Job Discussion Forums

[scoffman]

Hello everyone!!!

I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on this topic for me and point me in the right direction. I plan on studying Spanish in Quito coming this winter. And after doing some research I thought it would be a great idea to get TEFL certified so I can find work down there and be self-sufficient. I also think it would be a life time experience to be able to teach English in a foreign country.

So after doing some research about Teaching English as a Foreign Language I found that there are two obvious ways of getting certified, online or classroom. I have talked to several agencies already and most of them recommend doing in class training because it has better experience and that is what most employers are looking for. But here is the problem, the online cert that I am looking at is a 100 hours that costs 500 $. But, the in class cert is only 60 hours and costs 1000.00 dollars. I also know that most employers look for 100 hours of training on your certificate. But the Oxnard program in Sacramento offers a 40 hour module in addition upon completion of the in class training that costs another 450 $ after the 1000 $.

So if anyone has taught in Ecuador specifically Quito, do you know if they are willing to hire teachers with online TEFL certs? What do you personally recommend from you experience online or in class? I am guessing most employers are looking for the in class cert as I was told. I also had an idea for doing online training and maybe looking for volunteer work in my area to get actually experience as a teacher so they could look at my resume and see that I do have class room experience.

Thank you very much!

[naturegirl321]

Justin Trullinger is the guy you want to talk to, but you'll need a couple more posts until you can PM him.

On campus certs are much better than online ones. Make sure they have at elast 120 hours plus 6 of practice teaching. Your 100 hours or 60 hours, Oxford Seminars? isn't going to cut it.

Sure, there will be employers that will hire you with online certs, but more will hire you with on campus ones.

Hope this helps

[HLJHLJ]

There are places that will hire you with no experience, no training and no certificates, not very good places, and the wages reflect that, but it is possible.

But you are asking the wrong question. Do you think the courses you are looking at will equip you to actually do the job? For you it may just be a way of earning a little cash to fund your stay, but for your students an English course is often a huge financial investment. What training do you think you need to be able to do the job properly?

[AGoodStory]

Ditto HLJHLJ's advice. Getting the job, and being able to do the job are two different things. Your future students will hope you have enough training for the latter. One of the best courses going is offered right there in Quito. EIL (Experiment in International Living) is a provider of the SIT TESOL certificate course, one of the most highly regarded initial training courses. (At $1500, it is also the least expensive SIT course offered at any location in the Americas.)

[just_a_mirage]

Universidad Casa Grande in Guayaquil offers very good TEFL programs both on line, and at the university. They are quite affordable, running under $600 for the three modules. This includes monitored classroom experience which they can set up for you. They have a great mix of Gringo and Ecuadorian instructors.
I totally agree that it is important for students to have good, trained teachers, who want to teach. I have been teaching in Ecuador for many years and have seen so many gringo instructors who are just trying to make some money and dont care about their classes or their students. As said before, people here dont make a lot of money...minimum wage is just a litttle over $260 a month, so if they are paying $50 a month for you to teach them, its a big sacrifice for them.

[AGoodStory]

[CelesteCielos]

Here is the info from UCG's website:


Since 2002 over 700 Graduates!
# modules: 3
Duration of program: 7 months approx. (126 hours including practice)
Duration of each module: 9 weeks
Classes per week: 1
Schedules: On-site: Friday (16:00 � 20:30) or Saturday (8:30 � 13:00). Also offered On-line (see description below)
Hours per class: 4.5



Entrance requirements:

* Photocopy of c�dula identidad
* High school diploma
* High-intermediate English level



Costs:

* Placement test: $10 (is taken every Tuesday at 16h00)
* Per Module: $145 (cash, check or credit card)
* Material: $25 (Book �How to Teach English� used in the first 2 modules). The reading pack for Assessment module is included in the cost of the module.

[naturegirl321]

Celeste,
What level do you want to teach? If you're looking at teaching adults, CELTA is fine, but if you want to teach kids, you'll have to look at other courses. the A in CELTA, stands for Adults.