TEFL v TESOL ?

[chris-tee]

Hi,

I'm considering teaching english overseas and am doing a lot of research. I've been lurking on this forum for a few months and have heard the TEFL course mentioned several times.
I'm planning on enrolling in the TESOL course through seeklearning.com.au, could anybody tell me what the different between these two courses are? Is one more valid/more widely recognised than the other?

Also i'd just like to congratulate everyone, this website is a great resource for people like me. I've found most of the questions i'd been asking myself and was unsure about who to go to, have already been answered here.

[Antonio]

Hi chris-tee! Glad you like these forums.

Whether you have a TESL certificate or TESOL certificate, they are basically all the same thing. That is, they all consist of a few weeks to a few months study, require no real prerequisites to gain entry to the courses, and none of them offer advanced standing to University programs.

With a TESL or TESOL course, best to choose a provider that is recognised and has lots of publicity out there. The i-to-i course is great as many schools and recruiters know this provider. They also offer classroom based classes in locations throughout Australia if you prefer this over online learning.

Seeklearning is merely a front for Global TESOL. Probably just an agent for Global TESOL.

[mycolumbus]

Another thing, I would ignore the fact when TESL or TESOL providers advertise that they can introduce you to thousands of ESL jobs. With the internet, we can all access these jobs ourselves.

Look at the content of the course and subjects being offered. Also consider if they have exams and some sort of asssessment. Those without assessment, I would steer clear of.

Just my 2 cents worth!

[Billy]

Global TESOL is good and so is i-to-i. Just choose one of these that suits your budget and interests best.

Both are also very recognisable overseas.

[chris-tee]

Thanks guys.

So what does an i-to-i course stand for exactly?

[tonelir]

Don't think it stands for anything.

i-to-i have been around for over 10 years, and they now offer more than just TESL courses.

[chris-tee]

nevermind, i've answered my own dumb question.

[gfell]

Online TESOL courses are a lot cheaper to run than classroom based TESOL courses. Hence, the reason in price.

Some schools do prefer classroom based over online bases TESOL courses.

[chris-tee]

Thanks for the replies so far guys.

I have narrowed my course options to these two, but still unsure which to go for...

1. i-to-i TEFL "Diploma" (through teflint.com). Runs for 60 hours online, with an option to do a weekend course which would give me valuable face-to-face exposure.
Cost = $530(AU)

2. Global TESOL "Professional Diploma" (through seeklearning.com.au). Runs for 600 hours, purely online with no actual class participation. However, the course is much more indepth with 9 specialisation courses (such as teaching grammar, teaching children/adults, business and medical etc)
Cost = $3000(AU)

I'm leaning more towards option 2, as I feel without a degree a longer diploma such as that would show my commitment to teaching (it would take the better part of a year to complete). Also the course doesn't feel as "general" as i-to-i TEFL Dip...

Which one would you all recommend? Any personal experiences with either/both? Which would you say is more widely asked for/recognised by employers?

[gfell]

Originally Posted by chris-tee

Thanks guys.

So what does an i-to-i course stand for exactly?

Just spoke with one of our contacts over at i-to-i. It seems no-one really knows what i-to-i stands for. Just something that stuck at the time... some 10 years back.