Job Discussion Forums

[jcwin228]

I did the TEFL course with Bridge TEFL, and I was pretty satisfied. It was not a requirement for my current job, but I'm sure it helped me get it.

Are TEFL certificates effective? To read my experience and advice, go here

MOD EDIT

[Justin Trullinger]

Welcome to the boards! THis is a question that comes up with some regularity, so thanks for taking the time to address it.

A couple of thoughts I'd add:

You say:

[spiral78]

If you�re planning to teach English in Japan, or anywhere else for that matter, you basically just need to be a native speaker and have a college diploma, but it might be worth your while to get a TESL or TEFL certificate.


This is not true for the region in which I have worked for 12+ years - Europe. The reason is simply that the vast majority of newbie-level teachers in this region have a CELTA or equivalent, and anything less puts you at the bottom of the heap, job-wise.

The standard for this region is 120 hours on-site, including supervised teaching practice with real students. CELTA is the name brand, though there are some generic on-site courses that also meet the standard.

Any newbie who is reads your blog and expects that a 60-hour on-line course will be sufficient in Europe will have been misled.

Sorry for the strong words, but the job market here is tight all over, and the start-up costs here are considerable. It would not be doing anyone a service to mislead them into thinking that they can come on over with a 60-hour online cert and expect to get a job. That candidate may very well find him/herself out the cost of flights, accomodation, time, and trouble.

[denise]

I agree with Justin and spiral78 about the potential for misinformation. People with no experience or teaching qualifications need to do what they can to separate themselves from the masses of other inexperienced & unqualified newbies, and doing the bare minimum, or flat-out skipping the certification process because it might not be required, really won't help them stand out in a crowd. Places that will hire any ol' smiling white face (with many schools wrongly assuming that "white" = "native speaker" = "good"), regardless of that person's ability to teach, aren't exactly the most desirable jobs.

The more you put into the training process, the more you get out of it. That could well mean spending more, taking a longer course, etc.--and the time and money are obstacles to many people. Really, though, a one-month, full-time, in-person course isn't too much to ask of people. How many other careers are there out there where you can get started with just one month of training?

d

[Chancellor]

[denise]

[Justin Trullinger]

[spiral78]

Actually, it is too much to ask. Some people actually have jobs and what you're telling them is "Quit your job, go take this month-long course that would almost never get you a job in your home country and hope maybe you'll be able to find a job somewhere overseas." It's just plain idiotic to ask that of people - especially in the middle of a global recession

To my personal knowledge, literally hundreds of newbie teachers do exactly this every year in Prague alone. Most do find jobs and spend at least a year or two enjoying the job to some degree or other.

It may not be for you, but you're not the only brand of would-be TEFL teacher out there.

[Chancellor]

[spiral78]

No, a person shouldn't have to first quit their current jobs in order to prepare for a career change; yet that's exactly what you're asking them to do - just so they can take a four-week course that is has almost no meaning whatsoever here in the US, a course that'll give them entry-level qualifications to do a job they have no guarantee of ever getting

Then no newbies will ever get jobs in Europe, because this region VERY rarely hires unknown, unseen people from abroad. 99% have to be here, on the ground, CV in hand, before any employer will give him/her a first glance.

[Justin Trullinger]

Whether or not a person "should" have to quit their job to prepare for another one is clearly an opinion, so not really open to debate. I'll repeat what I said, though: many people do. Tell me- was it "idiotic" of me to do this? Hasn't really worked out that way- I have a good job that I enjoy, plenty of room for advancement...not feeling too stupid, to tell you the truth. And I have a lot of colleagues who did the same thing- most of us, even those who aren't in teaching for the long term, didn't find it idiotic to take a little risk in order to get what we wanted.

And if by so doing, some are better able to train for the potential new job than others, then they'll be first in line, won't they?

Recession and all, most good 4 week intensive TESOL courses have truly impressive employment rates, mere days or weeks after the course.

Best,
Justin

[spanglish]

I agree that people should do a CELTA/Trinity/SIT/equivalent course, but it's not that easy to find a job afterward (my experience). I had to look for several months and wade through many shady, borderline employers before finding an entry level position with a relatively reputable company.

[mozzar]

[coledavis]

At the moment, TEFL is proving to be relatively recession-proof, so I think people should stop obsessing with global trends. As for the remark about the qualification being unusable in the US: well, yes, but then most people don't do a TEFL qualification with the intention of hanging out at home.

[Justin Trullinger]