Job Discussion Forums

[sickmachine]

I know that it is possible to find a job teaching in China without any certificates, but I currently don't have a college degree and I really don't want to go to China without any sort of qualification. I have been searching all over the internet and even on this forum and have found many conflicting opinions on which certificates are the best and most updated. Do you think that I should get a TESOL or TEFL certificate? Which one helps people get jobs more easily in China or the rest of Asia for that matter?

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

in china, most schools and FAOs couldn't tell one certificate from another. i base this on how they check the validity of a BA ( i know how some of them check these things). so as far as getting a job goes, any lame tesol certificate will do.

but if you really want to learn something and get something for your money, then do a course that's 3-4 weeks long and has some real teaching practice. some of them are decent courses, not the hardest 3-4 weeks of your life like some will suggest (unless you've had very sheltered and easy life), but they have some challenges.

there are many good ones. one of them - teflinternational - advertises on this very website (look at top of the page), and they seem to have a good reputation. or you could choose one of the other respected tefl outfits, or a celta.

whatever you do, avoid the 3-4-5 day courses that make all kinds of promises, like a guaranteed job at the end of the course or your money back.

these usually require the "graduate" to follow a certain protocol to be able to invoke the guarantee (and get the refund), and the school where you get the cert from has usually set it up so that you are guaranteed to fail in meeting the requirements for refund. come to think of it, that's about the only guarantee they'll follow thru on

[sharpe88]

TESOL is a kind of TEFL quali

Trinity TESOL and CELTA are the only internationally recognized certs, if you ever want to teach outside China