Job Discussion Forums

[Slinder]

Hey everybody, I was wondering what are the pros and cons of the specific TEFL certifications in Prague. Basically, which provides the best bang for your buck and has the best job placement connections. Additionally, how much is the average apartment in Prague now? Since I studied abroad, I noticed the Dollar/Korona exchange has shot down from 25 to 16... Lastly, is heading over in July a conducive time to find work? Thanks and please let me know.

[spiral78]

Well, CELTA is the name brand, but there are quite a few good generic cert courses in Prague. I can personally vouch for TEFLWorldwide, and I know Caledonian has been around a long time and has a decent reputation. There are other solid courses, I hasten to add - just throwing in these two names from personal knowledge.

Training centres dont' offer job placement as such. You'll need to plan to head out for interviews, CV in hand, looking reliable and professional. What the training centres WILL do is give you contacts at reputable schools.

If you not intending to flat-share, you are most likely looking at 10,000 - 14,000 kc monthly, though you might be lucky enough to find something as low as 8,000.

As this is half (or more) of teaching salaries, most teachers obviously DO flat-share.

August is holiday month in the CR, and you're unlikely to get much going in terms of actual work until mid September. Normal contract periods are usually Sept - June.

Finally, be sure you've got enough financial cushion when you come to get you through a two to three month period. You will obviously not have income during your course, but remember that language schools pay monthly at the END of the month worked. Landlords will want one month's rent in advance as security, plus the first month's rent right away, and you may well have to pay yet another month's rent to an agent.

[Chris Westergaard]

Come on Spiral... no love for The Language House. haha just kidding

[spiral78]

Sorry - just don't know it personally:)

[ITTP]

A full list of all TEFL schools in Prague can be found here:

http://www.expats.cz/prague/directory/tefl-schools/0/

One thing to be aware of is that I have noticed some schools/websites offer TEFL courses in Prague but don't actually run the courses themselves. This will mean that you might be paying an additional commission.

We recently received a credible email from a commission agency which boasted being able to provide clients for TEFL schools in Prague (for quite a significant fee) and actually named the school which they provided this service for currently (of which I will not name for professional reasons).

I feel it is essential that you are always in touch with the school direct and that you make sure that the person whom you r in contact with is a direct representative of the school and not a thrid party making some extra dough as the middle man.

As you can see, competition in Prague is fierce

Neville

ITTP Prague
Jungmannova 32
Prague 1

[ITTP]

Just wanted to add that I know the Language House personally and we have taken on their grads in the past and have always been satisfied with the high quality of their teachers.

Also wanted to add that what might be considered the 'best' school for 1 student might not be for another so we always recommend getting in touch with as many schools as possible and going for the one which you feel happiest with.

Forums such as this one can be very useful tools for info and posters, such as Spiral, obviously spend a significant amount of their private time on these forums with the sole aim of helping newbies (even though they are not connected with the business).
Still though, there are also obvious bogus posts now and again from schools in the business of self-promotion and posted in the guise of a 'real student' so always check the authenticity of such posts.

Chris, for example, gains my respect on this forum because he posts using his real identity (as do I).

Anyway, lets let a little more love into TEFL

Neville

ITTP Prague
Jungmannova 32
Prague 1

[Chris Westergaard]

Thanks man, I appreciate that.

Neville is right that it's hard to name 'the best' tefl course. Regardless of where you go, as long as you get sufficient teaching practice and course support you'll be fine. I think a few years ago I would hear about a lot of horror stories with TEFL, but today that's pretty rare. Most courses do a good job and at the end of the day, it's a month of training and then it's over. Study/work hard and you'll do fine. Schools don't hire you because you have a cert, They hire you because you conduct yourself well in the classroom. All high paying schools will have you do about two interviews. The cert you have doesn't matter. If you can't do a demo lesson or interview well, you won't get hired. I've rejected people with MAs and PHD's in TEFL because they couldn't teach at all.

A lot of people think that a TEFL certificate is a license to teach. It's not. The only thing that a cert really is is a measure of training. My advice, regardless of where you go, is to work hard and learn as much as you can from the course and from your trainers.

[spiral78]

I stopped using my real identity on Dave's back in 1998 when I picked up a serious stalker from the forum (no fault of Dave's, of course). It was a memorable experience, involving federal police . No kidding.

Since then, I've used the avatar, but am entirely happy to introduce myself openly in situations where I can be reasonably sure of the good intentions of the contact.

I truly have no current personal interest in any school or training centre in Prague. Nor have I had since the year 2000, when I left the Via Lingua training centre.

[Aussie Chick]

I can recommend The Language House. I did the TEFL course there in October/November.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

[ITTP]

[spiral78]

Neville, if you're implying that Aussie Chick isn't the genuine article, I have to say that that's unfair. We've been with her on Dave's all the way from pre-newb considering Prague last year. I'm quite certain she's really who she claims to be - a first-year teacher in Prague without personal financial interest in any training centres.

[ITTP]

????

Shall we just concentrate on helping out newbies.
Thank you.
If you wish to spend 24/7 on this site then it is your own choice (and your own obvious reasons).
I simply wish to represent the facts and I feel that having actually lived in Prague for the past 12 years contributes to this.
Spiral; you r in Holland but I respect your opinion of course (you having lived here for a few years before).

TEFL PEACE

Neville

ITTP Prague
Jungmannova 32
Prague 1

[spiral78]

What obvious reasons?

I don't live full time in the CR and I don't represent myself as doing so. However, I do live MOST of the time in the CR (last year 8 months, this year so far 3) and my family and most of my friends are there, many in Prague.

Yes, you've lived in Prague non-stop for 12 years, and I respect that.

However, you are financially affiliated with a training centre and that does give you an overt personal interest in putting a positive spin on things.

The forum needs people like you - and like me, without the personal interest in whether people go to Prague to teach or not.

The forum also needs people like aussie chick and mr tree who are living the newbie teacher life you are marketing.

as for the 24/7 comment - you are obviously my equal in this - pot calling the kettle black?

[ITTP]

Would just like to add:

Of all the things you could do in the world -

What would you say if someone spent A LOT of their time on a TEFL forum?
And I mean A LOT of their time.

What would you say even if someone spent SOME time consistently on a TEFL forum?

Now, I'm NOT suggsting that anyone who spends the majority of their time (or even consistently) on a TEFL forum is in the TEFL business.
Not at all.
But surely... doesn't it seem odd?
I am on this forum to openly market our courses and to also provide impartial and up-to-date advice.
Hey, I've been in Prague for over 12 years and traveled a lot so feel I can make a valued contribution.

What could anyone else who doesn't run/co-run/be involved with a TEFL course, possibly be doing spending ALL their time on these forum pages for?

For the love of TEFL?

I suggest that you all be VERY wary of 'authentic' posts which suggest this and that school and also be VERY WARY of anyone who posts at all times of the day (and night) and who doesn't openly 'come clean' that they r in the TEFL/TESOL business.

Dobrou noc!/Good night!

Neville

ITTP Prague
Jungmannova 32
Prague 1

[spiral78]

Do you want a rundown of my day today to prove that I'm not in the TEFL business? I can give you contact information for the four groups of 10 students each with whom I spent eight hours today. They're mostly Dutch and German, with a couple of Thai and Polish citizens thrown in for interest.

I've also done significant getting settled type stuff today, including submitting my travel documents from the CR to Netherlands. I've just been here for three weeks so far this year, so this is a pretty substantial part of my day.

Did a couple of fun things with the dog and talked with a great friend via msn.

Also got in a bit of work for my presentation at the TESOL Canada conference next month.

And still had time to become significantly annoyed with the innuendo against both me and aussie chick.

Let it go, Neville. I am.

I've no personal need to have the last word - but I've also no reason to respond further to this thread. I'm entirely willing to establish my credentials in person with you the next time I'm in Prague, as we discussed. This will be June, if you're available, or September. I'm there frequently.

My final point on this post will be to reiterate what my essential motivations are for posting on Dave's. Sorry, Neville - this story doesn't contribute positively to a Pollyanna view of working as a newbie teacher in Prague.

When I was on my training course in the city back in 1998 (ITC, in case you want to know, Neville), we had a visit from a former trainee who had been teaching in Prague for a couple of months at that time. She was in tears, lugging all of her personal belongings, having been thrown out of her flat by her landlady. She had run out of money (admittedly had squandered some of it socializing) and was not going to be paid by her school until the end of the month three weeks later. She had no place to sleep, no money at all, and was begging for cash to phone her family in the States to bail her out.

This obviously made a significant impression on all of us.

I am NOT trying to imply that many newbs end up in such situations. But because of this experience, I've been significantly inspired to contribute realistic information to this forum - when newbies are entirely aware of the conditions they are facing, they are much more likely to be able to take steps to avoid disaster. Just a little bad luck can have serious repercussions if one's expectations and resources are unrealistic.

I have taken a post as co-ordinator of a MA course chat centre for largely similar reasons - because I found myself working on a distance MA in a vacuum, without sufficient input from others in the same situation.

I am lucky to have some freedom of time and interest and energy to contribute what I can, when I can.

There is no other motivation on my side at all. That's the truth.