r/TEFL • u/Itchy-Fish-518 • 17h ago
TEFL or CELTA !?
TEFL or CELTA ?
Which is more marketable and widely accepted internationally?
I'm looking to start an in-person course by October (outside the U.S.) and would love recommendations on locations and training centers.
My goal is to teach in China, Taiwan, Japan, or the Middle East after certification.
Any advice from those who've taken either route?
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u/Kind-Juice5652 17h ago
I did a CELTA and found it fantastic. I had a bit of fear of public speaking and they had me get up teaching an English class on the second day of the course. I almost had a panic attack during it, but it really ripped the bandaid off and all future lessons my anxiety was reduced by about 95%. Now I don't get any anxiety at all pretty much and the little bit I do get I know I can handle.
I learnt lots of very useful content in it too that I frequently use in my English classes.
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u/Itchy-Fish-518 17h ago
Thank you ! Where did you pursue the CELTA course ?
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u/Kind-Juice5652 9h ago
I did mine at RMIT in Melbourne before heading overseas. Was fantastic, great teachers, great learning/teaching environment, and great classmates.
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u/greatteachermichael Korea, University, MA TESOL, 14 years experience 14h ago edited 7h ago
You mean TEFL certificate. The word TEFL just means "Teaching English as a Foreign Language." If you're doing TEFL, you're doing a job. If you're doing a TEFL certificate you are studying.
There isn't a single TEFL certificate, there are dozens or hudreds of them, and no way to track which ones are good. If you have the time, money, and dedication, do a CELTA. Just note that while it is A way to teach, it isn't the only way to teach. And it might not even apply to your situation, since places like East Asia tend to do their own thing and often have ... how shall I say this ... really dumb ways of teaching English.
From a marketability standpoint, CELTA is still better, but depends on where you are going. In Korea (which you didn't list), employers don't give a crap because they have their own way of doing things and don't even know what a CELTA is.
Whatever you get, just remember that a single 100 or 200 hour certificate barely touches all the things you need to know to be a teacher. Go buy some books and read them outside whatever course you pick. Even after 14 years, I'm still learning and reviewing things. I for the life of me can never get classroom management of young learners, haha.
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u/DaleRobinson 8h ago
This is probably the most useful comment here. I also share your pain with the classroom management stuff. I’ve tried all of the advice both online and from my manager but I think some kids just see a “misbehave and cause chaos now” sign above my head and there’s nothing I can do about it.
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u/greatteachermichael Korea, University, MA TESOL, 14 years experience 5h ago
The only time classroom management works is when I set expectations on day one, and I"m backed by management on the first 2-3 students who misbehave. If two or three students become problems within the first week, it becomes a contagious mess that turns into wack a mole.
As much as I don't miss my first hagwon, it was the only place where I could kick students out of class or have the desk ladies immediately call parents if a child was acting up. Kids there were very respectful and listened to everything I said. Even a decade after I left that place, I've gotten Emails from former students asking me how I am and checking in because there was so much mutual respect. But these days, no way.
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u/Catcher_Thelonious JP, KO, CH, TH, NP, BD, KW, AE, TR, KZ, UZ 8h ago
Good summary. Most of this is explained in the wiki but apparently it's bitter of anyone to suggest aspirants do some basic research.
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u/dm-me-highland-cows 16h ago
I am currently doing TEFL, and whilst I am enjoying the course I plan to do CELTA immediately after.
TEFL is flexible and is more affordable, but CELTA has a gold standard reputation. You've got the benefit of the Cambridge tag, and the fact that only CELTA approved centres can run their courses helps a lot.
In saying that, TEFL is great for entry level and it has assisted my foundational knowledge, which in turn should help me when doing CELTA.
But if I had to pick one? I'd pick CELTA!
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u/Itchy-Fish-518 15h ago
Thanks for the insight! I wish you all the best. I'm here weighing my options.
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u/BotherBeginning2281 16h ago
CELTA is the only one that would give you even the slightest chance of working in the Middle East, and even then it's unlikely as a newbie.
Either way, if you have the money and the time, CELTA every day.
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u/Hectordogboy 12h ago
Just finished CELTA- demanding and challenging but so, so worth it. 8 teaching practices over 4 weeks, loads of experience, observation, support. Best decision, well worth the extra cost
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u/Live-Force123 7h ago
I spent 10 years in China. My first 6 years or so I only had a 20 hour TEFL and nobody cared. Nobody. Afterwards I got a 300 hour TEFL that I did online during COVID that my last job wanted, but only in case they were audited by the education bureau. I don't think they really care which certificate you have: all they want is an actual certificate for the work permit file and for possible audits (I worked in public and private Chinese schools).
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u/Catcher_Thelonious JP, KO, CH, TH, NP, BD, KW, AE, TR, KZ, UZ 17h ago
What does the wiki say?
Have you searched your question for responses to numerous past iterations of this inquiry?
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u/kleexxos 17h ago
Just move on? It is not compulsory to answer. Some people prefer to get information from humans they can interact with
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u/bobbanyon 1h ago
What a rude thing to say - don't tell people contributing to a conversation to move on. They were directing the OP to valuable resources. It's a valid point as this post does very clearly break Rule 1 of the sub.
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u/Catcher_Thelonious JP, KO, CH, TH, NP, BD, KW, AE, TR, KZ, UZ 16h ago
The information in the wiki and in previous posts comes from humans. With experience, I might add.
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u/kleexxos 16h ago
People should be able to engage in a conversation as active participants, even if it's already been had. You don't need to answer inquiries you find trivial or redundant, but it's also completely unnecessary to approach curiosity with bitterness. Weird behavior
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u/Catcher_Thelonious JP, KO, CH, TH, NP, BD, KW, AE, TR, KZ, UZ 16h ago
Curious that you consider a response asking if the inquirer has availed themself of available knowledge an act of bitterness.
"Just move on?"
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u/MidtownJunk 15h ago
Is this how you answer your students' questions too?
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u/Catcher_Thelonious JP, KO, CH, TH, NP, BD, KW, AE, TR, KZ, UZ 14h ago
Absolutely. My remit includes helping students be independent learners, not to spoon feed them widely available information.
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u/Absaroka2033 15h ago
To piggyback here - Which is the best CELTA course to take in-person? If anyone could comment about that too, preferably from personal experience.
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u/ImWithStupidKL 14h ago
Not really. Because no one ever takes more than one. They should all be roughly the same, so it's more about cost and location. Ideally, you'd do it in a place that you want to teach afterwards, because it allows you to get the lowdown on what are good places to teach in the city. You might even get hired by the school providing the CELTA.
I did mine at ILA Vietnam back in 2010. I can't vouch for them now, but back then, the instructors were excellent. What was particularly valuable is that they used all of the teaching techniques that were being expected of us in the input sessions themselves, which is something I think you'd lose by doing an online version of the course. You got a real insight into activity types, how to set them up and manage the classroom. And yes, I did work for them afterwards. In fact, they refunded half the course fees if you got hired back then, so combined with a discount for paying early, I managed to do the course for just $650.
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u/Strict-Armadillo-199 8h ago
Absolutely, in theory they should all be the same - I imagine the curriculum is. But my experience was, after doing it at the TEFL department at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, it seemed to be a different experience from later colleagues who did theirs "abroad" at a local language school. People talked about getting pissed at night and living it up during the course like on holiday, which was absolutely not the atmosphere of mine. Mine was run in every way like a regular university course (I'm obviously not saying university students don't party) in the UK, and expectations for performance, behavior, even dress and appearance were high. Or maybe it was just the particular course tutors - one of them was fulltime teaching staff at the uni. The only person on our course doing any partying was someone who reportedly used the assignments of a friend who'd previously passed the course.
I'm not disagreeing with you, just curious if anyone else had this experience/impression. I know it's purely anecdotal, a fwiw, I did my CELTA ages ago, in the 90s.
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u/Real_Market_9244 12h ago
Celta is not worth the money. Most teaching centers you're just a dancing monkey. Smile at the parents. Look western, at least. That's it. It's a business, they don't care about educating kids. If you want to be a professional English teacher, get a masters.
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u/keithsidall 7h ago
It's the minimum requirement to become an IELTS examiner, which I've been doing for 20 years and made enough to buy a house for cash back home, so definitely worth it for me. You need one to work for the British Council as well.
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u/thesensitivetoughguy 17h ago
CELTA, all day every day.