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Choosing a TEFL Course
What should I consider when picking a TEFL course?
Whether you decide to take your TEFL course with us or with another organization, there are a variety of factors that you should consider before you make your decision. The below information should help you with your choice as well as exhibit some of the features that make us the right TEFL course for you.
Is it also a language school?
The majority of TEFL programs only offer TEFL courses, however the best courses should be language schools as well. While this may not seem very important, it really is. If the course only offers TEFL training, you will only be exposed to your trainers and classmates. If the program is also a school, you get to meet a lot more people and get assistance from real teachers that are currently working. Also, a real school will usually have better resources, more classrooms and the ability to get hired with them.
The Language House is also a real school. We have been conducting language classes for more than 14 years in the city. We are one of the oldest private language schools in Prague. We have contracts with some of the largest organization in the city and we are a respected institution with years of success. If you would like to take a quick look at our language school visit our sister site www.thelanguagehouse.cz
Internationally Recognized
Any course you decide to take should be at least 100 hours in length and have a teaching practicum. This is the basis on which schools consider a TEFL course to be authentic. It is also crucial for the course to be linked to larger teaching organizations. These can include Trinity, Cambridge, IATEFL, the College of Teachers or the British Council.
Our course is over 130 hours long with both grammar and teaching practicum components. The Language House is a member of both IATEFL and the College of Teachers. We are one of the few language schools in the city to have permission to administer Pitman language exams through City and Guilds.
Online TEFL/Weekend TEFL
We have never hired a teacher with an online certification or something that wasn't recognized as being a legitimate TEFL course, thus we would assume that most schools wouldn't either. This is not to say that Online courses are not useful, but there is no way you can learn how to teach without practicing in the classroom. Some online courses offer a teaching component, so if online is your only option, pick one of these.
Class Size
Small class sizes are directly linked to the quality of training you will receive. Some courses do not cap the amount of students in their classes and you might find yourself with more than 20 people in your class. The result is packed classrooms and little one to one attention with trainers.
Our class sizes do not exceed 12 students and have a trainer to trainee ratio of 1/3. Every single day there are at least a few trainers around for you to work with and get advice from. Since we are also a real language school, you will also be surrounded by current EFL teachers working at our school.
Teaching Practice
The amount and quality of your teaching practice will be the biggest determiner of how well you improve on the course. Think of teaching as being more of a sport and less of a subject. Learning about methodology, techniques and theory is very important, but practice is how you actually improve. Many courses feel that 6 hours is enough practice to make a competent teacher.
We disagree and offer twice this amount as well as one-to-one practice in real companies settings. Six to eight hours is simply not enough, which results in teachers with mediocre classroom abilities. When picking a course, the more teaching practice th offered, the better. Period.
Location
This entails where your training takes place. The school's location is a very important consideration when making your choice. If the TEFL program is good, you will be spending most of your time at the school attending workshops, lesson planning, working on assignments or teaching classes. It is better to be in the center of the city, period. Find out where the school is located and how far away it is from the center.
The Language House is located right in the center of the city behind the National l Museum. Just outside of our doors is where everything is going on and there are many places to eat and drink and a variety of things to see. Also, Prague is great because the cost of living is far less than in most locations. Finally, Prague is simply a beautiful city. For pictures of our school and location, please click here.
Job Assistance
How much Employment assistance a course offers is a very important factor in your choice when picking a school. Many programs offer some sort of job assistance, but what that actually entails can sometimes be cloudy. The best advice we can give you is really find out exactly what the course provides. This will help you make the right choice.
The Language House believes that is our responsibility to find you employment in the city or abroad. Our Job assistance is quite extensive and the majority of our graduates get employed within two weeks of finishing the course. For more information on this, please click here.
Accommodation
Where you stay during the course is also something to consider. Some courses simply do not offer accommodation at all and others do. The best thing to know is where your housing will be and how long it takes to get to the school or the center. After that, consider how much the housing costs and try to get some sample pictures from the course provider. A lot of schools simply charge too much money ($500+ ) when the actual cost of the housing is half this amount.
Our housing is quite nice with half of our housing in Prague 2 and the other half in Prague 3. We have direct agreements with landlords, so we are able offer quality housing for less than most courses. For more information on housing click here.
Past Graduate Contact
Being able to contact past graduates is one of the best ways to make your decision on what course to choose. This will allow you to get a glimpse of what the course is like and what to expect in the future.
We agree with this too and encourage past graduates to talk with new applicants. For a list of testimonials as well as graduates to contact, please click here.
Course Extras and Price
Getting the training is obvious, but the little extras are what really makes the experience worthwhile. Different courses will vary dramatically with what they offer. Some offer just training and others have a variety of complimentary services and benefits for you. Finding this out is easy enough, and all you have to do is contact the course provider and see what specifically they offer. Along with this, the price is another large factor when considering a TEFL course. Do not assume that just because the cost of the course is high, you will receive more things or better training. As mentioned, many courses only administer TEFL and the only business they make is by conducting courses. Since we are successful language school as well, we do not have to rely on our courses alone to cover our expenses. Thus, our prices are probably the most competitive in the city.
We offer a variety of services and extras with the course that many courses do not or cannot offer. For a complete list of these extras as well as a dates and prices, please click here.
Reputation
Finally, how the community feels about your course is an important thing to consider. The easiest way is to check with message boards or do a search online to find out the positives or negatives written about them. On our links page you can find a variety of sites to check courses. Obviously, if a course has negative things written about them, it would be wise to avoid them.
We have a solid reputation as both a language school and TEFL center in the Czech Republic. Below are a few featured articles about our school to look at.
http://www.praguepost.com/bol/record.php?sectionid=12&categoryid=88&page=6&recordid=82
http://www.praguepost.com/P03/2005/Art/0915/busi7.php
http://www.praguepost.com/P03/2004/spsect/0610/sp3.php
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