Job Discussion Forums

[ZachP]

Hello everyone,

I'm a 22 year old college graduate (BAs in Sociology and Journalism, if it matters) who is looking into teaching in China in the coming months. I have been browsing this site for a week or two, and it's been incredibly helpful resource. However, I have a few specific questions that I have been unable to find definite answers for, and I'm hoping that some of you can help me. I apologize if this has been covered before--I searched through previous posts, but wasn't satisfied with what I found.

So my main concerns (right now) have to do with certifications. In my research I have been totally overwhelmed by the sheer number of options of TEFL certification programs. The consensus seems to be that the CELTA or Trinity programs are the best, but time and money considerations mean that neither are an option for me. Anyway...

1. I was initially thinking about doing an online certification, but in searching this forum I noticed a number of remarks about the online programs essentially being a waste of money. Is this accurate? Are there any reputable online courses?

I have noticed one forum member here consistently mentioning the "ontesol" online program (ontesol.com), but it makes me skeptical when this poster seems to be the only person here that consistently brings it up. And for this poster, please note that I'm not trying to say that you are a shill for the site or anything like that, I'm just trying to protect myself from the TEFL certification scams that seem to be fairly widespread.

2. So after reading about online certifications and thinking that maybe that wasn't the way to go, I started looking at the four week "on site" programs, where you go to another country for the ~four week intensive certification course. Does anyone have any experiences or thought about these courses that they could share with me?

If I were to go this route, I would probably do a program in Beijing, as that is where I am interested in teaching. I have found a number of companies that have TEFL certification programs in Beijing, and I was wondering if anyone had ever taken the certification classes there. I know that I will probably get a better response in the China forum (and I will also make a post there), but I figured that I might as well include it here in the newbie forum as well.

So anyway, I have found a few of these companies that have these onsite programs. For example:

The International TEFL Corporation (http://www.teflcorp.com/tefl-beijing-china.htm)

TESOL Courses (http://www.tesolcourse.com/tesol/china-beijing.php)

TEFL International (http://www.teflintl.com/tefl_course_china_beijing.htm)

Has anyone used these companies or heard anything (good or bad) about these specific programs or this type of program in general? Obviously, if anyone has done one of these programs with another company and had a positive experience doing so, please let me know which company it was.

That's all I have for now. Thank you all in advance!