CIEE Teach Abroad & TEFL Reviews

Overall Korea is a nice opportunity for English teachers and fairly easy to live in. That being said, this is still a big change and takes time to adapt, which was not only not helped by CIEE but made more difficult. I was not told essential information leading up to my trip. I boarded the plane and had no idea what would happen when I arrived. Once I got to my placement I was shocked to find my fellow teachers telling me to leave the school right away and later found out the school was blacklisted. However, I was not able to properly research the school because I was never given the proper name before arriving. In any case a placement at a blacklisted school with so many runners was disturbing. It became very clear this inadequate communication was a pattern with CIEE. I also soon understood why the school was blacklisted. When I reached out for help with my placement I was met with lacking knowledge of my school and situation and often had to defend myself. "That's just how things are done in Korea" and "I don't think that's happening" should not be how school issues be dealt with. When bringing up breaches of contract I was told in not so many words to suck it up. Any time I was told they would follow up with the school nothing was done. When I finally put in my resignation I was told they would help with a new placement only to find the response was delayed and riddled with contradictory information. Most of the communication was full of errors and at times not understandable despite English being their first language. Initially I chose CIEE for the support they would provide and a reliable placement, but I found neither. I cannot recommend their services. They cost too much money and are not professional at all. I really was hoping for a positive experience here, but instead am leaving Korea early.

I am currently teaching aboard in a small city an hour and a half outside of Hanoi! The people here have been very welcoming but it is frustrating because Vietnamese is not an easy language to pick up. I have been getting a little bit of help from some of my students, but other than that I have no knowledge of the language. Communicating my needs and trying to talk to people has been an experience! Very day I have people wave at me excitedly and scream in my face "HelloOOOOa!" from their motorbikes! I would have never expected this to be my experience! As I begin to recognize people and they recognize me, I am slowly building relationships with people who are so kind and welcoming! These people are becoming my community and with limited phrases and a lot of body language I am becoming a part of their daily lives. This is why I sought this experience, to connect with people from a different culture and create strong bonds with them! Even though being shouted at is something I don't typically enjoy, it is so heartwarming to know that people want to get to know me and are excited to see me! As my year progresses I look forward to being able to communicate more with the people I see everyday!

I started this 150-hour course scared and nervous because I hadn't taken a class since I graduated college in 2014. I didn't know what to expect, how much work their really was, or if I'd be able to complete my practicum! But here I am, on the other side of this course, feeling a whole lot better about teaching English abroad than before. I was able to complete my practicum, even though I was terrified of messing up in front of my students. I even learned grammar, which was something that was never taught to me in school. This course not only made me feel more comfortable as a teacher, but it also helped me with my writing.

There is a lot to be learned in CIEE TEFL's course, but it's worth it if you're serious about pursuing a career in teaching English to nonnative speakers. You do need to be very motivated and organized to do well, but I knew that going into an online course. This is NOT a certification class you can take just to receive a piece of paper. The tutors and staff really want you to understand the material and be proud of your work (and there will be a lot of it!). The expectations are high from the get-go, so it's important to hit the ground running.

Small classes, weekly tutorials, discussion boards, and clear learning outcomes are some of the highlights in this course. The online platform is also really easy to use. The 20-hour practice teaching component, in particular, really cements the theory and strategies you're shown in class. I would recommend this course to anyone who is planning on teaching English abroad, or even anyone looking to advance in the field.

I believe that this course was quite helpful. It was a very long course but that also meant that it was all inclusive. My teacher was very good. She always left great comments and was there if we had questions or needed advice. I found some of the material to be very helpful and some of it not so much. The school that I am teaching at is very book focused so it is difficult to use any creativity. However, the course did help with just relating to the kids in general.

Overall, the 150 hour TEFL course was moderately helpful in learning new strategies for teaching English. The best assignments were related to direct application of strategies and techniques whereas the least helpful assignments/lecture had to do with a philosophical exploration of teaching, learning, and cross-culturalism. The course was unduly expensive and requires a lot of time. Now, while abroad I find myself using some techniques and finding even more inapplicable. But, I am glad I took the course, at least to feel better equipped.

Teaching in Thailand is a wonderful opportunity for personal growth and enlightenment! Every day is a grand adventure with the students, faculty and community members. Living in a "compound" with other English teachers from the United States adds so much to the adventure. This gives all of the members an opportunity to have a support system during the school day and outside of the school day as well. Members of the "compound" get to travel together on the weekends and have a built in "family" for holidays and other special events. One year being twelve zones away from home couldn't possibly be better than being in Thailand. Everyone would love to have this marvelous experience of teaching in Thailand!

A bit of background on myself: I am a 23-year-old graduate of UW-Madison and I took the 150 hour CIEE TEFL course in preparation for my CIEE Teach Abroad Program in Chile. I have had quite a few hours of classroom facilitation but no experience teaching English, though I am well versed in the language.
The cons: An online course of how to run a classroom, in my mind, seems bound to fail, so perhaps this review is unfair. What I mostly gained from the coursework was what to specifically google the things I need to know as a future teacher. Exams were super easy to skate through, and I didn't really have to read all of the slides to do well on the tests. I wish the course would have focused more on lesson planning and less on how to adapt to a new culture and educational theories that I will probably rarely consider day-to-day. I also hated the pseudo class discussions online where posting is mandatory and you have to reflect on classmates' comments. Certain types of media were really difficult to upload and I had some technical issues.
The pros: The course has a mostly-intuitive layout. It provides you with a ton of resources at the end of every module which was one of the few things I knew I would return to. I did gain a better understanding of how to plan lessons which is key. Classroom videos and critiques of live teachers did help, but those only came near the end of the course. My tutor was awesome and easy to get a hold of. I also really enjoyed the practicum component of the course.

After a reasonable fee of $1000, and 11 weeks of power points, discussion posts, quizzes, and useful weekly assignments (including the production of lesson plans for the future), you gain access to the world! I am now eligible to teach in South Korea, and I feel well-equipped to do so! A lot of valuable information is given in this course, and whatever is not explicitly written you can find on your own using the provided links to legitimate educational resources.

You do have to find an institution and/or people to tutor for Practicum hours on your own, but CIEE provides advice and a tutor--a real person to communicate with via video calling. CIEE also provided me with a letter as proof of enrollment during my application process for teaching abroad. All you have to do is email these people and they'll get right back to you.

The tech stuff is easy to figure out if you've been around computers, the coursework isn't at all over the head of anyone who has successfully done at least some college units, and if you're a slow reader, I'd carve 20 hours per week out of your schedule to complete the work. Through CIEE, it's not at all a grueling process to earn your TEFL certificate. :)

The lesson planning portion of the course was really helpful! It enables me to discover all the option I have for creating fun and effective lessons. Now that I'm teaching, I am avle to use the resources I practiced in my TEFL course!