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[MrG]

TEFL International/Columbia English Institute

For those who may be looking to take a TESL course in the New York City area, I went to visit the TEFL International/Columbia Institute, which is not actually in New York City, but across the river in New Jersey (something they don�t actually emphasize) and I thought the place was a total dump.

First of all they say in their literature that it takes about 20 minutes to get from downtown New York City to their offices, the truth is more like one hour, and that is only if you do not get caught in a traffic jam attempting to cross the river via the Lincoln tunnel, something that is becoming quite common with the increased traffic.

The school itself is located in an old building, in Little Havana, the entrance to which you may miss because it is in a narrow hallway between a fast food place and a store. The school seems to be primarily a place to study English for foreigners, not just TEFL courses. The man I spoke with spoke English with a very heavy accent, and seems in need of taking an English class himself. In the school�s literature it stated that �The building is spacious and comfortable, with large classrooms, whiteboards and resource materials.� In fact, the classrooms I saw were rather cramped, and the ceilings had water stains. In other words, not the type of place you�d look forward to attend classes in, or anything else. In summary, save your $2000+ for another school, personally I will not be attending this place.