Job Discussion Forums

[Jerkstores]

I was recently contacted by ECC for an interview in Toronto and, since I currently have no teaching credentials, I decided to look for some good online ESL certs. Would the 40 hour course offered at the site below be recognized by Japan-based companies such as ECC? Would this course benefit me in case I went to Korea?

https://www.teflonline.com/form/step1.php

[AjarnIam]

If you can afford it, skip the online TEFL and do CELTA.

[Glenski]

Repost this in the Japan forum. You'll get this reply.

Most Japanese employers don't even care about their newbies having certification. Market here is tight, so if you plan to do this long-term, go ahead and get what you can. The better cert, the better chance at a good job. ECC is just entry level conversation school stuff.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

Eikaiwa often don't require TESL certificates because they want you to just do their paint by the numbers format.

That said, that short certificate would likely not be accepted by most employers because it really isn't much at all. You would learn more just by going to a university library for an hour, or even just doing a google search for teaching ESL or EFL.

Generally, the 120 hour could be considered standard (if it had an actual practicum, teaching real students- but it doesn't), but it's an on-line initial qualification, so the jobs that require TESOL certs would probably dismiss it out of hand... because it's an on-line initial certificate.

I agree that the CELTA may be a good way to go, but its expensive and not really useful in Toronto. Keep in mind that not all that many people will have heard of a 'CELTA' in Japan, and those who have, likely won't know a whole lot about it. You could do CELTA or another quick initial newbie certificate and then do a masters degree in TESOL by distance if you decided that you want to teach ESOL for a career.

[Jerkstores]

OK, so you all seem to think this cert is worthless. CELTA is impractical for me, but I'd still like to get something so that I at least feel a little bit more comfortable even if it isn't something that would look nice on the resume.

[AjarnIam]

[caffe]

I hear truly both ends of the stick, that a cert is absolutely necessary, even if you are mother tongue English and with local citizenship to bypass all visas, all the way to the mentioning that a cert can be "useless" in certain areas if key conditions are present. Such as high demand, who you know, your persona, and things like that. Guess it all really depends huh.

[tttompatz]

[Glenski]

[Chancellor]

[Chancellor]

[Chancellor]

[Justin Trullinger]

[Chancellor]