What TEFL Course Should I Choose?

Each year in the UK, lots of people set out to teach English as a foreign language. Because of the increasing popularity, there are more and more courses available on the market and this has made it very difficult to know what course to do and where to do it.
On top of all the confusion lies a series of confusing acronyms that makes everything even more difficult to understand. Before you start searching for more information, get to grips with these key acronyms:
- Trinity Certificate TESOL, which is Teaching English to speakers of other languages. TESOL is one of two internationally recognized courses.
- CELTA, which stands for Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults, the second internationally recognized course.
- TEFL is an umbrella term for Teaching English as a Foreign Language.
- EFL means, English as a foreign language and ELT is English language teaching.
For this article we will just focus on the CELTA course, which is the most widely taken TEFL course.
A CELTA course is perfect course for you if:
- You are interested in a career teaching English as a foreign language to adults.
- You are looking for a career change
- You would like to increase your skill set
- You would like to work in another country
- You would like to build up your C.V.
CELTA courses aim to teach you:
- The principles of effective teaching
- A range of practical skills to teach adults
- A hands on teaching practise
What benefits will you get from a CELTA course?
- You are more likely to be able to command a higher salary as an English teacher
- You are much more likely to find work easily as an English teacher
- You are taking a respected course and will gain a respected qualification
- It will make teaching easier and give you a better understanding of how to teach English
- It will give you a fresh approach to teaching English and it should give you more confidence
Courses usually run for about 4-5 weeks, and you will be assessed on two components; your teaching practise and a written assignment. The course is validated and certificates are rewarded by the University of Cambridge Local Examination Syndicate. Grades awarded are Pass, Pass B and Pass A. Internationally, 92.5% of candidates successfully complete the course. 5% fail and 2.5% withdraw from the course.

CELTA is internationally recognized and the best known TEFL course as well as the most widely taken. If you are interested in English Language Teaching (ELT) contact St Giles.