Job Discussion Forums

Meowwow · Joined: 20 Mar 2007 Posts: 21

Does anyone have any experience of the tefl institute (www.teflinstitute.com) based in Chicago.
I want to take their tefl course starting the 3rd of september but I want to be sure that I will have a valid internationally recognised certificate at the end of the course.
There is a list of places that accredit their course on the website (http://www.teflinstitute.com/nepal.php) but as I know nothing about the tefl boards I don't know if these are valid...

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

I don't know the specific program (though I'd be wary of an accreditation from someplace as un-checkable as Nepal!).

However, a good basic certification should be 100+ hours on-site, including at least 6 hours of practice teaching on REAL students (not peer teachers) with feedback from experienced teacher trainers. If the course meets these requirements, it's probably going to be recognized as a basic certification in most areas.

There is a lot to be said for taking a course in the country where you want to start teaching, rather than in your home country.

It's a chance to get your feet wet in a country/culture while you have a support system, as training centres usually help arrange for your housing during the course and provide some orientation as well. Your practice teaching students will really represent those you'll be working with when you start, and good training centres can steer you in the right direction when you start looking for job contracts.

This might be a useful alternative route.

Meowwow · Joined: 20 Mar 2007 Posts: 21

It says it's 100 hours on-site and 20 hours practice but since then i have discovered the course starts on the 3rd of september but the new instructor isn;'t arriving until the 17th. They say they are reversing the structure of the course so it will be the same content as normal. But I'm not sure how that works with the on-site hours.
Does it count as onsite hours if you are not in actual classes but say doing coursework onsite?
I have a log-in to do online work. Is that normal?
The 100 hours on-site should be 100 hours class time?

tedkarma · Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 2:13 am Post subject:

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

Meowwow · Joined: 20 Mar 2007 Posts: 21

Definitely decided this is a course to avoid for me... Unfortunately it seems to be the only provider in kathmandu so no TEFL course for me for now...
But yes, basically there seems to be no instructor. They told me the instructor is arriving on the 17th of september (course starts on the 3rd). So I said wouldn't it be better to do the course in October when there is an instructor. They said no, that the course content will be the same for september and october.... How is that possible that the course content is the same when the instructor is absent for half of the course?! What kind of actual training do you get on this course where no instructor is necessary?! Very strange in my opinion.