- guardian.co.uk, Friday May 19 2006 14.38 BST
Looking for a Tefl course these days can be as time-consuming as buying a new swimsuit for the summer, due to the sheer volume of courses on offer. They come in all shapes, sizes and designs and it can be hard to decide which one suits you.
To start with, you need to get to grips with the large number of acronyms that are found in the Tefl industry.
ELT (English Language Teaching) and Tefl (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) are the important terms to learn, as they define the industry. But there are others to remember to ensure you pick the right course.
There is a wide range of courses to choose from, from those that last a weekend to others that take four weeks and lead to an internationally recognised qualification.
Arguably the most well known qualifications are the Cambridge Celta (Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults) and the Trinity CertTesol (Certificate of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). They generally take four weeks full-time: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. They can also be taken part-time over a period of 12 to 14 weeks, with classes taking place on evenings and Saturdays.
Nowadays, there are many other courses around that offer a similar structure and syllabus to these, but are known simply as '"Tefl courses". The big difference is that while Cambridge Celta and Trinity CertTesol courses are externally assessed by an exam board, these other courses provide trainees with the school's own Tefl certificate. Although they don't have the same prestige as a Celta or Tesol, as long as these courses contain at least six hours of teaching practice and comprise at least 100 hours of tuition, they should be fine to secure you work in the majority of language schools.
Four-week courses (or their part-time equivalents) are based, primarily, on observations by expert teachers and teaching practice in front of genuine language students. Impossible to replicate in a distance learning scenario, and not usually part of the syllabus on shorter courses due to time constraints, these are probably the main differentiating factors of all intensive courses.
Online courses and short courses are designed to give you an insight into the world of Tefl and are helpful if you do not have the time or the financial means to take a more intensive course. They are a lot cheaper than full-time courses (although pro-rata could turn out more expensive) and might be useful if you are looking to use Tefl as a way to subsidise travel as opposed to a means of fully financing your life abroad. Bear in mind, though, that when looking for a job in a more competitive location or a more prestigious (and better paying) language school you might find having an internationally recognised qualification will considerably enhance your chances of finding a teaching job abroad.
A basic online course will start at around £200 and will generally take around 40 hours to complete. More intensive online courses can involve up to 150 hours of coursework and go up to £420 in price. The most basic face-to-face course is probably one that lasts a weekend and will get you a certificate after only 20 hours. These start at around £180. It is possible to upgrade these qualifications by adding online course modules.
Finally, the Cambridge Celta and Trinity CertTesol vary a lot in price depending on where you take them and the prestige of the school. Starting as low as £655 (Wroclaw, Poland), they can go up to £1,622 (San Francisco). It can be worth paying a little more to experience the culture of a new country, but the certificate will mean the same wherever you earn it.
