TEFL - A little knowledge .........???
 

Whilst browsing through some old threads I happened on a great debate about TEFL and the relative merits of it as a qualification. Some people who held the qualification but had no teaching experience floundered when they actually began teaching. Others said that the only worthy qualification was a CELTA but this was not for beginners.

This got me thinking about how to use some of the spare time I will have when I retire to Spain.

I spent a career in the UK Fire Service and a good many years of that career was spent in teaching of one form or another. I have been a tutor in lots of different genres; to young children, WI as the guest speaker, colleagues or people who paid to come on a Fire Warden's course etc.

The thrill of leaving the students with more knowledge then they arrived with always left me with a buzz.

However I wonder if I would have had as much success if I hadn't known my subject inside out.

My question is this, would it be beneficial for me to take a TEFL course that was say 40 hours classroom work and 120 hours online? This is the type of course one can enrol for on the internet.

I would love to be able to teach english; in the beginning as a swap to learn better Spanish but later to earn a bit of pocket money.

I have been learning Spanish part time at an adult education institute for over 2 years now.

What do you think?

Re: TEFL - A little knowledge .........???
 

God knows. I thought along those lines too, but on enquiring at a school here,. I was told that they had such teachers coming out of their ears, so I reckoned the work wasn't worth the candle.

Re: TEFL - A little knowledge .........???
 

It depends on whether you want to take the job seriously or not.

If you just plan on doing a few private classes in people's homes, mostly conversation based to earn yourself a bit of extra pocket money then you could wag it with any old qualification.

If you plan on seeking a proper job in an academy then any decent academy is going to insist on a proper qualification and that means a CELTA/DELTA. Many academies will also insist on a minimum of 2 years experience too, but not all.

Re: TEFL - A little knowledge .........???
 

I was not thinking of getting a proper job, but I do like to do things properly and wondered whether a TEFL course would give me a string to my bow. Or maybe I would be wasting my time and money?

Re: TEFL - A little knowledge .........???
 

Around here there are TEFL teachers who haven't taught anyone for years. I asked the head of English at the local International school (who is a friend) if it would be worthwhile for me to do and he just told me it would be a waste of time. Lots of his colleagues and colleagues' partners have TEFL and none of them can get any work - in peoples homes, at school, anywhere.

I'm not too far from bil who has the same view - it might be different in other parts of Spain I suppose...

Re: TEFL - A little knowledge .........???
 

Especially if you are not thinking seriously about gatting a job, I'd rate it as a waste of time. It might be that where you go there is a shortage of teachers, but even then, I'd give it a miss.

Re: TEFL - A little knowledge .........???
 

If you are not thinking of getting a proper job then I would save your money.

A proper (eg, Cambridge) course is going to set you back circa 1000 pounds/euros. A mickey mouse course will no doubt be a lot cheaper, but I think they are a total con. Not worth the paper they are written on. Anyone who knows anything about the industry would scoff at that type of qualfication.

Re: TEFL - A little knowledge .........???
 

Oh, and regarding demand for English teachers.....it depends hugely on where you are. I imagine that if you frequent a typical Spanish costa with loads of other Brits then you'll have a lot of competition and it could be difficult to find work.

However, in my city there is a lot of demand for private 1:1 teachers, mostly for conversation classes. It's very, very, very difficult for the Spanish to track us down and even unqualified "teachers" have no difficulty in finding private work.

It's a different story if you want to work in an academy though....a proper qualification is a must.