Hi there,
I'm in Ireland at the moment and I'm thinking of investing 500 euro in a TEFL course, I'm just wondering if anyone can lend some advice on whether or not its really worth the money.
Reply to this Hello David 😊
Are you looking for information about Asia or S. America? Should I move this to the Asia forum?
Mel
Reply to this Hi Mell,
Ya my mistake, i should have put it in the Asia forum, cheers for dat
Dave
Reply to this Are you planning to come to teach in Asia? If so, which country. The requirements differ. You don't need a TEFL cert for Korea at all for example. But the better jobs in Thailand and Vietnam ask for one.
Do you have a degree? Do you have any teaching experience? That will effect things too.
A TEFL cert will definitely open up doors to the better jobs in many SE Asian countries. However, if you plan to work as an English teacher for a while (i.e. this is not just a gap year/travel thing) then do a CELTA or a Trinity course. These are the Internationally recognised qualifications worldwide.
Don't do an online cert or a weekend cert. If a job asks for a TEFL cert, they want one with at least 120 hours of taught course and 6 hours of observed teaching practice, teaching REAL students, not your peers.
Without the teaching practice, a TEFL course is not really worth taking. You don't learn anything properly until you get into a classroom in front of real students and are expected to impart some useful knowledge.
Hope this helps.
Kate
Reply to this Hi Kate,
Thanks very much for email, its got some very useful info. I'm planning on traveling in Asia, and I think english teaching would be a great experience.
I have a degree, but I've no teaching experience, so I'm not sure if doing a course will be any use.
Are you teaching english?
Reply to this Hi
Yes, we teach English in Vietnam. We have taught in Thailand as well as in Spain and the UK.
You want to teach as part of your travels. How long do you want to teach for? Do you want to volunteer teach or be paid for it?
Any idea of which country you want to teach in? As I said above, this will change the requirements for teachers.
You have no teaching experience, yet you don't think that doing a course to train you how to teach will be any use. I'm abit confused at this sentence.
Perhaps you could give us some more information, so we can be more helpful.
Kate
Reply to this I am just wrapping up a year teaching in Korea... There are a lot of pluses and minuses to it, and what it really boils down to is your own attitude about things. Here, you have to jump through a lot of hoops, you are practically a slave to the whims of your school, and you are held up to all kinds of different standards. On the other hand, I have loved it here, the opportunity to live and travel abroad, not just see a culture, but become immersed in it, make some money...like I said, many plus and minus. I would do it again, but I'm sure you will or have heard horror stories about it. Jump around my blog if you like to get a vibe of things, I touch on a lot of what is required in my earlier blogs... feel free to ask any questions, I know this is rather vague. Where do you plan on going in particular? any idea?
Reply to this You will NOT need TEFL in S.Korea, China, Taiwan and Japan BUT you do have to have an accredited university degree. It's a pre-requisit for work visa.
Reply to this Hiya,
If you're thinking about going abroad to teach I reckon a TEFL qualification is a must if you haven't got any experience, as it'll prove you're serious about it. I did
120 hour course, which was great as it had both online and classroom elements so you get some teaching practice in. Their address is
Good luck! Reply to this 
