Job Discussion Forums

[lifestream]

I was thinking of taking a TEFL course in a foreign country. I've narrowed my list down to roughly two places: Czech Republic (or other analogous E. European country) and Korea. I plan on teaching in one country for a year then follow up with another country for a year.

I know many South Korean job postings seem to require just a BA degree, however would it be necessary to still hold a CELTA?

I was thinking I could teach in S.Korea for a while, save up some money then go to the Czech Republic and take a local TEFL course with the money I saved up, making it easier for me to land a job in CZ. If not I will just go to CZ from the get go.


My question is what should I look for in foreign TEFL programs?

http://www.caledonianschool.com/html/index.php?s1=1&s2=8&s3=0&s4=0&s5=0&s6=0

I found this in the ESL job posting forums. How would I know if this is reputable/credible?

[spiral78]

Caledonian's reputable.
Basic newbie courses in Prague are all 100+ hours on-site, including at least 6 hours of practice teaching with real students. I think all the courses currenly on offer in Prague meet this minimum standard, which is also the standard for decent private language schools in most parts of the world.

[naturegirl321]

I did the Boland course www.boland-czech.com in Brno about five years ago and was satisfied with the course. YOu'll get grammar training, ideas about how to teach vocab, role-plays games, how to find a job. Also they're got about 140 hours plus 10+ of teaching real students, so it's more than the average course. Plus the owner, Katie, an American has been there for years and how lots of connections with local schools and abroad. She's opened a school in China as well.

No matter what course you choose, be sure to ask to talk to their former graduates, or do a search here on the job forum and the teacher training forum.

[denise]

It might be harder for you if you teach before you take your course, because on the course your experience might not help you. You'll have to forget it and just do what the instructors tell you to do.

d

[lifestream]

On the teflwatch website Caledonia has a bad rating. Only one person rated it poorly but a poor rating is a poor rating coming from a graduate.

I also looked into Boland, Nature Girl. I noticed you wrote about it before in other threads and they seem very reputable. I sent them an e-mail requesting more information and they responded very promptly.

One thing I did notice on whichcourse.com is that Boland offers an "International TEFL Diploma" whereas most others offer an "Internationally recognized TEFL Certificate." Are there any major differences between these?

And who knows, if I like the experience I may try to stay. I'm majoring in global political studies

[naturegirl321]

[spiral78]

Caledonia's 'poor' rating might also have to do with the fact that they employ their own grads, but don't necessarily offer the best rates of pay for the region. Some people prefer the trade off in terms of security in finding their first job.

Or it may have been that the course wasn't well done - it's been around a long time and has generally been considered quite all right, but I'm not monitoring Caledonian or any other course on a full time basis.

[lifestream]

[Sgt Killjoy]

I would never discount a school because of just one bad rating. It just means you need to ask some questions. Several bad ratings, that's another story.

[tedkarma]

Try "How to Select a TEFL Course" at:

http://www.phuketdelight.com/TEFL.htm

[Chris Westergaard]

It's the same. If you look at their site and talk to Katie, the owner, you'll find out that they're recognised by IATEFL, TEFL Board,


Sorry but


1. TEFL board is just a website. That's all they do. Actually the boland school i believe owns the website.


2. IATEFL isn't hard to become a member. Any of you could sign up for membership today if you wanted.


Boland might be a great school, but these are not good things to qualify them as being so.

[denise]

[lifestream]

[naturegirl321]