Job Discussion Forums

[PsuDadd]

I plan to come to Prague this summer to get TEFL certified. I want a good program. Can anyone recommend a good school. Any I should definitely avoid?

My wife will be coming with me but not getting certified. What about housing in that situation?

[spiral78]

All of the courses currently on offer in Prague that I'm aware of have been around for a while and have overall decent reputations. While it's always possible to dig up a negative post or two from over the years, that's really mostly a case of 'can't please all of the people all of the time.'
A cert from any of them should be well-received in the region and so long as you highlight the fact that your course was 120 hours on site and included supervised teaching practice with real students, it's CELTA equivalent in the eyes of most employers, so the name brand isn't absolutely vital, either.

So far as housing for a couple, you'll need to ask the training centres about that. They generally will provide housing for trainees during the course and possibly could come up with something for a couple, though I expect you'd pay a bit extra for it. Alternatively, you could always try to find something on your own, though that's far more difficult (unless you've got money to burn;-) In which case I've got a place for rent:-)).

[TEFLXpat]

The one thing I'd add is that when you're researching TEFL programs in Prague and you want to get a sense of the overall experience of taking a particular TEFL course (as well as what life is like after the course), see if the program will get you in touch with actual graduates. This way, you can get a sense of how the grads liked the course, how they feel now that they're out in the teaching world, what types of job guidance resources were utilized, and the overall quality and experience of the TEFL course. The 120 hours on site and the supervised teaching are common amongst the quality TEFL programs in Prague, but this is a great way to see which one will better suit you personally.

I'd suggest sending out a general email to the schools, express interest, get in touch with grads, browse some TEFL Prague websites, and then make an educated decision based on all of this.

Best of luck!

[corij]

agree with above,actually speak with recent grads
Also be aware that at least 1 Prague course owner operates 1 or more tefl reviews website , this cons newbies with fake fantastic reviews of his course and at the same time deletes any bad reviews of his course .

[Chris Westergaard]

I agree with all of the above.

More importantly with training (that is still really important though) is visa help if you're non EU. Without that, your chances of finding work are very slim. Contact the course and ask about the following.

1. A list of language schools where their graduates generally find employment
2. A list of job assistance services that the course does post course
3. A list of recent graduates who you can contact via email (Facebook is more ideal though)
4. The name of the accrediting body who accredits and externally moderates them.
5. Check to see if the school also helps with worldwide job assistance in case you're interested in working in Asia or other continents/countries.

Base your decision on that.

Overall, the mass majority of courses do a good job and you'll do fine. If you want to work in Prague though, the visa help is really important. Also note that courses can say anything on their website and it's up to you to check to make sure that what they say and what they offer is accurate.

I hope that helps.

Chris Westergaard
The Language House TEFL