Job Discussion Forums

[robin8989]

I have been searching for a full 120 hr with practicum,TEFL course in the Raleigh NC area, on site and cannot find one. That took me to the online/onsite combination courses I have seen in teflinstitute and titc....anybody have any experience with the combo? I am not really interested in doing any on line but still find little choice in this area if I want to begin soon. I am very willing to go abroad but cannot until 2010. any thoughts out there? thanks

[Justin Trullinger]

HI and welcome to the boards!

The jury is still pretty far out on the combined (Sometimes called blended learning) programs. It seems to me that it's an idea that could work well, but I'm sure quality varies. The idea's new enough that it's hard to get good info.

We've got a thread going on this in the general discusion forum at: http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=75752 Come on over!

Another option, if you'd prefer an onsite course, might be to do a little more saving and then do a fully onsite course when you move. Means it'd take you a month longer to get started working, but a lot of people do this and find it to be worth it.


Bes,t
Justin

[spiral78]

There are lots of very good reasons to take a course in the country where you want to start working, if at all possible.

Training in-country offers you a great chance to get your feet wet in the country/culture while you still have a support system � they usually arrange for your housing during the course, airport pickup, and local orientation. Your practice teaching students will really be representative of those you�ll be working with when you start. You can be sure that your certification will be recognized by local employers, and a training centre can give you invaluable contacts and advice regarding reputable local employers.

[robin8989]

thanks, two good replies.
interesting comment about the blended courses. needs some more exploration.
my interest is really with on site courses outside the states, however I am ready to do some work now because I have the time, I am unable to completely leave my work right now, so thought I would make good use of the next few months. probably will not be able to happen.
will likely want to work in latin america, and are you suggesting that if I take a TEFL onsite in Russia that it is unlikely that I would be welcome in Mexico, Peru, Chile?
any thoughts about international TEFL programs in countries with a language other than the one you will eventually focus on? I am thinking , if I am actually going to pay this $$$ why not go someplace OTHER than where I will end up and possibly where I have already been?

[Justin Trullinger]

[robin8989]

thank you thank you
I did go over to the other thread..... interesting stuff. I posted there. you may see it,

best back
Robin

[spiral78]

if I take a TEFL onsite in Russia that it is unlikely that I would be welcome in Mexico, Peru, Chile?


No, a reputable cert will be recognised elsewhere. In this scenario, though, you'll likely want to shell out for a name-brand version, rather than a reputable, but local one. Prague, for example, has some places offering quite decent 'generic' certs, and they are recognized regionally, but in L.A., for example, employers won't know the names and may prefer CELTA or another of the big names.

[Mr. P]

If you have time now and just want to get acquanited with the topic, you might consider taking an online course before taking a 1 month on-site course in the future.

[robin8989]

thank you all again, so I am reading these and of course laughing at the dynamics involved. silly question: what is a generic cert? when I am looking at say TEFL INSTITUTE or TEFL INTERNATIONAL, these are "companies" and offer what look like quality progams, many hours, supervision, etc. but are these generic or name brand? I am pretty flexible and am willing to pay the money, and as Mr P suggested why not take the on line first then get better prepared. thought I actually might do that.... but how will that effect my certification? do I tell the second one that I already did the first, what if I start the first and then pass....as not having enough time while I am working , planning to just wait to work is finished and go abroad. you guys are really helpful. thanks

best back
Robin

[spiral78]

The major names in basic certs are
CELTA, Trinity, and SIT

The courses you name are considered 'generic,' meaning that they don't belong to one of the three that oversees providers offering certs using their name brands.

Taking an online cert before an on-site one is of questionable value, in my opinion. They purport in general to give a newbie all he/she needs to get started teaching - they're not designed as an introductory component of a 'real' on-site certification. I don't know this for certain, but it's entirely possible that what you learn on a distance course run by a private company won't really jibe with what the on-site course provider expects of a newbie teacher.

I think you might be better off to pick up a couple of basic books (I'll try to post some titles in a bit - Thornbury comes to mind, but have forgot the title at this moment; my own TEFL library's in the Czech Rep and I'm at work in the Netherlands at the moment) and study on your own rather than shelling out some dollars for a course that may or may not really help to prepare you for the goals of the on-site course you decide to take.

[Mr. P]

Jeremy Hamar's "How to Teach English" is a good start. You could also check out "The British Council" website.

I still think taking an online course, such as "i-to-i" - www.onlinetefl.com would be money well spent. It would give you a chance to become better acquainted with the field, which you could then read more about on your own, as well as allow you to begin making lesson plans etc...

[spiral78]

Thanks, Mr. P. It's 'Harmer,' though, but I agree it's a good book.

I tend to be suspicious of the content of online courses as a good introduction to the field. However, that's based on my limited personal negative experiences trying to work with newbie teachers with only online certification - I haven't found that they are ready to teach in the real world by any means, and any theoretical background they'd gained seemed off-track for our teaching contexts. Admittedly, I'm talking about 4-5 candidates only here; we don't usually even interview anyone without an on-site cert. But we needed a little set of freelancers for a limited-term project a year or so ago, and I did run a 'demo' style interview for a set of such candidates.

[Mr. P]

A few other good books are - Michael Swan's "Practical English Usage" which covers grammar as well as the differences between US & UK English.

I also have "The ELT Grammar Book" that I bough via the Alta Vista "bookstore" here on Dave's.

Penny Ur with "The Cambridge Press" also has a bunch of good books which provide Lesson Plan ideas. I have a few, as well as Seth Lindstrom's "The Standby Book". The "ESL Recipes Cookbook(s)" are Ok.

Barron's "ESL Guide to American Business English" has also come in handy a few times for me over the years.

The above mentioned books do not cover the basics of "teaching" like Harmer's book does, but, are good reference books.

Good Luck!

[spanglish]

Why spend money on the online, when you can just do the on-site recognized course?

My favorite how to teach book is Learning Teaching by Jim Scrivener.

[robin8989]

so ok, things are getting clearer, thanks.
SIT,CELTA, and Trinity are the best options for what I am looking for. Now I am googling these and find a few options abroad in Europe or Latin/ South America. A person on another post mentined that she/he did not look at CVs that were not CELTA trained, am I imagining this? This is in Ecuador (think) and the writer states that her colleagues in similiar programs are as biased. Is this likely? what do you all hear and practice yourselves?

also I am finding the teaching / learning philosophies different within the SIT and CELTA. have had less luck with researching Trinity. Still on it. Does Trinity offer the TEFL whereas other organizations are offering the CELTA? CELTA seems more than a name brand but rather a different kind of certification altogether? The Trinity and SIT are actually TEFLs. Correct

I am certainly likely to take one of these. either in Spain or L or S America. Now to find which one. Would love to be in a drier climate, coastal is always nice but open to most anything. Have whittled out Russia and Africa as much as I would love to go there they seem to not advance my interests too much.
Anything in Greece that people know about? with CELTA or SIT? Timing is an issue in terms of when after the New Year I can arrange it, and dont want to be in any country's winter. I did see a FIVE week program that seemed intriguing and perhaps somewhat less stressful, same workload with one week longer?
Anyone know anything about that?

I am agreeing with the idea of book research rather than the online course, it will be more flexible and more at hand and certainly cost less without any expectation on the book's part
Thanks so much for the book ideas.

so I will keep reading and any ideas are welcome
best back
Robin