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page 2 - TESOL primer

The most expensive courses are generally academic in nature and offered by accredited universities and colleges. Several Canadian universities offer certificates in TESL and/or TESOL/TEFL requiring at least a semester of course work and significant practice teaching as well. They often take a year or more to complete and result in a certificate credential.

And that, believe it or not, is the main problem with teacher training today. All that time, all that money and you end up with a piece of paper that goes by the same name as the pseudo-credential awarded by Joe Blow’s 20 Hour TESOL Crash Course. Academically speaking, Canadian university credentials are surely superior to those awarded by private colleges and training companies. Even the Cambridge CELTA, regarded by many to be the industry standard, can’t compare – on paper. As a piece of paper, however, the reality of the situation is quite different. The CELTA has far greater recognition worldwide than Canadian university programs which exceed its course requirements in every way. For example, while the CELTA is 100 hours long and includes 6 hours of practice teaching many Canadian university programs are often 300 or more hours long with 30 or more hours of practice teaching.

There is no international overseeing body for teacher training programs. No organizations exist to police quality or promote standardization, at least not unanimously. Britain, the birthplace of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) is also home to several examination boards and qualification organizations that attempt as much BUT they are often regarded as biased in favour of British courses like Cambridge’s CELTA and Trinity’s TESOL.

As a result, a course is as good as the training it will give you and the job it will get you. Research and reflection are required for this very unique decision-making process. In order to compare certificate to certificate, however, a background primer in TESOL acronyms and jargon for Canadians is advantageous. For more information, click here.

As a result of the lack of standardization in the TESOL field, acronym and terminology confusion is inevitable. Some people distinguish ESL and EFL correctly while others use the terms interchangeably. With regard to teacher training, however, the most important thing to remember is this: certificates are for the most part certificates. Whether a program refers to itself as a TEFL, TESL or TESOL certificate usually won't make or break your job application. Content, total hours, delivery method, practice teaching component and several other factors are of far greater importance.

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