As you all know, every industry has its ups and downs, the English Education industry is no different. However, there is something that most schools and language institutions constantly exploit. The biggest scam in the English Education industry is that they introduce someone with no experience or qualifications as an English teacher. What’s worse, they charge hefty course fees from the student or the parent claiming that the teacher is also a native English speaker. I’m going to explain how they do it, how they pull off this scam, and how to avoid falling prey to it. And it’s super simple!
First off, how do they pull it off? Some students or parents desire to have someone from the US, Canada, Britain or any other native English-speaking country to teach them English, so much so that they do not check whether that person is qualified or not. They usually trust the school or institute to check that for them. Would you like to guess what the school or institute does at this point? This is the point they exploit your trust and also your need. They just bring a random citizen from that country and put them in your classroom while claiming that they are indeed a teacher. You don’t believe me? Don’t take my word for it, there is an easy way to see it for yourself. When you see that I’m right, you can come back later and thank me for it.
So, how to check whether your school or institution is scamming you and how to avoid it. We are going to start with a simple question that you can ask to the school or to your teacher. First, let’s give our imaginary teacher a name. Let’s say his name is John and he is from the States.
Question 1: What did John do in his home country before he decided to become your teacher?
The answer you’ll get might surprise you. Most of the time, they’ll tell you that John was not teaching English or doing anything related to that in the States. He might have worked in the service industry, he might have been a manager in a company or something entirely different but not teaching. This is the first red-flag. But, alright, this is just the first question that we are going to ask. It’s not over yet, maybe everything else is okay.
Question 2: What did John study? What did he major in?
Normally the answer should be something like “English Education” “English Lit.” “English Linguistics” etc. Something related to either English education or English language. But, as you guessed it, the answer will be much more different. They’ll tell you that John studied Marine Biology or Astronomy or something Arts. Combined with the first answer, this is our second red-flag.
I can feel you asking the question: “Why is John, the person with no teaching experience or education background, in my classroom as my teacher?” It doesn’t make sense, does it? But, hold on, there is one more question that you can ask, one more thing you can check.
Question 3: Does John at least have any kind of teaching qualification, or you know, a certificate?
If you are lucky, the answer will be yes. They will tell you that John has a TESOL or TEFL certificate. Having a TESOL or TEFL certificate means that the person got a teacher training course from an institute. The important thing to do here is to check whether that certificate is from a good institution. There is a reason why I’m asking you to check it because you can get a teaching certificate starting from 20$ online. Yes, you can just watch a few YouTube videos and get a PDF certificate.
No need to worry though since it’s very easy to check the quality of the TESOL/TEFL certificate. For example, the one that I got is called CELTA and it’s considered to be, let’s say, Coca-Cola of TESOL courses. It costs around 1200 pounds. It’s an intensive and comprehensive course. It’s accredited world-wide. Any course that is equal to CELTA in quality would cost a little bit above 1000$. So, you can just Google the name of TEFL/TESOL certificate John got and see the price tag. If it’s above 1000$, at least you know that John got a proper teacher training although he has no prior experience or qualifications. You can say, “oh, I’m not actually scammed.” However, if it’s a 20$ certificate that anyone can buy from GROUPON, yeah, you are paying probably thousands of dollars for John. You decide if it’s worth it or not.
This was the best-case scenario, what if John doesn’t even have a TESOL/TEFL certificate, now that’s the final red-flag and you are definitely getting scammed. Stay away from that place as soon as possible. Do not pay hefty course fees for a totally inexperienced and unqualified person to teach you or your child. Run away!
F.A.Q
I’d like to finish with 2 questions that I’ve seen asked a lot when it comes to this topic by both students and parents.
“Well, I really want to have a native English-speaking teacher, an actual teacher. Where are they?”
They are mostly teaching English as a subject in their home countries or at international schools abroad. Teachers are required by law to have a state verified teaching certificate from their home countries to be able to teach at international schools, in most countries anyway. That’s where you should go or send your child.
“Well, Serkan, I want to speak with a native English speaker, be friends with them, you know. How am I supposed to do that?”
First of all, you don’t have to pay a dime to do it. You can use a language exchange app or join a language exchange community around you. Instead of paying immense amounts just to get scammed, use that money while hanging out with John.
I hope I was able to raise awareness on this topic and help you understand what’s going on behind the scenes in the English Education industry. If you have any questions, feel free to write them down below. I’ll do my best to answer all of them. Also, don’t forget to check all other contents on the site. You can start from our newest online course English for Job Interviews.
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