VCC's TESOL Certificate or CELTA?

[kehwun312]

Hi there,

I have applied into two English Teaching Certificate programs within Vancouver, British Columbia of Canada. First, the TESOL Certificate at Vancouver Community College which offers 100hours of course work on campus + 20hours of practicum outside of the campus with experienced teachers. The second, in which I had been offered a placement in, is the CELTA program at the GV Career Training Centre in downtown Vancouver, BC. They claim to be one of the most highly recognized international pre-service teacher training programs, is recognized by TESL Canada, and is one of the Cambridge ESOL Awards validated by Cambridge University (UCLES).
I have attended an info session at VCC and gone through an interview process with CELTA. As a student, I feel more comfortable with the course outline, course work, and overall support (in class, after class, and searching for employment) provided at VCC, however, I do understand that CELTA provides more course hours and a better overall reputation around the world. The one major difference beside course hours I noticed between CELTA and TESOL is the practicum portion; at VCC, we are organized to be placed outside of campus at different locations partnered with an experienced teacher, while at CELTA, the practicum and class observations are done on site as the centre has ESL students taking classes there.

My question is, if I plan to mainly use my certificate in Hong Kong and open up doors to travel later on, which one would be my best option?

*both courses are around the same price, $2500 f/t program

Thank you so much! Look forward in hearing back from you all.

Regards,
Karen

 

[5jj]

Welcome to the forum, kehwun.

I know nothing of the VCC course, and am prepared to accept that, if it offers 100 hours of course work plus 20 hours of observed teaching practice, then it is probably a very sound course.

The simple fact of life is that only the CELTA and the Trinity Cert TESOL qualifications are recognised by the British Council. As a result, many reputable schools will accept only one of these two qualifications when employing a teacher for his/her first post.