Hi Campers,
We've noticed that a new camp has started to emerge in recent weeks. It's Gap Odyssey Phuket. It also has branches in Buriram and Cha Am. It already has both a website http://www.gapodyssey.com/ and a Facebook page. Rest assured, this is simply another incarnation of Philip Crabb's Island TEFL or Camp Thailand. So be warned, you can expect exactly the same kind of standards as per those two schools.
It's currently asking for $1,499 for the camp, including a "free" TEFL course, normally valued at $495. In our opinion, this is a total rip-off, an absolutely ridiculous amount of money to pay. As mentioned in our previous posts, the English For Fun TEFL course is worth about $100 at most. It's fully unaccredited and is usually taught by any teacher who happens to be around at the time. They also seem to have teamed up with ITA in some way. The exact connection is unclear, but, in out opinion, it reflects badly on ITA and devalues their credibility in the market.
There may be excursions and teaching in a school, etc, but is it worth spending that kind of money on? Again, as mentioned before, you can do almost all the activities offered off your own bat at a mere fraction of the cost.
We're strongly recommending potential campers to avoid this outfit altogether.
Happy holidays,
EFL Greg
Showing posts with label EFF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EFF. Show all posts
Thursday, 9 November 2017
Friday, 3 February 2017
Go Abroad
Hi Campers!
We've noticed that a lot of very good reviews for Camp Thailand have been posted on GoAbroad. That's good news and I'm sure most of them are completely genuine. However, there are a couple of things you need to be aware of. A company can often get customers to review positively by offering an incentive. In this case it could be something like a discount or a good grade or a placement. The reason we think this might be the case here is because suddenly a whole bunch of reviews went up at the beginning of January. That plus Philip Crabb's reputation for threatening people he think might say something negative.
So let's quickly review the main positives and negatives of Camp Thailand.
Positives:
Terrific group experience and camp atmosphere. Easy to make friends.
Interesting expeditions and activities, e.g. elephant sanctuary, etc.
Meaningful experience teaching to Thai children.
Helpful and creative Americamp reps, e.g. Dean.
Negatives:
Unaccredited TEFL certificate. Basically a junk qualification. Placements should be free too.
Over-priced. Most activities can be done independently at fraction of cost.
Rigid structure and subordination to the tyrannical Philip Crabb (formerly Philip Dunne of Island TEFL).
Also, remember that, although you may be working as a volunteer when you teach in the Thai schools, Americamp and Camp Thailand are making a mint out of the whole thing. Just do the maths, work out how much you pay and how many campers there are. You'll quickly get an idea of the kind of money involved.
Good luck. Hope you make the choice that's right for you!
EFL Greg
We've noticed that a lot of very good reviews for Camp Thailand have been posted on GoAbroad. That's good news and I'm sure most of them are completely genuine. However, there are a couple of things you need to be aware of. A company can often get customers to review positively by offering an incentive. In this case it could be something like a discount or a good grade or a placement. The reason we think this might be the case here is because suddenly a whole bunch of reviews went up at the beginning of January. That plus Philip Crabb's reputation for threatening people he think might say something negative.
So let's quickly review the main positives and negatives of Camp Thailand.
Positives:
Terrific group experience and camp atmosphere. Easy to make friends.
Interesting expeditions and activities, e.g. elephant sanctuary, etc.
Meaningful experience teaching to Thai children.
Helpful and creative Americamp reps, e.g. Dean.
Negatives:
Unaccredited TEFL certificate. Basically a junk qualification. Placements should be free too.
Over-priced. Most activities can be done independently at fraction of cost.
Rigid structure and subordination to the tyrannical Philip Crabb (formerly Philip Dunne of Island TEFL).
Also, remember that, although you may be working as a volunteer when you teach in the Thai schools, Americamp and Camp Thailand are making a mint out of the whole thing. Just do the maths, work out how much you pay and how many campers there are. You'll quickly get an idea of the kind of money involved.
Good luck. Hope you make the choice that's right for you!
EFL Greg
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
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
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
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
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