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Honestly, I never find myself qualified to be a teacher but since I occasionally tutor some school kids in elementary English and I like to charge more than other Chinese who are even less qualified or barely speak fluent English.
According to various training centre, the in-class course fee (I am not disciplined enough to do the distance learning )is quite a lot. So it makes me wonder is it really worthing getting certified? Note that I don’t look white so no merit on the look to be convincible.
So what do you guys think of certification?
I got the certificate, but it’s real easy to get, so even if companies demand for it, it’s a bit of a laugh. By no way am I a qualified teacher now, I learnt so much more by just standing in front of the class or watch other teachers teach.
I guess for them it’s good to say (all) their teachers have the certificate as it sounds professional, altough people don’t know exactly what having it actually means.
So to get it or not is up to you… it’s not difficult and I think everyone can get it. You just have to invest a bit of time and money.
@ Shiya: Depends on who or where you want to teach.Most schools require a BA,Native English speaker,TEFL..experience etc.Like VincentNL I have the certificate but don’t regard myself as a teacher.Did some teaching in Guanxi 3 years ago,but told them to stick their job as my colleages spoke English that I couldn’t understand,and I did not like the association.You can do the course in 100 hrs.This is 1 week going full out!
Of course you will teach the children some mistakes,that is not easy to remedy later in life.But better some English than none at all I think.
It’s really easy to get, so you might as well get it. I wouldn’t bother with taking a course, just get it online. It’s not worth much but it’s a credential regardless and it might help you in seeking higher wages.
I think it is useful, if you haven’t taught before.
I fell into teaching while backpacking about 6 years ago and last taught about 4 years ago. I didn’t do it then and it wasn’t necessary for finding work. Finding work was also made easier (unfairly I suppose!) as I am a native speaker.
In terms of teaching with confidence, knowing where to start and how to teach more professionally, it is a good idea.
I have just finished mine, they can be quite pricey.
I’m sure there are some bogey courses out there too!
You see to have very good English from your posts and appear to have the confidence also which is good. Being chinese, having that experience of learning English and having lived abroad will in my opinion make you a better teacher than most foreigners.
So good luck!
Thanks guys. This is very helpful. I think I will try to get one just for the sake of saying I ain’t got no BA but hey I’ve got TEFL. Hah hah.
Quote:I have just finished mine, they can be quite pricey.@oh davery
Where did you take the course? I guess the majority are expensive. Since it is an investment, I’d like to choose a decent one.
I got mine in 2004 from this site: teflonline.net. Cost a few hundred dollars and I finished it in a few weeks working maybe an hour a day at most, really easy.
I did mine online through http://www.i-to-i.com
Not bad and plenty of options to choose from. I think best to do at least 70 hours and the more hours you do will probably add to you being more attractive to companies. Otherwise I think you could try English First as they offer online TEFL courses and they also look for teachers though I am not sure on what compensation terms. Not sure also if they are recruiting now but I’d imagine it is on a pretty continuous basis. Worth approaching some schools before investing any money and there is always the option of private teaching either English or Chinese;)
I did mine online through i-to-i too (60 hours) and it went quite easily. Usually the tests were quickly checked by the online teachers and the learning before each test was kinda interesting.
Although I’m not sure I actually use any of the methods I learned there. But it’s a nice introduction to teaching and looks nice on your resume.
i to i as well.
I’ve found the course pretty much useless. I will personally teach kindergarten and the course pays little to no attention to kids aged 3-6.
The course itself is like everyone confirmed dead easy and you get several tries if you fail.
Personally I’ve done the 140 hours and I found the 20 hours classroom based course the most useful. Maybe it’s just me… I learn by doing 🙂
It has many teaching aids,even for kids aged 3 to 6.The price 3 years ago was 3500 RMB,but you also need to have WORD installed for your assignments.
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