Job Discussion Forums

[clusks]

Hi,

I have been looking into teaching abroad and was originally looking at Korea as I have a friend who is out there already. I've been thinking about it a lot and I think I'd quite like to stay in Europe (I'm from the UK).

I was really hoping to go to either Spain or Italy. I've been to both on holiday and loved it. While I have been doing my research however, I'm seeming to find better ways of getting my foot in the door for Spain and reading a lot of posts on this forum has helped a lot =)

Basically, I've been looking at a lot of these TEFL courses that charge about �1000 for a four week course and then say they'll get you a job at the end. The main two I've been looking at are Canterbury and TT Madrid.

The only thing I'm quite worried about is going with either due to the qualification you get, as I'm aware that it isn't exactly a CELTA or a Trinity! However, I have seen a lot of jobs around Europe that say they require an application to have a CELTA, trinity or equivalent. The TT Madrid course says it is "IATQuO" certified, but reading up on that doesn't really make it clear how that stands up to other certificates.

I was wondering if either of the courses offered by these would count as an equivalent. I'm just a bit worried about dropping �1000 on something that potentially has no worth in the event that I may want to apply for teaching jobs to other organisations or outside Spain.

I've also noticed that Canterbury say that you will definitely be offered a job whereas TT Madrid say that they'll guarantee to get you interviews. It might sound a bit silly of me but that has made me lean towards Canterbury more.

Regarding myself, I have saved up enough money to pay for the course and get myself up and running in Spain and I'm not that demanding about the wage. The wage being offered by Canterbury (between 10-15 an hour with a minimum of 15 hours a week) seems fairly reasonable for someone like myself who is starting out. I have experience working as a guitar tutor for a year and I also helped volunteer for a local youth football team for a few months, but I'm not sure how relevant that all is in this market!

Any feedback would be great, just thought I'd get some advice from a few of you who have experience of these sorts of things! Thank you =)

[pr455]

Go with your gut feeling. It will never lead you wrong.

Good luck with your decision.

Shawn

[mozzar]

Take the CELTA. It's worth much more in the long run. These courses that guarantee you work at the end are pretty much bullshit. They can't guarantee you decent work or, indeed, any work at all.

[Sashadroogie]

Get the CELTA/Trinity brand name or don't bother at all. Yes, 1000 quid is a lot, but knowledge is never a waste or a burden. Paying for a cheaper course, on the other hand, is total waste when it gives you nothing. This may be the case with the other course providers: I really don't know either.

Don't know much about IATQuO to be honest. But I am not really impressed with grand sounding acronyms that do not have real authority behind them. So many organisations set themselves up and then 'recognise' each other as being the required standard. Not saying this one is too, just that I don't know and wouldn't be bothered finding out when a brand name cert has recognition already. Tried and tested etc.

As for guaranteed jobs... hee hee. Sorry, but any job that's quaranteed in the region you are looking at is probably untouchably poor.

Good luck.

[pr455]

I agree with what's written here. Many TEFL academies really make themselves sound great by promising jobs, or even interviews after the course. Many of them give you jobs at their academy so they do keep their promise by guaranteeing you a job after the course.

The CELTA is more widely recognized throughout the world than a TEFL. Pay the extra and make your CV stand out.

Cheers,

Shawn