When it comes to choosing a TEFL course, it can be difficult to decide between the different ones on offer. But never fear, we’ve put together a breakdown of the different types of courses below to help you decide which the best TEFL qualification for you is for what you want to achieve.
Your reason for Teaching English Abroad
People decide to teach English abroad for many reasons. Some use it as a gap year between high school and university, others use it to take a career break, and then there are others who want the career and lifestyle change that comes with teaching abroad.
Whatever the reason you are thinking about going to teach English abroad, getting yourself ready to teach is imperative. Any job you apply for, you should be qualified for and getting your TEFL qualification is the best way to make sure that you are ready to teach English as a second language.
TEFL Courses
Any TEFL course that has at least 100 contact hours and at least 6 hours of teaching practice that is assessed is a good foundation for anyone that is planning to teach English abroad. Not only will it help you to understand the difference between speaking English and teaching it, but give you more confidence, help you write lesson plans and help you to select and create activities and materials for your lessons.
You will find that like any skill that you learn, the TEFL course will give you a starting point and basic skills that you can use in order to become a great teacher, but it comes on leaps and bounds with practice. The more that you teach, the better you will be.
It is not the lack of understanding of the benefits of TEFL courses that trips people up, however. It is the jargon such as TEFL, Tesol, ELT, CertTesol, Celta, weekend, foundation, online and introductory TEFL courses that stops people from finding the course that they are looking for.
Any course that is designed to prepare you for teaching English as a foreign language is known as a TEFL course. There are two different types of TEFL qualifications that most overseas employers prefer – the Cambridge Celta and the Trinity CertTesol. However, any four-week course that is equivalent to either of these courses and has similar hours, content, teaching practice and course content are good options too.
The reason that the Cambridge Celta and Trinity CertTesol are preferred is that no matter where in the world the courses are run, they are visited by an external assessor in the case of Cambridge and a moderator in the case of Trinity. They check that the tutors are following the syllabus properly, that training is being carried out properly, that appropriate grades are being awarded and that both the teaching and students’ coursework is up to a high enough level.
Want to get started on your TEFL certification? Contact us today to see how we can help you choose the right course for your career teaching English as a foreign language.
