If you are like most people, you must work a full-time job while completing your TEFL or TESL certificate. You just can’t pay for food, lodging, the course and any airline fees associated with obtaining this certificate. However, you still dream of travelling overseas and teaching foreign students.
So, what is there to do?
Online courses are the way to go if you find yourself in this predicament. These courses are less expensive than classroom courses and offer many benefits.
Some of these benefits include the flexibility to do the coursework from any device at any location, the ability to set your own hours of study, and the opportunity to really take the time to learn the information because you have as long as you need to complete the course.
Classroom courses, on the other hand, can be a bit more demanding since you are required to attend the classes and complete all the assignments within a set period of time. Also, the intensive courses, like the twenty hour weekend course, only give you insight into topics; whereas, online courses go more in depth into topics. Classroom courses do, however, offer the practicum, but you are still able to get the methodology and pedagogy while learning how to make creative lesson plans with online courses.
Furthermore, some online courses can offer you short videos and observations of live teachers actually conducting a classroom, doing the very same things they have been teaching you. Most online courses also offer a tutor who assesses your work throughout the course. With classroom courses, you will meet with your tutor face-to-face, but you must be committed to making it to class. Whereas with an online course, you “go” to class when you want. So, if you are strapped for money and time but are dreaming of teaching overseas, online courses may be just the ticket.
