Job Discussion Forums

johntpartee · Joined: 02 Mar 2010 Posts: 3258

A colleague in the US told me he is being required to take a TEFL course for a job in Indonesia. I've never done TEFL, so I don't know anything about them. There are 40, 60, 120 hour courses. What's the dif? Besides the obvious, of course. What I'm asking is, do most places have a "minimum time" course they want?

FoundWaldo · Joined: 01 Jun 2010 Posts: 47

The longer the better I say. While a school in Indonesia might only require a 40 hour course, down the line you might consider teaching in China or South Korea where a lot of schools require (or will at least give you more money) if you have a 100+ hour TEFL certificate. It's all about widening your options.

Mrs McClusky · Joined: 09 Jun 2010 Posts: 133

120 is the min, If I had my way they would all be 240 hours with 50 observed classes.
It is easy to be shizer, but it is hard to be excellent. Which do want? shizer or excellent.

Chancellor · Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 2:49 pm Post subject:

As Mrs. McClusky said, 120 course hours is the minimum - if there is also at least a six-hour supervised teaching practicum with real ESL/EFL students.

Some people here (and, apparently, some employers - especially in Europe) are enamored with brand names and are likely to tell you "CELTA or Trinity or you're not certified." SIT is another brand name but perhaps not as well known as CELTA or Trinity. There are generic courses out there that also meet the minimum standard but those people/employers who are so enamored with brand names won't consider you certified. Keep in mind that - whether CELTA, Trinity, SIT, or one of the generics - we're still talking entry-level certification. If you want anything more than that then you're looking at either a graduate certificate in TESL or a master's degree in either TESL or applied linguistics.