Whether you're just starting out as an ESL/EFL teacher,
or whether you've been teaching English for a while, you may
find that obtaining a TEFL certificate is either required in
order to get a job (as it is in some cases), or it's simply
a good way to improve your teaching skills, thereby making
your life easier. The following is a quick overview of
what's involved in a TEFL certificate program.
1. TEFL Certificate Reputations
If you are hoping to get a job in the more prestigious
language schools and universities, then where you do your
certificate may make a difference. Be they good or bad,
different programs have their reputations. Potential
employers may be aware of these reputations. That said,
potential employers are also aware that many more TEFL
certificate programs are popping up everyday. It's
impossible to keep abreast of all of them. Just because a
program is new doesn't mean it's a fly-by-night,
easy-money-making scheme. However, there are plenty of
fly-by-night, easy-money-making TEFL certificate programs
out there these days.
As with any business, you won't stay in business very
long if you don't offer something of value and take your
customers seriously. You may be able to get a sense of how
serious a program is by talking to them and doing a little
bit of research. Check out their websites and send them an
email. Of course talking to past attendees is a good idea
too. But keep in mind that you would need to talk to a fair
amount of past attendees to get an accurate picture of the
course. Especially out on the internet, where anonymity
breeds bravado, many people are grinding axes for reasons
that have little or nothing to do with what they say they're grinding
their axes about.
There are many quality certificate programs out
there, some with very good reputations. A certificate from
one of these programs would likely
impress any potential employer. But if variables such as
convenience, cost, and length of the program come into play
and you simply can't make it to one of these well-known
programs, that's no reason to give up the idea of taking a
course. More than likely there is one nearby, wherever you
are, and of course there are also programs online.
As with all
educational institutions, much depends on the teacher(s).
Programs with good reputations can have the occasional bad teacher, and programs
with shaky or non-existent reputations can have excellent teachers. Your fellow
course students will also play into making the program a successful one or not.
Simply being with other teachers, discussing methods and practices in depth can
be reason enough to attend a course. When taking a course in a non-English
speaking country, you may also find local teachers as your classmates. These
teachers can add valuable insight into the habits and mentality of the local
language learners. These types of insights are more apt to come out in a TEFL course than they would in more casual, everyday interaction you might
already experience with local teachers.
2. Program Length
There is a wide variety of TEFL certificates programs
open for business all around the world. Some courses are intense and require a lot of time
and energy. Other courses are less intense, but can still
provide you with useful skills and knowledge.
Most TEFL courses run anywhere from a few
weeks to a few months. There are also some one or two day
seminars that, while not outright TEFL courses in the
traditional sense, may be helpful nonetheless. From the more
established and respected programs, you can expect at least
a hundred hours of class time as well as some practice
teaching.
3. Certification Programs Content
TEFL certificate courses generally focus on practical
teaching skills and many will include practice teaching as
part of the course. Although there may be some general
linguistic theory included, the focus of a TEFL certificate
course is to give you practical knowledge. Any theory
provided is there to provide a backdrop for the practical
skills being learned.
In a typical TEFL course, you will get strategies
and guiding principles. A teacher-trainer might model an
activity with the TEFL certificate class, then the activity
will be explained and discussed, bringing forth the theory
behind it and possibly even stimulating the trainer or
others to additional insight. Many courses will allow for
peer teaching sessions in order to practice and refine the
newly learned material.
The typical TEFL certificate program will focus on a
variety of aspects of language teaching from very practical
skills such as learning how to teach vocabulary and using
games effectively, to somewhat more abstract but no less
important aspects such as understanding the teacher's role
in the classroom and assessment of students' skills and progress.
4. TEFL Certificate Specialization
Along with the increase in the number of certificate
programs, there has been an increase in the number of
specialized courses available. Teaching young learners,
teaching business professionals, teaching online. The list
seems to grow everyday. Although some general TEFL
certificate courses may give you a brief introduction to
such areas, the specialized courses will examine the areas
more deeply. Whatever your specialization, there's probably
a course out there for you. While this may seem to multiply
the number of certificates you might need, specialized
courses do provide useful, practical knowledge that will
make your life as a teacher easier. “But do I really need a
specialized course?” you might ask. To that the question to ask
would be: "Is
teaching a 45-year-old department manager and father of
three really the same as teaching a 10-year-old girl?" And
there you find your answer.
5. The Cost of a TEFL Certificate Program
With the wide variety of TEFL certificate courses
available in a wide variety of locations throughout the
world, it's impossible to give an accurate answer to the
question, "How much does it cost?" The answer would be
anywhere from a few hundred dollars (US) to a few thousand.
The smart approach would be to determine first what type of
course you need, and then begin comparing costs of programs
that can compete on those grounds. One thing to keep in mind
is that even spending a few thousand dollars on a course
will likely come back to you relatively quickly with the
extra money you will be able to earn. A job that gets you
$200 a month more is going to pay for that $2,000 TEFL
certificate
course in the first year alone. After that, as they say,
it's all gravy.
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