TEFL in gap year

hello

i am considering taking on a TEFL course during my gap year as I am studying languages and would like to follow these through into my future. I would like to be able to travel and involve my passion for foreign language and culture as much as possible. I will want to complete the course whilst managing weekly paid work.

Has anybody done a TEFL course and if so could you recommend which type of course I do? And also maybe tell me what you learned from it and what you did with it etc!

any help would be appreciated!

many thanks :smile:

Reply 1

Clause

I didn't think you could do that without a degree.

Reply 2

Emmaarrgghh

There are LOADS of TEFL qualifications out there, however, you really need to be careful as some as more 'useless' than others. For example, i-to-i TEFL are a very well known 'TEFL qualification' organisation who teach TEFL courses. They offer weekend and online ones... these are pretty much useless. They do offer some internships where no degree is required (China) where you can get hands on experience WHILST gaining a TEFL qualification.

If you are thinking of spending a bit more money then take the CELTA course. It's internationally recognised and is very good for getting teaching jobs, as it's what most employers are looking for.

I don't know much more, however, if you want to know about the CELTA I'm sure you can have a quick Google :smile:

I will be doing it this summer!

Reply 3

MkGuy

Original post by Emmaarrgghh

I will be doing it this summer!

this poster is correct, but it really depends on how long you wan't to do it for. It's true you will be taken more seriously if you have a CELTA behind you, but these don't come cheap (around £1200 depending on where you do them). Many countries now demand you have to have a degree as a minimum in order to get paid work, of course most countries will allow most people to volunteer.

Looking for a TEFL job isn't quite the easy ticket it used to be, for far too long backpackers and travellers who haven't taken it seriously have descended on the likes of Thailand, Vietnam etc thinking that because they speak English, they can teach English. Of course this isn't true in the slightest, and they provided such a poor level of education, and don't last particularly long.

Of course there is still plenty of TEFL jobs for those who want to do it in a gap year and gain some good experience. Yes certainly a highly regarded qualification such as a CELTA or CertTESOL will get you a better paid job, but these courses cost at least £1200 and involve a lot of hard work. If you are looking at doing TEFL for just a year then personally I wouldn't bother.

The only reason I did the CELTA is because I've always wanted to be taken seriously and it complements my degree of BA Education Studies & TESOL. I decided a long time ago I wanted to have a career in TESOL and doing the CELTA has certainly been beneficial in opening up doors in the industry both within the UK and worldwide.

I've had a few friends who have done the 120 hour course in Thailand with gap360 and stayed there for a year and earned an OK wage for a year and they seemed to think it was ok, I don't have any first hand experience with them. A 120 hour course as minimum is what you would need, I've met many people who think after doing a 60 hour online TEFL course they are ready to be great teachers, i'm sure you wouldn't be surprised to hear that really was the total opposite of what happened.

It depends on where you would like to go though? I've heard that Indonesia have pretty low requirements as does Laos & Cambodia. Loads of people go and do it on their gap year, it's just about finding the right route.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 4

Old_Simon

You can do a very good TEFL online. Getting a job abroad can be tricky. A lot of countries require a first degree as a starter plus TEFL.

Reply 5

Emmaarrgghh

If you are wanting to look for jobs now and maybe get an idea as to which countries tend to accept what qualifications then take a look at www.tefl.com. This site was shown to my TESOL module class and it's great... I'm addicted just looking for ages and procrastinating by looking at all the jobs out there and countries I could go and teach in!

It's a start and it'll give you an idea as to what employers look for.
HOWEVER, please be warned... if a job post seems 'too good to be true', then it most likely is (for example, very high pay, little or no experience and qualification necessary etc., just use you common sense).

:smile: