CELTA or TEFL - and if TEFL, which one??

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Member since 15 October 2017

marianaloboMember15 October 2017 18:03:34

Dear All,

My name is Mariana Lobo, I am a 28 year old portuguese girl and I am looking for some tips from all the Certified English Teachers out there.

To tell you a bit about myself I have studied Social and Organizational Psychology and I have a vast array of international experiences - studying, volunteering and working. I have worked as a Team Leader, as an HR intern, as a SushiWoman, as an English Teacher to kids in Portugal. Well, I have wandered a bit I guess. I feel now it is time to take the risk and do this thing I have always wanted to do: get certified and go abroad, to teach & travel.

I am still in Portugal but strongly considering moving to Saigon art the end of the year, to teach English. I am sorting out whether it is best to take the CELTA or the TEFL Certification and, if I take the latter, would any of you advise on what is the best entity to take it with? There are hundreds of websites, different companies/entities providing the same certification under different conditions (online, combined, in person, etc.) and, of course, an absolutely crazy different array of prices.

I hope someone out there can help me with these two questions!!
Thank you in advance

Lots of Love,
Mariana

THIGV ViP

Member since 26 September 2012

THIGVViP15 October 2017 18:22:11

4424

If you have read this forum at all, you must have come across discussions on the need to have a Bachelor's degree to hold a work permit and teach legally. You say that you have "studied Social and Organizational Psychology" but fail to say if you obtained a degree. If not, you need to start there instead of worrying about the pros and cons of CELTA vs. TEFL.

I might comment that even with a degree, you technically are not a native English speaker. Your writing, with the exception of one misspelling most likely caused by autocorrect, does suggest a very high level of fluency. Hopefully you have a degree as well.

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