Job Discussion Forums

[Niederbom]

I'm looking into doing a TEFL Course with TEFL China in Yangshuo through Omeida Language College.

They claim local accreditation through SAFEA and the China Ministry of Education. I've emailed them, and they said they will send me scanned copies of their credentials through these organizations, so we'll see.

Is this a legitimate TEFL Course? I would prefer to do this course instead of going through a lot more hassles and paying a lot more money to do the CELTA course through Language Link in Beijing (which seems a bit disorganized and unhelpful, like other CELTA providers who just expect the "name" to make up for other shortcomings) if this certification is just as "recognized" as the CELTA. I don't plan to teach anywhere else besides China. I'm just planing to teach for two years while I learn Chinese, so I can later land a job in my Masters field (Quant Finance). But I want to be able to get the best job I can get and do an excellent level of work.

I did a search for "Omeida" on this forum and found out they are a large and fairly respected as far as language schools go. But what about as a source for TEFL Certification?

I have a four-year university degree, some graduate work, but no teaching experience aside from some tutoring volunteer work for local public school students in college. Any thoughts?

[Chris_Crossley]

If you are looking only to teach in China, then you certainly could go with the provider you are in contact with. I have known people teach with absolutely no TEFL qualifications at all in the Middle Kingdom while I have known others who did get either the CELTA or the Trinity Certificate in TESOL before arriving in the country. I, for instance, got one of the latter before coming to China.

Evidently, having a qualification that is recognised in several countries rather than just the one is helpful just in case you decide to go elsewhere, even if you claim that you intend teaching only in the Middle Kingdom. Still, if you know where your ambitions and priorities lie, then OK, you could certainly manage to teach in China with something you could get in-country, although the more reputable schools may still want you to get something that they are prepared to recognise even if you may already have teaching experience under your belt by the time you decide to move on and teach at another school.

[Niederbom]

If getting a higher paying job ever became a problem and I decided to stay in ESL long-term, could I just get the (more advanced) DELTA, on top of a local entry-level certification? TEFL China seems pretty similar to the CELTA, so the biggest advantage to CELTA would probably be name recognition.

CELTA, interestingly, is not a pre-requisite for getting into the DELTA program, and the DELTA can be completed online through IH, so it wouldn't require taking time off from work.

Would these more "reputable schools" see a difference between someone who has a local TESOL certificate and a DELTA versus someone who has a CELTA and a DELTA?