BootsnAll Travel Community

I'm planning on moving to Prague in early January to teach English. I'll most likely get my TEFL certification at the Caledonian School, and, before I send my deposit, I was wondering if anybody had worked there, studied there, heard of it, or otherwise had anything to say about it.
Cheers,
Isaac

I don't know much but I believe I know someone who worked at one and it was okay...but still do your research, like asking the school to put you in touch with former trainees (ones who are not working there in addition to ones who are, if that is what they offer).

Also ... things can change over time, so while you don't need to be paranoid, don't put all your faith in a reference from a year or two ago.

The general criteria for an internationally-recognized certificate is 100 or + hours of instruction and 6 or + hours of real teaching practice. I think Caledonian does employ some of the teachers it trains, which could make the job search shorter if it works out...but I'd say keep your eyes open to other possibilities too, at the least so you have something to compare it to.

Sorry, I don't have much to offer! You may try sending a pm to bootsnall member makrotantalo (? search some of the tefl threads if this name isn't right exactly) because I believe he worked in the Czech Republic.

It's been ages since I've been on the boards, and today I happened to look at the site again. Coincidence, perhaps. I can only be of small help. When I worked in Prague (a long time ago) I worked for Akcent (now International House) in Prague 4. Rumour has reached me that they now apparently own Caledonian school but they keep the brand name Caledonian.

In those days Caledonian school was a rival of Akcent and was, with some reservations,expressed by some teachers, a good school - to the extent that their rivals in the centre of Prague, English House (another good school in those days)always chose them as the kind of standard to which they aspired. I'm afraid I can't say whether the Akcent takeover has improved them, kept them at the same high level, or otherwise, because my contacts in Prague at present are not connected in any way with Caledonian.

Dave's ESL cafe might provide a few answers. I'm sorry I can't be of more help.

Thank you both so much for your replies. I decided to take the plunge, and I'm sending my deposit to reserve my place in the January course right now. This is my first real trip abroad, and, as you can probably imagine, I'm scared beyond shitless. Wish me luck!

I also worked in Prague a number of years ago, so my experience is a bit dated and you might want to take it with a grain of salt.

That being said, Caledonian even back then was a reputable school, and I met a number of teachers that worked there who felt it was a decent place to work and start out, especially for someone new to the field. There was the occassional grumble from a disenchanted teacher, but that was universally true regardless of the school in question.

I would probably take the fact that they're still alive and kicking many years later as a positive sign as by definition if they haven't gone out of business, they must be doing something right.

How about the Trinity CertTESOL?