Is TEFL for you?

Want to know if TEFL is for you?  The CareerSteer website has developed a test to see if you could teach English as a Foreign Language.  Answer six questions and you’ll be presented with an integrated report detailing exactly why you are or are not ready for a career in TEFL.

Have a go and tell us what you think with a comment below…

If you’re thinking about getting qualified in TEFL this year and want to know what a TEFL training course is really like, follow one of our TEFL course diaries.

There are currently 8 trainees on classroom-based and online courses around the world, keeping day-to-day accounts of their TEFL course experiences.

You can subscribe to the diaries by email or RSS, to keep up to date with the latest posts. These are the courses our current diarists are writing about…

• Long distance TEFL
• CELTA, International Training Institute, Istanbul, Turkey
• Midwest teacher Training Program, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
• Second Language Acquisition online course
• CELTA 2, Hounslow, UK
• Distance Learning TESOL
• Training Link Online TESOL course

If you’re taking a course this year and would like to enter the competition, you could win £400! Have a look here for more information.

I read a couple of blog posts this week by people just finishing studying intensively for a CELTA course. Both of them, it seems, came down with a bad cold a day or two after finishing the course. This is nothing new, I know - 4 weeks of intense pressure followed by a big come-down, sickness is almost inevitable.

So, do we need this pressure to prepare us for life as TEFL teachers, or should more course providers offer less intensive courses, giving trainees more time to reflect on and assimilate what they’ve learnt? Post a comment below…

Why not study for your TEFL certificate in Thailand?

Text and Talk Academy’s 120 hour, fully accredited course in Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya and Chiangmai is currently being offered with a 25% discount to “fully cover the cost of all reasonable living expenses while you are in training”.

The “TEFL for Target Learner Groups course” runs for 6 weeks, with classes from Monday to Thursday each week, giving you Friday and the weekend to enjoy the sights of Thailand!

The fully accredited course also includes a 24-hour Thai language course, free of charge!

If this sounds like the course for you, have a look at all of the other benefits and reasons for taking the course on Text and Talk’s comprehensive website.

TEFL weekend, “The Original Campus Based Teacher Organization!”, offer 2 day, 3 week, 4 week and online TEFL certification courses in locations across the USA and South America. In their own words, TEFL weekend “inspires international living and global education in order to give students, teachers, and those interested in living abroad a great course for an affordable price.”

The next scheduled weekend courses in the US are September 2 and 3 in Burlington, Vermont, September 9 and 10 in New York City, and Sptember 23 and 24 in Chicago.

Their main location in South America is Buenos Aires, Argentina, where they offer a 4 week course. For more information about TEFL weekend’s wide range of courses and options, visit the TEFL weekend site.

Want to learn to teach TEFL in Buenos Aires? Here’s what EBC say about their TEFL course…“Come and study with EBC in Buenos Aires. The only officially accredited TEFL training course in Buenos Aires with an unrivalled job placement assistance programme.EBC has trained and placed over 1,000 students.We at EBC know that job worries are always there but we can emphatically state that so far, everyone that has wanted to get teaching work after finishing our course has done so regardless of what passport they hold. It is quite normal to be interviewing and working within about a week of finishing the course.”

Want to learn to teach in the Czech Republic? This week’s featured TEFL course is from INTESOL Prague…“INTESOL Prague offers fully accredited Onsite and Online TEFL courses.Some of the things that distinguish us are:- Lifetime Job Guidance for every student- Our own language school our graduates can end up working at- We are part of the worldwide TEFL-training network INTESOL International- Our courses are accredited and qualifications accepted all over the world- Housing service- Airport pick-up service and tour of the city”

This week’s featured TEFL course is IslandTEFL in Koh Samui, Thailand…

The emphasis of IslandTEFL’s 4-week course and packages is on the practical aspect of teaching. We provide 10 hours of observed teaching practice during the course. This more than exceeds the usual 6 hours offered by most other providers, and will maximise your employment prospects once graduated.

Package A: 4-week certified TEFL course;

Package B: 4-week certified TEFL course PLUS 2-month volunteer placement on Koh Samui;

Package C: 4-week TEFL course PLUS 6- or 12-month paid teaching placement in Bangkok.

This week’s course is the ICAL TESL/TEFL certificate.

“The TESL/TEFL Certificate is the basic qualification to teach English as a Second or Foreign language. We are the largest provider of online TESL Certificate courses with several thousand students each year taking our courses.”

More TEFL courses…

This week’s featured course is Travelling Teachers in Thailand and Vietnam…“Travelling teachers provides quality teaching, volunteer and internationally recognised TEFL programs for students and graduates throughout Thailand and Vietnam. Our aim is to provide at least one free volunteer English teacher to the schools who otherwise could not afford one. Our staff are all experienced teachers as well as travellers and they are committed to offering the best programs and support network in Asia.”