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[girlinflight]

Greetings! I've read a number of great, informative posts from people that seem quite versed in both HCMC and Hanoi and I'm hoping someone out there can lend a wee bit of insight with regard to teaching ESL in Hanoi---

I'm looking to do either a CELTA or TESOL/TEFL course-- does anyone see either as being more educational, or perhaps more credible than the other? I may choose to do the CELTA, as I may ultimately, eventually, end up in Spain, but would truly appreciate any constructive input from experienced peoples out there. Any thoughts with regard to doing a combined TEFL course? Lastly, might anyone be able to recommend a school (CELTA or TEFL/TESOL) to study with in Hanoi?

Many, MANY thanks in advance! This decision has been a tremendously challenging one to make and I'd really like to choose wisely and go for the best program/school available to me so that I might be more able to offer a somewhat valuable educational experience, in both paid and volunteer positions, to prospective ESL students-- however jaded or newbie-naive this may seem!!

[charlie don't surf]

Hi,

The CELTA is generally viewed as the standard by which other 4 week teacher training courses are measured. For those employers who care about teaching credentials, a CELTA certificate will trump a certificate from a no-name school offering little or no teaching practicum. This is not to suggest that every other 4 week course is inferior to the CELTA. It's just that the CELTA has a well regarded international reputation, and therefor carries more cachet than lesser known programs.


IH (International House) is an international organization with a presence in Vancouver. They helped develop the CELTA course, and also have a 4 week program that shares similar lineage with the CELTA. It too, is an intensive, and well respected program.

Apollo Education in Hanoi is an International House franchise that is also licensed to offer a CELTA course.

The teaching of English has got to be one of the most unregulated industries on the planet, so be careful about choosing a teaching course. It's always useful to check out prospective schools in person. That way, you can meet the instructor in person, find out the instructor's credentials, speak to students, get a tour of the school, and hopefully form an opinion (good, bad or indifferent)about the program.

Also, make sure to choose a program that is over 100 hours and has at least 6 teaching practicum hours. Anything less, don't even consider it. Be cautious about the online courses, too. While some employers may not give a damn about them one way or the other, many more will consider them rather worthless, and will not touch you with a 10 foot pole.

If you have any intentions on teaching in Canada at some point in the future, make sure you take a course that is recognized by TESL Canada. (they are an organization that among other things, evaluate 4 week teacher training programs), otherwise, you will not likely be hired. You can go to TESL Canada's website and find all the TEFL/TESOL/ TEFL programs in Vancouver that have been approved by them. Even if you don't intend on teaching in Canada, you should still use their list of schools as a starting point.

It's not a bad idea to study up on grammar, especially if it's not one of your strong points. Some of the institutes offering teacher training programs will test you on grammar as part of their admissions process, and will also focus on it during the course itself.

My last bit of advice is to think twice about taking a CELTA course from an overseas location. While it may seem quite alluring to take a course in an exotic location, taking a course in Vancouver would be far less stressful. These courses can be quite intensive. The last thing you need is to be in Hanoi, unable to sleep at night because of the relentless horn honking or other reasons related to adjusting to a new environment. If you do decide to take a course overseas, then make sure you arrive at your destination a few days before the start date in order to adapt more effectively to your new surroundings. On the other hand, taking the course in your own city will eliminate many of the distractions and other issues you could face overseas.

Best of luck to you.

[girlinflight]

Thank you so, so very much for the valuable input; good points all around!