Across the globe, the Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) is the gold standard for initial qualifications in the field of teaching English to foreign learners. Developed in the 1960s by John Haycraft at International House, the famously rigorous CELTA course was later adopted by Cambridge University, England, which is why the certificate often is referred to as the Cambridge CELTA. Cambridge is justly proud and fiercely protective of CELTA’s international reputation. So much so, that today every CELTA course, no matter where in the world it is taught, is audited by a Cambridge representative to ensure that standards are being upheld. The last thing Cambridge wants is a slew of certificate-mills giving out bogus CELTAs to semi-literate boobs whose most challenging language requirement for the course is writing out a check.
The CELTA came to have significance for me a couple years ago, as my wife, Kathryn, and I pondered what to do when our children left home for college. At some point we hit upon the idea of teaching English abroad as a means of adding some adventure—and perhaps a few debilitating diseases—to our lives; because of the CELTA’s international cachet, we soon concluded that it was just the ticket. From there, the decision to do the course at International House was an easy step. The nearest IH is in Portland, so we began making plans to apply there. Last November we visited the school and had a very informative conference with the director, which confirmed us in our plans.
Then, in early January, I came across an ad for the CELTA course at a different school for roughly two thirds the price. I didn’t mention previously, but will here, that the fee for this four-week course is approximately $2,200 per person here in the U.S. The school I found was not in the U.S., of course; it was in Hanoi, Vietnam, which meant that in addition to a lower tuition fee, our other costs would be commensurately lower as well. For example, a furnished two-bedroom apartment in a good area of Hanoi goes for $243 per month; a gallon of milk is $1.88; a can of local beer is $0.41; a three-course dinner in a restaurant is $9.35; and a doctor’s visit is $39.90. Please note that last figure is not merely the co-pay, but is the whole fee for a half-hour consultation with an MD. Or these, at least, are some of the prices we found on TEFL.com, an independent website giving nuts-and-bolts living costs for scores of cities around the world.
Needless to say, these facts prompted a quick but thorough reassessment of our plans. We now expect to do the course in Hanoi, starting in November, and will be seeking employment there immediately afterwards. But this all requires us to complete a long list of tasks in the intervening nine months. A small sampling from the list: refinance home; find a property manager and tenants for it; remodel downstairs bathroom; erect Rubbermaid storage shed in the back yard. And no, I am not joking about that last item, though I wish I were.
I admit this entry is more information-intensive than I like to make them, but I think this is important background if any of the rest is to make sense. As Mark Twain put it, “Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.” I’m afraid the flow of facts will continue awhile in the next installment, but that entry will at least include information on some of the more exciting diseases Vietnam has to offer. There is no shortage, believe me.
--originally posted 02/2008
--originally posted 02/2008
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