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

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

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