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What Are the Best Certificates to Get?

 
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daveeslcafe888



Joined: 23 Jun 2011
Posts: 11

PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 6:37 am    Post subject: What Are the Best Certificates to Get? Reply with quote

Hi Everyone,

I am wondering which certificates are the best to get.

1. Can you recommend the most reputable ones that will teach me something, and help me get a job? (I'm guessing CELTA or TESOl might be best).

2. Are all of these certificates created equal? (I.e. will a CELTA at any location be as valuable as a CELTA somewhere else).

3. Will an online course be valued equally to a face to face course? (My guess is "no).

Thanks
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Shroob



Joined: 02 Aug 2010
Posts: 1339

PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 8:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think you've answered your own questions Very Happy

CELTA/Trinity CertTESOL are the most widely recognised. It also depends on what part of the world you're heading for. In Asia online certs are often good enough, or so I've heard. I'd still opt for the CELTA or Trinity though, as it just means you have more options later on. A position in Europe probably wouldn't accept an online cert, or at least not value it as much as if you had a CELTA/Trinity.
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globalcitizen1968



Joined: 03 Oct 2011
Posts: 34

PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 10:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

CELTA is good. Just make sure you get it from a reputable company and not some cheap recruiter. Believe me, they are out there. If you're in the U.S. get the CELTA from a school there.
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tttompatz



Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines

PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 10:48 am    Post subject: Re: What Are the Best Certificates to Get? Reply with quote

daveeslcafe888 wrote:
Hi Everyone,

I am wondering which certificates are the best to get.

1. Can you recommend the most reputable ones that will teach me something, and help me get a job? (I'm guessing CELTA or TESOl might be best).

2. Are all of these certificates created equal? (I.e. will a CELTA at any location be as valuable as a CELTA somewhere else).

3. Will an online course be valued equally to a face to face course? (My guess is "no).

Thanks


1)
It depends on where you are from, what other credentials you have, where you want to teach and what age(s) you want to teach.

If you are from the UK and headed for Europe, get a CELTA or Trinity cert.

If you are from a predominantly anglophone country (passport from UK, USA, Canada, NZ, AUS) and have a bachelors degree (in anything) from an accredited university and headed for Asia then for the most part it won't matter what flavor of TESOl/TEFL/TESL cert you get.

2) The CELTA is a CELTA. The same with other recognized brands of cert (Trinity, SIT, etc). It won't matter (in terms of future employment where you got it from, just that you have it.

3) Outside of Korea or rural Asia virtually no reputable employer will give any credence to an on-line cert. unless there was a classroom component for the practicum (observed and critiqued teaching of students - not peers on your course).

.
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash

PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 12:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
CELTA is good. Just make sure you get it from a reputable company and not some cheap recruiter. Believe me, they are out there. If you're in the U.S. get the CELTA from a school there.


This is just a bit off the mark, I think.


CELTA is the name brand and it does not matter where you get it. The reason it is well-regarded is that it is 120 hours on-site and includes supervised teaching practice with real students. There are generic TESL/TEFL/TESOL certs out there that also meet this standard - if you go for a generic, just be sure that your CV/resume highilights the fact that your cert was on-site and included the key supervised teaching practice.

So far as where to take the course, In fact, it's often best to get certified in the country where you want to start teaching. This is usually most true in countries where jobs are not usually found from abroad. In such cases, a cert provider can be a useful bridge into the country/culture. They usually arrange for logistics like airport pickup, housing during the course, and local orientation. Your practice teaching students will really be representative of those you'll work with when you start. Your fellow trainees can form your first social network and training centres can provide invaluable information regarding reputable local employers.

ONline certs do not include supervised teaching practice and are considered substandard in many parts of the world.

There are plenty of substandard courses on offer in the US, by the way. Just be sure to avoid shorter courses that do not include real teaching practice with students (not sufficient to do a mock lesson with your fellow trainees!)
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