Teach English in Sanquan Zhen - Luliang Shi

There are moments where people feel as though they cannot make a decision or have trouble finding what right decision to make for them and their futures. Such as, wanting to be a TEFL Teacher. You have done your research and cannot decide whether getting certified online or onsite is best for you. First, let’s talk about the pros and cons of Online vs. Onsite TEFL certification. PROS: Taking a TEFL certification online gives you the opportunity to be more flexible with your life. The beauty of taking a TEFL certification online is that you can do at anytime, anywhere, and at your own pace. So they make it available to you so that if if have a tight schedule, you can fit it in at some point, and earn it with no pressure. The online option is great for those who do not have a class nearby, have a tight schedule, and overall cannot commute. The online option can also be good for your pockets, since the program does not require a physical rental space. Of course, lastly, the best perk, while getting an online TEFL certification you can do this in the comfort of your home, in your comfy clothes, during breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and listening to some soothing music. Right? Exactly. Now, taking a TEFL certification onsite within a physical classroom can allow for you to connect with other students. There is nothing like classroom role playing chaos with your fellow piers to bring you all together. Which will help you to be consistent and motivated. This will also allow you to start networking with future colleagues and will give you a taste of what the life of a TEFL teacher could actually be like. Unless, you are teaching an ESL class online, you would probably need to get used to working an entire room and knowing how to control a crowd. CONS: Taking a TEFL certification online won't always be so glorious. It might start to get a bit lonely working on it. What happens when you missed some sort of information and you want to ask a quick question? Sure, you are in your comfortable clothes, in the comfort of your own home, but what about people to interact with? Fellow students or your instructor, their is no one that understands exactly what your doing in order to go through the process with you. This may cause you to get frustrated, which will cause you to get lazy, which will make it hard for you to stay motivated, which will then make you come up with excuses as to why you cannot finish. Imagine the disappointment you would feel if you sat and put all this work in, just to not finish. It is important for you to stay motivated and find other ways to continue to help you finish proudly. Practicing teaching an TEFL class, or ESL students, research and find ways on how you can actually be apart of the classroom. That can actually be done online, but it can be extremely difficult. Also, not every ESL job will want someone with an online TEFL certification. They would rather have someone who had the practice, the overall hands on experience within the classroom. Now, taking a TEFL certification onsite won't always be so fun either. It actually may be a bit harder to fit into your schedule. You will have to choose what days to take the class and figure out how it will effect everything else around you. Work, kids, appointments, errands, or even vacations. So on the day you have class and you might have other responsibilities to attend to that day, you have to prioritize and plan everything out. This means getting up earlier, getting ready, making sure you have had breakfast, or "just coffee" and showing up to class looking decent and ready to work. Which would mean that you have to carve out more time, which can make this process more inflexible for you. You will have to make some sort of small talk with your instructor and classmates, and in turn might make you feel restricted to be actually present for every class. Also, taking your TEFL certification onsite will most likely hurt your pockets, this is regarding the actual tuition and transportation needed. BONUS: As you can see, taking your TEFL online vs. onsite has its advantages and disadvantages. You just have to truly sit and think about what would work best you and your lifestyle. What if you combined the two? You can get the best of both worlds. Taking classes onsite and online. Now of course, this would not work for everybody, but it can be a thought. You would really have to have less on your schedule in order to do both. You can have some flexibility and some interaction with your classmates. Stay in your comfy clothes some days, and wear professional attire the other. Having study meetings with your classmates, but also getting to be in the comfort of your home. This is for someone who is very busy and has to take the TEFL certification online, but also really wants to get the hands on experience within a classroom. This way you can be in the quiet of your home soaking up lessons, and apart of the overall classroom energy to test those lessons out.