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FAQ
TEFL International acknowledges the fact that you will have a lot of
questions and apprehensions regarding the courses, accommodation,
location, job prospects, visa formalities etc. before you sign up for
the TEFL/ TESOL course. We are ready to answer any query that you have.
Most of the FAQ list below should answer your questions but incase you
have something specific please feel free to either call us
at: 1-213-233-9440 (USA). Or write to us at:
admin@bestteflcourses.com. The TEFL
International help desk is online 24X7 for you.
1. What is
the difference between TESOL and TEFL?
2. There are so many teacher-training courses
advertised. How do I know which to apply for?
3. I've heard that these courses are really tough. Can I really make it
through?
4. What is the difference between the TEFL International TESOL
Certificate, the Trinity TESOL certificate and the Cambridge/RSA
Certificate (CELTA)?
5. Why
should I take a TEFL International course?
6. What are the requirements for getting on to the
Certificate course? How do I know if I am suitable? What kind of people
will be on the course besides myself? Am I too old? What is the success
rate and how many people fail?
7. Do I need
knowledge of other languages?
8. Is there an
age limit?
9. When is the best
time to do a course?
10. What are the chances of finding a job after the course? Does TEFL
International help with this?
1. What is
the difference between TESOL and TEFL?
For all intents and purposes the terms mean the same with TESOL being
more common in America and with large state sector colleges in Britain
(e.g. the Institute of Education in London) while TEFL is more common in
U.K. Language Schools and in the U.K. press. There is a slight technical
difference since TESOL refers to all learners whose first language is
not English, including ethnic minorities living in this country whereas
TEFL refers only to "foreign" students. Potentially, therefore, a TESOL
course encompasses more than a more narrowly defined TEFL course.
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2. There are so many teacher-training courses advertised. How do I know
which to apply for?
There are many good schools out there. Many are professionally managed
and have qualified, competent teachers. Unfortunately, there is no law
to prevent anyone from setting up as a teacher-training center and there
is nothing to prevent you from being "ripped off" by a company offering
so-called recognized certificates or diplomas.
Moreover, there are many organizations offering one or two week
introductory courses perhaps with the offer of job placements
afterwards. These certainly give you a "taster" of TESOL/TEFL and some
of these are very professionally conducted courses but what have you got
at the end? If you seriously want to become an ESOL/EFL teacher and look
for different job opportunities, you are going to need a recognized
Certificate qualification validated by an external examination board.
TEFL International is externally validated and moderated by a Board of
Academic Advisors. This board includes several internationally
recognized experts in the field of English Teaching as well as dozens of
local English School managers around the world. TEFL International also
voluntarily complies with the standards of the British Association of
TESOL Qualifying Institutions (BATQI).
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3. I've heard that these courses are really tough. Can I really make it
through?
There is no way around it. These courses all contain a great deal of
content in only four weeks. Yet the educational philosophy of those
providing the course can make a huge difference. We believe in a
mentoring, nurturing environment. We do everything within our power to
ensure that everyone passes our course, otherwise why accept them onto
the course in the first place?.
Similarly, TEFL International courses encourage all native English
speakers (or those with near-native abilities) to attend. Our trainers
would never discriminate against North Americans, Australians, or
British because of different pronunciations or slightly different
grammar. All are equally welcome.
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4. What is the difference between the TEFL International TESOL
Certificate, the Trinity TESOL certificate and the Cambridge/RSA
Certificate (CELTA)?
TEFL International began as a Trinity course, and was one of the largest
and most popular Trinity courses until December of 1999. As a result,
the course content of the Trinity and TEFL International courses are
quite similar.
Most importantly, all three are monitored by external examiners that
visit each course at least once during each course. These external
moderators set these three certificate courses apart from all others.
However, there are a few areas in which we feel the TEFL International
certificate and the Trinity College London certificate course hold an
advantage. The UCLES/RSA Certificate is specifically designed for
teaching groups of adults (hence the "A" at the end of "CELTA"). On the
other hand, the TEFL International and the Trinity College Certificate
provide for the teaching of younger learners as well as adults;
one-to-one students as well as groups/classes of students.
In summary, the TEFL International course gives you the following
benefits: one-to-one meetings with learners of English as well as with
full classes;
experience being a learner of an unfamiliar language in order to make
you think about the problems of teaching beginners; the opportunity to
create your own teaching material as a form of practical project which
you can take away and use in your future teaching career; experience
with younger learners as well as with adults (in some of the sessions).
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5. Why should
I take a TEFL International course?
There are several reasons why you should take the TEFL International
TESOL certificate course:
TEFL International trainers make every effort to get you through the
TESOL certificate course.
The TEFL International certificate is an international certificate,
accepted worldwide.
TEFL International courses conveniently include course fees and
accommodations into one very affordable package. And by taking the
course in exotic locations, you have a great advantage in finding jobs
in those same exotic locals!
TEFL International is much more involved in your job search than other
centers are. Our Alumni Job Page gives you direct access to hundreds of
course alumni-teachers currently teaching in schools from Thailand to
Turkey! Each center is an area expert, with extensive contacts within
the country. And we even offer our own "Job Offered" web page!
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6. What are the requirements for getting on to the Certificate course?
How do I know if I am suitable? What kind of people will be on the
course besides myself? Am I too old? What is the success rate and how
many people fail?
A lot of questions but all interrelated. We find that courses tend to be
taken up by a "mixed bag" of people. For example, we get a lot of people
in their early twenties who are recent graduates and want to travel
overseas but we also have people in their thirties and forties who
either want a career switch, have been made redundant or are moving
overseas with their spouse. In addition, we have people either
approaching or in retirement and who are looking for something to do in
their free time or who have got property on the continent to which they
are going to move. Finally, we sometimes have people from other English
speaking countries on our courses as well as good non-native speakers
from other countries. We had one course where we had a twenty-year-old,
a seventy-five year old and two course members from Hungary!
As far as entrance requirements are concerned, if you are to be a
teacher of English, a high standard of both spoken and written English
is demanded. By this is meant your use of English, not necessarily your
knowledge of grammatical terminology: you will be given an introduction
to language awareness on the course itself.
As the four week course is very intensive, you should be prepared to
work very hard indeed, have no other distractions, and be
mentally/emotionally completely fit and well, including having no
current domestic worries. You should also be presentable in appearance.
If you are a person of "more mature years" or a senior citizen, do not
let this in itself put you off from applying. Providing you are
receptive to training you should have no problems. If, however, you are
rigid in your ways of thinking and are unwilling to shake off past ways
of thinking and behavior, you may have a problem. For instance, we have
reluctantly had to fail some experienced teachers and lecturers! On the
other hand, our greatest "star" was a retired head teacher - an
extremely broad-minded one.
The last examples concern people who have taught before. If you have
never taught before, you are "an empty vessel" as far as teaching is
concerned and are not "carrying around any baggage"; you may ironically
be at an advantage.
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7. Do I need
knowledge of other languages?
No you do not. TEFL International uses the international standard
communicative approach to teaching, where English is the only language
used in the classroom.
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8. Is there
an age limit?
Whilst there is no official upper age limit, you must be at least 19
years of age for your application to be considered. We have successfully
trained (and found employment for) graduates of all ages.
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9. When is the best
time to do a course?
There is really no best or worst time. Jobs are available year round
with academic terms varying from continent to continent.
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10. What are the chances of finding a job after the course? Does TEFL
International help with this?
The chances of finding a job after the course are excellent. Most of our
trainees have received a number of interview and job offers before they
graduate! TEFL International will assist at all stages of the job search
from putting a CV/resume together to interview techniques to arranging
interviews. TEFL International has many contacts worldwide who approach
us with suitable job vacancies and we even have our own job page on this
web-site!!
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It is a very compact experience. Extensive learning but
fun. A great experience with TEFL International and very
helpful to find placement
