Category Archives: TEFL scams

World Journal of English Language – treat with caution

I just received the following email entitled “Call for paper and reviewer” from this journal I’d never heard of: “Dear Dr. Alex Case, We are reaching you because of your article entitled, ‘Don’t Do Anything For Students That They Can … Continue reading →

Posted in TEFL scams | 23 Comments

TEFL course where you are locked in a room and brainwashed

There are those who describe the CELTA that way, but according to the New York Times some people are using the cover of TEFL to do so in actual fact: Traveling to Teach English; Getting Sermons Instead

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Don't give anything to TEFL recruiters or employers

I can’t imagine why would give cash to a recruitment agency, to be honest, but apparently plenty of people do: Another scam recruiter – TEFLjobsworld A genuine recruitment agency will make its profits from the employers, not from the job seekers. You have … Continue reading →

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6 Ways TEFL Certificate Courses Try to Rip You Off – Part 3

Another fab guest piece by “TEFLista” “This is the third installment in a series devoted to TEFL certificate courses and consumer awareness. Part Three looks at some of the employment practices that course providers use to entice people to sign-up … Continue reading →

Posted in TEFL, TEFL scams | 9 Comments

Does better pay really lead to better teaching?

I’m not talking about schools offering better pay and therefore being able to recruit better teachers, because if the whole industry got the standards that we occasionally demand that wouldn’t work. What I want to discuss is a school giving its … Continue reading →

Posted in CPD, Dodgy TEFL school owners, Job security, Teaching English in Korea, Teaching English in the Middle East, TEFL, TEFL pay | 26 Comments

The other side of Oxford Street

A guest piece by “Holden Coalfield” “‘No thanks’, I said to the leafleter who offered me and everyone else a flyer for an English school as I walked out of Oxford Circus tube into this crowded and surprisingly tacky centre … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative teaching techniques, Cambridge Delta, CELTA, Dodgy TEFL school owners, ELT management, finding good TEFL jobs, first TEFL job, Job security, Learner motivation, Oxford Street schools, Teacher training, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TEFL certificate, TEFL in the UK, TEFL qualifications, TEFL scams, TEFL working conditions | Tagged | 6 Comments

Live a TEFL dream

A guest piece by the first person to take me up on my offer to be “exploited”, Stevie Jobbers of TEFL course provider EOLCI. “Many people reading about TEFL think it is too good to be true that you can … Continue reading →

Posted in finding good TEFL jobs, first TEFL job, Teacher training, Teaching English Abroad, Teaching English in China, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TEFL certificate, TEFL qualifications, TEFL scams | Tagged | 6 Comments

How’s your ultimate job and/ or life going?

Not got either, you say? Well, maybe you should try a job with is “the most exciting employment opportunity of your life” which is “not hard” and “pays well”. Apparently you can “forget the commute, over-time …missed lunches… jammed photocopiers and … Continue reading →

Posted in Bruce Veldhuisen, Dodgy TEFL courses, finding good TEFL jobs, first TEFL job, links, Teacher training, Teaching English Abroad, Teaching English in Thailand, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TEFL celebs/ TEFL heroes and villains, TEFL certificate, TEFL International, TEFL qualifications, TEFL scams, TEFL working conditions, TESOL | Tagged | 2 Comments

Letter from a reader- DoSs as a sociological curiosity

“Hi Alex, I am currently researching the TEFL industry from a sociological perspective, and notice that you seem to be quite prominent in discussing the more social phenomena of the industry on blogs, etc. As someone who has been involved … Continue reading →

Posted in Becoming a Director of Studies, Dodgy TEFL school owners, ELT management, Teaching English Abroad, TEFL career planning, TEFL scams | 6 Comments

A bit of TEFL justice

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