsaw, Poland. I would suggest you take it in the country where you'd like to teach. If it is Poland that you choose be sure to do alot of research about the area you're going into -- it's a huge difference from NYC anywhere you go in Poland. Also, if you have loans or bills to pay back home be sure you'll earn enough money to cover those bills as the salary difference between US and Poland is well, quite a difference, to say the least.

[Johnny_C_NYC]

Thanks for the advice. As I suspected I think it generally is best to take the course where you intend to teach. $1500+ just sounds expensive especially when you factor in the incremental housing and incrememtal costs, but I guess you get what you pay for and it is unwise to do this on the cheap.

[SamAH]

1st things 1st, sorry for the late post. 2nd, there is Cambridge CELTA in NYC try teachinghouse.com.
And I must disagree. Get qualified first, then travel. There is a verrry good chance that the school you think is recruiting you will end up giving you indentured servitude. Ask anyone. Also its possible you will get there and they will say there aren't any spots for CELTA but they have their own course which is just as widely recognized by all the schools in the world. And it may be (and probably is) a fine coure, but not CELTA on your resume
You'll have much better jobs thrown at your feet if you go there w/ your own CELTA and hit the pavement. The Brits are getting played out like crazy and they will hire Americans.

[spiral78]

SamAh, you might be right for Asian jobs, but absolutely not for Europe. Recruiters aren't used - you have to be there already to get any job offers at all.

Obviously this isn't going to be 'indentured servitude' as you are standing there in person to see exactly what is being offered and can accept or decline as you wish.

In fact, you're much more likely to get a good package if you have the local contacts through a good training centre to know which are the reputable schools and what a good standard contract consists of in the region.

CELTA providers are externally monitored, and a training centre that offered a bait-and-switch deal would soon be officially off the CELTA list. There are well-established centres in Prague with solid reputations.

What does 'the Brits are getting played out' mean? Believe me, there are plenty of 'fresh' Brits becoming TEFL teachers on a continuing basis. No one is throwing jobs at the feet of Americans, though jobs can still be found.

[Marcoregano]

I'm also nonplussed on 'played out like crazy'. Re. where to do your CELTA, I'd say if you don't want to do it abroad, ask yourself WHY NOT? Because if you're really keen on teaching abroad you also ought to be keen on checking out another country - and getting qualified at the same time. And if you do know which country you want to work in, it's a definite advantage to do it there, for obvious reasons - as people above have already pointed out. At the very least, you'll get a taste of the country and the people, and the training school is bound to have local connections. You don't have to use those connections if you don't want to.

The only advantage of doing it at home that I can see is that it might save you a bit of money. But I'd see it as an opportunity lost.

To relate my own experience - I'm from the UK, by the way - I had no idea where I wanted to teach, and after much headscratching I chose to do the course in Prague. Why? Because doing it there was a bit cheaper than doing it Spain or Italy, and I wanted to check it out, never having been there before. Upon completion of the course I could easily have taken up work there, but I returned to the UK, got some experience at a small English EFL school, then went to Korea. Now 12 years on, I'm in HK, but I have fond memories of that month in Prague.

[Hoosier Dada]

There appear to currently be 7 places in the States where you can get the CELTA.

This link always comes in handy when you want info on training through Cambridge:

http://cambridgeesol-centres.org/centres/teaching/index.do

I don't think $1500 sounds bad.

Being in the country where you're going to teach would allow you to network, and your trainers will almost certainly have pointers about where to work.

If you're in NYC, you're going to be teaching classes of mixed nationality compared to single nationality in Prague. Minor point, but the dynamic is different.

[SueH]

[naturegirl321]

Bascially if you do it where you want to teach, you can do interviews there, but it will be more expensive than if you do it where you live now.