Quality TESL training in Los Angeles area?

April 29, 2009 6:57 AM

I would like get a TESL certificate, move to Costa Rica, teach for 5-10 years, then retire there. From basic research, it appears that CELTA, Trinity and SIT are among the most credible facilities offering such certificates. However, I currently live in Los Angeles, CA and none of those programs are available within 100 miles. I have located two other venues in the area, the “Oxford Seminars” and “LC Coaching,” which are similar in content, price and duration. Can anyone speak to the quality of these programs, as compared to CELTA, Trinity, etc? Does anyone know of any better programs in the LA area for TESL training?
posted by no1un0 to education (15 comments total)

Do you want the certificate to improve your teaching or your job prospects? There are many courses out there that have a lot of similarities to the CELTA/Trinity format and they can be worthwhile. The key areas to watch out for are quality of tutors (find out about their qualifications and experience in both teaching and training), the number of hours of assessed teaching practice you will do and the number of hours of observation of experienced teachers you will be given.

The one feature that CELTA/Trinity have (don't know about SIT) and the others generally don't is external validation. For example, on every CELTA, Cambridge ESOL require that an external assessor attends part of the course to check the quality of facilities, the course syllabus, speak to the trainees and, crucially, ensure that the observed lessons are being assessed to the official criteria. That's why the fussier employers insist on the big-name qualifications; it's about standardisation and quality assurance.

So, if you just want to be a better teacher, take a close look at the local courses and choose the one that seems the best. If you are concerned about employment prospects, consider getting a widely recognised qualification.

I don't know anything about the ELT market in Costa Rica, but I have been in the business for a decade and recruiting for several years.

Finally, it's not quite answering your question, but you can do the CELTA with International House in Costa Rica. There are many advantages to training where you plan to work - you'll be practicing with the same sort of students you'll later teach. There may be good reasons why this is impossible for you, so please comment as to whether that's an option as I don't want to derail.
posted by Busy Old Fool at 7:27 AM on April 29

Also not exactly answering the question, but Tefl International is one of the major companies that offers certification, they are also a major sponsor of Dave's ESL cafe (reputable?), and they offer a course in Manuel Antonio, Cosa Rica. I would think an on site program would be recognized by schools there, but the program could offer you some input on that too. Many Universities offer TEFL certification. The ones I looked into were an average of $1000 more in the US.
posted by nzydarkxj at 7:44 AM on April 29

no1un0, I have the perfect solution for you. There is an SIT TESOL site in Costa Rica where I have worked and I know the owner / main site trainer personally. I couldn't recommend her highly enough, especially as you intend to work in Costa Rica.

Taking the course at Espiral Mana is a very intense but enjoyable experience... you are in a small village out in the middle of the nowhere, with little to do but focus on your teaching skills and grok the rainforest. I've been there on a couple of different courses, and eagerly await a chance to return.

As to the various certificates and their relative value, as an SIT TESOL trainer I obviously have a bias, but also having worked as a CELTA trainer I think I can give an opinion on the matter from a unique inside perspective.

The main PRO of the CELTA is its fame... almost every school director or hiring agent in the business will be familiar with what it is and what having that certificate means. This would be the one potential CON of the SIT TESOL Cert - it is a smaller program and is not immediately known.

This might seem a big issue, but in reality it isn't. The SIT TESOL meets all of the same criteria as the CELTA (it was designed that way, in order to suit a number of international standards bodies) - this includes external course assessment, 6 hours observed practice teaching, course length, etc. Anyone hiring can discover this quite quickly with minimal research.

On the other side, there are a number of PROS to the SIT TESOL Cert:

• emphasis on reflective skills is a core part of the curriculum;
• smaller and more rigourously trained pool of trainers means more consistency and quality in the program overall;
• training model is humanistic and developmental - individual lessons are not marked "pass" or "fail", and trainers work hard to help those not meeting the assessment criteria to succeed;
• it is the course I train on, and if Meatbomb is doing it it must be good, right?

If you would like more specific detail about Espiral Mana or anything else I have written here please feel free to ask.
posted by Meatbomb at 7:54 AM on April 29 [1 favorite]

Also not exactly answering the question, but Tefl International is one of the major companies that offers certification, they are also a major sponsor of Dave's ESL cafe (reputable?), and they offer a course in Manuel Antonio, Cosa Rica.

As an insider in this business I STRONGLY warn any and all against dealings with TEFL International! They are a shady franchise business that has built up a tonne of bad Karma among the English language teaching and training community. Their heavy advertising on Dave's ESL is what has givem them the muscle to squelch criticism of the programme there, and it is one of many reasons that I no longer recommend Dave's ESL cafe as a trustworthy unbiased source of information. Do a little Googling and you will come up with numerous forums and blogs telling very sad stories of people's dealings with TEFL International, and the incredible lengths that TEFL International go to in order to stop bad news from getting out there.

no1un0, if you want to be sure of the quality of your course I would suggest you stick with CELTA, Trinity, or SIT TESOL.
posted by Meatbomb at 8:06 AM on April 29

nzydarkxj mentionned TEFL International, but you should be aware there's been a lot of controversy around this company. While I urge healthy scepticism about online complaints in the world of ELT, having seen more than one case of disaffected teachers lying about their ex-employers on forums and blogs, TEFL International gets more than its fair share of bad press.

Of course, it could be (as the boss of TEFL International claims) a concerted campaign by dishonest online critics to make them look bad, but I do know that one of the claims on one of their web pages is entirely untrue. MefiMail me for details.

On preview: heh.
posted by Busy Old Fool at 8:24 AM on April 29

Oops, sorry. I didn't know they've fallen out of favor. Perhaps controversy isn't good for getting a job, especially if the company actually isn't as reputable. However, I knew of it because I know people who took their course, in Costa Rica.

In the end on your resume for job apps you'll want to put the major elements of the program..such as 140 hour in person training course, based on the direct method and communicative approach, with 12 hours of observed practice training with feedback...that type of thing. Especially if the name of your program or certificate is lesser known, the description will inform them that it is an acceptable alternative. Also, maybe ask the courses about their success with prior students being place in good jobs within the country. Good luck!
posted by nzydarkxj at 9:51 AM on April 29

I did my TEFL certificate through Oxford Seminars and I was satisfied with it. I chose to go through them because I had neither the time nor the money to do the CELTA - it is a full-time class for four or five weeks if I remember correctly.

My boyfriend got his CELTA when we were living in London, which is not a particularly cheap way to go about it, unless you have a friend who lives around Holborn with a spare bedroom . . .

There is a difference between the two, namely Oxford gives you no real teaching experience (you practice your lesson plans in front of your peers, not in front of a Genuine English Class like CELTA), and it is only a 60 hour certification. I found no problem in finding jobs with it, however I'm not sure as to whether the criteria for EFL teachers will get more stringent over time.

I felt that Oxford Seminars had prepared me adequately for the classroom, however, if I had to do it all over again and I had the sweet sweet cash, I would definitely head to Costa Rica or Thailand and do a cheap CELTA course there!
Good luck!
posted by chickadee at 9:52 AM on April 29

"Do you want the certificate to improve your teaching or your job prospects?"

I want it to improve my job prospects. I have taught several subjects other than ESL, but I want to get a credential in this discipline. Like the idea of training in CR, but can't afford to do that right now. Want to get good training, work around LA area teaching/tutoring to pay off most bills, then relocate to CR relatively debt-free.

"if you want to be sure of the quality of your course I would suggest you stick with CELTA, Trinity, or SIT TESOL."

I understand that and would love to. But I can't afford to lose a month's income, travel over 100 miles away and pay for class plus room and board.

Thanks all for the heads up re: TEFL International, I'll research them thoroughly.

Thanks also to Chickadee for your info re: Oxford Seminars, this is the comparison/contrast that I was seeking.

Does anyone know of any programs in the LA area that include "real teaching experience?"
posted by no1un0 at 4:05 PM on April 29

UC Riverside extension (4 week course)
UCLA extension
posted by betweenthebars at 6:17 PM on April 29

Hi no1un0,

I want it to improve my job prospects. I have taught several subjects other than ESL, but I want to get a credential in this discipline.

Thanks, that's useful. Your next step is to start looking at the job market in Costa Rica to find out what sort of certificate is going to achieve that. Check out current adverts and contact the major employers even if they're not currently hiring to see what sort of qualifications they accept.

Aim high - there will probably be a range of requirements, but you really want to think twice about the places that don't care about qualifications and experience. An employer like that probably sees teachers as disposable and will treat you accordingly. You have teaching experience in other subjects, which is a great start and you now need to demonstrate you have the aptitude to work in the ELT classroom.

Like the idea of training in CR, but can't afford to do that right now. Want to get good training, work around LA area teaching/tutoring to pay off most bills, then relocate to CR relatively debt-free.

Fair enough and you know your situation better than me, but some of this jars with my knowledge of the job market in the UK; perhaps things are different in LA. English teaching in the UK is mostly a minimum-wage job for the newly-qualified and certainly not a good way to pay off bills and debts. Are you sure you can find teaching work in LA that won't mean a cut in your current income, wherever that comes from?

The alternative would be to continue with your current employment, pay off bills and build up savings, then head out to Costa Rica to do Meatbomb's friend's SIT or a CELTA/Trinity, which should be a lot cheaper than training in LA. Since you have teaching experience, albeit non-ELT, you should be able to get a job straight off the course on the ground - you might even be offered one. You'll also have friends in the place where you train who can give you advice about good and bad places to work.

As I said, you know your own situation and there may be other factors that I don't know about.

But I can't afford to lose a month's income, travel over 100 miles away and pay for class plus room and board.

To be blunt, your qualification can make the difference between being able to pick a great job and being permanently stuck on the bottom rung. Be absolutely sure that you can get good jobs in Costa Rica with the qualification you choose.
posted by Busy Old Fool at 6:45 PM on April 29 [1 favorite]

Extension courses such as those linked by betweenthebars are a good way to get started--Oxford Seminars' courses aren't taken seriously by most employers and won't do you any good if your plans change and you come back to the US, etc. I just want to strongly support the advice you've been given about getting a real certification with hands-on teaching experience.

Also, being a major sponsor of Dave's ESL Cafe means absolutely nothing in terms of credibility--it just means they've paid Dave and the site owners has accepted their money--and that any criticism of that company's practices will probably be deleted from the discussion forums. Because of this kind of thing there have been several attempts to set up alternative sites, such at eltworld.net, but there's been no consensus on what one site to move to.

Finally, are you saying that your plan is to get a TESOL certification and save enough money to move to Costa Rica? This is probably not going to go too well. The market is practically flooded with people who have master's degrees. Getting work with just a certification is very difficult unless you are fluent in another language--probably other than Spanish, which is too common. If you have advanced knowledge of another field, such as engineering, you might be able to get work doing workplace training, but those positions often require an MA as well. Certification programs claim you can get work with just a certification--I know, they told me that too, and I wound up getting a master's--but they're really overstating the case. I know there's more work in SoCal than in NorCal, and I hate to be a naysayer, but it will probably be extremely difficult to find enough work to do more than supplement another job.

Anyway, good luck.
posted by wintersweet at 3:10 PM on April 30

wintersweet, just to clarify, I think you mean the local (California) market is flooded? It is absolutely possible to get TESOL work abroad with just a (good) certificate.

I'd never recommend ESL teaching as a career or even a job in an English speaking country, for many of the reasons other people have outlined above.
posted by Meatbomb at 12:59 AM on May 1

Many thanks to all who replied. To clarify, my original plan was to continue with my day job, take classes in the evenings and on weekends, get the certificate, then teach or perform private tutoring part-time, nights and weekends, until bills are paid. Then move to CR.
However, the overwhelming consensus here seems to be that the best course of action is to move to CR first, take the Cambridge course there and by doing so, make contacts that will give me a decided advantage re: the job local market.
I agree that this is the best way to go. Now I just have to figure out how to do it.
Thanks again to all.
This is a great forum.
posted by no1un0 at 6:51 PM on May 2

Hi no1uno,

OK, that clarifies things. One other possibility would be for you to act as a volunteer classroom assistant with refugees etc. or to find a teacher willing to let you observe their classes. The CELTA/Trinity/SIT course is very intensive and it's best to start with some idea of what happens in the ELT classroom. An introductory-level text, such as Harmer's Practice of English Language Teaching might be worth a read too.

Disclaimer: Jeremy Harmer is a friend of a friend, but that sort of connection is pretty much unavoidable in my profession - I'm also similarly linked to Jim Scrivener and Scott Thornbury.

If you have any more questions, feel free to put them here or start a new thread. Good luck!
posted by Busy Old Fool at 12:43 AM on May 4

Busy Old Fool is giving you excellent advice. My favourite "textbook" is Jim Scrivener, Learning Teaching.
posted by Meatbomb at 3:34 AM on May 4