Hi EFL World!
I've just been doing some research on schools that offer properly accredited TEFL Certificates and two names that stood out from the crowd were The International TEFL Academy (ITA), and International TEFL TESOL Training (iTTT). They've both been around quite a while, and have proven track records. Actually I mentioned ITA in one of my previous posts. They may be a little more expensive than a school like English For Fun, but at least you will get a proper internationally accredited certificate. Best of all, of course, is the full blown CELTA, if you can afford it. Unfortunately, the old adage "you get what you pay for" still stands true.
If you want a job teaching in Thailand I recommend doing ITA or iTTT's online course (both are pretty cheap), and then going straight to a placement agency in Thailand, who will give you an orientation course and placement for free, because they take a direct cut from the school. Don't be conned into doing English For Fun's orientation course, particularly if you're signed up with Camp Thailand, because you'll be paying through your nose for something that should be free.
Some people have managed to get jobs in Korea using an EFF certificate, but I'd say that's just luck or poor checking by the school in Korea. Often they'll take you on the back of your teaching experience in Thailand rather than the validity of the certificate. The point is that any reports of people getting jobs there doesn't suddenly make the EFF certificate "internationally accredited" as Philip Crabb claims. It's still a junk qualification.
Good luck to all of you in the New Year !!
EFL Greg
Friday, 30 December 2016
Monday, 19 December 2016
Companies
Hi EFL World!
Following my last post when I recommended independent travel as something more meaningful than the "camp" experience, I just thought I'd build on that by pointing out some of the salient features of the companies that offer the camp packages.
It's easy for youngsters and gap year students to be deluded into thinking that these companies are some kind of extension of the education system they're coming from, and that they're full of altruists and people concerned only about their welfare. Don't get me wrong, there are undoubtedly people like that within the companies, particularly at ground level. However, that is not their raison d'etre. Don't be naive, this is the real world. They're businesses designed to make as much money out of you as they can by exploiting a niche in the market. This is almost certainly the motivation of those at the top running the company, the CEO, Managing Director or whatever.
That's why, when you look at doing one of these camps, you need to consider the possibility that you might be putting money into some fat cat's pocket (no personal reference) for something you could easily be doing for free. Take the Elephant Sanctuary. Try contacting them directly. And "island hopping" - you don't need to join a camp to do that. And any TEFL "orientation course" for a teaching job in a Thai school should be completely free. All the placement agencies do that because they take a direct cut from the school. If you do the maths and tot everything up, you'll see you're being well and truly ripped off.
That said, the camp experience can be great fun if you like being in groups or don't have the confidence to travel alone.
But think first, make sure that going to Thailand, or Cambodia for that matter, really does turn out to be the wonderful experience it should be.
Good luck,
EFL Greg
Following my last post when I recommended independent travel as something more meaningful than the "camp" experience, I just thought I'd build on that by pointing out some of the salient features of the companies that offer the camp packages.
It's easy for youngsters and gap year students to be deluded into thinking that these companies are some kind of extension of the education system they're coming from, and that they're full of altruists and people concerned only about their welfare. Don't get me wrong, there are undoubtedly people like that within the companies, particularly at ground level. However, that is not their raison d'etre. Don't be naive, this is the real world. They're businesses designed to make as much money out of you as they can by exploiting a niche in the market. This is almost certainly the motivation of those at the top running the company, the CEO, Managing Director or whatever.
That's why, when you look at doing one of these camps, you need to consider the possibility that you might be putting money into some fat cat's pocket (no personal reference) for something you could easily be doing for free. Take the Elephant Sanctuary. Try contacting them directly. And "island hopping" - you don't need to join a camp to do that. And any TEFL "orientation course" for a teaching job in a Thai school should be completely free. All the placement agencies do that because they take a direct cut from the school. If you do the maths and tot everything up, you'll see you're being well and truly ripped off.
That said, the camp experience can be great fun if you like being in groups or don't have the confidence to travel alone.
But think first, make sure that going to Thailand, or Cambodia for that matter, really does turn out to be the wonderful experience it should be.
Good luck,
EFL Greg
Friday, 18 November 2016
Latest
Hi Everyone,
Originally, I started this blog to review all camps in Thailand. However, we've only received reviews about Camp Thailand. This strongly suggests that Camp Thailand are the market leaders. Nevertheless, as you know from previous posts, there has been quite a lot of negative feedback, such that I myself have recommending boycotting it until further notice. I also commented on a student forum https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4121707#primary_content So how should you potential campers respond to this?
Firstly, it's important to know that most of the experiences offered by the camp can be got independently, at a mere fraction of the cost. There's nothing to stop you going to any of these elephant camps, etc, under your own steam and experiencing them at your own leisure. Having your own freedom is one of the joys of travelling. The camp experience offers a certain amount of security together with the big group experience. For example, you're sure to make new friends and meet interesting people. But is it worth spending close on £1,000 on this, particularly as the TEFL aspect is so suspect?
Our advice, if you're having second thoughts, is to team up with a group of friends and travel independently. Don't be frightened of travelling in SE Asia. It's one of the safest places in the world if you're careful and follow sensible, common sense precautions. It can also be so much more exciting and rewarding to experience a developing country in a freewheeling kind of way, rather than the packaged version the camps will give you.
If you want to teach in a school, just an online course will be enough. Just go round to any school and offer your services for free or something minimal and there's a really good chance they'll take you on. If you want to teach for several months or a whole year, go direct to a well established placement agency, who should place you for free. Schools like English For Fun and Island TEFL, etc are exploiting your lack of knowledge to make a financial killing. Don't be conned.
Be a real traveller! Good luck.
EFL Greg
Originally, I started this blog to review all camps in Thailand. However, we've only received reviews about Camp Thailand. This strongly suggests that Camp Thailand are the market leaders. Nevertheless, as you know from previous posts, there has been quite a lot of negative feedback, such that I myself have recommending boycotting it until further notice. I also commented on a student forum https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4121707#primary_content So how should you potential campers respond to this?
Firstly, it's important to know that most of the experiences offered by the camp can be got independently, at a mere fraction of the cost. There's nothing to stop you going to any of these elephant camps, etc, under your own steam and experiencing them at your own leisure. Having your own freedom is one of the joys of travelling. The camp experience offers a certain amount of security together with the big group experience. For example, you're sure to make new friends and meet interesting people. But is it worth spending close on £1,000 on this, particularly as the TEFL aspect is so suspect?
Our advice, if you're having second thoughts, is to team up with a group of friends and travel independently. Don't be frightened of travelling in SE Asia. It's one of the safest places in the world if you're careful and follow sensible, common sense precautions. It can also be so much more exciting and rewarding to experience a developing country in a freewheeling kind of way, rather than the packaged version the camps will give you.
If you want to teach in a school, just an online course will be enough. Just go round to any school and offer your services for free or something minimal and there's a really good chance they'll take you on. If you want to teach for several months or a whole year, go direct to a well established placement agency, who should place you for free. Schools like English For Fun and Island TEFL, etc are exploiting your lack of knowledge to make a financial killing. Don't be conned.
Be a real traveller! Good luck.
EFL Greg
Links to Other Sites
Hi Campers,
I was just googling around for useful looking websites and found this one. This is the link to a page from the International TEFL Academy. I don't honestly know how good their courses are, but their advice for assessing whether a course meets the standard or not is spot on.
Start with this one https://www.internationalteflacademy.com/faq/bid/109035/5-Key-Tips-to-Help-You-Pick-the-Right-TEFL-Certification-Course-and-Not-Get-Ripped-Off and then follow their other links.
Here are the links to some of the various sites of Camp Thailand we've mentioned or reviewed so far in this blog:
https://www.americamp.co.uk/programmes/camp-thailand/
https://summercampthailand.com/
http://www.englishcampsthailand.com/
Some of them lead you to the same place.
Always remember to research thoroughly before committing your hard earned cash anywhere!
EFL Greg
I was just googling around for useful looking websites and found this one. This is the link to a page from the International TEFL Academy. I don't honestly know how good their courses are, but their advice for assessing whether a course meets the standard or not is spot on.
Start with this one https://www.internationalteflacademy.com/faq/bid/109035/5-Key-Tips-to-Help-You-Pick-the-Right-TEFL-Certification-Course-and-Not-Get-Ripped-Off and then follow their other links.
Here are the links to some of the various sites of Camp Thailand we've mentioned or reviewed so far in this blog:
https://www.americamp.co.uk/programmes/camp-thailand/
https://summercampthailand.com/
http://www.englishcampsthailand.com/
Some of them lead you to the same place.
Always remember to research thoroughly before committing your hard earned cash anywhere!
EFL Greg
Wednesday, 12 October 2016
Camp Thailand Review
Hi, EFL Greg here!
We've had quite a few reviews of Camp Thailand now, with a mixed bag of reports. Everyone seems pretty agreed that the activity part of the camp, i.e. the excursions and elephant trips, as well as even the live teaching in the schools, is pretty well set up, and has been a positive experience for most campers. Most of this is directly under the control of Americamp, who seem to be providing a reasonably genuine service.
However, it's the TEFL side of Camp Thailand that is seriously suspect. This is run by Philip Crabb together with his Thai wife, and we've had several reports of unacceptable course standards and severe bias in the treatment of students. See the comments on the Camp Thailand post. In addition, it has now been conclusively proved that the TEFL certificate issued by EFF (English For Fun, formerly Island TEFL) is wholly unaccredited, and is basically a junk qualification.
From the reviews we've received, Philip Crabb, formerly Philip Dunne, seems to be running the place like a dictator, ruling by fear. Anyone who causes him any kind of problem quickly gets removed from the Camp, whether it be a a student or an employee. There are no refunds incidentally. The most disturbing incident, however, occurred just recently when he or his wife actually had some of the Thai workers pull out a gun on some of the girl students just because they weren't using the camp's own taxi and were liaising with a former teacher and employee banned by Philip. We cannot verify this independently. However, we've heard about this incident from two separate sources. So it needs to be taken seriously. It's possible Camp Thailand is even paying off the police. The incident was apparently quickly hushed up by both Americamp and Camp Thailand.
So because of the atmosphere of fear that Philip Crabb specialises in creating and the sub-standard courses he is fraudulently offering, we're recommending that prospective campers vote with their feet and boycott Camp Thailand until such time as Americamp have dealt properly with the situation and brought Philip Crabb to heel. Anyone who knows anything more about any of the above should come forward and post.
It's always important to remember that in developing countries like Thailand, and even more so Cambodia, law enforcement is weak. In fact, corruption is rampant, particularly within the police force. So don't expect that you will automatically get justice in the event of any criminal or illegal action inflicted upon you.
Always be careful when committing yourself and putting yourself in the hands of people you don't know, particularly when travelling alone to a developing country.
Good luck with whatever camp you finally decide on.
Greg
Thursday, 30 June 2016
Accreditation
EFL Greg again!
So your TEFL certificate's going to be "internationally accredited", is it? It's easy for any course provider to make a claim like that, but is it really true? First of all, it's unlikely that a course that advertises itself as half fun on the beach and half study is likely to meet international standards. Also, if it has almost zero training with real Thai students, again it's coming up short by international standards. Most importantly, though, any truly accredited course will have an external assessment by that accrediting body at the end of the course. For example, your last teaching session should be observed by someone external to the school you're paying fees to. Everyone knows this is the case with the CELTA and Trinity qualifications. If a school makes it look easy, they're almost certainly duping you. They're making a false claim as a means to acquiring your hard earned money.
A great example of this is English For Fun's (formerly Island TEFL) claim to be accredited by the University of San Diego. Our review committee recently contacted USD directly, and they confirmed that they do not accredit Island TEFL. Nevertheless, the claim is still clearly there on the Island TEFL website and the English For Fun log-in page. And, remember, these are the same people who will be running Camp Thailand.
So we advise all prospective EFL trainee students to research the academic credentials of the school. The best way is simply to contact the accrediting organisation directly.
Good luck with your hunt.
EFL Greg
So your TEFL certificate's going to be "internationally accredited", is it? It's easy for any course provider to make a claim like that, but is it really true? First of all, it's unlikely that a course that advertises itself as half fun on the beach and half study is likely to meet international standards. Also, if it has almost zero training with real Thai students, again it's coming up short by international standards. Most importantly, though, any truly accredited course will have an external assessment by that accrediting body at the end of the course. For example, your last teaching session should be observed by someone external to the school you're paying fees to. Everyone knows this is the case with the CELTA and Trinity qualifications. If a school makes it look easy, they're almost certainly duping you. They're making a false claim as a means to acquiring your hard earned money.
A great example of this is English For Fun's (formerly Island TEFL) claim to be accredited by the University of San Diego. Our review committee recently contacted USD directly, and they confirmed that they do not accredit Island TEFL. Nevertheless, the claim is still clearly there on the Island TEFL website and the English For Fun log-in page. And, remember, these are the same people who will be running Camp Thailand.
So we advise all prospective EFL trainee students to research the academic credentials of the school. The best way is simply to contact the accrediting organisation directly.
Good luck with your hunt.
EFL Greg
Monday, 6 June 2016
Locations and Addresses
EFL Greg again!
One very important thing to check out when you book your camp is whether there will be any recourse in the event of dissatisfaction. Remember, you'll be handing over a fairly large sum of money. So what if the camp or course comes up short in any way? Will you be able to get a refund, etc?
First, always check the terms and conditions of the company. If they seem unreasonably harsh, that's probably a warning sign. The other important factor is whether or not they have an address in the UK or the USA. If you're trying to claim in a developing country, like Cambodia or Thailand, there's a good chance you'll just get brushed off. That's why it's essential that any camp has a proper address in a fully developed country, i.e. a country with a properly working legal system.
Recently, we made enquiries to Americamp about Camp Thailand, because Camp Thailand gives Americamp's Manchester address as their own. So we asked Americamp if they guaranteed courses in Thailand in the event of any dissatisfaction. Initially, they claimed that all applicants were vetted in Manchester and that they had representatives in Thailand. However, when we applied to Camp Thailand, we were offered an Island TEFL course instead, with none of the camp experience frills, and there was certainly no mention of Americamp representatives. So we probed a bit further, but Americamp then went silent on us and we heard no more from them, even though they said their CEO herself would reply.
So to us that sounds highly dubious. The courses actually run directly by Americamp are almost certainly fine, but any of the camps in developing countries, such as Thailand or Cambodia, for example, are wholly unguaranteed. You may have a good experience, but, on the other hand, you could equally easily find yourself seriously short changed.
So do check this kind of thing out. Never make assumptions!
Happy course hunting,
Greg
One very important thing to check out when you book your camp is whether there will be any recourse in the event of dissatisfaction. Remember, you'll be handing over a fairly large sum of money. So what if the camp or course comes up short in any way? Will you be able to get a refund, etc?
First, always check the terms and conditions of the company. If they seem unreasonably harsh, that's probably a warning sign. The other important factor is whether or not they have an address in the UK or the USA. If you're trying to claim in a developing country, like Cambodia or Thailand, there's a good chance you'll just get brushed off. That's why it's essential that any camp has a proper address in a fully developed country, i.e. a country with a properly working legal system.
Recently, we made enquiries to Americamp about Camp Thailand, because Camp Thailand gives Americamp's Manchester address as their own. So we asked Americamp if they guaranteed courses in Thailand in the event of any dissatisfaction. Initially, they claimed that all applicants were vetted in Manchester and that they had representatives in Thailand. However, when we applied to Camp Thailand, we were offered an Island TEFL course instead, with none of the camp experience frills, and there was certainly no mention of Americamp representatives. So we probed a bit further, but Americamp then went silent on us and we heard no more from them, even though they said their CEO herself would reply.
So to us that sounds highly dubious. The courses actually run directly by Americamp are almost certainly fine, but any of the camps in developing countries, such as Thailand or Cambodia, for example, are wholly unguaranteed. You may have a good experience, but, on the other hand, you could equally easily find yourself seriously short changed.
So do check this kind of thing out. Never make assumptions!
Happy course hunting,
Greg
Wednesday, 27 January 2016
Camp Thailand
We have received quite a few reviews and comments on Camp Thailand, which seems to be based in Surin, but also with camps in Phuket and Chiang Mai. It also has the backing of Americamp, which is certainly superficially a plus. However, it's unclear whether Camp Thailand is a franchise or a company in its own right. The man running it is Philip Crabb (click here). Interestingly, Philip Crabb is the same man as Philip Dunne, who used to run Island TEFL, and the Camp Thailand courses are basically the same as the Island TEFL ones. As one would expect, the website is very impressive, with lots of bells and whistles - and, of course, testimonials. But always beware of testimonials. No company is going to give any kind of negative report about itself. It's also very easy for companies to massage testimonials on their own and other sites (e.g. GoAbroad) by giving students an incentive to post a review. That could be in the form of a discount or a pass or a special position. To get an idea of the kind of standards to expect from Camp Thailand and some of its early history, simply google "Island TEFL Review" and a good mix of reports will come up.
Do check out the other posts on this blog too. Just click on the blog title in big letters right at the top to get to the latest post. Read particularly the posts about accreditation and pricing. Finally, and importantly, read the comments below.
Good luck with your search for a good summer camp.
Greg
Do check out the other posts on this blog too. Just click on the blog title in big letters right at the top to get to the latest post. Read particularly the posts about accreditation and pricing. Finally, and importantly, read the comments below.
Good luck with your search for a good summer camp.
Greg
Wednesday, 20 January 2016
Camps in Thailand
Hi EFL World!
A new trend has been developing recently in the EFL world, and that is the summer camp as a way of combining EFL training, practice and adventure activities all in one package. It's certainly a great idea and very attractive to youngsters today, particularly gap year students. So, as there are quite a few of them, we thought it might be a good idea to have a site committed specifically to reviewing these camps. Often testimonials on the websites themselves are massaged up and don't give a properly objective overview. Hopefully, through this site prospective students or trainees can get a clearer idea of what to expect, and will be better informed when making a decision or choice.
Please submit reviews to our email address (below) and we will post it if it meets our criteria, which are as follows:
1. Please be specific with regard to the name of the camp, as many of them have similar sounding names, many of them almost generic in nature.
2. State clearly when and where you attended.
3. Who ran the course?
4. Did you feel it represented good value for money?
5. Did you actually receive everything that was advertised? If not, what?
6. What was the customer service like? Did they help you overcome difficulties?
7. Describe the main features, positive and/or negative.
8. Please be objective. Make sure you can support any negative comments, and please don't degenerate into using abusive language.
I hope we can get a good mix of comments about a variety of camps.
Look forward to your responses.
Greg Watson
Secretary,
Camps in Thailand Review Committee
gregeflwatson@gmail.com
A new trend has been developing recently in the EFL world, and that is the summer camp as a way of combining EFL training, practice and adventure activities all in one package. It's certainly a great idea and very attractive to youngsters today, particularly gap year students. So, as there are quite a few of them, we thought it might be a good idea to have a site committed specifically to reviewing these camps. Often testimonials on the websites themselves are massaged up and don't give a properly objective overview. Hopefully, through this site prospective students or trainees can get a clearer idea of what to expect, and will be better informed when making a decision or choice.
Please submit reviews to our email address (below) and we will post it if it meets our criteria, which are as follows:
1. Please be specific with regard to the name of the camp, as many of them have similar sounding names, many of them almost generic in nature.
2. State clearly when and where you attended.
3. Who ran the course?
4. Did you feel it represented good value for money?
5. Did you actually receive everything that was advertised? If not, what?
6. What was the customer service like? Did they help you overcome difficulties?
7. Describe the main features, positive and/or negative.
8. Please be objective. Make sure you can support any negative comments, and please don't degenerate into using abusive language.
I hope we can get a good mix of comments about a variety of camps.
Look forward to your responses.
Greg Watson
Secretary,
Camps in Thailand Review Committee
gregeflwatson@gmail.com
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