applying for CELTA

CELTA. It is the best way to get your foot in the door as a new TEFL teacher. I have never taken a teaching methodology class or done anything where I would get a teaching certificate and now with an online TEFL certification under my belt, I am looking forward to CELTA.

CELTA, as described on the Cambridge English website, is the highest qualification for a new TEFL teacher that does not have formal teaching certifications. It helps prepare the teacher for the TEFL classroom in a practical sense. Even more so, it is the highest internationally-recognized certification for new teachers. There are hundreds of TEFL jobs that will take people with absolutely no experience or certifications, but the best jobs will go to those that have CELTA.

On the website, you can search your location to find a center that offers a CETLA course either full- or part-time. In Colorado, the only place available was Denver and the times that they offered a course were very limited, so I quickly scratched that off my list.

At the end of my i-to-i TEFL course, there was a module on finding TEFL jobs. They provided a list of companies that provided TEFL courses to English language learners. One company that caught my eye was Teaching House. The company was approved by Cambridge in 2007 and now is the largest provider of CELTA courses worldwide. They provided full- and part-time courses. Each class is small to ensure that you have the maximum amount of time with your tutor and the trainers. It is a company that has come to be widely-respected and well-known.

As I was looking through their locations (all US based), I happened to notice a link to international locations. Teaching House is not formally abroad, but works with a sister company called International House, though it is not particularly clear on their website. As I looked at the dates and locations, there it was. Belfast. Who wouldn't want to spend a month studying in Northern Ireland? The dates in July were perfect! And the cost of studying in Belfast was cheaper than a US-based program. (I know, I know. You have to buy a plane ticket! Well, the cost of tuition and accommodation in Belfast are cheaper together than one US-based program. And I will already be in the UK before that, so might as well stay!)

The application was easy. I applied through the Teaching House website, under Enroll Online. It is a simple, straight-forward application that took less than an hour to complete. It only took about 3 days to hear back from the Enrollment Director in Teaching House, Stephanie. She sent me a Pre-Interview Task and told me to complete it and email to her. After that, the interview would be scheduled.

The Pre-Interview Task was not difficult and took me about 6 hours total to complete over a couple of evenings. They do not expect you to know the answer and encourage doing research. The questions cover methodology, how to handle a classroom, and other similar things. It was actually quite illuminating and gave me an idea of what a CELTA course would look like.

After I completed the task and emailed it to Stephanie. Now, this is where I was initially mistaken. I thought that the interview would be done through Teaching House HQ in Boston. It is not. Whatever program you apply to, it is forwarded onto that particular location's Teaching or International House and everything is handled from there. So, Stephanie forwarded my application and Pre-Interview Task to her colleagues in Belfast. (That's when I figured out that they had their own website. Duh.) It was only two days when I heard from the Enrollment Director, Paddy. We scheduled a Skype interview (voice-only, I found out) and I waited the three long days to talk to him.

The interview was fantastic! We went through some things on my application and then discussed the Pre-Interview Task. He gave me constructive criticism! It was wonderful to see what was expected and how I could improve right from the start. The interview was 30 minutes. Nice, short, and to the point. At the conclusion of the interview, Paddy accepted me into the program, explaining that he would send me an official email as well.

It was a wonderful feeling and it took a lot control not to go "WHOOP!" on the phone. He sent me the information about the specifics of the course and a couple of tasks that I will need to complete before I go in July. Setting up accommodation wasn't hard either!

Really, applying for CELTA a couple of months ago sounded like a big deal, but in reality it was simple. I expended more energy worrying about it than actually doing it. 

review: i-to-i TEFL 120-hour online course

As mentioned previously, I did an 120-hour online course through i-to-i TEFL. Let me say this: I did a lot of research before choosing a course. I knew that CELTA would be the best to do eventually, but there wasn't a way that I could do a full-time course whilst I was working. Also, several TEFL course providers have the online component and offer a in-class 20-hour teaching practice component. This is the best and higher on the totem pole than a 100% online course. However, you need to be in a location where that particular course provider will offer that 20-hour classroom experience. I could not find a provider that did that where I currently live, so I went the 100% online route with the plan to do CELTA (which 160 hours, all in-class) at a later time.

One of the biggest things for me in choosing a course was checking to see how good the customer service was. Because I was doing an online course, I wanted to be confident that if I ran into problems I could call and get things straightened out relatively quickly. Another issue for me was cost. Since it was going to be all online, I was not willing to spend over $500. I wanted to have it be affordable and have easy access. Finally, I wanted a course that was going to be helpful and accredited. (If you think about it, doing a super cheap course online through someone unknown will not help you.)

There. Those were my top three things as I went out in search of a TEFL course online. There were several options but I settled on i-to-i TEFL because it meant all my criteria. I was able to have a very enlightening conversation with a TEFL trainer (who called me from Australia! <---at no cost to me) and was extremely helpful in answering my questions. The cost was very affordable, so I added a 10-hour teaching children certificate as well to my 120-hours. i-to-i TEFL was having a sale, so I had $100 off the course. (When I've been back on the website, they usually offer a discount on their courses.) And finally, i-to-i TEFL is an internationally recognized TEFL teacher trainer. They might not be CELTA, but they are well-known and well-respected worldwide.

Thus, I began my journey to pursuing my first TEFL certification.

The course, including my extra certificate, did not take the full 130-hours. i-to-i TEFL gives you 3 months to finish your course (to help you be self-motivated). I accomplished it in 2 months while I was working full-time, volunteering, and doing my own stuff.

The course is dictated by how fast you want to move through each module. There are 20-35 slides of information per module, each focusing on an aspect of TEFL such as teaching grammar or how to find a job. Usually each module began and ended with a short video clip of a TEFL classroom, which provided a basis of what you would be learning in the module. These videos were helpful, though sometimes hard to hear.

Each slide provided great information for the module, giving you definitions and examples. Some slides had gap-fills and other activities for you to do. Most of the time they worked, though I faced a few kinks now and again. At the end each module there is a 20-question quiz. You can take these quizzes as many times as you like in order to achieve a passing grade (80%). With the exception of two, I passed on the first time. The first few question are gap-fills and then the rest were multiple choice. They reviewed what you learned in the module. I took notes, so if I struggled with an answer it was easy enough to go back and look at what I wrote down.

However, there were times when there were questions that were not covered in the module. It was frustrating and the two times I did not pass the first time is because I left some questions blank, which automatically counts as a missed answer. You do not see what the correct answer is, so I would just guess again.

Every three modules there is a checkpoint, which is graded by an online TEFL tutor. The checkpoint integrates what you have learned in the previous three modules. A couple of them are just questions, such as "If you were in a classroom and this....". They are very helpful to see if you can produce your own thoughts from everything that you learned and integrate them. The interface is not as user friendly (it felt like I was using an old Windows XP computer), but easy enough to deal with. There was one checkpoint that had audio clips that were very poorly recorded, so it was extremely difficult to hear. You can only do these checkpoints three times to pass, which is done on a pass/fail only system.

All of my checkpoints were graded within the hour of my sending them, since the online tutors were in Australia and the time difference was convenient. I passed the first time on each checkpoint with helpful comments on each question on the checkpoint; however, there was no constructive criticism offered on how my answers could have been improved.

When I ended my 120-hour course and finished the 10-hour course, I was awarded my certificate. You can download a copy straight from your course portal and they will mail you a hard copy. (I got two in the mail, which makes me think that they didn't update their system after sending me the first one.)

Overall, doing TEFL training through i-to-i TEFL was a positive and educational experience. It did not go into great detail in any of the modules, but provided me with a good idea of what a TEFL career would be like and what is expected of a TEFL teacher. Being fully online, I never had a problem with access and felt that the money I paid was well worth the investment.

This is a great course for someone to do if they are not familiar with TEFL or TESOL, such as I. It is really a foundation course that will help you decide whether or not a TEFL career is right for you.

Check out the website here: http://www.i-to-i.com/tefl

gathering documents: apostille degree

In preparing myself for my TEFL career, I am in the process of gathering together my documents for my applications (specifically EPIK). The purpose of today's post is to share with you the process of getting your university degree apostilled.

What is an apostille? An apostille is a form of authentication issued to documents for use in countries that participate in the Hague Convention of 1961. So basically it is a fancy piece of paper that states that your degree is legit. 

Now, the longest part of getting my degree apostilled was figuring out the process. I googled my little heart out and came across several blogs that had posts about how to apostille your degree. Funny, because a majority of them were in regards to Korea. I decided to join the fun and make another post that might help someone someday in their process of getting their degree apostilled. 

The process is actually quite simple and rather inexpensive depending on the state that you live in. But, first things first. I had a hard time figuring out if my degree needed to be apostilled in the same state that I received it in (Utah). I currently live in Colorado and didn't much fancy the idea of going to Utah to get this done. I discovered the following:

You DO NOT need to get your degree apostilled in the same state that you received it in.

 YES! That made my life a lot easier. So, if any of you are like me, you can do it in whatever state you currently live in. 

Now, to the process.

1) Make a copy of your degree. Color is preferable, but black and white will do fine. (I also copied mine on bond paper because it is better quality.) 

2) Get your degree notarized. 

Your degree need to get apostilled and notarized in the SAME state. 

For example, I CANNOT notarize my degree in Colorado and get it apostilled in Utah. Both the notary and apostille need to be in the same state.

To notarize your degree, there are several options. I work at a law firm, so I had my pick of the lot. But if you don't have easy access to a notary, you can usually go to a post office, UPS store, or a Clerk and Recorder. Just Google it.  (Google is like my best friend!)

My notary did not ever notarize a degree before so we put the standard verification notary on the back of my degree, which includes:

• My name and signature
• The notary's name and signature
• The date it was notarized
• The notary's seal
• The date the notary's license expires
• The county and state it was notarized in

You can either type it or hand write it on the back or front of the copy, either is fine.  There is no specific rule or instructions whether the notarization needs to be in a specific place and with specific wording. As long as you include what is on the above list, you will be fine. Make sure you bring your original degree so that notary can verify that your copy is true and correct.

3) Get your degree apostilled.

This means finding your Secretary of State (again, Google it). Each one is slightly different, but will have pretty clear instructions on what you need to do. If they don't, give them a ring! 

For Colorado, you fill out an Authentication Request form, write a check ($5 per apostille), and mail that in with the copies of your notarized degrees. DO NOT SEND YOUR ORIGINAL DEGREE! I included a prepaid envelope for them to mail it back in as well. All together, the process (with mailing time) took less than a week. Really. I notarized it Thursday, mailed it Friday, got it back Wednesday. 

The process sounds a lot more difficult and daunting than it really turned out to be. It just comes down to getting it done and making sure you include everything. I ended up doing three copies of my degree, just in case.

Here are some links to blog posts I found helpful as well:

Kimchi Teaching

Koreamer

Marshall Jones

Good luck with your apostilles!!

the plan

Becoming an TEFL teacher is not the simplest thing on the planet. Sure, if you Google TEFL jobs without a degree or TEFL certification required, you'll find one, but it might not be the best experience. I would prefer to have my introduction into the world of TEFL be a little less stressful, though I am prepared to have it be a difficult-yet rewarding-experience.

In order to help me on that path to being more prepared and having a positive experience, I volunteer in an ESL class twice a week in a local school district. The department specialises in Family and Adult Education and the students are refugees. In the class I volunteer in, most of the students are from Mexico, though there are a few from Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Vietnam. It is very enjoyable to be in there with them and helping them learn functional English so that they can be successful.

***Literal Right-Justified Side Note***

There is a slight difference between ESL and TEFL. ESL promotes

students learning functional English to help them in their jobs and communities

in an English-speaking country. TEFL, on the other hand, is Teaching English as a Foreign Language, meaning that the students are actually learning the grammar and formation of 

the language, and are ultimately able to produce it fluently. 

Since I am a volunteer under a teacher, I don't prepare any of the lessons, but I help in the class. I run the warmers and the lead-ins, as well as assist with the activities. The students' ages range from 17-45, so it is a broad range. It has been a positive experience for me, though 3 hours from one class is a little bit trying on the students, the teacher, and me too (sometimes).

But, I find myself getting off topic. The topic of today's post is...

THE PLAN!

Okay, it might not be a solid plan, a completely formulated plan, or even a good plan. But at least I have some sort of idea that resembles a plan. I read a funny quote once that went something like this:

"What is my five-year plan? To figure out my five-year plan."

Love it! Being in your 20s and trying to figure out the next step can be rather interesting. Anyway, I decided to pursue a career in TEFL/TESOL this past summer when I realised that intelligence positions and government careers just wouldn't do it for me. I looked at jobs and noticed that having some sort of TEFL certification would be a good idea. I researched for a few weeks and came across a CETLA course; however, it was $3,000, full-time, and in Denver.

Um, not going to work.

Finding a course that offered practical experience was difficult for me in Colorado Springs, so I looked into online only course. I ended up choosing the 120-hour online course through i-to-i TEFL, a company with a great reputation and housed in Leeds, England (which also was an attractive aspect to the company for no reason other than it was in Leeds and I have been there several times).

I will have a full review of my experience at a later date, but suffice it to say that it was a great experience and provided a wonderful taster of what a TEFL job entails. One of the last modules was on finding TEFL positions and I noticed a recurring theme: CELTA.

CELTA is the University of Cambridge (POSH!!) Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults. It is the almost-the-top TEFL certification that you can get in the world! It is internationally-recognised and taken very seriously. However, it is a lot more expensive and is an in-class, pracitical learning process.

I currently work full-time in a position that I have for a year (yay for the first post-graduate job!) and had no way to participate in a CELTA course whilst I am working. That led me to think....well, my job is done in May-ish, June...why not do a CELTA course in June/July? That way I could have the CELTA certification and then apply for jobs in August/September.

Genius, right??

That led me to Teaching House, an absolutely fantastic company with a great reputation and an international company International House. After researching courses, I settled on Belfast.

Yep, Belfast in Northern Ireland...

And then a wonderful friend of mine told me about Greenheart Travel, which helps recruit (at no charge) teachers for EPIK, which has always been (well, in the last 4 months) a dream of mine.

So, I have a plan.

Step 1: IRELAND (I have been accepted into CELTA and I will write about that in another post...coming soon.)
Step 2: EPIK (I will be applying for fall 2015 and will know in April/May if I get to go)
Step 3: Work for 2-ish years
Step 4: Apply for an MSc in Applied Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh, Maybe Oxford. Or Newcastle. Somewhere in the UK, though.
Step 5: Be amazing!

That is the plan, folks. Tomorrow I am starting the process of getting documents together for the EPIK application, i.e. apostillised degree. I will have thoughts to share on that, too.

I have a lot of thoughts. 

adventures ahead

I've never really thought that I would be the adventurous type. I was such a shy child, never really speaking out. But, as I have gotten older (being in my mid-20s) I have realised that there is no point in wasting time in doing nothing. The world is out there! I need to go see it.

Here is a bit about me:

• I am a recent university graduate. I earned a BA in Middle Eastern Studies/Arabic with a minor in archaeology.
• I am currently working a "go-between" job to earn money for the future...(I have some exciting plans).
• I love culture, languages, and food! 
• I love to travel, even though I haven't been a lot of places yet. But, I absolutely despise long bus rides.
• I am actively pursuing a career in TEFL/TESOL.

I am excited to share my adventures, even though I have no idea where they might take me. I have been a few places, like the glittering (yet smelly) Nile:

The beautiful temples of ancient Egypt:

The green countryside of England:

And the gorgeous city of Jerusalem:

(yes..that is me)

I have been able to study Latin, Arabic, Italian, and Mandarin Chinese. Though I am not fluent in any of these languages, I have come to appreciate and understand more of each culture, each place. My greatest desire is for everyone to be happy and enjoy one another without war and chaos. I want to help people, travel the world and do what I can to assist in making the world a better place. 

That's me...a closet foreigner.