TEFL / CELTA courses

Anybody any experience of these? I'm thinking of doing the full time celta course that IH Dublin do, but it's pricey (€1400!) so was looking for some feedback / advice from anyone who had done any EFL / ELT courses here in Dublin.

Thanks

there are i-to-i courses where you can do tefl courses. Im doing it online after doing a weekend course in it! its really worth having a look. was about €750 for the weekend and the online module for six months. have a look http://www.onlinetefl.com/.

hope this helps.

I did one in the Dublin School of English, Westmoreland Street, it was 'ok'. Did it 9 - 5 for either 3 or 4 weeks and it was very intensive. There is also another school in Kildare Street that offers CELTA., sorry I don't remember the name.

Unless you are very serious about teaching English (considering it is badly paid ) you could just do the 3 / 4 week TEFL course and learn as you go along, rather than investing in the more expensive course.

Senior College Dun Laoghaire offer a TEFL course on Friday mornings - it's done over 3 terms and costs around 350 euros.

If you do an online course - how will you get any teaching practice? I'd say the teaching practice is very important.

As a veteran in this industry, there are some very important basics for you to underdstand.

Any TEFL course you do that is not ACELS approved, is not worth the paper it's printed on - this includes all online courses currently, as TPs (teaching practise) is not offered. Personally, I wouldn't hire someone with an i-to-i certificate.

Also, as ACELS is a sub-section of the Dept. of Ed. & Science, your qualification will be automatically officially recognised in all European coutries under agreements of reciprocallity. Recognised English language schools in Ireland can only hire people who have a recognised qualification, so to be "trained" by an unrecognised training institure rules you out of the majority of jobs. There is a list of reconised training providers on the ACELS website - chose one of these and no other.

The Cambridge CELTA is one of the very best introductory qualifications available - and universally accepeted around the world. Ensure that it is the Cambridge CELTA, if paying €1400.

TEFL teaching is horrendously paid - if you are serious about it, it can be a rewarding career. However, most people use it as a stop gap - and very many employers have come to treat staff as stop-gappers. There is some sense in trying a shorter, cheaper ACELS course, other than the CELTA, and if prepared to commit to a career after a year or two, then DELTA might be the way to go.