Which programme should I choose? How does the relate to funding? TEFL or TESOL? 1.Insight vs. 2.Primer vs. 3.Direct Access
We want to give our Gotoco'ers exciting, supportive, and accessible global work-placement adventures!
As part of our accessibility mission, we only offer projects where most costs & fees are covered through funding that we have pre-arranged. So, there are no fees or fund-raising targets upfront and costs are met by government funding or with support from local partners. For you this means simply get an offer and come train with us on work placements abroad!!
We are a TEFL teacher training programme, offering work placements abroad. TEFL certification is the core of our programme, and all funding pathways are linked to it.
We offer 3x courses with different funding and varied options for TEFL certification. All of these TEFL programmes are part of our "TESOL pathway"
•What does that mean? It means that all of our TEFL teacher training opportunities come with global work-placement trips in the TEFL sector! The difference between options 1,2,3 is that 3 is direct access to the highest level course we offer, whereas options 1&2 allow you to tip your toes in the water.
•Why TEFL...? We work in the TEFL sector because it gives a fantastic opportunity for our participants to gain exposure to a tangible, well-paid, 'beaten-path' into a brilliant future career in teaching abroad - one of the best adventures you can choose for your life.
•What's TESOL...? In simple terms, TESOL is TEFL, TEFL is TESOL, of course it is more complex than that, but you will work that out later. More on that here.
•Can I get the world's best TEFL qualification? YES! Our programmes are all "TESOL pathways", this means that whichever programme you do, it is our intention that you are able to eventually do the best possible TEFL qualification with us if you want it - the Trinity CertTESOL. Allocation of places for this is competitive because funding is limited, so you will usually need to prove yourself by completing an alternative qualification and placement with us first (see 1&2 below) - then we can consider you for this (our option 3 below) - we have limited spaces on this so it is competitive.
•What's Trinity CertTESOL...?
Trinity Cert TESOL is a specific TESOL qualification - arguably the best one in the world! On a par with the CELTA...For most starter-jobs around the world (think: year 1 of a TEFL job), our options 1&2 are good enough, but for anyone building a career then Trinity CertTESOL becomes the best option from year 2 of a career...
Choices: it's as simple 1,2,3...
We offer three pathways, each one comes with a different level of TEFL certification. The easiest way to understand differences in our three programmes is that the more ambitious you are in your teacher training, the more funding you receive, the further you can go, and the longer you can stay (but the more homework you will have.)
SO, you might be eligible for our easiest course where you get most things funded (but not travel), or you can do our higher level TESOL course and get FULL funding for core costs on all programmes! The harder you try, the further you will go (literally! Options 1 is Europe only, option 2&3 is for all 'far-flung' projects in Asia/Americas/Europe)
I don't know how to choose! No worries, you don't need to choose just yet! Please apply, get an offer, think about it all, and we will help you join the best pathway later on. In most cases, applicants are joining us on route 2, unless they inform us that they are allocated to a partner university to route 1. Route 3 is for long stay programmes and candidates that excelled on routes 1 or 2.
THE THREE PROGRAMME TYPES!
1. TEFL Insight Programme
*This is only for applicants that are referred to us by certain UK universities in order to undertake our shortest (4x week) European programmes - usually in Spain and Poland
This is our lowest commitment programme, it is an insight programme, setup for certain UK universities (see here). It is reserved for universities that partner with us and funded by their Turing grants. To access this you will need to be linked to a university and aware of their funding. If you google X University + Erasmus or Turing of Global + bursary or funding then you will likely find what you need to know. It's really really great for anyone that wants to test the waters on a low commitment route. If you enjoy this, then we hope you'd apply to come back next year for options 2 or 3.
This is usually configured as 1-month programmes in Spain and Poland. Participants get real-world TEFL teaching experience, and can study our low-commitment, 'crash-course' insight into the world of TEFL. During the programme you study the TEFL and if you complete the simple tasks then you receive our basic 120-hour TEFL certificate at the end.
If your university is one of our funding partners, then you are eligible to choose this pathway, so just get an offer and let us know you want to take this route. All expenses that relate to your stay on the programme during the camp weeks are funded, you just need to pay for the meals and some activities on the post-programme cultural trip along with all travel costs before and after the actual work placement. If you are on the normal Turing HE grant rate, that funding amount covers the programme costs with no surplus, but if you are on the higher grant (e.g widening participation students) then the surplus will be yours to spend as you see fit.
2. TESOL Primer
*If you applied to us independently and wish to do a programme of under 3 months in duration, then you will most likely be allocated to this route.
We arrange funding for this directly, so please just apply to us and we do the rest for you - as long as you are eligible (more here).
This route means you can access full funding to do any of our global projects. Programme costs will be funded upfront. Travel costs are funded on a reimbursement basis, but can be paid upfront (along with other expenses) if you come from a 'widening participation' background (see here).
The TESOL primer is an Ofqual-backed L3 or L5 self-led course. Don't worry about the jargon: in summary, it will be a course that you can expect to complete during the placement duration or shortly after returning, it will confer an internationally recognised qualification at the end. We will choose the exact course for you according from our available options, taking into account what is the best fit for your programme.
Those that complete the programme will be eligible for our career starter opportunity, which means they can do a future project and access full funding for a Trinity CertTESOL upgrade. Your travel is reimbursed once you complete the TESOL primer. Those that do well on the placement and in this course will be considered for access to an upgrade course with Trinity CertTESOL.
3. Trinity CertTESOL Direct Access
*This option gives you direct access to studying for the Trinity CertTESOL. We only make this available to candidates joining us for stays of longer than 3x months .
This route means you can access full funding to do any of our Fellowship (long-stay) global projects - usually in Thailand. Programme costs will be funded upfront. Travel costs are funded on a reimbursement basis, but can be paid upfront (along with other expenses) if you come from a 'widening participation' background (see here).
With this programme, you immediately embark on the gold standard of all TEFL courses, the one that will clinch you the best careers at the best schools anywhere on Earth. The Trinity CertTESOL!
This course will usually take you six months to complete from enrolment, with lectures each week and occasional homework, including for a period after you return home from our shorter programmes. Our Trinity CertTESOL training partner oversees it all and will brief you on exact commitments. You can read more about the Trinity CertTESOL here.
*To join any of the programmes above, you will need to pay a small commitment deposit, which is returned when you complete programme requirements. You should also plan to have some personal spending money for anything you do or buy outside the programme schedule, we ensure that meals, accommodation and key costs are all covered by funding!