40 Part I: Getting Started in TEFL
Speak to local schools and colleges about their teacher training programmes.
CELTA and Trinity CertTESOL are the most widely accepted certificates for the
private sector and employers worldwide recognise them. If you’re currently
studying for a degree, check whether your university runs TEFL courses in the
summer.
How much it costs
The average cost of the CELTA and the Trinity CertTESOL is £1,000. You may
need to consider accommodation and travel costs too if no course provider
exists where you live.
Keeping your distance.........................................................................
Distance learning courses never share the same high profile as taught
courses because they don’t let you experience teaching practice, but they
have their own advantages.
Many people find it easier to fit the course into their normal lives by study-
ing in this way. You can go at your own pace – and distance courses are a lot
cheaper. On the other hand, you may never meet a student until you’re teach-
ing a class yourself and your tutor can only offer feedback on your written
work not your actual performance. So distance learning has a few disadvan-
tages too.
Many people who already have a suitable teaching qualification, such as a
PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education), but have no experience in EFL
choose to take a distance course because the certificate itself is not as impor-
tant for them. The skills to do with presentation, classroom management and
lesson planning are transferable, so with this kind of course it’s easier for the
teacher to choose which areas to spend more time on.
What you can do with this certificate
Overseas employers appreciate the fact that you’ve taken the trouble to study
and get yourself a certificate, and this tends to carry more weight than the actual
certificate itself. This is because the organisations offering distance courses
aren’t as well known as CELTA or Trinity, which provide taught courses.
This area of the market has far less quality control than taught courses.
However, the College of Teachers is one body which accredits distance TESOL
(Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) courses as does ACTDEC,
which is specifically for distance courses in TESOL. Courses accredited by
these bodies offer a reasonable standard of professionalism and someone to
talk to if the course or course provider falls seriously below your expectations.
