Job Discussion Forums

[fishmb]

Hello,

My girlfriend and I are thinking of attending the International Training Institute (ITI) in Istanbul for our CELTA.

Has anyone heard anything, good or bad, about ITI?

Thanks!
Mike and Eleanor

[Marquess]

Tutor has a handout to give to the trainees-no lets not hand them out lets get the trainees to mingle and find someone whose middle name begins with the same letter as their mothers maiden names pin the handouts to the wall and do a running dictation. Result you are paying for a twatty activity that took 30 mins when just handing them out would have taken 3o seconds.

[fishmb]

From your post I take it you went there, could you tell me more about it?

[Marquess]

I bet they told you that they have a jobsite/have contacts re work etc.

If you check the jobsite you will see that it has no jobs not even one.

[fishmb]

They haven't made any promises to me about jobs.

Did you find the CELTA course useful?

Were the trainers good?

Did you end up getting a job teaching English in Turkey?

How long did it take you to find a job after you graduated?

[coffeespoonman]

Marquess, you're right, the tutor could hand it out and it would take 30 seconds. But that "twatty activity" that took 30 mins is a great communicative activity for your students who are bored from sitting in their chairs all day every day. And what better way to teach that activity to CELTA trainees than to make them do it themselves?

The bottom line is that ITI seems a bit ridiculous and pointless when you're there, and then you get into a classroom and realize that they've made you a hell of a better teacher.

They're sneaky, those ITI tutors...

[fishmb]

I 100% see the value of those activities and have facilitated and been a part of them many times.

So, sounds like one of you did not appreciate her/his time there while the other person did, but in retrospect.

Does anyone care to elaborate? Getting details here is like pulling teeth, sheesh!

[Marquess]

No, the students (us) were not bored from sitting all day in our chairs.

The stupid boot camp mentality is just a way for the bottom feeders to con us into paying a grand for a course that "qualifies" you for dead end, badly paid, illegal work. The tutors are just taking the pis s and are the only ones along with the bucket shops who are making any money.

[Marquess]

[TeachEnglish]

wow.. Marquess.. you seem very unhappy about this situation.. I know where you are coming from.. I hope you are able to make lemonade... it means make the best of this situation even though it might be difficult. This seems to be the norm for this industry but all you can do is work on your skills.. improve or perfect them.. get the experience and you will have a better job. Bottom line, you went to ITI to improve your chances of teaching.. and many times we get crappy jobs to start off with.. but we can eventually work our way up. Good luck.. and Peace

[Marquess]

Up to what a fake "university" that passes all the students and they know it. Bad pay and they stiff you on your overtime.

[TeachEnglish]

it does not matter.. fake or real university.. or even teaching in a company.. as long as the conditions are ok. and the pay is not so bad.. we make the best of it..

As far as passing all the students,, am I supposed to care about that? I hope not.. I care about doing what I am paid to do.. who gives a rats as-s about the students.. they won't be running my society/country/government/ etc.. let the circle of ignorance and entitlement continue as long as it stays here.. The subject of the education system here is a whole other subject.

When i am whining to my friends who work at companies and make less money than I do.. and are working 6 days a week, they kindly remind me of the differences in their hours and pay.. then i realize I don't have it so bad.

On the subject of overtime pay... it would not be Turkey if they did not try to stiff us with something..

[billy orr]

Hello Mike and Eleanor. To answer your question, I would strongly recommend you to do CELTA at ITI. I believe ITI is an excellent training organisation. You can certainly benefit from doing a course with them. I did the DELTA (then Dip) with ITI while I was a teacher at the English Centre in Osmanbey. I was extremely satisfied with the training I received. DELTA (and CELTA) are well-designed programmes with high standards, and I appreciated the training style adopted by ITI.

The course helped me to improve my teaching and opened my eyes to much in ELT that I had not been aware of before. The course also opened doors and encouraged me to take my learning further. A couple of years later I did an MA, then a few years later a PhD, and I am now working as Assistant Professor in a Faculty of Education. Basically this is thanks to the course I did with ITI.

English language teaching is a great job. I know that most English teachers in Turkey are appreciated, admired and greatly loved by most students. This is because they do a good job and provide their students with something that is extremely valuable, that will help find employment, friends and knowledge. ELT, like many worthy jobs in this world, is not well-paid, sadly, but it does have other rewards. So I would encourage you to spend some time in İstanbul, enjoy life and develop your teaching. Good luck.

[fishmb]

Thanks for all the feedback!

We interviewed with an ITI trainer last night (9am Turkey time) and agreed to enroll in the October 2009 part-time course.

[Marquess]

Billy Orr= ITI Trainer