Remember the old BT ‘It’s good to talk’ adverts? Yes, even if we think of BT as a dinosaur of the telecoms age, the marketing phrases they used still reverberate with those of us who remember the 80’s & 90’s it’s good to talk ads with old Bob Hoskins - ads that shaped a generation of us TEFL teachers and reminded us why we had to call our mums every so often. So speaking to one another, even in this digital age, is still important. Facebook can provide an artificial conversation (while we juggle mum with our friends and plans for the evening) but it can’t take the place in any of our lives for the direct emotion we hear in each others voices.

OK - don’t get me wrong (as Chrissie Hines once said - sorry - I grew up with this stuff), I do enjoy Facebook, but I am definiltely of the pre-digital age. I yearn back to the sound of Tears for Fears and Duran Duran in the decade that music forgot called the 80s. But that doesn’t mean that I have forgotten how to communicate (and if you can name all of the acts in the 80’s pic below you are can do more than me - hint - some are pictured twice!)

So life has taught me that when an opportunity comes around to speak and communcate I need to take the chance that is offered. Which is why I love The Language Show. Because it is good to talk. And I know that, like last year, I’ll speak to at least 200 people every day at the show. So this is why I find it surprising how many TEFL course providers shy away from exhibiting and putting themselves up in front of their potential customers.

If you Google ‘TEFL Courses’ or ‘TESOL courses’  you’ll find hundreds of providers who have never presented more than a faceless website to the world. You’ll not find them in any way on YouTube, or even a picture of them. They’ll say ‘We offer this course, accredited by ZZZ’ (never heard of them), or ‘We offer that course, with added bells and whistles, accredited by YYY’ (no, who are they either?). Do you ever feel like they are fishing for you? Casting their rods out and hoping you’ll figure that this one must be OK, because…

When actually, what really matters is talking to people. When you speak to someone about something, if you delve deeper, you get more than the company line - the ‘bells and whistles’ - because at these shows you get real advice from people who have been there at the sharp end of teaching - which may well be where you are heading. So If you really want to know how far a distance learning course will get you, or whether the CELTA is really all it is cracked up to be, don’t just trust a static website, or a blog where someone says ‘yes, it’s great’ or ‘no, you need this’. Speak to someone - 2 or 3 organisations at least.  Look at different types of courses - think about whether you need a £1000 course if you are off on a gap year, for example. It’s your money - an investment in your career. Spend it wisely.

So taking to people is why I love the Language Show in Olympia. At Global English we want to give you the right advice for your TEFL journey, be it short or long. We are not interested in selling you the ‘latest flavour’ course - rather we’d like to know where you want to go - whether you want TEFL/TESOL as a career abroad or in the UK - or just a passport to you next step around the world. We have been there - done that - and enjoyed the experiences TEFL has given us. So we’d be happy to help you on your way too.

Thinking back to my new romantic days, if I’d had the opportunity of visiting a TEFL fair, I’d probably have received better advice, rather than playing roulette with a range of different distance TEFL providers, and picking the poor course that I ultimately did.  So at the Language Show you can come along and compare different TEFL products - and if you stop by our stand we look forward to seeing you and answering your questions!

Remember - it is still good to talk!

William, 80’s throwback, 15 years TEFL experience
Global English

Type ‘TESOL Courses’ into a search engine and Google will display a vast array of TEFL course providers all over the world offering online TEFL, weekend TEFL, 4 week CELTAs, part-time Trinity’s, 4 week non-CELTAs, university courses (pause for breath) and exciting combinations of the above. If I was looking now, with an outsider’s head on, I have to admit that I probably wouldn’t know where to start. How would I choose a ‘good’ course?  They all say they are ‘accredited’ so what does that mean? Is one accreditation better than another?

These questions didn’t bother me much when I was looking to get started in TEFL many moons ago. Why? Because it was either CELTA, Trinity, or um well CELTA or Trinity. It was pretty much your 4 week standard intensive or nothing. There was no way I wanted to wing it around the world without a qualification, trading on my English native speaker status alone. The thought of standing in front of a class, mouth dry, not knowing my prepositions from my prefixes just made my blood run cold.  So, a CELTA it was. No worries over accreditation, recognition or acceptance worldwide. Oh, life was so much easier then.

My, how things have changed. When considering a TEFL course. Where do you start? Well, first you might want to read my other blog
Online TEFL vs CELTA

Then, I suggest working backwards to ensure that the course you take will get you where you want to go. If you want to work in the UK and need the security of working for an English language school year-round, then I’d suggest a CELTA. However, there is very much more to the UK than working in a language school as many successful freelancers in the UK TEFL market will tell you. For many others, especially those with a degree and flexibility, an online TEFL course will often suffice. For many, the CELTA vs Online question is purely academic since they can neither afford the money nor time  to invest in a CELTA.

Is there an online TESOL accrediting body?

If it’s an online course you want, how do you choose a good one and how does your employer know it’s a good one? I would like to argue the case for external accreditation.

There’s every chance your prospective TEFL employer will not have heard of the school you did your TEFL course with. Even the biggest online schools have little or no international reputation with most TEFL employers. How then does an employer satisfy themselves that your qualification has any merit and that you have the necessary methodology to conduct a class? I suggest the only way is for the qualification to come direct from an independent awarding body.

While there are a wealth of online course providers, there are only 2 independent accrediting bodies that specialise in TESOL , have specific TESOL qualifying criteria that providers have to meet and award their own certificate upon successful completion of a TESOL  course. These are:

The College of Teachers

and ACTDEC

Both  have set specific TESOL qualifying criteria and strict codes of conduct. As a non-profit making body, ACTDEC’s sole responsibility is to ‘maintain professional standards in TESOL distance programmes’.   ACTDEC awards three certificates and a diploma to successful course participants. This quality training guarantee is backed up by the publication on the ACTDEC website of a pass list so employers can verify the validity of the certificate.

In the anonymous world of online TESOL provision, is there any better way to ensure quality training and a certificate that will stand above other online TEFL qualifications?

Well you could visit a comparison site  but often they either have a) an axe to grind or b) get commission either overtly from sponsoring schools or less obviously through an affiliate marketing site, such as clixgalore. Even blogs and forums have to be treated with a pinch of salt; it’s well known that schools often respond to forum questions posing as happy TEFL graduates from xxx school saying ‘why don’t you try xxx school?’

My advice is to ask yourself ‘is online training for me?’ If yes, then choose a provider whose courses have been independently scrutinised by an independent TEFL body and awards a certificate with their seal on to back this up.

Deciding to try and obtain ACTDEC accreditation some years ago was a big decision for us at Global English. Time consuming and expensive, we had to submit our courses,  marking papers, marketing and tutor biographies for investigation.  We had to justify and in some cases amend our material to ensure it was up to scratch and met the tough qualifying criteria.  By the end, we knew we had courses of quality that would prepare our students for the TEFL classroom.

The good news for students and employers is, it’s not just us that says so.

Find out more about Global English accreditation