Category Archives: British Council accreditation

Expect a flood of criminal TEFLers to a school near you

Posted on 27/08/2013 by alexcase

According to the EL Gazette all British Council inspected schools in the UK will need to conduct criminal record checks from 2014, so if the country or school you are in doesn’t insist on such checks a whole bunch of … Continue reading →

Posted in British Council accreditation, EL Gazette | Tagged | 2 Comments

British Council accredited schools

Posted on 28/11/2010 by alexcase

Being British Council accredited is the basic standard that a school in the UK should have, but the British Council does not accredit schools outside the UK. If the British Council certified a school in, for example, Madrid, British Council Madrid … Continue reading →

Posted in Accreditation UK, British Council accreditation, TEFL, TEFL in the UK | Comments Off on British Council accredited schools

The end of accreditation?

Posted on 30/01/2010 by alexcase

A guest piece by Jason West of English Out There: “In my opinion accreditation is now an anachonism. The path that most ‘self-regulating’ accrediting bodies take is counter productive to their collective and continued good health. When you get a … Continue reading →

Posted in Accreditation UK, ARELS, British Council accreditation, TEFL in the UK | 5 Comments

How to choose a good summer school

Posted on 19/06/2009 by alexcase

If teaching is more important than saving money or accommodation being included, the first thing to do when choosing a summer school is to avoid actual summer schools altogether. If I was in the same position of looking for a … Continue reading →

Posted in British Council accreditation, EF, EL Gazette, finding good TEFL jobs, first TEFL job, links, Teaching English Abroad, Teaching English in Europe, Teaching English in Turkey, TEFL, TEFL blacklist, TEFL blogs, TEFL career planning, TEFL chains, TEFL in the UK, TEFL Tradesman, TEFL working conditions, UK summer schools | 5 Comments

A bit of TEFL justice

Posted on 08/05/2009 by alexcase

Paul Lowe and his former sidekick Ashley Arnold have been given fines, community service and (for Paul) a suspended sentence for the notorious time when Windsor Schools took money off students for a Trinity TESOL course knowing full well that … Continue reading →

Posted in British Council accreditation, Cambridge ESOL, CELTA, Dodgy TEFL courses, Dodgy TEFL school owners, Teacher training, TEFL, TEFL certificate, TEFL in the UK, TEFL qualifications, TEFL scams, TEFL villains- Paul Lowe, Trinity, Trinity CertTESOL, Windsor Schools, Windsor TEFL | 7 Comments

How to really improve the standard of TEFL courses

Posted on 01/05/2009 by alexcase

The Guardian reports (uncritically, as ever when it comes to TEFL) on the setting up of yet another organisation meant to, apparently, boost the standards of TEFL in the UK- this one called The Association for the Promotion of Quality … Continue reading →

Posted in British Council, British Council accreditation, Cambridge ESOL, CELTA, Dodgy TEFL courses, Guardian TEFL, links, Teacher training, TEFL, TEFL certificate, TEFL in the UK, TEFL qualifications, TEFL scams, TESOL, Trinity, Trinity CertTESOL | 6 Comments

Why are EFL classes so cheap?

Posted on 24/03/2009 by alexcase

Not something I’d ever thought about, so instead of giving my usual instant opinions I am going to yet again break copyright law to quote the fabulous Melanie Butler, editor of EL Gazette, at length: “David Graddol argues that the … Continue reading →

Posted in Accreditation UK, British Council accreditation, EL Gazette, links, Oxford Street schools, TEFL celebs/ TEFL heroes and villains, TEFL heroes- Melanie Butler, TEFL in the UK | 16 Comments

TEFL by numbers Feb 2008

Posted on 05/02/2009 by alexcase

78 pounds How much capital you need to set up an English school in Ho Chi Minh City. Wouldn’t rush out there to set up your own, though, as there are already 474 (!) registered language schools there. At least … Continue reading →

Posted in British Council accreditation, EL Gazette, Guardian TEFL, Oxford Street schools, Teaching English in Korea, Teaching English in Saudi Arabia, Teaching English in Vietnam, TEFL in the UK | Tagged | Comments Off on TEFL by numbers Feb 2008

TEFL joins the North South divide

Posted on 18/01/2009 by alexcase

“International House Newcastle – The only school in the North of England that is accredited by British Council” All the other school oop North were banned because of health and safety concerns with the presence of racing pigeons and whippets … Continue reading →

Posted in British Council accreditation, International House, TEFL, TEFL chains, TEFL in the UK | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Interview- Jason West Dishes on Guardian Languages and Sets the TEFL World to Rights!

Posted on 04/01/2009 by alexcase

It’s a great interview, stimulating, controversial, and full of TEFL insider tidbits. So many ideas did the CEO of English Out There have, in fact, that it takes a good 10 minutes to read. Please feel free to leave questions … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative teaching techniques, British Council, British Council accreditation, Distance learning, EFL exams, ELT publishing, Guardian TEFL, Job security, Linguistics, applied linguistics and SLA, links, Materials, self employed TEFL teachers, Teaching English Abroad, Teaching methods and methodologies, teaching online, Technology, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TEFL celebs/ TEFL heroes and villains, TEFL chains, TEFL in the UK, TEFL scams, TEFL working conditions, textbooks | Tagged | 9 Comments