[DAQUIRI]

I'm thinking of a new career in teaching English. I'm a native English speaker with a BA(Hons) Degree and I'm a Graphic Designer by trade. This is what I know so far:

The best 2 courses for teaching English to adults (which I think I would prefer) are the Cambridge 'CELTA' and the Trinity 'TESOL'.

I understand that The British Council and HK Polytechnic offer the CELTA course early next year - but the dates aren't confirmed yet. Does anyone know of any other good courses?

Has anyone taken these courses? How quickly did you find work afterwards? Where are the best types of places to apply for work? I understand that because I am here in Hong Kong on a dependent visa it will be fairly easy to obtain a work visa in this profession?

Please warn me of the bogus courses. I know there are a few around and I don't want to waste my money!

Any advice will be appreciated!

Thanks.

[Sazzy]

I think that the British Council course is about HK$20,000 - anyway lots of dosh. If you want to work in schools then I think you need to do the PCGE or equivalent. If you want to work in language schools/privately run centres then any TEFL will do. I actually worked in a language centre without a TEFL qualification.

[angiebaby80]

british council doesnt do tefl course anymore..since you are a native english speaker and a graduate, you can probably reel in a teaching job with just that..good luck!

[Kopi C]

I've done my TESOL with ESF Educational Services and found it invaluable. I've also heard good things about the TESOL course done at the British Council. If you are interested, here's their site:-

http://www.edservices.org.hk/english...InfoCTESOL.htm

Though there are places who would hire "teachers" on the basis of their skin color, it will be to your benefit to at least undergo some teacher training. And frankly, if I'm a paying parent, I wouldn't want my child to be taught by an untrained and unqualified teacher.

As for the PGDE, check out HKU:-
http://www.hku.edu/education

Good luck.

[Max]

Originally Posted by Sazzy

I think that the British Council course is about HK$20,000 - anyway lots of dosh. If you want to work in schools then I think you need to do the PCGE or equivalent. If you want to work in language schools/privately run centres then any TEFL will do. I actually worked in a language centre without a TEFL qualification.

I second Sazzy on that one, Daquiri. It is very very very important to have a TEFL qualification if you would like better chances at getting jobs with schools. Most schools that fall under the DSS (Direct Subsidy Scheme) will always make that as their primary requirement. If you'd like to aim higher and opt for the ESF then a PGDE with extensive teaching experience is preferred.

That said, there are cases where expats have been hired as teachers with only their skin color and an accent as their main assets, thereby sweeping aside (if not eliminating) any chances for legitimate candidates for the same positions. That is another area of debate and not worth going into now as it has been discussed previously on this forum many times.

For a relatively better selection of courses, have you tried looking online? Here's one worth considering...www.englishlanguagecentre.com. I did mine from here, so I can recommend them.

Other than that, do a google search on online TEFL courses and see what you get.

Good luck!

[Sand]

Max, do you still have the course notes and would you be willing to share some of them?

[DAQUIRI]

Thanks for the feedback. Apparently 'English for Asia' have a TESOL course soon (I can't enter their website at the moment though for some reason!). The British Council don't have anything suitable during 2005/2006. Is the TESOL as good as CELTA? Is there anywhere else that does the Cambridhe CELTA? Also, I'm not so keen to work in schools/with children - I think I'd prefer Language Centres and the like.

[Max]

Originally Posted by Sand

Max, do you still have the course notes and would you be willing to share some of them?

Too late, Sand. Completed mine nearly a year ago and gave them away to a friend. I'll see if I can find the list of recommended books and i'll PM to you.

[scr]

CELTA and TESOL are pretty much the same. The universtiy offering the certificate are different hence the difference in name...Cambridge university and Trinity college. TESOL with EFA (english for asia) is cheaper than CELTA at the British council. TESOL at EFA is an intensive 1 month course. And you can start working with EFA after you've done TESOL with them. They are always looking out for part-time teachers.

[Sazzy]

Like I said above, if you have an English accent and look like an English rose, some Language centres will hire you irrespective of whether you have TEFL or not. I had no TEFL qualification. I sat in some of the classes to get an idea of how it works and a week later - i was teaching!