Program Reviews

Vantage’s website was one of my first impressions of this company. In doing my initial research on which program I wanted to do in Thailand, I found too many TEFL programs had a lot of information about the touristic interests in their area, but they were weak in detail on the actual TEFL course and teaching methodologies.

Going through Vantage’s website, I learned the key areas of study within my TEFL course and the teaching methodologies. They also had great information on the English Teaching Industry and what they saw as the future trends within the industry. I also liked the webpage on Careers within the English teaching industry and it was great to learn about potential career paths that led from teaching.

The actual course was even better. There was a great deal of information to cover, but the trainers were always there and always supportive. It was intensive, but at the same time, it was fun and interesting. The course book and supplementary materials were very comprehensive and I plan to keep mine as they will be a great reference during my teaching career.
Even if you’re not quite sure about being an English teacher this course is very worthwhile as the resume writing and interview techniques we covered were also highly professional.
If you are a non-native speaker, as I am, they give you a lot of tips on how to succeed in the classroom.

A super big thanks to Chris, Ryan, and Kevin—the Vantage training team—for such an incredible experience at Vantage. I would definitely recommend this school to anyone looking for TEFL training opportunity and I’ve already told some close friends who are thinking about possible teaching careers.

I was on a very tight budget and needed a basic place to stay for the duration of the course. For Vantage, this was not a problem. Their Thai sales director took me around their neighborhood and we found a quant place that’s was within what I wanted to spend.

The TEFL course itself was very comprehensive. We covered the pro and cons of all the different teaching methodologies and practiced the ESA approach—Engage, Study and Activate—in our teaching practices.

The lead trainer, Chris is great. Extremely knowledgeable and highly experienced, his feedback on my observed teaching practices really helped my development as a new teacher. I felt I got a little better each class I taught and I’m now confident I can successfully teach English.

Vantage’s job placement services were also excellent. I got one-to-one help in creating an individual “Power Resume” and cover letter. Through their alumni network of working teachers, I got a great job led.

The stars seemed to be aligned and everything is falling into place. I graduated on a Friday, had interviews the following week, got one job offer and I’ve been invited to do a demo class at a prestigious Thai school. Stay tuned!

The first part my class was completed online back in the States, where I studied teaching theory and methodology. I then came out to Thailand to do my ‘practicum’— the six classes of observed teaching practices—in real classrooms with real Thai students.

The online part of my “Combined Class” allowed me to learn to my schedule. This part of the course is pretty extensive and covers a lot of theories on language teaching. The videos of experienced teachers was also done in this part of the class.

Having said that, studying online didn’t give me the real confidence I need to stand in front of a class and teach. I arrived in Bangkok still anxious about doing the real teaching. Vantage invited me to join the current In-Class course, not just for review the book material, but to participate in the peer teaching activities of the class. They use peer teaching as a first step before stepping into a live classroom. And this part isn’t just teaching, I also had to observe and take detailed notes on my co-trainees performance. I learn quite a bit from doing this.

The practicum itself was a fantastic experience. Thai students are great to teach as they are both very attentive and polite. The feedback I got from the Vantage trainers and insights from my co-trainees were invaluable in the development of me as a professional teacher.

For four full weeks, I learned new things every day. And although there was a lot to cover in a relatively short timeframe, I was being guided step by step.

After each lesson plan, I was given feedback and that really helped me prepare to stand in front of real students in a live classroom. We even did peer teaching as an initial step, which really helped overcome my stage fright in standing up before the students.

I got great feedback after each class I taught. I was then given a challenge for my next teaching session, which addressed areas that still weren’t (yet) really mastered. The instructors were excellent and always available for any help.

Overall, I am extremely satisfied. I feel I’m ready to teach now and that was hardly the case before I joined the course.

Chris was my course lecturer and he is just amazing. The way he taught each unit and gave feedbacks was very effective.

Ryan taught me some Thai language and culture. He is so genuine and also so good at teaching foreign language.

Kevin gave me guidance for job employment. He talked personally with me about my interests and gave me ideas about a creating my own Power Resume. We sat down and did that the week after the course finished.

I highly recommend this curse to anyone who is interested in teaching. Even if your goal is not to teach English, this course covers most everything about teaching and gives you the skills so that you will be able to teach any subject to anyone.

What I really lacked at the beginning of my course was confidence. I was very shy to stand up in front of a class and deliver what I thought was a speech. I soon learned that I delivered a language class and not a lecture and I didn’t have to be an extrovert because I was taught to put the focus on my students—not me.

For me, the teaching practices at the college were great and the feedback given by trainer Chris after every lesson was really valuable. I couldn’t wait for my next teaching session.
Vantage’s TEFL class is intense and a bit exhausting but it was always interesting and engaging. Most importantly, the end results were rewarding.

Thank you, Chris, Kevin, and Ryan for your patience, guidance, and help throughout the course.
I have already recommended this course to some of my close friends.

I was initially torn between this program and other options that "guaranteed" jobs. In the end, I realized that what I needed was a course that would meet my individual needs.

After speaking to the Course Director for an afternoon I realized that Vantage would deliver a program that was much more personalized to my particular requirements.

We had eight in our class, which to me is about right. The other TEFL providers on my short list typically had class sizes about twice that, which may be ok for the lecture style learning, but not optimum for the training I was looking for.

I was dead right about getting individual attention.

The week after the course was over, I came in and spent a whole afternoon, crafting a killer resume with their help. It was a one-on-one private session that I probably couldn’t have gotten elsewhere.

Kevin really analyzed my background to help me best position myself by highlighting my skills and previous results and not just a laundry list of traditional duties that most resumes list.
My decision to choose Vantage proved itself over and over again.

The staff at TEFL goes above and beyond to give their students the best training experience. Having never taught overseas before I had no idea what to expect.

We did our teaching practicum to college students who were really fun to teach. I was taught lesson planning, classroom management and provided with a plethora of resources that make the transition into teaching seamlessly.

I feel 100% more confident having finished this course then when I first arrived.
Vantage is the course for anyone who is serious about teaching abroad.

First off, I want to advise that Vantage’s TEFL class is intensive. You’ll be covering new material each day and you will be challenged. Having said that, the trainers always keep in fun and engaging and the time really flew by. We learned a number of new things in each and every class.

I came away from this course confident that I could enter a classroom and successfully teach English.

A lot of that came from the observed teaching practices, where we taught on the direction of our trainers. We then got a lot of detailed feedback. We also got a new ‘challenge’ to incorporate into our next teaching practice. I felt I got a little better after each class I taught.

The bottom line is that I’ve now have a solid foundation. Give me a couple of months of actual teaching experience and I believe I can become an exceptional teacher who will make a difference in my student’s lives.

I attended Vantage’s TEFL Certification course and I found the program a key ingredient in terms of my overall teaching development.

I came from a ‘non-teaching’ background as I had a degree in engineering and worked in that field upon graduation.

I was a champion debater and did a fair bit of training both in school and in my first few jobs. I really loved it the communication skills I had to use so I decided to become a full-time professional teacher was the career path for me.

I actually found my first English teaching job my last week of the course so I was still doing my observed teaching practices while I was getting paid to teach kids on the weekend.

The training – particularly what I got through Vantage’s observed teaching practices (what they call the ‘practicum’) was invaluable and I don’t think I could have “faced the kids” if I hadn’t already got the foundation skill set at Vantage. The practicum classes weren’t small – typically around 15 students or so. Some of my teacher friends told me their practicum classes were only 3 or 4 pupils. I think the bigger size help me in that’s what I faced in my first teaching jobs.

While the teaching of real students under observation was for me the most valuable part of course, the theory and grammar explanations were also highly valuable.

I also learned how to develop a killer resume that really sold my skills. Their interview coaching session was also highly valuable and I learned how to handle objections such as “we only hire native speakers.” Something must have worked as I got two good job offers with a couple of weeks of graduation – both which came with business visas and work permits.

Vantage’s course wasn’t easy. It’s intensive and I had a lot of materials to go through. On the other hand, it was all very useful and I was taught how to blend what I learned in my TEFL classes into a real live classroom.

The course was excellent and the Vantage instructors and staff were professional and friendly.

Chris, the main course instructor was knowledgeable in the grammar review, assisted in developing our classroom management skills, gave one to one help with lesson plans as well as offered helpful feedback for the teaching practicum. He has some real world insights and practical “what to expect” for teaching for Business English with corporate clients, private tutoring and teaching into Thai schools. Overall, Chris was very professional, helpful and dedicated to getting your best work out of you.

Kevin, the Managing Director presented some great overviews on Cambridge testing for language levels. He offered on the ground knowledge of the local area which was helpful to many in my class. Kevin also presented a few lectures on resume building with a transition into job interviewing success and the job search process. He was dedicated to helping the students move on from the course to finding a job.

Ryan the testing specialist at Vantage offered a few classes on Thai language and Thai culture workplace do’s and don’ts. Ryan was knowledgeable, friendly and always willing to help answer questions.

Overall the Vantage staff was professional, friendly and dedicated to the students’ success. I highly recommend the ITTT Bangkok TEFL / TESOL certification offered at Vantage. The instructors are professional / friendly, the course content was excellent (grammar review very helpful) and the teaching practicum at the Nurses' College gives you valuable classroom experience.

Two thumbs up to Chris, Kevin, Ryan, Peach and Dao and all the Vantage team. They made it all run smooth and fun for the fairly intensive 1 month program.

The course handbook and content was well presented and easy to read. I highly recommend the ITTT training /certification experience with Vantage.

I am an experienced art teacher from the USA and the Vantage staff knows how to help you build on your experience to bring out your best. They are very dedicated to your success in teaching English abroad.

The Vantage TEFL program was a huge benefit to me…helping from beginning to end.

The course is demanding and covers all aspects of English teaching from grammar to phonetics to student assessment. We did three tests during the course to ensure that we mastered all the materials.

The Thai lessons they do as part of the “foreign language experience” are probably unique to the school and it puts you on the other side of the desk and gives an excellent perspective of the challenges of learning a foreign language.

As good as the class was, I found the Observed Teaching Practice was the most demanding part as I was teaching real Thai students in a real school. We had to create successful lesson plans that worked within the framework of the school’s schedule and what the students required.

The feedback I got from the lead trainer Chris from each session contributed a lot to my development as a teacher. I was making a career change from a physiotherapist, so I really needed advice and guidance on how my teaching skills were developing.

The job coaching services were another area that Vantage really excelled. I got to work one-on-one with Kevin in developing a highly effective resume and cover letter that would showcase what I could bring to the table. They even developed a video highlighting the advantages of my multi-lingual background and how that could be a benefit to my future students.

Something must have worked. During the last week of the course, one school asked me to come in based on the “strength of my materials.” And I was talking to multiple schools…

I would recommend Vantage to anyone – particularly those who want to change career paths.