Job Discussion Forums

[ChicagoCubMike]

I thought I'd blow away some of the cobwebs in here (hello? hello....hello...hello...), to crow a little. I'm just starting out as an ESL instructor. My only certification is an online distance TEFL cert. (the i-to-i course actually). I appreciate that a lot of folks take a negative view of the distance certs, especially of their worth in finding a job here in the U.S.

I finished my course 13 days ago. I got hired at a respectable local community language school today. They were impressed by the cert. Not because it's widely recognized or anything, because obviously it isn't. But because the cert. proved to them I wanted to teach and was willing both to learn and to take advantage of any means available to do so.

Admittedly we do have large newcomer communities in Chicago, so location counts for something. But I'm glad I didn't take all the naysaying that I read on here about these certs to heart. It won't be a terminal cert. for me, for sure. But I am happy to report, it got me a good first gig.

Oh, and IMHO the i-to-i course was well worth it. Anyone interested in it can PM me for more info about my experiences with it.

[Ixchel]

[Antaraaaa]

I just want to congratulate you!

I wish you lots of happy days

Way to persevere.


Ant.

[cat527]

Hey, that's great, ChicagoCub Mike. I live in Chicago too, altho I am thinking of moving to Istanbul, Turkey, and found your listing because I was looking for info on how well the online TEFL cert is regarded.

Good to know two sides of it!

Thanks,
Catherine

[ChicagoCubMike]

No problem, Cat. Go for it! I, too, am currently thinking about overseas. I just posted in the General Europe forum about advice for Lisbon, Portugal Good luck with your plans for Istanbul.

[LurkingVenus]

ChicagoCubMike,

I'm very interested in your experience with i to i, since I'm struggling with finding a well recognized online tefl course.

Would you know anything about ITTT or ICAL providers by any chance?Help!

LurkingVenus

[ChicagoCubMike]

I don't but perhaps someone else on here does?

[LurkingVenus]

I'm curious to know more about your i to i experience nonetheless...how did you choose it, did they deliver what they promised, how supportive, insightful was your tutor? And how recognized are they in the world? This is a tricky aspect to grip....how to choose a provider with "proper" acreditation?

[ChicagoCubMike]

LV, I chose i-to-i after reading opinions on here and elsewhere concerning different online TEFL certifications. I considered cost, length of time for completion, and opinions about materials covered. i-to-i offers a short, tightly wrapped course that gives you the abridged fundamentals of TEFL. You receive a small course book and a video, on CD, of an actual TEFL class being taught. There is also an option to complete a grammar workbook which is later scored (this option offers additional hours).

I found the course to be challenging because it requires a lot of written feedback from the student, mostly in the form of essay questions, sample lesson elements, and a sample lesson plan. My tutor (located in Prague) responded within 24 hours (business-days only) to all of my work submissions. Her feedback was not overly detailed but contained enough information for me to learn from any errors I made.

I don't think hours matter very much with an online cert. If a school is going to accept an online cert., that already means they aren't being that fussy about qualifications (not to demean online certs.) The real dividing line is between any sort of online cert. and either a CELTA (in Europe) or a TESOL masters degree (in the US).

In Chicago, I have found a lot of acceptance of my online cert., including at the private (non-profit) language school where I've taught for 9 months, and a local community college which was very interested in me for this term (I had to turn them down for want of hours). The only schools I've encountered here that demand a TESOL are some of the community colleges. But as I said, definitely not all. If a school demands an accredited degree, it's CELTA/DELTA/TESOL or nothing. If they don't, an online cert. is more than adequate.

I didn't use i-to-i for placement since they concentrate on Asia, so I can't speak to that. But at least in Chicago I've found the online cert. to be U.S. marketable even though many say that it isn't going to get you a job in the U.S. (it will--you'll have to do legwork, but you'll have to do that anyway, regardless of your qualifications).

i-to-i does give you access to bulletin boards where you can communicate with other course-takers, and when you are done you get continued access for six months. You also get six monthly sample lesson plans emailed to you (I found these of limited value).

What I liked before I leapt was that they give you a good outline of the work that will be involved in each unit of the course and allow you to take a sample online lesson for free. They still do this and I would encourage you to try this out if you are considering i-to-i.

So all in all, only good things to say about i-to-i. As always, your mileage may vary.

[/i]

[Scummy]

Hey Mike,

Thanks. I came across this thread when I ran a search on i-to-i on Google. I was looking for some information about their online cert and you have been very helpful.

The thing is that I am not American (I'm from Singapore) and English is my first language. But I'd like to teach English in either Japan or France and I'm still trying to figure out if it's worth it to blow $295 on the online TEFL cert and whether or not it'd be useful.

Anyone else with any experience on that?

Other than that, I'm glad you found a job with the cert. And maybe soon you'll find another one in Portugal!

Alan