Thread: EFL Teacher Training Courses - Admission Reqs. - Troubling

Originally Posted by MisterStretch

RS is right...Bruce's line about CELTA, Trinity and TEFL Int'l being only certs not requiring checking...doodoo multiplied!

For verification I can put you in touch with Lois (Choi?) from the MOE office in Seoul. I sat in her office a month ago and discussed these very items. She recognized TEFL International by name and was familiar with our course when it was offered in partnership with Hyundai. Our rep in Korea has met with her at least once subsequently.

1. Teachers in Seoul and many of the other provinces currently hiring teachers will pay them a higher salary if they have a TESOL certificate.

2. They will not check content of CELTA, Trinity an TI courses.

She is Emailing all teachers currently working with the government and suggesting that they take our courses.

She is arranging for groups of Korean teachers to be trained by TI also.

This is all verifiable information.

The real question of this thread is why so many people on this site feel it necessary to attack TESOL courses?

1. Nothing better to do?

2. Jealous we seem to earn more than you do?

3. Jealous you never got one?

4. Just generally unhappy and looking for a convenient target?

Here is a verifyable fact from us: over 95 percet of our graduates say they would recommend our course to a friend. I do not doubt that other courses would have similar customer satisfaction.

Here is a pretty obvious fact: if even 10 percent of TESOL course graduates felt the way you all do this and all ESL boards would be filled with criticisms and these courses would be shut down in short order.

So who really has a problem? Check the mirror.

To the sane posters, i am sorry for going on the attack but the sheer lack of reason is just irritating sometimes. And, I just finished a long three days of training pratom teahers for virtually nothing through the Thai MOE. Not in the mood for these children.

If someone allpied for our course in Korea they would learn, in their initial response, well before they give us a penny, that

"The Korean government requires all English teachers to hold a passport from one of the following countries

USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa

and hold a four-year university degree from one of these countries."

This is a direct quote from our standard reply.

This is very similar to the response we give to inquiries from non-EU passpot holders who wish to teach in France. But sometimes people take the course in France and have no intention of teaching there.

So, after being given all the facts, they still choose to take the course, we will not stop them. Perhaps they have some reason to be in Korea temporarily or perhaps they love korea and can't think of a better place tot ake a course before teaching in China. Or maybe they just want to take the course and do not want to teach at all! it happens.

The clerk at Boots does not require verification that you plan to brush your teeth before selling you a tooth brush...

So does your Indian degree program that you offer plus your TEFL certificate let you teach in Korea?

No worries for me though 5 years was mine

I believe tha answer in Korea is no, they are not accepted. I believe they require a degree from one of the target countries. I think that might be a recent change.

I am not an expert in Korean immigration.

Bruce,

I still say your contention that yours are one of only three TEFL Certs that aren't 'checked' by Koreans is hogwash. I'm a Korean teaching vet and former Supervising Teacher there and I currently help train teachers here in Thailand, many of whom go on to Korea to teach. I am not being bogged down with queries from employers, though I know those teachers are teaching there.

As far as your contention that the Korean MoE is recommending your course...if so, what incredible politicking! Egads...

I, as a Cert Holder am certainly not bashing the training provided by legitimate programs. Just standing on the side of the line that says advertising should be more transparent.

This real question was whether the advertising was misleading.

No, actually it is not. Several people have already commented about how your complaints are "silly" to quote one poster.

The real question is, again, why some of you are so worried about it. it really isn't a situation where you were fooled or even know someone else who was.

And am I woried at all about you and a few others being offended by pointing out that you obviously are just sad and angry? Oh, please, do not make me laugh.

Act like an adult and you will be treated like one.

Have a rational question or complant and you wil get a polite reply.

Posted after 12 minutes 50 seconds:

Originally Posted by MisterStretch

Bruce,

I still say your contention that yours are one of only three TEFL Certs that aren't 'checked' by Koreans is hogwash. I'm a Korean teaching vet and former Supervising Teacher there and I currently help train teachers here in Thailand, many of whom go on to Korea to teach. I am not being bogged down with queries from employers, though I know those teachers are teaching there.

As far as your contention that the Korean MoE is recommending your course...if so, what incredible politicking! Egads...

I, as a Cert Holder am certainly not bashing the training provided by legitimate programs. Just standing on the side of the line that says advertising should be more transparent.

This is a very new situation. As you may know, the Korean MOE have begun employing Western teachers directly and are in the process of hiring hundreds, if not thousands of teachers. And the numbers will increase.

As they hire teachers, they decided to give teachers with a certificate aditional pay.

Because the Seoul MOE was familiar with our course they did not feel it necessary to check our course content.

And because we have a trainer in Korea we were able to offer the MOE something no one else could--weekend and evening training for currently-employed teachers at a reasonable price. They were very happy with this. They decided to send an Email to all these teachers suggesting they take this training.

This is all directly through the MOE and does not involve immigration, hogwans and other employment in Korea.

And these are all verifiable facts.

Now I am not claiming anyting other than this. I am not claiming that teachers need certifiates or that MOE feels our course is better than all others. Do not read more into my comments.

And yu will not find any of this on our website. All of this only came up because of the mindless bashing of cert courses as being useless and our advertising as deceptive.