Job Discussion Forums

[logicpocket]

So... has anyone else gotten some weird vibes from the folks at TEFL International (teflinternational.com)? They are, apparently, the folks that register people for the Manuel Antonio TESOL Certification class.

After having my application accepted I had emailed them a few times and only once did I get a reply, which stated that my request had been forwarded to another 'department' and that they'd get back to me. They never did.

Now.. I decided to call them today after paying the deposit via. credit card did not work properly. After being greeted by a rather scratchy and unprofessional recorded greeting I was transferred to an incredibly apathetic secretary who directed me towards that same email address, [email protected].

I can't help but question the legitimacy of this business, but I had been told by others that it was the way to go in order to register.

Comments or advice, anyone? It's very much appreciated!

Thomas

[OleLarssen]

Hey logicpocket. I'm betting TEFL International is swamped in work now because these are the days when a lot of teachers-to-be are travelling abroad. I went to Quepos through these people and had 0 problems with response time or, well, anything. They're certainly serious about what they do as far as I know. I think you're just a little out of luck on your timing.

[logicpocket]

Hmm, maybe that is the case. After a bit of wrangling I was able to get everything on track with them. I look forward to taking the class there for sure.

Would anyone who has taken the course there happen to know of any good housing options for the month of November in Manuel Antonio? TEFL International itself has some housing resources, but if anyone knows of anyone that they've had a good stay with feel free to PM me and let me know! I'm a chilled out and, if I may say so, rather untroublesome guy looking for a decent place to rest my head!

Gracias!


Thomas

[OleLarssen]

The homestay I was in was excellent. It kind of depends what you want/need. I'm generally in need of having time for myself every day so living with strangers isn't always the best option.

[Chrissi]

logicpocket,

I took the course with TEFL international in May, and I would not do it with them again. They did not come across as professional at all. I definitely enjoyed my teaching experience, but the so-called academic part of the course was superficial and did not give me the feeling of having learned anything new. As far as housing is concerned, I lived in a shared apartment called Casa Mia - a beautiful house with nice owners. However, TEFL international charges you more for staying at Casa Mia than Casa Mia charges you if you privately arrange your stay there with the owners. Thus, I would not have booked my apartment over TEFL international if I had known that before.

OleLarssen says he has had positive experiences with TEFL international. Well, I guess those experiences are "old experiences." I also took the course with them because of a recommendation someone else had given me. I am also convinced that TEFL international as such is a legitimate organization and holds a good reputation all over the world. However, there were some recent changes in staff and instructors in their Manuel Antonio (or, rather, Quepos) branch. Their headquarters might not yet be aware of that (being in Thailand and thus kind of far away), but Manuel Antonio's TEFL international program does definitely not match the otherwise good reputation of the institute. I would not take their course there again as long as it were taught and supervised by this group of people. Anyway, as you are only going to be there in winter, logicpocket, you might be lucky and the staff might have changed for better until then. Hit me with a PM if you have any questions!

Cheers, Chrissi

[OleLarssen]

It was my experience, too, that the academic part of the TEFL course kind of sucked. The teachers were all right though, but as you say, almost all the staff has been recently switched out and especially losing their very professional leader (Susan) must have hurt a lot. I really enjoyed the TEFL course regardless and I got a lot from the teaching practice, which is what I primarily wanted in the first place.

[Chrissi]

Well, I enjoyed the teaching experience as well, as it showed me that teaching English in Latin America is really what I want to do within the next years. I used to teach in Austria (before doing the tefl course), and what I enjoyed most about teaching in Quepos was that people are eager to learn, they love to participate, they appreciate the chance to learn English (while in Austria, where I was mostly teaching teenagers, education was taken for granted and the students not very motivated). I had a lot of fun teaching at the church and at tefl intl.'s own class, got positive feedback from my students and got the opportunity try out many things, work with different materials, invent new games... I certainly learned how to be a creative teacher, how to establish a good relationship with my students, and how to stay calm and find a way to continue teaching in case of an unexpected problem such as a power outage.

However, the academic part of the course was definitely not worth its money, and neither would I say that the teachers were all right. Apart from not behaving professionally, we were even told some things which were simply wrong in grammar lessons (I am studying English literature and linguistics at university. I know that they were wrong. I assume that they never had to study grammar themselves, and most of my colleagues taking the course would have been able to teach a better grammar lesson than our teachers. There is no excuse for that, as we all paid a lot of money for the course.)

However, I am glad that I finally got the certificate, I loved the teaching experience, and I also gained life experience, which is always a good thing to get. But if I were to do the tefl course a second time, I would do it with a different organization (I know that Bridge Linguatec also offers Tefl courses in Manuel Antonio).

OleLarssen, I am curious... who were your teachers (maybe they are not the same as mine)? Do you teach in Costa Rica now?

[OleLarssen]

Chrissi: I was mostly taught by Eve, mostly, a Connecticut (however you spell that) girl. Grammar was taught to me by ... uh ... some girl that I can't remember the name of, she started working there permanently after I left. Rory? Maybe. I had a couple of classes with Susan as well but the overwhelming majority was Eve.

I'm currently living and working in San Jose: http://costaricaclassroom.blogspot.com

[Chrissi]

Okay, so we did not have the same teachers. Neither Eve nor Susan were working there when I took the course.

Just took a short read at Costaricaclassroom (nice page, I remember finding it when deciding on taking the tefl course in Costa Rica and having forgotten about it - thanks for reminding me of it!) and learned that you are Norwegian. Did you find it hard to find work as a non-native English speaker?

Cheers, Chrissi

[OleLarssen]

Don't even get me started on the non-native English teacher train, haha. I'm sure everyone on this board is tired as shit about hearing me rant on about how hard it sucks not being a gringo in San Jose. You can read tons about it in that blog, but since you ask so nicely ... :)

I had a way harder time finding work than my co-students from the TEFL course, that's for sure. It's not a certain thing it's because I'm not a native English speaker, but it seems like a pretty sure bet to me.

[Chrissi]

I am not a native speaker either, thus my curiosity. I don't see a problem in convincing myself or my students of my language authority and teaching skills, but rather possible employers who will only employ natives.

[OleLarssen]

Yeah, that's the trick for sure, especially if you have an accent. Depends on your background though, if you have some former experience teaching it's going to be a lot easier.