Job Discussion Forums

CycloB · Joined: 16 Feb 2007 Posts: 3

Hi,

Has anyone got any experience/advice about ESL courses in HCMC? I have found websites offering four-week courses offered by TEFL International and a CELTA course run by Cactus TEFL through the ILA training center. Would one of these be better than the other? Or do you just need the piece of paper to get that first job?

Also, could anyone tell me how would schools view an Australian Bachelor of Business degree? I have just been assuming that any degree is OK, but have seen some mention that a BA is required.

I am a finance journalist planning a yearlong career break. I want to pursue ESL teaching in Vietnam because I fell in love with the country during a cycling trip. I have read a lot of negative posts here that haven't deterred me. I'd appreciate any recommendation for courses, tips for surviving full-time study 10 years after finishing my degree.

Thanks in advance.

KWhitehead · Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 11:46 am Post subject:

my bf is interested in the CELTA in Hanoi. anyone know anything about that?

ChuckECheese · Joined: 28 Jul 2006 Posts: 216

mononoaware · Joined: 13 Mar 2007 Posts: 21 Location: saigon, vietnam

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the CELTA isn't offered in Hanoi anymore. I did my CELTA at ILA, and I get the feeling on the street that it's more valuable than the TEFL one. But the course you choose is only part of it--interview skills and experience are just as important. But yeah, without the other stuff, getting the CELTA would be a big selling point. Comparing what I was making before the CELTA and what I'm making now, it paid for itself in around four months (plus I'm vastly happier at my new job.)

CycloB · Joined: 16 Feb 2007 Posts: 3

Thanks for your post, mononoaware.

I've checked the schedules of the Cactus CELTA course and the TEFL International course in HCMC and the TEFL one suits better, so I think I will enroll in that one.

Vietnam here I come!

sethness · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Posts: 209 Location: Hiroshima, Japan

I saw an ad on this site for a school in VN that will subsidize the teacher's DELTA course. "Delta"? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta Maybe it was a typo-- or is there a thing called DELTA in VN, similar to CELTA? What's teh difference between 'em?

ChuckECheese · Joined: 28 Jul 2006 Posts: 216

kh1311 · Joined: 29 Mar 2007 Posts: 16

ILA has offered the DELTA in HCMC in both 2005 and 2007 with plans to continue to offer it in the future.

Joe Dolce · Joined: 13 Jun 2006 Posts: 30

I've heard good and bad about Apollo. They do sponsor their teachers if they want to do a DELTA if you can call it sponsorship. It's the distance DELTA

http://www.thedistancedelta.com

It costs about $4000 US and Apollo don't pay anything to begin with. You have to do a two week intensive course in Bangkok and eight months of distance learning afterwards. The sponsorship is $1000 back for every year you work with Apollo.

sethness · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Posts: 209 Location: Hiroshima, Japan

Argh. Correct me if I'm wrong, but
a) the DELTA isn't nearly as well-known as the CELTA and TEFL certification programs,
b) the DELTA costs about twice as much as a CELTA or TEFL.

Is that right? What's the benefit in doing a DELTA instead of a CELTA or TEFL, then?

----
ChuckECheese-- tell me more about Apollo, because I was actually thinking of applying to Apollo-- just to have a job in Danang (a SCUBA-able area, I think) and a mailing address that I could send my belongings to, before arriving in VN. Am I being dumb?

Why'd so much management jump ship? (And, how can they hope to hire fresh-off-the-boat foreigners to fill in the spaces-- heck, they wouldn't even speak VN or know where to buy a pencil in VN, right?) Private-message me if the answer isn't something one can post on the public forum. Thx

Snaff · Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 142

spycatcher reincarnated · Joined: 19 May 2005 Posts: 236

St Giles website says this about the DELTA:

WHO IS THE DELTA FOR?
This advanced qualification is for practicing teachers who have a minimum of two years� full time teaching experience. Course participants will also usually have an initial TEFL / TESOL certification. The DELTA is recognized internationally as an advanced professional qualification for TESOL teachers and it can count towards a MA TESOL degree in many institutions worldwide. For teachers with little or no experience St Giles also offers the Cambridge CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults).

IMHO most teachers who have a CELTA or equivalent and 2 years' post CELTA or equivalent teaching experience wouldn't pass the interview to be allowed on the DELTA.

Believe that the pass rate for the exam at the end of the course is only about 50%, with the people who fail having to retake at least part of the exam or just giving up on the qualification.

It is for professional teachers who want to continue in EFL /EFL management for a long time to come.

The British Council rates it higher than an MA TESOL, and in reality it probably is better than the MA TESOL for someone who wants to improve their teaching.