Job Discussion Forums

[SF21]

Hey, everyone - I would like to teach ESL in either Prague or Budapest, after having spent a couple weeks there last month --- I loved it. I have an undergrad in Psych (no teaching experience) and am considering taking the Cambridge CELTA course. I live in the Bay Area and it is offered in San Francisco.

Should I take it here or in, say, Budapest? What are your reasons? ...It seems that the class costs more in the states, but after you factor in your int'l plane ticket, the total price is the same.

I'm a corporate lackey, and ready for something new. I'm actually starting grad school for Psych in the Fall, but I am going to put that on hold for another year. Thanks.

[spiral78]

If possible, it's always best to take the course in the country where you want to start teaching. Lots of reasons:
It's a chance to get your feet wet in the new country/culture while you still have a bit of a support system. Your practice teaching students will be representative of the real ones you'll be working with. You can make local contacts which can be very useful when you have to sort out housing, paperwork, and job contracts.

[denise]

I agree with spiral78.

I did my course in Prague, and by the end of the course I had an apartment and a few job offers. My course had a recruitment day in the third week and we all lined up interviews with the local schools. You can't get that kind of help unless you're in the country.

If you're planning on working in Europe, you'll need to pay the airfare anyway, so it really isn't part of the cost of the TEFL course. Don't count on getting your airfare paid by the school. (I think mine reimbursed me for the cost of round-trip bus fare to London when I signed on for a second year--being from California, it didn't really help me get back home!)

d

[SF21]

Thanks for your replies. This forum has so much information.

Denise, how did your visa situation get handled - did your school take care of it for you?

I don't mind doing the course in my destination country, but I had a couple of concerns, namely... does it matter where you earn your CELTA, if you want to go teach in Latin America, for example, after your contract ends in Europe? Or is a CELTA a CELTA, regardless of institution sponsor (e.g., Cambridge; IH)?

Again, I'm not sure if I want to do Czech Repub or Hungary. Thanks.

[spiral78]

CELTA is CELTA - it'll be recognized everywhere.

You'll come on a tourist visa for the course, and when you have a contract, the school should start the visa process for you. However, you can expect to have to follow through yourself, meaning endless standing in lines. A good school will start the ball rolling and then will be able to give you information on exactly what processes you will have to go through.

[denise]

My TEFL course got my tourist visa extended, and then when I started working my school applied for me and helped me out. I don't remember having too many lines to stand in. The police station... what else?!? That was waaaaay back in 1999, though, before the CR joined the EU.

I remember that shortly after I started working there was a change in the law that said that we could only apply for visas from our home countries. My school helped us all the way through and even managed to find a loophole that allowed us simply to apply out of the country--meaning we all got a school-funded day trip to Dresden.

Oh, and if you go to Latin America, your CELTA/TEFL will be recognized. In fact, outside of Europe the CELTA doesn't necessarily carry any more weight than any other reputable certificate.

d

[naturegirl321]

Depends where you want to teach, also money is an issue. If you can't work for a month and have to pay for room and board, that can make an international course much more expensive, add the airfare as well.

[spiral78]

You can't work while on the CELTA (well, maybe very much part-time - I know one girl who also taught 2 contact hours while on the CELTA but it nearly killed her) regardless of where you take it, and if you're aiming to work in Europe you're gonna pay for airfare anyway.
Room and board is the only real additional expense, and if you can do it, it's worth it for the contacts and in-country experience.

[spiral78]

(two contact hours daily, 10 per week)

[Justin Trullinger]

Another thing it depends on is where you're from. I'm from Iowa- which means that whether I had done it "locally," or internationally, I'd have had to travel. (No good short course qualifications available in Iowa last time I looked.) So room and board wouldn't have been an "extra" expense, as I'd have had to move, and pay, anyway. For me, doing a cert in Barcelona simply meant that the rent was lower than, say, Chicago.

Best,
Justin

[naturegirl321]

[SF21]

So, did you all just throw your stuff in storage and hop on the plane? I'm single, no kids and my family is in LA. I'm looking for the easiest way to transition --- quit my job, put grad school on hold, sell some of my belongings, put the rest in storage, stay with a friend for maybe a week... and hop on the plane to Europe.

But it's probably petty paralysis by analysis in the big picture of things.

[denise]

[Aussie Chick]

My only concern about doing a CELTA course in a foreign country is this:

Could they take advantage of the situation in that you're already in the country, and more likely to accept a job, any job, than to go back home with your CELTA and look for something from home? What I mean is, you're more likely to accept something because you're already over there, and it'd be more of a hassle to go back home, so some might choose to take the first job offered, rather than be a little more choosy.

I'm considering doing my CELTA at home, so at least if I do the course and decide teaching isn't for me (gasp, horror!) then at least I haven't made the huge move to a new country, and can get on with life. And so that when I do start to search for TESOL jobs, I can do so from a more objective situation.

[Justin Trullinger]