What They Do Not Tell you about Working Abroad- Part One

Getting the Right Certification


In my previous post about establishing a teaching career abroad, I discussed a few things about knowing whether you have the right skill-set for the job. As promised, I am going to look deeply into teaching English abroad. As we had mentioned, if you want to teach English away from home, you may have to deal with the fact that a Bachelors Degree in Education with English and Literature as your subjects is not enough. Schools all over Europe, Asia and Latin America expect you to have a teaching certification. That is how the issue of getting a CELTA/ TEFL / TESOL certificate comes in.



How to get certified

When I was setting out for my first teaching job abroad, I was really fortunate to have been recruited by an African school that did not need me to have the said teaching certification. However, I realized that whenever I tried applying for similar positions in Asia or the Middle East, they would all ask for the said Certificates. That is when I started doing my research.

Getting a CELTA Certificate

This is a universally recognized teaching certificate offered by the University of Cambridge. Most of the times, the course is only offered at the British Council. There are however certain places where other affiliates do the training for the University of Cambridge. I tried asking the British Council in Nairobi whether their offer CELTA, but unfortunately they do not at the moment. The closest places you can get the course are the British Council in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, and The British Council in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE. For those who are already in the Middle East, the British Council in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey also offer the course. There is also an affiliate known as Cactus TEFL that runs the course in Cape Town, South Africa, but, I would recommend taking the course at the British Council.


You have to be prepared to pay for the CELTA. The last time I checked, it was about $1800, which translates to about Kshs180, 000. However, if you think about it in terms of the well-paying jobs that you will qualify for after, you will find it a very worthy investment. The course typically runs for about three to six months at most, at the British council. You should also be ready for an interview to test your entry level English skills. Interviews are normally oral, but in rare occasions, the Council may ask you to sit for an IELTS exam beforehand.

The Trinity CertTESOL
This is the second most-widely recognized teacher certification course out here. It is offered by the Trinity College in London. There are affiliates like Cactus who offer this course around the world. The nearest Cactus TEFL Centers are in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. However, if you are already in the Middle East or Asia, you will find centers all over Thailand, Vietnam, China, Cambodia, and Hong Kong.

TEFL and American TESOL Certification
There are many colleges and training centers that offer the TEFL certificate around the world. One of the most popular is The University of Toronto TEFL. This certificate is offered by an affiliate known as Teach Away, Inc. The course can be taken online and is about four weeks long. The affiliates also offer their students support in getting ESL teaching jobs abroad.

The most important thing I can say about choosing a CELTA/TEFL/TESOL course is that it has to be at least 120 hours, and that employers prefer the in-class training courses as opposed to the online ones.

Visit : careerhubkenya.blogspot.com/2014/10/establishing-successful-teaching-career.html for details