hug46 said:
DoingKermit said:
My friend is doing the TEFL course and he says it is REALLY difficult.
Good luck!
I have had a few friends do it successfully and one of the friends doesn"t happen to be the crispiest biscuit in the tin, so it is do-able. Application to the task is required. All of them did say it was very intensive. I think i would save up and do it in-house at a college rather than on-line. If i had to pay for it i"d try to make damn sure that i passed, i am too tight fisted with my cash to throw it away.
@ Nitegazer i wish you all the best with your 5 year plan, it sounds like a plan!:thumb_up:
I done the online course and it was pretty intense, I done tefl not celta which is a difference of around $6-700 roughly. Difference being you get 4 or 5 hours teaching real students and 4 weeks in a classroom with the CELTA, with the TEFL its 100 hours work online and a 2 day course with a trainer and other TEFL students. The 100 hours took a lot longer than 100 hours, I was working full time so I done it over the course of 6 months, if I wasnt working I probably could have done it in 3 months.
Its stood me in good stead but I forget most of the units, the most valuable part was the lesson planning units and the resources I got from it. But nothing can prepare you for going into a class for the first time and being told to do what you like :shock: I learned how to teach English by teaching English, I have friends who done the celta and they said it was a waste of money but coupled with a degree (which I dont have) your going to get a better paying job and could work in Europe but a lot of people here in Vietnam dont even have a tefl never mind a degree, it stands you in good stead but it isn't always necessary.
For example some high paying schools in Vietnam only accept the celta certificate that they themselves sell to you, money making scams and thats what most Language centres are as well, a lot of them just want a white face. One terrible school said to my american friend go stand at the window you dont have a class, hes like why?? They said marketing

So people walk by and go look white men teaching English, he told them im not standing at the bloody window for marketing, too funny.
So the CELTA really may be a waste of money to be honest, it depends where you want to go in the world, if its china or many asian country's or some south american countries you really don't need it. I can get a job just now $1500 a month 20 hours class time, accommodation and food in China, they are screaming out for them there, my friend is doing it for 6 months save his money, which is easy, then back to the warm countries.
Its a great rewarding job, great laugh. Best leap I ever made but like others I tend to go from one thing to the next, my goal is to learn the language and im sure that will open doors as like anything Im sure you could get bored, some of my classes are pretty tiring, standing in a class of 50 teenagers trying to keep them quite and its 38 degrees. Luckily those classes are only occasional but its good to teach all different kinds of classes, real money is in private tutoring which ive just started which is so easy, they come to you for a few hours you just dress normally teach a bit and get paid a lot more :thumb_up: