TESOL Certification

[TheModernTerrorist]

Hi. I'm currently teaching English abroad (in Japan) and am looking for a TESOL certification program. I'd like to get TESOL certified in order to expand my job opportunities and broaden my resume for possible graduate school next year. Anyone here familiar with any good programs? Is there a large scam market out there for this sort of thing? Everywhere I look someone is offering a short 5-day course allowing me to get certified, yet everyone I talk to says you have to log over 100 hours at an accredited institution, like a university course of some sort.

Anyone have any experience with this?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. From what I understand, the most widely recognized ESL cert program is CELTA

which is originally a British program but is offered all over the world, including in Japan and the U.S.

It takes six weeks of full-time study and costs about $2000, but everyone who hires ESL teachers knows about it. Some of these places that offer five-day TESL certificates are just diploma mills, but CELTA follows the same curriculum and standards everywhere.

[Arrowhead2k1]

2. TESOL and CELTA are virtually the same and should be recognized as such

I got my TESOL cert a couple months ago with a high-pass and it was no walk in the park.

100 hours class work + 6 hours class obersvation. 4 Microteaching units, and a week of practical (10 hours).

TESOL is a great program. I'd say go for it.

But yeah, the 5 day courses the OP is looking at are definitely a scam. Don't bother with that.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

3. TESOL (most common in the U.S.) and CELTA are the two best-known programs

A lot of scam places offer "TEFL certificates" online or in a week-long program, but real training takes at least 4-8 weeks of intensive work and costs real money. If you want to teach in the U.S., especially in a public school system or college, you need an master's degree in English as a Second Language.

The only places that recognize "TEFL certificates" are clueless little schools in the less developed Third World countries.

[ann1e]

4. I have taught in Japan and China

I have taught English in China and Japan as well. Japan was a tough market. They only accept college grads, and online TEFL/TESOL course certificates were not accepted. In China, however, where I presently reside, they hire foreign kids right out of high school to teach English, and online certificates were accepted. In fact, in China, you need only list your "qualifications" on your resume without any actual documentation. This is why the level of English teachers in China has really deteriorated. Anyhow, in-class TEFL/TESOL training is expensive and arduous. I would suggest taking an online course, and just not telling any of your potential employers that you got it online. Just be sure to have the actual paper certificate when applying to jobs in Japan. Good luck!!