TEFL vs CELTA vs TESOL

TEFL vs CELTA vs TESOL

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To be totally transparent, I have been a teacher (EFL) for 12yrs, an employer (DOS), and a trainer - both CELTA, a 'TESOL' certificate, and CERT IV in TESOL. I also have a DELTA and a masters.
My advice? Do a CELTA. If you're not sure, call a range of schools in the countries you want to teach in and ask what they want.
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I did a 4 week CELTA course in the UK a few weeks ago. It was very hard work and intense but I loved it. I have no regrets whatsoever in doing it. The way I chose this course months ago was simply by looking at job vacancies over a period of weeks, to see what qualifications they were looking for. CELTA came up time and time again. I also feel that the practical teaching experience I gained on real life pupils was invaluable. It's just not the same as one of these cheaper distance learning/online TEFL courses. They're not as well recognised by employers around the world and I don't think they actually prepare you for the job itself as well either. You get what you pay for really, as with most things in life.

My advice: look at jobs and see what they are asking for. It's usually a TESOL/CELTA.
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Basically, no. TESOL and TEFL are acronyms and are thrown around as if they were standard or recognised qualifications. They are not. Anyone can print a certificate with those initials and say they are offering a TESOL. There are good providers and bad. A serious issue is whether they have teaching practice- the CELTA and Trinity at least provide a guarantee that they have been observed in a classroom with students, most online courses cannot do this.
Caveat emptor
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Hi,yes I too faced the same dilema,TEFL TESOL or CELTA. It is definately the CELTA course that is the most recognised. I am going to start the course in September which also includes PTLLs(Preparation to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector) This is an initial generic teaching qualification,which enables you to teach in the Adult Education and Further Education sector. Useful for me because I am here in England and would like a year of experience at least,before I go abroad to teach.
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The CELTA is better than the Trinity TESOL. Oxford TEFL, which is authorized to teach the Trinity course, falsely claims that both courses are "essentially the same and both are equally recognized."
This is not true! Although the British Council recognizes both, employers have come to realize that the CELTA better prepares the students to teach in real life scenarios while the Trinity Course at Oxford TEFL is done but eccentric artists that waste students time with nonrealistic methodologies such as teaching adults as if they were 5 year olds!
I took the Trinity with Oxford TEFl and it was a waste of both time and money. The CELTA is run by professionals that respect the students and give them more value for their money. Oxford TEFL's Trinity TESOl is more like an assembly line of students being rushed in and out.
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