Job Discussion Forums

volar · Joined: 07 Mar 2006 Posts: 3

Hi there,

After lots and lots of reading and online research, i have chosen to take the TEFL International course in Ban Phe Thailand. There is a certification course at home in the US, but the course outline and prices are very similar, so i figure if i can do it in Thailand and be there for a month, why not? Has anyone gone through the TEFL International course? What are the positives and negatives? Also, i am worried about after the course. What do i do about work visas in the country I teach in if I am not at home to apply? Have gone through process of obtaining a student visa (Spain) and work visa (Oz) and both required the applicant to be in their home country. How does this work? Kind of a hefty bunch of questions, but any help would be beautiful! Thanks everyone!!!

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

There are some benefits to doing a course abroad. You have time to acclimatize, acquire and learn from traveler's sickness ( Wink

), and learn a bit of the local lingo before starting work. A local course provider should be better able to connect you to jobs in their area as well.

Why not check with TI to see what they can do to help with the work visa, if at least for a how-to rundown? They've been around awhile and should know.

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

I would recommend doing the TEFL course in the country that you want to teach in. As Guy mentioned, you can start to get acclimated during the course. Learn your way around town, look for housing, line up job interviews (which the TEFL school should help you with), etc. And you can start to investigate the visa process, which your school should also help with. From your post, though, it sounds like you want to do the TEFL course in Thailand and then work... elsewhere? That could complicate things in terms of the visa. There are always loopholes, though--you may only have to cross the nearest border and go to an embassy, rather than applying from the US.

Start by asking your TEFL course, as Guy suggested, and then make sure that the visa issue comes up in your job search/interviews. A good school will at the very least hold your hand and help you through the process, or even do the whole thing for you.

d