CELTA vs. TEFL International

[sivart2]

Hi All... I need a little help in deciding what the best choice is for getting certified to teach. I have been doing a LOT of research, as well as reading comments in several forums, and like many others, I'm getting more, not less, confused!

I think I have narrowed the choices down to 2: TEFL International or Cambridge's CELTA. From everything I've read, it seems that the CELTA course is the best and most recognized course offering available. I have downloaded the application (which contains a VERY challenging pre-interview exercise) and it's obvious that the training I would get from this class would be extensive and very comprehensive. However, since it is geared to teaching adults (thus the "A" in CELTA) and I think I would be more comfortable, starting out, to teach children, or at least, teenagers, I'm not sure this is the best way to go.

My other choice is TEFL International. Like the CELTA course, they are offering classes in HCM, Vietnam, but I have some concerns based on the website information. First off, they appear to have two different websites and when I was reading through the information on one of them, there were several grammar mistakes and one obvious misuse of a word: A sentence contained the word "hours" when it was clear the word they meant to use should have been "ours". Maybe I'm being knit picky, but on a website whose purpose is to show they are capable of certifying English teachers, this seems like a huge oversight... I mean, have they ever heard of proof reading???

Anyway, can anyone offer me any input on TEFL International? Are they good at what they do? Is their certificate recognized around the world? Would I be better off going with the CELTA course even though I don't want to start off teaching adults? Please help!

[english grammar man]

Being on the employers side of the table, I can vouch that a CELTA certificate is viewed more favourably than a TEFL certificate. However, the difference is not large enough to lose sleep over.

As an employer, we are after teachers whom are confident in the classroom and have the right frame of mind in order to teach. I have recruited teachers in the past for children classes even though these teachers may not of had any experience with teachers.

If you want to make a long career out of teaching, then I would suggest the CELTA course. If you're in the situation to be contracted out to company classes, then a CELTA certificate will do you more justice.

TEFL International have been around for a while. I don't think you are being "knit picky" regarding their inability to correctly structure sentences. If their website displays such inadequacy, then I would only assume this would overflow into their training material. Do you want training material that presents itself with errors?

In choosing your teacher training course, I believe you should consider the following:

• Value for money.
• Accreditation if any and prestige of the school.
• Modules to be taught in your course.
• Your own confidence. If the thought of teaching scares you, then definitely choose a classroom based course over an online course.

Now have I added to your confusion? Let me know if I can help out further.

[sivart2]

Thanks for your input, EGM, I appreciate the feedback very much. Basically, what you said is right along the lines of what I was already thinking. Do you (or anyone else reading this post) know anything about ILA? This is the company that is offering the Cambridge CELTA course in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and they operate schools in there as well.

[kkbaby]

Reports have it that ILA Vietnam are a very unprofessional group. A few teachers here did their training with ILA Vietnam, and they felt a lack in commitment by staff and also a lack in maturity.

If you do the CELTA course with ILA in Vietnam, confirm that you are getting quality instructors to train you. With a discount in price, then there will follow a discount in trainer quality. Ask of your trainers qualifications before committing.

[sivart2]

Thanks KKbaby.... I responded to your post, but the response was "moved" to the "Teaching in Vietnam" section. Please see: ESL Forum - Teaching Community > General > Teacher Destinations
Teaching in Vietnam