Part-time TEFL course
You may have the plan of quitting work to go travelling or doing TEFL overseas, but maybe you haven’t yet got around to telling your employer. You may also have thought about taking a TEFL course to make absolutely sure that TEFL is the right thing for you, before you take the plunge. This is sensible, because the last thing you want is for your TEFL plans to somehow not work out, meaning you are left high and dry with either no job or an employer knowing that maybe your heart is no longer quite in your work.
Part-time TEFL courses
Part time TEFL courses are an excellent solution if you need to be discrete in the run up to a big move. The type of course you choose is still fairly flexible, though there probably aren’t as many part-time TEFL courses available, as there are full-time courses. If you’re considering the part-time version of one of the 4-week courses, such as the Trinity CertTESOL, the Cambridge CELTA or an equivalent 4-week TEFL course, then the most common time to start one of these is around September each year. TEFL schools generally run up to 3 of these part-time TEFL courses per year, running approximately from September to December, January to March/April, and occasionally, from March to June/July, but by far the best period is the autumn in terms of the number of part-time courses available. In this case, the part-time option lasts between about 12 and 20 weeks. Sometimes you will see a part-time CELTA or part-time CertTESOL which actually lasts a whole academic year, though these are usually limited to a handful of universities or FE colleges, where this format fits better into their planning. It’s debatable though, how useful it is to stretch a course of this type quite so far, as it becomes difficult to stay motivated. If you’re not prepared to commit to a full 120-hour, 4-week equivalent course, then a good alternative is the new IC TESOL Course. This is a part-time, 40-hour course, so sort of a third of the 4-week course. This gives a decent grounding in the art of teaching English as a foreign language, and runs over 4 weeks in London, on a part-time basis starting in August and September ‘06. It is unusual in that it is a short course, and yet it comprises an aspect of teaching practice with real students.
Part-time TEFL courses – juggling your time.
Whichever part-time TEFL course you opt for, they tend to run a couple of evenings a week, as well as on Saturdays, so it’s important to check the dates and days carefully before you start, as what would usually be your spare time, suddenly gets taken up with the course. Given the intensity of the full-time courses, it is really going to be quite a juggle to fit it all in, because it won’t just be the actual course time, but also the time you need to spend between lessons, preparing, reading, or writing projects. You will definitely have the time, and you do have much more time for reflection than on a full-time TEFL, but you do need to cancel or put on hold as many social engagements, regular pub outings etc. as possible, for the duration of the course.
Part-time TEFL Course Costs
The part-time CELTA & part-time CertTESOL courses tend not to be any cheaper than their four-week intensive equivalents, indeed sometimes they cost a couple of hundred pounds more, reflecting a slightly more complex delivery method, and possibly also the fact that spaces on these courses are more limited. You can also phone the team to find out more on 0845 130 4775.
