TEFL courses?

[Midsmartin]

I can't find a better board to post than this one!

My daughter, at uni, is looking at teaching English as a foreign language for a while after graduation. She's done a module on this as part of her degree.
However, it seems a minefield.

My short question is: Does Anyone Know how to find trustworthy organisations through which to organise this. (while she waits very patiently for a uni lecturer to answer an email )

She came across a company taking people to Thailand & South Korea for a TEFL course, with teaaching over there after:
https://www.thefewerthings.com
They are a UK company, and say their course (ie the tefl qualification) is "fully accredited". They get excellent reviews online. She sensibly asked who accredits their course, and was told it's these people:
https://www.ottsa.org
But if you google them in turn you are soon told they are essentially a scam, plus they don't even list the first people as an 'accreditted' orrganisation.

I am now in a loop of websites telling me how to tell whether your TEFL course is good or a scam, and I don't know whether to trust any of them.
I'd like our daughter to organise this on her own really, but I don't want her being caught by a dodgy scam.

edit: possibly this post is a waste of time. The company has 'postponed' a phone interview she'd arranged with them, the same day she asked the awkward question.
I think she needs to do the actual teaching course bit in the UK where it's easier to verify what's going on, or at a proper overseas institution.

[csearle]

I can't find a better board to post than this one!

My daughter, at uni, is looking at teaching English as a foreign language for a while after graduation. She's done a module on this as part of her degree.
However, it seems a minefield.

My short question is: Does Anyone Know how to find trustworthy organisations through which to organise this. (while she waits very patiently for a uni lecturer to answer an email )

She came across a company taking people to Thailand & South Korea for a TEFL course, with teaaching over there after:
https://www.thefewerthings.com
They are a UK company, and say their course (ie the tefl qualification) is "fully accredited". They get excellent reviews online. She sensibly asked who accredits their course, and was told it's these people:
https://www.ottsa.org
But if you google them in turn you are soon told they are essentially a scam, plus they don't even list the first people as an 'accreditted' orrganisation.

I am now in a loop of websites telling me how to tell whether your TEFL course is good or a scam, and I don't know whether to trust any of them.
I'd like our daughter to organise this on her own really, but I don't want her being caught by a dodgy scam.

edit: possibly this post is a waste of time. The company has 'postponed' a phone interview she'd arranged with them, the same day she asked the awkward question.
I think she needs to do the actual teaching course bit in the UK where it's easier to verify what's going on, or at a proper overseas institution.

I'll PM you something. C.

[stevensfo]

I can't find a better board to post than this one!

My daughter, at uni, is looking at teaching English as a foreign language for a while after graduation. She's done a module on this as part of her degree.
However, it seems a minefield.

My short question is: Does Anyone Know how to find trustworthy organisations through which to organise this. (while she waits very patiently for a uni lecturer to answer an email )

She came across a company taking people to Thailand & South Korea for a TEFL course, with teaaching over there after:
https://www.thefewerthings.com
They are a UK company, and say their course (ie the tefl qualification) is "fully accredited". They get excellent reviews online. She sensibly asked who accredits their course, and was told it's these people:
https://www.ottsa.org
But if you google them in turn you are soon told they are essentially a scam, plus they don't even list the first people as an 'accreditted' orrganisation.

I am now in a loop of websites telling me how to tell whether your TEFL course is good or a scam, and I don't know whether to trust any of them.
I'd like our daughter to organise this on her own really, but I don't want her being caught by a dodgy scam.

edit: possibly this post is a waste of time. The company has 'postponed' a phone interview she'd arranged with them, the same day she asked the awkward question.
I think she needs to do the actual teaching course bit in the UK where it's easier to verify what's going on, or at a proper overseas institution.

Yes, it is a minefield and there are loads of scams. It's an enormous business, and you can find TEFL courses on Groupon for a tenner! There is no such thing as a true TEFL accreditation and they often mix up accreditation with verification. Funnily enough, even the sites that claim to review TEFL courses are themselves accused of being run by one of the courses! There is also the fact that a course may create their own accreditation. Do a search for TEFL accreditation and you'll see how many there are.

There are some respected online courses out there, e.g. Toronto university, but the only two really solid ones are the CELTA and Trinity courses. They are famous worldwide. Both are considered very tough if studied full time and both include teaching practice. Recently, some other online, much cheaper courses have also been including some teaching practice in an effort to draw in students. However, it's important to find out exactly what this means!

Having said that, there are colleges abroad that also offer similar courses and also teaching practice. This sounds like what your daughter has found, and if it's a bona fide operation, it may be just what she needs. But please be careful! For a beginner, the teaching practice is an absolute must, though I believe that some countries in Asia may just ask for any certificate.

If your daughter has already studied a bit of TEFL methodology, could she not get some teaching practice as a volunteer for a while and maybe do an online course as well? It depends on how determined she is and how long she wants to teach. If she's serious, it may even be worth thinking about doing a PGCE and becoming a qualified teacher.

Steve

[richfool]

When I researched the subject back in 2001, one could take TEFL courses in the UK. That would be my recommendation.

I taught English in Thailand from April 2000 through to late 2006. The qualification requirements were variable, according to the school, college or language school and the local education authority. During the 6 years I was teaching in Thailand, the qualifications were constantly tightening up. Initially the requirement was that one should have a BA degree (subject not specified!), but many didn't. Then later the TEFL qualification was additionally being asked for. I don't know the current requirements, though I suspect they remain "variable".

I noted that a language school where I had previously taught, later advertised TEFL courses. When I enquired who was teaching the course, I was told it was a person who I knew was neither qualified, nor competent. Thus my recommendation to take the course in the UK, assuming that is your daughter's home country.

[torata]

My knowledge may be out of date, but as stevensfo said, CELTA courses or Trinity courses are the kosher ones, with CELTA being more well-known. Centres running them are externally assessed for quality standards, and they will be run from British Council accredited English Language Schools.
But the organizations running them won't usually help find a job.

torata

[scottnsilky]

You could try asking Voluntary Service Overseas for advice, its something they teach in many countries as a matter of course. Its something I wanted to do 40 years ago. I've just checked, they are sti!l in business.

[Lootman]

When I researched the subject back in 2001, one could take TEFL courses in the UK. That would be my recommendation.

. . . .

Thus my recommendation to take the course in the UK, assuming that is your daughter's home country.

For some reason Exeter has become the TFEL/ESL capital of the country. There is one particular street that has a bunch of them.

And they must be very profitable as the students are from very wealthy families in Russia, China and the Middle East. A friend of my son works in one and she has had some fabulous gifts from the students for whom, it would appear, money is no object.

[Midsmartin]

Thank you all so far! I've passed on all your helpful tips. She's hoping to do the teaching abroad rather than in Exeter I think though! Lovely though Exeter is.