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MrMrLuckyKhan

Hello all!

Well, I'm a little confused about the centres that offer the Cambridge University CELTA course in Vietnam; mainly in Saigon/HCMC. I went to Cactus's site and see that they offer 2 different locations to take them in HCMC. I assume they are 2 different businesses because their prices and summary seem to be different, but I couldn't find the name of the institutes of either one on the listings. I assume one is through ILA, but the other one is what I can't figure out.

To make it even more frustrating, it seems that when I go to the official Cambridge University ESOL site, it says there is only ONE centre that offers their course in HCMC, which is ILA. >>>

http://cambridgeesol-centres.org/centres/teaching/centreContactDetails.do?centreNumber=VN130&qualification=10&source=teacheraward&country=VN

There also appears to be a centre that offers it in Danang, but when I go to the website listed for them it doesn't appear to be a place that offers it. Have you ever heard of one there?

So here are my main questions:

1) Is there 2 centres in HCMC that offer the CELTA?

2) Has anyone ever heard of of the centre in Danang?

3) Including the ones in Hanoi, does anyone have any personal information which would help me separate them apart from one another and choice the best centre?

4) What is the cheapest route to go? It seems that the Cactus site offers 'early bird' discounts if you pay many weeks in advance, but do you think it might be cheaper contacting the centre directly?

My first choice at the moment is one of the locations in HCMC, only because I have been to that city already and wouldn't mind staying another month there. Also, I don't like the cold, but would be willing to suck it up for 30 days if a cheaper/better option is further north...

Thanks in advance!! ;-D

xfionax · Joined: 11 Nov 2008 Posts: 4

I don't know about cheap but my friend took CELTA at ILA HCMC and he seemed pretty happy. He got a Pass B and is working for Apollo now. ILA seems to offer some discounts too:

http://www.discovereltvietnam.com/page.php?p=361

mach114 · Joined: 14 Jan 2009 Posts: 56

The other school offering the CELTA is Apollo in Saigon. However, if you goto their website it will tell you the Apollo branch in Saigon is in the process of becoming an approved site for the CELTA course. Apollo already offers the CELTA at their Hanoi branch. So, I would assume the Saigon branch will most likely become approved as well. Also, there are discounts being offered for early registration. Goto the Apollo website to find out more.
www.apolloedutrain.com/teachers

I did my CELTA at RMIT in Vietnam, but it appears they are no longer offering it. Which was a good experience and opened doors back in 2003-04.

MrMrLuckyKhan · Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 6:31 am Post subject:

Thank you both for the informative links above! Well, it appears that ILA gives a $100 discount for paying early and Apollo gives a $150 discount. I will have to look more closely at both Centres before making a decision. It would be nice to save an extra $50 by going with Apollo, but that would be a poor reason to chose one over the other based entirely on that one factor.

Also, would it hurt if you only have a fully accredited Associate's degree from a State College in America? Will big companies like Apollo and ILA be unwilling to employ someone with only an Associate's degree and a fresh CELTA? Is that going to be a problem in general while looking for work in Vietnam?

Thanks again for your replies in advance!

xfionax · Joined: 11 Nov 2008 Posts: 4

I'm not sure about Apollo and ILA. They can afford to be really selective as they have the first pick of newbie teachers! ILA takes only those they really like, which is at maximum 30% of the trainees of each course (according to my friend) So I wouldn't count on securing a job at either school, seeing as they can skim the cream off the top--have the top choice of high CELTA grades and bachelors degree.

But there are jobs out there. I've got a job, I have a CELTA, no bachelors, non-native speaker.

BenE · Joined: 11 Oct 2008 Posts: 321

If Apollo or ILA don't snap you up post CELTA then there are many many other institutions that pay well and are good places to work.

MrMrLuckyKhan · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:08 pm Post subject:

Phinaes Gage · Joined: 03 Oct 2007 Posts: 39

I know that if you go on to get a job with either ILA or Apollo after doing their course you can get other benefits. For example, ILA offers a $750 sign up bonus.
http://www.discovereltvietnam.com/page.php?p=361