The Guardian Education

'Lost in Translation'
May 24th 2005

Type "Tefl course" into Google and a scant 0.17 seconds later you'll be presented with results 1 to 10 of about 1,050,000. Evidently, for the aspirant Tefl (Teaching English as a foreign language) teacher there is an over-abundance of options. With courses ranging from online learning that take a few hours to complete to those with intensive, guided teaching that last several weeks, how is the wannabe student to know which way to turn?

Indeed, some might toy with the idea of not bothering at all and simply declare themselves an English teacher, reasoning that if they can speak the language, they can teach it, too. And they wouldn't necessarily be kidding themselves. Suzanne Furstner, head of Tefl training at Cactus Tefl, an organisation that promotes the industry and offers information on courses, says: ''With the right flexibility about where you work and what you do, you can find work with any qualification, or even none at all. What you choose to do is really a question of how well prepared you want to be and how many options you want to have."

However, winging it with no prior teacher training is not an approach she would recommend. "I'd say that it is always better to be prepared to go into a classroom. Being a native speaker is not enough to be a teacher. It doesn't help you determine the standard and abilities of your students, or give you any idea of how to communicate with them."

But make no mistake, not all Tefl qualifications are created equal. The gold standard courses are the Cambridge Celta (Certificate in English language teaching to adults) and the Trinity CertTesol (Certificate in teaching English to speakers of other languages). These are recognised around the world and considered to give the best preparation. Although there are small differences between the two, no distinction is drawn by employers and both offer at least 100 hours of teaching and six hours of observed teaching practice with real language students, not just your role-playing classmates.

Furstner agrees: "Teaching practice is terrifically important," she says. "It's so vital to have that confidence when you're finally in the classroom doing it for real."
While the Cambridge and Trinity courses are the best known, and will enable you to teach anywhere in the world — and probably get paid more, too - they are also the courses that require the biggest investment of time and money. Many other courses claim to be Cambridge and Trinity equivalent, and they are not all having you on.
Another option for the cash-strapped students who are intent on an internationally recognised qualification is to take the Celta or CertTesol abroad. However, before we discount all courses that don't bear the Cambridge or Trinity stamp of approval, there are plenty of other options that are worthwhile.

Cactus Tefl and the Guardian running a Tefl open evening from 6.30p to 9pm on Thursday June 2 at the Guardian Newsroom at 60 Farringdon Road, London EC1. The free event will allow you to compare courses get advice and see a teaching demonstration. To register, send your name, date of birth and telephone number by email to [email protected]

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