Job Discussion Forums

[julien165]

I am a Canadian, American-educated (M.A.) and fluent in English, interested in teaching English in Russia, in or near Moscow.

I have come across the following certificate: a Foundation TESOL certificate from Global TESOL College www.global.harvestinstitute.com. It is a five day intensive course, with additional online material: between the in-class and online, it adds up to 120 hours.

Is anyone familiar with this certificate? Is there any way to verify whether it affords real opportunities, or if it's just a scam? I know Phillip Donnelly wrote about "worthless TEFL Certificate[s], handed out like smarties by some many �illustrious� institutions."

In general, what kind of credentials do English schools in Moscow expect? Do they prefer an actual degree: BKC-IH only hires teachers with a CELTA, or a TESOL degree, but not a TESOL certificate.

Also, for those who have taught in Russia, what was the experience like, in terms of salary, work hours and other benefits (i.e. housing, health insurance, air fare etc.)?

Many thanks for your time and consideration; I greatly appreciate any help you can give.

-jl.

[bobs12]

I think all these questions are covered at length in this forum

[canucktechie]

Ditto to Bobs, this forum, the Job Information Journal, and the school websites tell you everything you want to know.

I will say that BKC hires the most new teachers of any school in Moscow so if you do not meet their requirements, it's unlikely you'll meet anyone else's.

[bobs12]

In short - any qualification that takes only four weeks (CELTA) has questionable value.

A five-day course would hardly even be considered an 'inbtroductory' course. Better save your money.

[canucktechie]

[bobs12]

God, you're even more annoying than me!

I used the word 'questionable'. Open to interpretation. Debatable. I didn't say 'zero', 'nil' or otherwise quantify my opinion. And 'IMHO' is the most irritating expression I've ever heard of.

Most of the places that require a qualification have 'minimum' requirements, and I've not yet seen any that say 'at least five days of training', have you?

Whether it will really make the difference between getting a job or not is, in my most humble, lowly and, of course, unqualified (after three years of teaching without any qualifcation, I guess I'm not qualified to comment on the value of 'certificates', DisneyLand or otherwise) opinion, open to debate.

[julien165]

Many thanks for your replies.

Yeah, a five day program sounded fishy. Another (private) respondent on this forum suggested I look into schools whose websites cite official endorsements.

I'm more leaning towards the CELTA at the International Language Schools of Canada (being Canadian it's an option I'm considering). Their Montreal website (www.celta.ilsc.ca) states:

"ILSC-Montreal is officially approved by Cambridge ESOL as a training center for intensive courses leading to the CELTA. ILSC also belongs to the Canadian Association of Private Language Schools and meets the standards of TESL Canada."

-jl.

[Phillip Donnelly]

Yes, a CELTA does sound like the best option. It's not just a BKC thing-it's recognised everywhere.
I don't want to get into another debate with Bobs12 about whether certificates have any real merit, but I will say the in the TEFL world at large, it's getting harder and harder, especially for the inexperienced, to find work without one.

[xalapa]

Don't forget to check out the SIT TESOL program, which is also very good. I just got done taking it in Costa Rica this January and I found it to be an excellent course.

Micah