BootsnAll Travel Community

I was already all decided on a TEFL course, when my friend sent me some link for this package deal type thing. that terminology may be misleading...but hear me out. The program is for teaching in Hungary. For 2500 USD you'd take a 20 hr online course, undergo a week of teacher observation and then teach English in tandem with a Hungarian teacher with a ten month contract. Housing is included as is a weekly stiped (not sure how much-i'm still gathering info). Does that sound weird? I know the training is much less than the required amt. of observation and teaching practice, but the guaranteed job would provide experience and the Hungarian tandem teacher would be helpful. And no, I don't want honest, decent Hungarians to waste their money on a terrible, ill prepared teacher...but that's not something I'm likely to be. So the question is, would it be a waste of money in the long run? Do you think an actual TEFL certificate would be necessary eventually?

Hmm...
I'd find out as much as I could - and would ask to speak past and current teachers doing the program. Public schools? What age kids? What would your responsibilities be in comparison to the main teacher?

As far as I can tell, it seems like the benefits of this over a standard TEFL course are that you have a guaranteed job and an experienced teacher to work with.

The guaranteed job - kind of a weight off your shoulders, and I can't say I'm immune to this. But if they can employ someone from outside the EU legally, a language school should be able to too - and I don't know the job market in Budapest but my feeling is that if you have the (standard) certificate (and are sure schools can in fact employ you legally), finding your own job will not be too terrible. You won't get rich of course, but that's pretty rare in tefl anyway.

As far as the other teacher - it could be a great benefit, or it could not. I think it depends a lot on the situation, how adaptable you are, and what you want to do next. If, for example, the teacher is translating your instructions or kind of getting you to do very traditional things - like correcting a lot or getting your students to do rote memorization or something - this is probably not what you'd be doing in a more standard solo tefl job. My understanding is that if you want to work in Europe (after this job), most employers do want a standard tefl certifiate - in other places the requirement is much more flexible.

But, the teacher may be great. Or, if you feel confident you can adapt to a variety of situations and aren't planning on working at a language school in Europe next...it could be okay. In the right situation, having an experienced teacher there could take away much of the pressure - but at the same time teaching your own class does force you to cope with it - and most people can and do.

I also don't know the exact going rate for a CELTA, but I think it's something you've probably looked into...and I'm guessing $2500 is nearly double.

I don't think it's necessarily a scam or anything, and finding your own job is no guarantee that you'll end up in a great situation either...so in the end it comes down to what you think you want.

I'm not so sure I would be very enthusiastic about this "package deal" that you've outlined.

While it's probably likely that the school is fine and the job that they will provide will be fine, I'm not sure of the benefit of locking all of this in upfront and paying more for it.

When you're just starting out in the field it's fairly common to be a little unsure of how easy or hard it will be to find work. Having done this for a number of years, I can tell you that by far the most reliable way of finding a good job--not just any job but a good job--is to travel to the country you're interested in and begin looking on the ground.

The advantage is that you can really size up the school, the environment, the facilities, etc. in a way you never could from home. If you decide that particular country or city or school is not what you're interested in, no problem, you can just pick up and go without obligation.

The downside is that you have to have the courage to land in a country with nothing lined up, and the financial ability to support yourself for the couple months it will take you to find work and get your first paychecks.

There's no real wrong answer here, of course, and at the end of the day go for whatever feels like the best course for you personally.