Job Discussion Forums

[Justin Trullinger]

Since I had a second, I wanted to follow up with a couple more thoughts.

TEFL International seems be proud of being a BBB accredited business. This seems odd to me. Isn�t the BBB an organization of US businesses and charities? I�d have thought that many, perhaps most, of TI�s activities were outside the US. If you took a TEFL course in China, would it occur to you to file a complaint in the US?

The address for TI listed on the BBB website is in Oregon, so that�s kosher (meaning it really is a US organization.) Of course I have no idea how big/active their programs in the Oregon center are.

Just at a glance on the TEFL International website, I don�t see their Oregon activities or any courses in that part of the US mentioned. Their programs in other countries are very eye-catching, though. If they�re not doing most of their work in the US, the BBB wouldn�t be the first place to check. For an organization doing most of its business overseas to have a clean BBB record is fine, but doesn�t mean a lot.

Still, since it was mentioned here, I had a look at the BBB�s info about TEFL International. TI has been a BBB accredited business since 2006. From Bruce�s post, I thought it was rather longer.

[Chancellor]

[nstick13]

A few things, since I've chimed in here before:

I vouch for the unedited feedback. That info is where I got names to be able to Facebook people to ask what they thought. Many were very supportive, and, well, the feedback there was quite accurate.

Also, in Cairo my girlfriend lived with a girl who had done TEFL International in Alexandria and was then working at Amideast. She was happy with the program and had a pretty good job with a reputable employer.

All that being said, any problem that I've ever read about (and it's been a while now since I did this research) was never with the Alexandria program. As I've posted, it seems like there were isolated bad incidents where something got out of hand. "Bruce", who is clearly closely affiliated with the organization, has spent thousands of characters on here defending it. In a way, I almost feel bad for him. It's certainly harder to make a bad image good than to even create a good image.

A few last things: The fact that about fifty sites and different programs all end up being TEFL International really bothered me about it. When I was researching TEFL Certs, I kept coming across new things, all of which were exactly the same as TEFL International. There was no coherent branding, and it made it seem like the company was disorganized and in disarray. Perhaps that's just me, but it was really unnerving.

Lastly, and I've already mentioned in on this thread, the whole issue with the affiliation with the University of Washington is, well, curious and certainly didn't help their case in my book.

While I don't think someone is getting scammed or making a terrible life choice with TEFL Int'l, it's just still not a CELTA or Trinity Cert. Similar, I suppose, but not the same.

[loveeatsleep]

[naturegirl321]

I think they're all the same. All run by Bruce. He simply bought different websites so that they'd come up in searches.

[xzbakbook]

Okay this is from someone who dislikes Bruce as a person (and perhaps as such carries more weight) The TEFL course itself is very good. The staff, when they decide to work, are also good. I got several good jobs in Thailand and China an they all said they knew and respected TI. So the certificate and teaching part is good. the business side could use a lot of improvement

[Justin Trullinger]

Hmmmm. I'm not sure if disliking Bruce as a person makes your opinion more weighty or not. Personally, I know little enough about the guy.

Tell us more, though- which course are you referring to? When did you take it? TI has a lot of courses, and it would be nice to know which your good experience relates to.


Best,
Justin

[littlec]

I did the TEFL international course at Ban Phe in Thailand in 2005 and have been teaching English ever since in Indonesia, Australia and now China. The course and the trainers at that centre were excellent. I met Bruce and he is a likeable chap. Before I undertook the course I got hold of the curriculum and compared it to CELTA since that is what most people in Australia have and by far the preferred qualification by employers - I found the content and structure to be almost identical, and importantly, the course included supervised teaching sessions.

HOWEVER, whilst I have no difficulty getting government accreditation and employment in the countries mentioned, I have not been able to become an IELTS examiner, in spite of meeting all the requirements, because British Council do not recognise the TEFL International certificate. THe main sticky point is the lack of moderation and formal accreditation of the course. SO, if you want to work in universities or become a Cambridge or IELTS examiner, you better do the CELTA instead.

[naturegirl321]

[littlec]

Not sure about other certificates, but I am guessing if you are already approved for Cambridge FCE you could probably get into IELTS too. BC China won't recognise the TEFL Int certificate, but IDP who are the other major IELTS licencee may - so I am waiting for a ruling from the HQ in Australia and London.

I used to do PET and KET Cambridge exams in Indonesia and I examine for AEAS, another Australian English accreditation organisation and since the Aussie govt just removed the monopoly from IELTS, there will be other organisations I can examine for including TOEFL which I already do.

Just seems that IELTS and British Council are in bed together so insisting on CELTA, or masters degree in linguistics from recognised uni.

[naturegirl321]