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Teaching in Colombia (CELTA Bogota)
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CountBassD



Joined: 08 Feb 2010
Posts: 33
Location: Bogota, Colombia
PostPosted: Wed Nov 03, 2010 9:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I just finished the CELTA at IH Bogota also. There were some issues with technology, but it wasn't as horrible as some people in the course made it out to be. The biggest problem was that we had a large group and only three functional computers, but the new copy machine worked just fine most of the time. Sure sometimes you had to have some patience and fix a paper jam, but for the most part the course was absolutely fine.

It is true that IH is not hiring at all right now, they lost a huge contract for October and November, and this isn't hiring season anyways. They told us there was a good chance they'd be hiring again in January or February.

The universities start hiring this month and I know a few people who have gotten good jobs at colegios. I work for an institute making 22,500 per 90 minute lesson, it isn't great money but they sponsor the work visa and allow you to work for other institutes who can offer you more money but can't sponsor your visa.

It is doable to get a job here without a CELTA for sure, even in the down season of hiring (right now) anyone who is working remotely hard at finding a job is finding it.

BTW, who are you G22?
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Daddyo



Joined: 19 Jun 2008
Posts: 89
Location: Bogota, Colombia
PostPosted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 12:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
windowlicker wrote:
That's also not to say that other, non-brand name certifications aren't good, but the fact that an employer knows exactly what the CELTA is and who it comes from is respected here.


To be honest I'm completely baffled by the rabbit's warren of language training, accrediting, testing, and certifying institutes and agencies the British have created at home and abroad. Cambrige, British Council, International House, etc.

But I LOVE that story about famed 19th century explorer Sir Richard Burton who became the first westerner to visit Mecca, and did so by disguising himself as an Arab and making an arduous journey across the desert by camel caravan, and years later sought a job with the British Foreign Office in Cairo and was turned down because he failed their Arabic exam.

That's just so British --
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SirKirby



Joined: 03 Oct 2007
Posts: 261
Location: Barcelona, Spain
PostPosted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 8:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
My attention was drawn to this by someone who did CELTA at IH Bogota and then worked there, and who had a very much more positive experience than G22.

Bridge TEFL is an agent (not a school), which sells courses at other centres, and either includes their mark-up (hence the difference in prices noted) and/or takes a percentage. An agent might bring prices down the nearer a course gets, the centre itself is extremely unlikely to do so. Agents in both TEFL training and language courses are very common...

I've zero experience of Colombia, but have been 30 years in English teaching and, believe me, you WANT some training before you step into the classroom (and your students want you to have some training too). CELTA or Trinity are recognised one-month courses and the minimum you want. CELTA DOES mean something, it means that you have minimum starting qualifications to teach.

Would you want someone in another profession, like a lawyer or dentist, to do something for you WITHOUT any form of certified training? I think not.

BTW, no school will "guarantee" you work after CELTA (if they do, avoid them!), and to expect them to is wrong. What if you turn out to be hopeless in the classroom?
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Daddyo



Joined: 19 Jun 2008
Posts: 89
Location: Bogota, Colombia
PostPosted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 10:00 am    Post subject: New Tesol program in Colombia Reply with quote
Quote:
... are recognised one-month courses and the minimum you want ... it means that you have minimum starting qualifications to teach.

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Actually I've heard of an organization in New York that has started a course in Colombia, in Medellin actually. Anyone heard of these guys? http://www.tesolcertificates.com/
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SirKirby



Joined: 03 Oct 2007
Posts: 261
Location: Barcelona, Spain
PostPosted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 12:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
No, never heard of them but I just looked quickly at their Barcelona page. Hope they take a LOT more care over their trainees and students than they do over the copy on their website, it's dreadful and full of errors.
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Daddyo



Joined: 19 Jun 2008
Posts: 89
Location: Bogota, Colombia
PostPosted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 12:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
SirKirby wrote:
No, never heard of them but I just looked quickly at their Barcelona page. Hope they take a LOT more care over their trainees and students than they do over the copy on their website, it's dreadful and full of errors.


Yeah? Somebody sent me their syllabus and it's actually not bad ... 120 hours of instruction including up to 30 hours of observed teaching time... Plus they're in Medellin, which is kind of a nice city.

Ya know the problem I have with all of these programs, CELTA, TEFL, TESOL, is they don't provide enough training for tutoring. You can make a lot of dough doing privates, and the skills required are quite different from the classroom. It seems to me a lot of the serious students have tried classroom learning, found it lacking, and are now willing to pay for one on one instruction.

I actually volunteered for a government tutoring program last spring just to get the training, which was provided by a local university in my hometown of Vancouver, and the manual was pretty good. It's online too, so pm me if you want the url.
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JonnyBravo



Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 80
Location: Bogota, Colombia
PostPosted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 9:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
On this topic... Does anybody know anything about ISSO in Bogota? Anybody on here take that TEFL course?
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teachme74



Joined: 20 Apr 2010
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Sat Nov 13, 2010 6:06 pm    Post subject: IH BOGOTA Reply with quote
I got my CELTA in Mexico's Rivera Maya, and loved it. I did it through Bridge, which was a good decision. They handled everthing with my CELTA and housing, etc. They were wonderful if any little thing came up. They also helped me get hired at IH Bogota. It is a bit disorganized for teachers, but the teachers are great. The students are too. A little problem with pay on time, but great continued training, the CELTA tutors are great there. My DOS is going to start tutoring as well. The upper managment is pretty sucky! They have been losing money since they opened. It is a good place to work if you can have some patience, and want to have good teacher training on a continued basis. Use Bridge, its worth the extra money!
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teachme74



Joined: 20 Apr 2010
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Sat Nov 13, 2010 6:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
IH Colombia is a good place to work for your first time or otherwise. Go for it. Use BridgeTefl as your intermediate company.

windowlicker wrote:
For the CELTA, every course is monitored for quality by an outside observer, whose input allows the teaching center to maintain use of the CELTA brand name.

In Colombia, CELTA is worth something. Yes, there are other, much cheaper courses around the world of similar quality. Colombia, however, is not a country where I would take the risk on a course like this. Chances are you will get really terrible quality. If you want to do a different, equivalent course, go for it...I just recommend you not do it in Colombia.

Doing CELTA in Colombia can also be to your advantage if you want to work in Colombia, particularly if you do it with the British Council. The British Council is well respected in Colombia and having on your resume that you did your certification there will catch an employer's eye. I was told that one of the reasons I got my current job was because of having done my CELTA at the BC in Bogota, and the fact that the school was able to talk to my CELTA tutor at the BC to get a reference.
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teachme74



Joined: 20 Apr 2010
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Sat Nov 13, 2010 6:13 pm    Post subject: Re: Teaching in Colombia (CELTA Bogota) Reply with quote
Go for it, IH Bogota has good trainers, Heather and Christian. You will be in good hands. I work at IH Bogota.

DashGlobal wrote:
Hello eveyone,

Im a 24 y/o recent college grad. I want to spend the next 2-4 years teaching English abroad. I've read were you need a certificate to be more desirable to Universities and Language Schools. I was looking at the CELTA school in Bogota Colombia, anyone have any experience with them? How much does it cost? How many times a year do they offer classes?

Thanks!
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