Job Discussion Forums

SgtPhilco · Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 18

Hi hope someone can help and I am sorry as I suspect these questions have been asked many times before. There seem to be a lot schools offering TEFL teacher training in locations all over the world.
1) When completing a 4 week course do you receive a certificate that will be universally (worldy) recognised.
2) Does one body govern the issue of these certificates or do the schools have their own to issue on competion of the 4 week course.

I hope these questions make sense and there is a kind soul out there who can provide some insight. In regard to courses that took my interest 2 schools seem to stand out, the 1st was Canterbury in Madrid and the other was ITC in Barcelona. If anyone has had experience of them I would love to hear from you.

Many thanks

Phil Hepworth

Axel · Joined: 29 Jan 2006 Posts: 5 Location: Madrid, London

First of all, you really don�t need a TEFL certificate. It can be a nice way to go, but it isn�t necessary to find a job in Madrid. I have been teaching here in Madrid for two years without one, but I have an EU passport. Then again, that�s really not necessary either. I know a lot of Americans and Canadians in Madrid who have neither certification nor a passport and get by just fine. The demand in Madrid for teachers is strong, which is why a lot of TEFL programs are able to cash in on the many new teachers who come here.

Second, if you are willing to shell out loads of money for a certificate, I would settle for nothing less than Cambridge or Trinity. If you are going to spend thousands, get something recognized internationally. Canterbury is not.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

1) certification from the 'generic' courses that offer a 120-hour (or more) course that includes supervised teaching practice are generally recognized and accepted by employers. name-brand certifications are sometimes, but not generally, preferred.
2) there is no overall governing body- the generic courses are private enterprises.

ITC had some serious problems in Barcelona a year or two back. You might want to run a search for previous threads on the issue. However, I haven't heard anything negative for some time, and it's possible that it's all been worked out satisfactorily in the end.

Spain is one of the most desirable locations for English teachers. There are many, many well-qualified teachers on the job market. I disagree that no cert is needed to compete for good jobs in this market. Employers are highly unlikely to hire untrained teachers when there are multitudes of trained ones to choose from. Further, EU member citizens are preferred because the legalities are no issue for them, so if you're not from an EU member country, you have a further disadvantage in that you are almost certainly contemplating living/working illegally. While it's often done, there are always some risks involved.

tomdol · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 1 Location: Barcelona

I'd have to disagree with Axel there -- I'd say you DO need a proper qualification. What a TEFL qualification does is give you a better chance of a job in a decent school (besides ensuring that you have a minimum amount of knowledge to actually do the job).

You certainly can get work without a qualification -- but in what kind of school?

The 4-week Cambridge ESOL CELTA certificate is one that is recognised worldwide:

http://www.cambridgeesol.org/teaching/celta.htm

One of the things going for it is that external assessors regularly visit schools to ensure grades are being awarded appropriately.

victor moss · Joined: 13 Oct 2004 Posts: 9

I also agree that studying for a proper certificate is a better choice.

CELTA is not the only internationally recognised course. There are other official courses run by Trinity, SIT and College of Teachers. All of which have similar recognition. Some bona-fide Universities and Community Colleges also run their own TEFL courses.

stillnosheep · Joined: 01 Mar 2004 Posts: 2068 Location: eslcafe

Celta and Trinity are internationally recognised. The others may claim to offer training to a similar standard, but they are not generally recognised.

MAP Magazine · Joined: 24 May 2006 Posts: 46 Location: Madrid, Spain

What does "internationally recognized" mean in this context?

Getting paid from a new job is nice enough recognition for me; I graduated from Canterbury English two years ago and I've never had a problem finding work with my certificate.

Phil

CMB · Joined: 06 Feb 2004 Posts: 46 Location: Barcelona

I agree. If we're talking about practicality, I think most employers in Spain look for a TEFL cert. where you've done a certain amount of teaching practice and class hours (i.e., not an online cert.). That is enough to get you an interview, and then the rest is up to you once you meet the emplyers face-to-face. However, most people are more comfortable spending their time and money on a cert. course that has a good reputation and is monitored externally, such as S.I.T., Celta, or Trinity. Another thing to ask the course providers is how they will help you with your job search. It's a good idea to do the cert. in the city you want to work in because certificate providers often have good contacts with language schools who hire their graduates.
Good luck.