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This can be verified by contacting Matthew Martin at the College
of Teachers (http://www.c ollegeofte achers.ac.uk).
As the EBC award is of equal standing to these two more famous
awards and is also of equal standing regarding recognition by
the British Council, I find it odd that the person would make
the "negative analysis" comment.
In addition to a top level award, EBC also pro-actively helps
people find work, which (reading between the lines of the poster's
comment) it seems that neither BLC nor Hyland do.
The EBC course is also listed on the Cactus TEFL course site.
A site that ONLY lists legitimate, high quality courses. BLC
and Hyland are also on this list, so it would appear that Cactus
regards EBC to be at least of equal standing to these two courses.
Regards,
Jim Ross,
TEFL Coordinator,
EBC Servicios Lingísticos.
Steven Starry's response:
The last post was mine. My point-by-point response is as follows:
- Your course may, in fact, be certified, but the fact that
they might have given your academy the certification in the
first place makes me suspect it even more. I'm not saying
that your course is bad for sure, but I am saying that I've
heard mostly bad things about your TEFL course and few good
ones. I wouldn't even mention it, but you did bring it up.
- To more or less summarize these bad points from conversations
that I've had with English teachers who have been through
your courses, I suspect that you lack resources and facilities.
Rather, I suspect that your "school" is made up
of 3-odd rooms and 40-odd books in a musty old office park
just off of Nuevos Ministerios. (And, by the way, the "odds"
above aren't a reference to your having found my "negative
analysis" odd, but I hope that my deepening of my negative
analysis of your school's TEFL course will clarify any doubts
as to why I would have made such a negative analysis in the
first place.)
- Basically speaking, I trust Cambridge CELTA and I recommend
it. Actually, I think their reputation speaks for itself and
everyone knows how demanding and expensive it is. Frankly,
my feeling is that many TEFL academies offering courses would
like to get certified to offer Cambridge courses but they
can't meet those demands due to their lack of resources (they
can't afford it) and so they make do with lesser and cheaper
"substitutes."
- Unless they suffer from halitosis or are some other kind
of weak "loser," I just can't believe English teachers
need any help at all to find work around here. It's nice of
you to offer, but I think it's a pointless gesture. Now, if
instead of offering to help them to find work after your TEFL
courses, you offer to help them find "decent" paying
work, that's quite another story. Anybody can help teachers
find work at 10 to 12 euros an hour (all of these agencies
around here would be knocking your doors down for sure. It's
a meat market out here, let me tell you!), but offer to help
them find work at 18 to 24 euros an hour, which is what you
need to make ends meet, and you can forget the whole certification
issue altogether.
- I wasn't aware that this Cactus site was certifying courses
now as well. That's news to me. I'm interested in finding
out how much you have to pay to get "certified."
The Cambridge CELTA is certified by the British government
and I know it's expensive. Who certifies Cactus?
The curious thing about the internet is that any webpage or
any maverick like me can make it to the top with a bit of
work, and influence others to make a decision for or against
one thing or another simply because it's a big fancy webpage
or he (or she) is, in fact, a "maverick." But, business
is business folks, and we've got to pay the bills, so a maverick
(or even a big fancy high-falluting webpage like Cactus')
would have to be a saint to turn down a bit of extra "advertisement"
revenue, now wouldn't he? (Now, I'm talking man-to-man, hear?)
It's also curious to me that people might think that by virtue
of your TEFL courses being placed alongside such "legitimate"
and "high-quality" (in your own words) courses as
those of Hyland and BLC that your courses might somehow share
in ther legitimacy and quality. (By the way, if that's the
kind of warped logic that shapes your courses, then you're
standing on shaky ground. It won't hold up in court, I think.)
Finally, to sum it up, not that I'm a certifying organization
or anything, but I think that my opinions are the closest
thing to "authentic," "impartial" and "informed"
that most English teachers searching for information on TEFL
courses can hope to find.
CELTA or Master's Degree
I have heard that a Master's Degree in TEFL is all theory and
no real practical classroom teaching or it's not as good as
what you would get from the Celta certificate. But to be honest,
I'm not so confident that I can be a good teacher after only
4 weeks of training, that seems really short. Does anybody know
how much a Master's Degree would make a difference in Madrid?
Would it give me job security and does anybody know how I could
use it in the U.S? Is there a great demand for TEFL teachers
in the United States? (Recovered from forum.)
Masters or CELTA
Job security? what's that? If you've
got the time and money, why not do both? You could also do the CELTA
and follow it up with the DELTA and then with the Masters for a maximum
of job security. I would think there would be a great demand for TEFL
teachers because of the large number of immigrants in the states but
that you would need far better qualifications than around here. The
DELTA, Masters and a few years of experience abroad in the trenches
at recognized schools would really help to set you apart and give
you a wider world view, which will help you to connect with your foreign
students better (engaging your students is 90% of the job).
A large part of teaching is nerve or balls or cheek or whatever
you want to call it. Part of the fun of this job is not knowing
what will happen next. In the beginning some people prepare
every single thing meticulously, but after a couple of years
have gone by, they're perfectly comfortable going into class
with a blank sheet of paper and a pen (or even without all that).
Some even start off that way and never change.
I think you'll go much farther in this business if you prepare
and keep yourself involved. The pen and paper crowd are much more
likely to burn out over time in my opinion. But, knowing when to back
off a group and letting them have their chatting classes (you participating
of course) is a necessary part of the job. I really don't know what
"job security" is anymore. It's pretty rare around here and I don't
think it's the certificates and Masters that give it to you, but I'm
sure those things help a lot.
British Language Centre
Finding a Job, Aug or Sept School I am currently considering
BLC's 1-month CELTA program in August or September. I've been
told Spain's academic school year begins in October, so I'm
assuming the best time to look for a job is in Sept? However,
the September school may be easier on my 'getting to Spain logistics'.
Could anyone tell me if it will be difficult to find a job once
certified Oct 1, and how helpful the British Language Centre
is for job hunting? I am also considering the EBC International
school which seems to give much help in the job hunting area.
BLC accomodation - find your own!
It is very easy to find work here even though its June, so I
wouldn't worry about that. I enjoyed my course at the BLC -
there is a supportive, positive and helpful atmosphere even
though the surroundings could do with some cleaning and modernisation.
I can't speak for other centres because I didn't compare - I
just went to the BLC because it was recommended by the British
Council and it felt right. I was already living here when I
took the course so I didn't have to look for accomodation but
those who came over from far afield to take the course were
extremely disappointed by the substandard accomodation that
they had already paid for through the BLC. So I would advise
you look for adverts for flats - there are plenty. (Another
post recovered from the forum.)
CELTA course at the British Learning Centre in Madrid
I've just recently completed the course - I did the one month intesive
course and it was tough. Every evening you have to prepare a class
for the next day and it wears you down - all your free time disappears.
At the weekends there are written assignments to do, and lesson planning
and language analysis. Having said all that, I really enjoyed the
course and found it worthwhile - I now feel fully confident looking
for work.
The physical facilities in the centre are very poorly maintained
- I don't know where they invest all the money you pay for the course
but it's certainly not in the building and materials. The tutors we
had were both very positive and helpful - and flexible when problems
arose. (Post recovered from the hacked forum, March 26, 2005.)
If I had to choose a local academy for a DELTA today, I wouldn't doubt
it for a second: BLC would be my choice: British
Language Centre. (Steve)
… Without having really read into what the DELTA is, how is
this diploma much different than the TEFL? ... is simply that
every form or manner in teaching English is valid ... in guiding
students. This glossary isn't satisfactory, but ... : http://www.tesall.com/newbie.html
. I think that the term TEFL is a term that refers to teaching
English as a foreign language in general, while the DELTA and
CELTA are just two aspects of this (i.e. it's kind of like talking
about "oranges" and "fruit"). The CELTA is a ticket into many
academies and agencies, while the DELTA is a ticket into better
positions (i.e. DOSes). Any academy that teaches CELTAs or DELTAs
must have a DELTA qualified person or two on the staff.
Transition’s Abroad (TEFL Article): Steve, I recently
ran across an article you had written on the Transitions Abroad magazine
regarding TEFL courses. It was a well written article, and I definitely
felt that you were on the mark stating how experience is most necessary
in getting you through an assignment teaching English, or just teaching
in general. It's ridiculous how little any teacher training course
actually CAN help you in the real world. If anything I think, the
best thing to support a teacher is a competent mentor who could possibly
model situations and let you know what to truly expect. I'm not saying
it is all useless, the TEFL and such trainings, but it certainly doesn't
prepare you. Having taught for 7 years, I've relied more upon my wits
and common sense rather than the teacher credential and TEFL trainings
to bring manageability to my classrooms. I really wonder what the
realities are teaching English in Madrid for these people new to the
teaching world who are thrusted into such situations with high expectations.
I wonder what expectations the academies and agencies have, and how
much time they are willing to invest in these new teachers as well.
(Chuvinh - dialog recovered off the forum)
I do think the TEFL is necessary ... (Steve) Well ... if I had
an academy, I would definitely want somebody who had paid to
get into the business with some basic training. I don't think
it's ridiculous, but I do think that TEFL courses tend to confuse
teachers as much as anything else. The best academies offer
more than just a couple of hours of teacher training per month
(or trimester in some cases). They do things like observe teachers
with a genuine interest in helping them to improve their techniques
and so on (and not just spy on them to see if they should fire
them or not). I went to TESOL-Seville last weekend (I'm working
on an article) and there are lots of constructive teachers whom
I wouldn't mind having observe my classes. I'm all for improving
my act little-by-little (and everyone else's improving theirs).
I think many academies pay lip service to quality, but they
don't actually usually invest in it. It's normally up to teachers
to improve themselves. I think teaching English is an art, which
takes a lifetime to master if you actually try and I don't think
there's anything wrong with hearing what others (teacher trainers
or not) have to say about the subject. 
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