Friday 30 December 2016

TEFL certificates

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

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