TESOL certificate/diploma

Question

I recently came across an ad in my local paper for a company called Global TESOL Colledge, which apparently is government endorsed and a 9 year member of the BBB. I hadn't decided which direction to take my life in as of yet and only hold a high school diploma but the informational package I recieved was very intriguing. Is it possible to aquire jobs with only a TESOL certificate and/or diploma?

Any input or advise relating to teaching english as a second language abroad or the aforementioned "school" would be greatly appreciated
Thank you for your time
Ryan Presant

Henry teach · Accepted Answer

It depends where you want to teach. At the bottom end of the scale you can get a job just by being a native English speaker; at the top end you need CELTA DIP and all sorts of degrees.

The usual entry level qualifications are a degree plus a cert.

Henry

PS There's more on this here: http://free-esl.com/teachers/tfaq/qualifications.asp

Tesolguy · Answer

I agree with Henry: "It depends where you want to teach." For example, depending on your nationality and your age, you may qualify for a Working Holiday Visa in a country like Japan. In that particular case, neither a degree nor a TESOL certificate will be required by many schools. The big chain schools there often train in-house.

With regard to teaching qualifications, the page Henry referred you to is informative but may not be entirely applicable. Its breakdown of options seems geared towards the teacher training scene as it exists in Britain. Since your original post referred to Global TESOL, I'm guessing that you're Canadian or American. In North America there is another category of course, the so-called one-weeker. Global TESOL College would fall into this category along with several other providers offering the same type of training experience. They usually include five days of in-class study followed by online or distance supplements leading to a credit hour total of 100 or more hours.

You need to do some research. Decide where you want to go, determine if you can go (in terms of visa requirements) and then decide which (if any) TESOL course you want to take.

Anonymous · Answer

I think my own experience with Global TESOL College here in Canada where their home office is located may be of some use. In November of 2003 I took their course, this course cost me $1000. I answered an ad on one of their posters, "Guaranteed: Job, Airfare and Accommodation, No Age Limit, No Degree or Experience Necessary" . Their course lasted 5 days, and was more like 60 hours instead of 120 which they advertise, and no student failed it. At the end of the 5 days I got a piece of paper saying, "Advanced TESOL certificate" and another piece of paper saying, "International TESOL Teacher License" and a list of overseas addresses, I was expected to go out and look for a job myself. When I tried applying for overseas teaching jobs I found out there were some schools and countries I could not go to to teach English because I did not have a University degree, during the first day of the course I asked my instructor if not having a University degree would prevent me from getting jobs overseas and he said it would not. I found out that the only schools willing to hire someone without a University degree were villages in China (not my first choice for going overseas) where I would only make $500 a month and they did not pay airfare at least not upfront, they would only reimburse airfare after I had completed a year of teaching (I was not told this during the course either). In my research I found out several other things about Global TESOL College that I found to be disturbing, on page 4 of their brochure they mention that my "International TESOL Teacher License" is issued by TESOL Licensing Standards International (TLSI) and is recognized worldwide, I have yet to find any evidence outside of Global TESOL College's advertising that such an organization exists. My "Advanced TESOL certificate" says "Certified by the Government of Canada" I asked my instructor what that meant and he said it meant that Global TESOL College is recognized by the Government of Canada as a private vocational school, yet when I asked the department of education here in my home province of Manitoba and the province of Alberta, where their head office is located they told me that Global TESOL College is not a private vocational school that only the provinces can grant that status not the federal government because education is a provincial responsibility. I went to the instructor who I paid my $1000 to and pointed out their advertising was misleading, his explanation was that overseas countries had only just recently changed their rules about hiring foreign teachers. I then asked my instructor for my money back and he said since I actually got job offers I was not entitled to a refund, I then pointed out the other discrepencies I had found and my instructor got very angry and accused me of spreading lies and kicked me out of his office. I then went to small claims court to try and get my money back and won, they appealed and I won again, this was back in March of 2005 and Global TESOL College have yet to pay the judgement. My message to you is buyer beware.

Anonymous · Answer

I would advise against any program that has less than 20 hours of practicum (ie supervised teaching) becasue it will not be recognised by TESL associations. In Canada, TESL Canada, the ones who really count among schools here in Canada will not recognise my Global TESOL Professional Diploma becasue it does not meet their requirements and I doubt whether it is recognised too many places elsewhere. Also, unless I'm mistaken the TLSI has no website - not a good sign. Spend the extra on a CELTA or College/Uni based program becasue you never know when you might need it later on in life when you return to your home country.

TESOL certificate/diploma

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