Is This A Good Way To Get Tefl Certified?

[mko]

Hi, I'm new here. I hope this post is okay. I'm really anxious to get some advice.

I'm hoping to move to Thailand soon to teach English. I'm considering paying an organization that assits people with obtaining tefl certifications, jobs abroad, and international volunteer placements. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to name the organization here.

Basically, I would pay the organization $500 USD. For that I would get the four-week tefl course in Ban Phe, a four-month teaching contract and I would be living rent-free in Thailand. The organization normally charges over $1500 USD for this type of thing, and I'm not sure what the catch is, besides that fact that I would need to pick up and leave by next month.

Does this sound like a good idea? I know the organization is quite reputable. I'm not too worried about that. I'm just wondering if I should take advantage of this special deal they're running, or if I should wait and find another way to do this.

(I'm a 26-year-old American with a University degree, if that matters in all this).

Thanks!

[Ijustwannateach]

Maybe you should call and ask "the organisation" these questions for yourself and see what they have to say about it first? You're probably right to wonder, but maybe your answers can come from the horses' mouth- would make sense, right?

[mko]

Well, yeah, I've been speaking to them. Of course they only have positive things to say about it though, since they're the ones who profit from sending people out on these particular types of teaching assignments. I'm not really too skeptical. I was just thinking it would be good to hear opinions from people who have actually done this type of thing. Thanks for your response.

[johnnyk]

Short answer is NO.

Do a course on your own. CELTA (Cambridge) is recommended as world standard but you need a bachelor's degree and its VERY hard. It takes a month and you can do it in BKK cheaper than in the western world, used to be about $1200.

You do not need to pay anyone to get you a teaching gig in Asia.

Only fools and dweebs do this and often find themselves bound hand and foot. Oh, its a discount price...someone is making money off it and off you.

Think about if you pay - how do you know what you are getting?

Its vital to visit schools, see the setup, meet staff privately and ask questions, feel the vibe, know the location, check out the teaching resources and ask ask ask more questions. Rent free? How do you know if your room will have a window and a toilet that's more than a hole in the floor?

You can't do that by sending a cheque from offshore.

I would not trust much I saw on the net re: teaching English.

[mko]

Well I would hate to be placed in the dweeb/fool category. I believe "the organization" is headquartered in the UK and I didn't find out about it on the net, but I supposed I should explore some other options...

Is there a big difference between CELTA and a TESOL certificate from the TEFL International school in Ban Phe? Sorry for the stupid questions...I'm quite new to all this...

[kayo]

mko, hi and welcome to the forum. I'm a few years out of thailand though i hope what I type helps.

when I was living in Kanchanburi a couple of years back, i met a lovely english lass who recounted, more or less to the word, the following:

"I had come to Thailand last year (2002) and loved it so much, I couldn't wait to come back. So when I was in rainy old England, I came across an ad for a TEFL course for a month in Thailand, where they would accomodate me, and provide me with work, thereafter. I immediately booked it and didn't think anything of the really cheap price other than 'well, everything is cheaper in Thailand'.

Within weeks I was back in this country I loved so much!

When I got there, I took the course almost straight away. It was alright. Been taught better, but also worse, and then they got me a job teaching for 25,000 baht a month.

Thing is, though, that the organisation then proceeded to take from my pay packet (prior to actual pay -arranged with the school) half (180POUNDS!!!) for ten months. Which meant I had f-all money left to do anything except live a very basic lifestyle and I never had the cash to visit Kanchanaburi and stay in hotels and so on and so forth...

She was answering my question as to why i had never met her after all this time in country, sweet pillow talk, but that's besides the point.

The organisation (don't know which) was basically making up the discount from the monthly paypackets afterwards... and the girl wasn't able to really be happy for ten months or more. (she later went on to some really good teaching jobs in Thailand though, independantly.

[PeaceBlondie]

Welcome to the forum, mko. For a bit more - $806 - you could take a course in Chiang Mai from our forum sponsor, SEE (see banner, above). If you have to be on the beach, wait until you get your TEFL course finished, and choose a job at or near a beach. A course and a job are two separate things - there's no need to tie yourself into an employment contract now, when teachers with proper degrees and TEFL certs are in short supply and big demand.

The CELTA in BKK is advertised at $1,400 (US$), and I found Chiang Mai to be a great place to take a TEFL course.

Good luck, mko.

[mko]

Thanks for the responses. I didn't even consider that the organization that places me will likely take some of my salary (but duh, that does make sense ).

I'll look into that course in Chiang Mai.

[stament]

Welcome to the forum, mko. For a bit more - $806 - you could take a course in Chiang Mai from our forum sponsor, SEE (see banner, above). If you have to be on the beach, wait until you get your TEFL course finished, and choose a job at or near a beach. A course and a job are two separate things - there's no need to tie yourself into an employment contract now, when teachers with proper degrees and TEFL certs are in short supply and big demand.

The CELTA in BKK is advertised at $1,400 (US$), and I found Chiang Mai to be a great place to take a TEFL course.

Good luck, mko.

I second that. I recently did a course at SEE and thoroughly recommend them. Send an email to John Quinn the senior lecturer - he's very helpful.