At AVSE-TESOL in Vietnam (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City) and Cambodia (Phnom Penh), we’ve been delivering our ‘signature’, in-class Australian Government accredited TESOL programme for more than ten years. What AVSE-TESOL has achieved in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh is good news by any measure. Here’s some more good news. You can now do AVSE’s Australian Government accredited TESOL programme online – the same course, content, trainer support – and top-shelf ESL teaching certification. 

As the name suggests, ‘online TESOL’ involves working your way through the requirements of AVSE’s Australian Government accredited TESOL programme – online. You’ll complete the TESOL course in a manner and timeframe that’s best for you, from the comfort of your own home, from your favourite coffee shop or elsewhere. Sure, there are boundaries, including a 6-month time limit to complete all the course related content, but you control the schedule.

Online TESOL at AVSE-TESOL is suitable for professionally minded people of all ages and backgrounds. You’ll mostly work independently, but your designated support person – an accredited TESOL trainer employed by AVSE-TESOL – will only be an email or WhatsApp message away. The key to successfully completing an online study programme of any sort, is self-discipline. Chip away on a regular basis and you’ll be ‘done and dusted’ in no time.

Process

Everything you need to get cracking with AVSE’s online TESOL course is available via our ‘user friendly’ online portal. You’ll be given access to the portal immediately after you’ve completed the straight-forward enrolment process – enrolment form submitted, offer made, offer accepted and payment cleared. Typically, the enrolment process takes no longer than a couple of days and then you can truly say that your preparation work for teaching English abroad, online or in your home country is underway. Importantly, you don’t need to be an information technology genius to find your way around AVSE’s online portal. Regardless, the friendly folks at AVSE-TESOL will be pleased to extend a helping hand when it’s needed.

Content

The course material and units of com petency that are covered in the online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL, mirror what’s offered in our ‘signature’ in-class programmes in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh. Similarly, the trainers who are engaged by AVSE-TESOL to support you throughout the online TESOL course, are the same highly qualified people who deliver our in-class programme. The emphasis on working independently is where online TESOL at AVSE-TESOL differs from our in-class course.

At the end of your online TESOL course, all being well, you’ll receive TESOL certification that’s accredited by the Australian Government. This alone provides insight into the quality of the study programme. The online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL is not a cheap online ‘thing’. It’s a serious academic qualification that requires a high level of commitment.

Here’s a snapshot of the online TESOL course: 14 hours of teaching practice (observation classes and ‘hands-on’ teaching experience with actual ESL students); building a substantial portfolio of teaching and testing resources; developing targeted and comprehensive teaching and learning plans; engage in academic research – and a lot more.

The core requirements of the online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL unashamedly have an emphasis on practical teaching. Our TESOL students can opt to complete the ‘physical’ teaching practice hours (14 in total) in their local community or at AVSE-TESOL in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or Phnom Penh. Regardless of where our online students choose to complete the practical part of their course, locally or abroad, the fee remains the same. The practical dimension of the online TESOL course at AVSE is a distinguishing factor in a competitive market. Employers (schools) want substantive proof  that you know your way around a classroom and can keep students engaged for the duration of a lesson.

Advantages of online TESOL

So, after a lot of research and scrolling you’ve reached the conclusion that AVSE’s Australian Government accredited TESOL programme offers the best preparation for a job as an ESL teacher – your ultimate goal – but, you’re still unsure if the online training mode is right for you. There’s a lot to think about. Let’s look at some of the benefits of the online option at AVSE-TESOL. It might help with your decision-making.

Convenience

‘Convenience’ is the most obvious advantage with online training. Are you a ‘night owl’? “Yes”, I hear you say. Okay, work on your TESOL requirements then. Do you hold a ‘fly in’, ‘fly out’ job where every second week you’re scratching your head looking for something to do? Okay, now you’re sorted, preparing yourself for the next phase of your life. Online study allows you to fulfill course-related commitments at a time and place that’s good for you with a caveat about reliable internet access. You can always deal with problematic internet access by having a low-cost internet stick attached to your key ring.

Cost

The fee for the online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL is less than the fee for our in-class course, but the Australian Government accreditation and certification are the same, the content is the same, the qualified trainers are the same – and ‘hands-on’ support is only a message or a phone call away. In short, you’ll pay less for the same product. We’re able to offer the online study mode at a much cheaper price than our in-class course by passing on cost savings attributable to, among other things, lower rent, lower utility charges and better use of resources.

Caters for all comers

The research is emphatic; people learn in different ways. This presents ongoing challenges for trainers presiding over in-class study programmes. There are students who learn best by reading about the subject matter, others need to see it in action, others need to hear it and the list goes go. The online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL is responsive to individual learning needs. The student controls the way they learn, which undoubtedly will be consistent with how they learn best. If you’re following a pathway that’s consistent with how you learn best, it’s reasonable to assume the learning outcomes will be more positive than they would otherwise be.

Direct connection with market leader

By enrolling in the online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL, you become part of the AVSE family, which includes 7,000+ former TESOL students who were once where you are right now. The networking opportunities are huge. The ‘hands on’ support from AVSE-TESOL is substantial. AVSE-TESOL is the market leader in Southeast Asia with preparing folks for teaching jobs in Vietnam, Cambodia and other destinations. We are physically on the ground in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh and know the region well. As a member of the AVSE-TESOL family, you will be a direct beneficiary of our market position.

Summary

It’s true to say that online learning is not for everyone, but it’s a perfect fit for many people. With the online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL you’ll receive all the benefits of investing in quality ESL teacher training at a lower upfront cost. You’ll be able to study at a time and place that’s good for you and in a manner that’s consistent with how you learn best. Importantly, you’ll have AVSE-TESOL in your corner moving forward.

You will find an Enrolment Form for the online TESOL programme at AVSE below. After completing the Enrolment Form, follow the instructions to send it electronically to Peter Goudge at AVSE-TESOL. Peter does his best to get back to applicants within three business days. 

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Online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL

What exactly is an ‘online TESOL course’?

Let’s deal with the ‘online course’ part first. In a vocational context, put succinctly, an ‘online course’ is job-specific training directed at acquiring skills and knowledge, using an internet-based platform as the study mode. You don’t need to be an ‘information technology geek’ to complete most online study programmes. You do need a desktop or laptop computer with basic Microsoft Office software and a reliable internet connection. Self-discipline to keep chipping away at your course is paramount.

‘TESOL’ is one of those annoying acronyms that characterise the teaching English as a second language (ESL) industry. You could give yourself a headache counting all the acronyms in this line of work, but here are a few that you’ll frequently come across throughout your teaching journey: TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language); IELTS (International English Language Testing System); TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language); CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults); AVSE (Australian Vocational Skills and Education); AQF (Australian Qualifications Framework) and OFqual (Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation).

The ‘TESOL’ acronym means ‘Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages’. While purists may argue that the acronyms TESOL and TEFL are not interchangeable, I disagree. Crudely, the TESOL acronym is commonly used is the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and other Commonwealth countries and TEFL is typically used elsewhere.

What to expect

The online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL is suitable for professionally minded people of all ages and backgrounds who are interested in teaching ESL at one of AVSE’s partner schools in Vietnam and Cambodia, in their home country or online. The study programme is intensive, but it’s also immensely rewarding. There’s a lot of material to cover directed at equipping you with the skills and knowledge you need to be a great ESL educator. At the end of the study programme, you’ll hold an internationally recognised teaching qualification, signed off by the Australian Government. To draw on the words of that great man William Shakespeare, you’ll be able to say with your hand on your heart, ‘the world is my oyster’, certainly in the context of ESL teaching and learning.

Online TESOL students at AVSE-TESOL have up to six months to complete the course related requirements, but we’ve found that most students are done and dusted in six to ten weeks. Racing through the course is actively discouraged. Why? TESOL at AVSE-TESOL is all about equipping aspiring ESL teachers with the tools they need to be brilliant educators. This is not something that can happen overnight. It’s a process that takes time and commitment in abundance. By doing a bit of work, when you have free time, five or six days a week, there’s a good chance that you will have nailed the course related requirements in a couple of months. You can start the online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL on any one of the 365 days in a calendar year.

Importantly, the content of AVSE’s online TESOL programme is exactly the same as our ‘signature’ in-class TESOL course, that we’ve been delivering in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) for more than a decade and in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) for the past five years. Moreover, the trainers who are engaged by AVSE-TESOL to facilitate our online TESOL course are the same, highly qualified people who deliver our in-class programme. In a nutshell, with the online TESOL programme at AVSE-TESOL you will have the same course content, the same assessment tasks and the same highly qualified TESOL trainers as if you were doing our in-class programme. The key difference is, ‘the heavy lifting’ – the training – takes place in the comfort of your own home, saving time and money.

Content

The content of AVSE-TESOL’s online TESOL course includes, but isn’t limited to:

• TESOL methodologies
• Lesson planning
• Presenting information
• Presenting vocabulary
• Presenting grammar
• Concept checking and questioning
• Feedback
• Classroom management and safety
• Practicing the four skills
• Presenting pronunciation and phonemes
• Activity based learning for children (and adults)
• Motivation
• ESL testing
• Culture in ESL
• Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL)
• Practical teaching experience

By definition, the online TESOL programme at AVSE-TESOL draws on simulated learning experiences, but the emphasis on the practical aspect of teaching English that’s the hallmark of our in-class programme remains intact. To illustrate this point, students who are enrolled in the online TESOL programme at AVSE-TESOL must, amongst other things, complete 14 hours of ‘hands on’ teaching practice, build a portfolio of teaching and testing resources and develop a learning plan for a single ESL student. All these core requirements have a practical teaching dimension. The ‘physical’ teaching practice component of the online TESOL course – where the TESOL student delivers ESL lessons to actual ESL students – can take place in the student’s own local community – or at AVSE-TESOL in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or Phnom Penh with no additional charge. The choice is yours to make.

Summary

In this blog post we’ve turned our mind to what an online TESOL course is all about and touched on some acronyms that you’ll encounter while working as an English language educator. We’ve also had a good look at the Australian Government accredited online TESOL course that’s offered by AVSE-TESOL. Regardless of whether you see yourself as being an online or in-class person, by completing a TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL, you’ll have the skills, knowledge and quality certification you need to live that lifelong dream of teaching English as a Second Language. 

About the blogger: Peter Goudge is the Managing Director and owner of AVSE-TESOL in Vietnam and Cambodia. AVSE delivers an Australian Government accredited TESOL programme in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh – and online. Originally from Australia, Peter has been living and working in Southeast Asia since 2006. Check out the AVSE website: www.avse.edu.vn

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5 reasons why an online TESOL Course is the way to go

Let’s assume that you’ve decided to do the Australian Government-accredited TESOL Course at AVSE-TESOL, but you’re undecided on which study mode, online or in-class, is best for you. In this blog post, I’ll discuss five compelling reasons why an online TESOL course is preferable. Equally, I can pull together five compelling reasons why an in-class TESOL course is preferable. That will be a blog post for another day. Why five compelling reasons for an online course and not eight, ten or another number? Good question. The answer is twofold: 1. for the time being anyway, five is my lucky number, and 2. I have to draw the line somewhere; otherwise, you’ll vote with your feet.

Here are five reasons you should choose the online study mode to complete your TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL: flexibility, price, freebies, technical skills, and ponder time. Let’s deal with each point individually.

1. Flexibility

Doing a study programme online, TESOL or otherwise provides flexibility that simply doesn’t exist with an in-class programme. Other than scheduled webinars, and even with those, you can likely obtain a recorded version of the event; when and where you choose to study online is entirely up to you. If you’re an early bird by nature, doing an hour or two before you head off to work Monday to Friday might be a good fit.  If you’re free most weekends, you might choose to do a couple of hours every Saturday and Sunday. The flexibility with ‘the where’ is when things can get interesting. ‘Where’ is limited only by your imagination.

2. Price

True, a quality online TESOL course that’s a product of nationally recognised training (government-regulated), like the one offered by AVSE-TESOL, is not cheap. There are cost factors that don’t exist with a ‘Diploma Mill’ course. Best not to get me started about Diploma Mills in TESOL training. The good news is that every legitimate (government-regulated) online TESOL course I could find while researching this blog post is cheaper than the in-class version of the same course. At AVSE-TESOL, for example, an online Australian Government accredited TESOL course costs US $998.00. The in-class version of the same course costs US $1,798.00. There are valid reasons for the price difference, but the reality is you can get the same qualification for less money by doing it online.

3. Freebies

This is my favourite point! Everyone loves freebies, especially me. When freebies come with a purchase, it helps to ease the pain of parting with your hard-earned money. With a much-lower cost factor, the chance of getting your hands on some freebies with an online TESOL course is greater than with an in-class course. Here’s some hard evidence. The online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL comes with a bunch of freebies – 9 nights of hotel accommodation in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or Phnom Penh to do the practical part of your online course in Vietnam or Cambodia, hands-on job support in Vietnam or Cambodia and a lot more. Of course, it’s possible to score some freebies with an in-class TESOL course, but they tend to come with ‘personal value’ – pre-class support, for instance – rather than monetary value.  

4. Technical skills

With every ‘negative’ in life, if you look hard enough, you’ll find a ‘positive’ somewhere. It might not be immediately apparent, but the upside will be there for you to see at some stage. If you’re not confident with technology, the idea of sitting in front of a keyboard, using computers, navigating different software programmes, uploading, downloading, Skyping, Zooming, chat rooms and suchlike will be daunting. In your mind, it might even be justification for not going down the online path. I get it. Technology isn’t going away anytime soon. These days, ESL students of all ages and backgrounds expect their teachers to use technology in the classroom. I’d argue that an online TESOL course provides an excellent opportunity to build computer-related skills and confidence in parallel – in a safe and supportive environment – and at zero cost. Building ‘techie’ skills is essentially another freebie that comes with an online study programme.

5. Ponder time

‘Ponder’ means to think carefully. By completing your TESOL course online, over two to six months, rather than as an intensive, one-month in-class programme, you’ll have more time to think carefully about where you want your TESOL qualification to take you. Can you make a living teaching ESL in your home country? Will you take up the offer from AVSE-TESOL to teach ESL in Vietnam or Cambodia? Will teaching ESL in Thailand, South Korea, China, the Philippines or another exotic location be a good fit? There’s a lot to think about, and having the time to do precisely that can only be a good thing.

Summary

We’ve quickly looked at five compelling reasons why you should go down the online TESOL course path. Flexibility, price, accessing freebies, building techie skills and plenty of ponder time – individually and collectively – are strong arguments for an online study programme over an in-class programme. Personal preference and circumstances will undoubtedly dictate your choice – an online TESOL course or an in-class TESOL course. However, regardless of your study mode, if you do the Australian Government-accredited TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL, you’ll hold the same quality certification that’s a product of nationally-recognised training and is government-regulated.  The best of the best.

About the writer: Peter Goudge is the Managing Director and owner of AVSE-TESOL in Australia, Vietnam and Cambodia. He’s passionate about quality ESL teacher training and has written extensively on the subject for the past 15+ years. Check out the AVSE-TESOL website: www.avse.edu.vn

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Will you get a job with an Online TESOL Course?  

Obtaining a decent teaching job with recognised certification from an online TESOL course is not only possible, it’s rapidly becoming the ‘norm’ in this post-covid era. While we all hope that strict social distancing rules are a thing of the past, the reality is that they’re etched in our minds and increasingly consumers are choosing online learning options over the traditional in-class study programmes. Is an Online TESOL course enough to work as an ESL teacher? Yes, but there’s a sizable caveat that equally applies to in-class programmes. I will come back to this point later on. First, allow me to provide some perspective.

Perspective

Pre-covid, many employers of English as a Second Language (ESL) Teachers viewed TESOL certification obtained via an online TESOL course as being second rate – a ‘poor cousin’ to the in-class alternative, but the ‘pendulum’ has shifted. There has been a noticeable change in attitude by employers towards online TESOL certificates. For example, for the better part of 20 years, the larger English language schools in Vietnam including VUS, ILA and the like wouldn’t employ ‘ESL teachers’ who held a certificate from an online TESOL course. Now, they’re not fussed at all. Clearly there’s a ‘market forces’ dimension (or two) at play with the change in attitude by employers towards online TESOL certificates, but I suspect ‘generational change’ at the top is the key driver. Put simply, school managers under 30 years of age +/- are far more likely to embrace online study programmes, than older folks like me. Why? Online study is part of their ‘DNA’ whereas it remains a ’poor cousin’- alien – to many people who didn’t grow up with it.  When I was at university during the 1980s, the only computers were owned by NASA, the CIA and suchlike and they were the size of a football field.

It’s fair to say that it was the (millennial) Location Managers at my own school, AVSE-TESOL, in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh, all dynamic, bright, young women, who dragged me kicking and screaming to offer an online TESOL course. I was determined to resist the winds of change. Common sense, the power of the argument – and market forces – ultimately led to a backflip on my part. I’m delighted with the result. It’s said that you can’t teach an ‘old dog’ new tricks. I’m living proof that this expression has no merit, although the skills of those doing the ‘teaching’, my own staff in this instance’, is paramount.

While the benefits of doing an online TESOL course are obvious – convenience, lower cost, terrific job opportunities locally and abroad to list only three – consumers and employers need to keep an ‘eagle eye’ on quality, dodgy behaviour – what’s ‘legit’ and what’s not. Scammers love the internet and regrettably online study programmes, including quite a few online TESOL programmes are a well-known ‘playground’. The ‘legit’ thing goes to the heart of the ‘caveat’ that I mentioned earlier. How do you know what’s ‘legit’? Look out for the following.

Accreditation:

Anecdotally, 95% of online TESOL/TEFL programmes worldwide are accredited by a random Limited Liability Company with a flashy name to give an air of respectability. The name might be something like Global TEFL Accrediting Authority. “Gosh, with a name like that it must be legit, right”? “No, sorry brother, you’ve been conned. It’s a random Limited Liability Company that cost US $25.00 to set up and there’s only one Director – and that Director is the TESOL provider’s mum”. It happens regularly.

At best, an online TESOL course that’s accredited by the provider’s mum, or similar, will only ever carry personal development value. If you’re in the market for a legitimate ESL teaching qualification via an online TESOL course, it’s really important to make sure the study programme comes within a national qualification’s framework (government-regulated) – somewhere. For example, the online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL is accredited by the Australian Government. It is nationally-recognised training in Australia and therefore you have every reason to believe that it will be recognised worldwide, even if you have to jump through a few hoops. In stark contrast, there’s another provider in Ho Chi Minh City whose ‘course’ is ‘accredited’ by one ‘fella’ who lives in Edinburgh. Certificates this fella issues carry zero weight in the United Kingdom – where they come from – but, somehow, they ‘morph’ into a legitimate teaching qualification between Edinburgh and Ho Chi Minh City. If it wasn’t so dangerous, it would be laughable.

I hear the Vietnamese Government has plans afoot to weed out bogus TESOL providers. I hope so. Fee paying students in Vietnam and elsewhere are entitled to believe that their ESL teacher holds a legitimate teaching qualification.

Astonishingly cheap:

Most people don’t want to spend a penny more for a product or service than is absolutely necessary. This is understandable. I’m in the same ‘boat’. What I find difficult to understand, is when a person genuinely believes that they can acquire a legitimate TESOL qualification – the equivalent of a licence to teach locally or abroad – for less than the cost of a medium size pizza from Dominos. TESOL training is one of those industries where in the main, you get what you pay for.

Think for a fleeting moment about what qualifications cost in other professions. Just yesterday, I saw a Fork Lift Drivers course advertised in Cairns, Australia for $1,249.00. While prepping for this blog post, I saw a 120 TEFL course (see my earlier comment about the ‘fella’ in Edinburgh) advertised for $19.50. Let’s be generous and assume the skill level required to drive a fork lift is the same to teach English locally or abroad. Why is there such a marked difference between the programme fees? The answer will be obvious to most people, especially when you look at the math: $19.50 divided by 120 hours = 0.16 cents an hour. Unfortunately, it’s not obvious to everyone and in part at least, this is how the scammers make their money. Ultimately, you will work out what you think is a fair price for an ESL teaching qualification, but, please, please, please make sure the certification is a product of nationally-recognised (government-regulated) training.

Bricks and mortar:

Most businesses go to great lengths to let people know where they’re physically located. It’s commonplace to see a company’s street address, a direct phone number, a business email address and the like at the bottom of the business’ homepage. Either they want customers to visit or they want them to know they’re a ‘bricks and mortar’ business that they can visit or call if the need arises.

You might be surprised to earn that an alarming number of online TESOL providers do not disclose a street address on their website – or other direct contact information. Typically, there is a simple contact form on the provider’s website and that’s it. It begs the question – why?  Again, the answer is pretty obvious in my opinion, but there are still plenty of people who buy the product. If the provider of the online TESOL course is not a ‘bricks and mortar’ business that you can hold accountable, if necessary, almost certainly the entity is nothing more than an old-fashioned Diploma Mill. I’d encourage you to vote with your feet.

Conclusion

Nowadays, the vast majority of employers see certification from an Online TESOL course as being equal to certification from an in-class programme. Those that haven’t accepted that the world has changed are probably not the kind of people you’d enjoy working with anyway. Astute employers do know what constitutes legitimate TESOL certification and what doesn’t. By doing an online TESOL course – or an in-class course that’s nationally recognised training (government-regulated), you have every reason to believe that you’ll achieve your ESL teaching goal without any worries.

About the blogger: Peter Goudge is the Managing Director (and founder) of AVSE-TESOL in Vietnam and Cambodia. Originally from Australia, Peter has called Ho Chi Minh City home since 2006. If you’d like more information about the online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL, feel free to reach out to Peter directly: peter@avse.edu.vn

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Why choose the online TESOL course at AVSE?

There are plenty of good reasons to choose the online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL if you’re looking to teach English locally, online or abroad – regardless of your nationality and where you’re currently located. In this short blog post, I will touch on five key points, not in any particular order, which hopefully will spark your interest to reach out for an informal chat with the friendly folks at AVSE-TESOL in Queensland, Australia.

Australian Government accredited

For any qualification – TESOL or otherwise – to be genuinely internationally recognised, it must come from a nationally recognised training programme in the country of origin. When you think about it, if a TESOL ‘qualification’ isn’t recognised where it comes from, it defies belief that it can morph into a legitimate qualification between the country where it came from and the country where it will be used. Unfortunately, this kind of thing is commonplace in the TESOL/TEFL sector, but not at AVSE-TESOL.

TESOL certification from AVSE-TESOL is a product of a nationally-recognised vocational training programme in Australia, specifically the Certificate IV in TESOL (course code: 10773NAT). Given that a Certificate IV in TESOL is a valid teaching qualification in Australia under the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), TESOL trainees have ‘peace of mind’ that their certification will be recognised worldwide.

Easy enrolment process

One of the benefits of having been around for more than a decade is that AVSE-TESOL has been able to refine systems and processes – including the enrolment process for the online TESOL course – for a better customer experience. AVSE-TESOL is attuned to the importance of continuous improvement in every aspect of service delivery, starting with our enrolment form.

Completing and submitting an enrolment form for the online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL takes less than five minutes. The form is easy to navigate and only requires you to enter enough information for the Admission Officer to form a view on whether you should be offered a place immediately or invited to participate in a one-on-one Zoom meeting with a member of the AVSE-TESOL team, for clarification purposes.

One-on-one trainer support

While the Australian Government accreditation is a huge distinguishing factor between the online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL and what’s offered by competitors, I’d argue that the one-on-one trainer support from start to finish is equally significant. Why? It drives success and stokes the ‘motivation fire’. An online TESOL course is hard work. It’s comforting to know that there’s a highly-qualified, vocational education and training specialist who’s only an email away if you need a helping hand. The same person will assess your work and provide constructive feedback for the entirety of your online TESOL course.

Interestingly, it’s not enough to be a highly-qualified teacher to deliver and assess study programmes under the AQF. You could be a Harvard graduate, an Oxford Don, or similar, but ineligible to deliver and assess AQF programmes like the Online TESOL programme at AVSE-TESOL. Trainers and assessors across the board in the Australian vocational education and training sector must hold specialist qualifications that can take up to a year to complete.

Option to do the practicum abroad

Yes, you did read the subheading correctly! The online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL comes with the option of completing the fourteen-hour practical component (observation and teaching practice classes) of the programme in either Ho Chi Minh City or Phnom Penh – including hotel accommodation for nine nights – with zero additional cost. By any measure, it’s an absolute bargain and a ‘cherry on top’ of your overall TESOL experience.

I am unaware of an online TESOL course provider anywhere in the world that can match AVSE-TESOL’s practicum option in an exotic location, including hotel accommodation, without charging a penny more than the originally advertised fee. Will the offer last? Who knows, so it’s best to grab the opportunity now.

Intuitive delivery system

In 2021, AVSE-TESOL partnered with the Green Education Group, Australia’s leading provider of online course delivery systems. The principal impetus for this partnership was to provide a robust, state-of-the-art, and highly intuitive Learning Management System (LMS) for trainees enrolled in AVSE’s online TESOL course.

Some two years down the track, ‘the votes are in’. The software developed by the Green Education Group – and used by AVSE-TESOL when delivering the online TESOL course – is widely recognised as the most user-friendly LMS available in the Asia-Pacific region. Brilliant software is only part of the equation. The software is backed by an equally brilliant customer service team at Green Education that’s available to lend a helping hand when issues arise as they inevitably do with new technology.

Summary

If teaching English as a second language locally, online, or abroad is something you’d like to do, you’ll need government-regulated TESOL certification. It’s clear that AVSE offers the best TESOL course in Australia and comes with genuine international recognition.

Australian Government accreditation, an easy enrolment process, one-on-one trainer support, the option to do the practicum in Vietnam or Cambodia with zero additional cost – and the intuitive delivery system – are all super reasons to enrol now in the online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL.

About the blogger: Peter Goudge is the Managing Director (and founder) of AVSE-TESOL in Australia, Vietnam and Cambodia. He’s passionate about creating opportunities for aspiring ESL educators to obtain the knowledge, skills and government-regulated TESOL certification that are needed to teach English locally, online or abroad. Feel free to reach out to Peter directly: peter@avse.edu.vn

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How to prepare for an Online TESOL course

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” Alexander Graham Bell

When the telephone-inventing guru coined his now famous quote, he could easily have been thinking about prepping for an online course. Obviously, he wasn’t, but the concept still applies. Just as you wouldn’t walk into a traditional course without some preparation (books to buy, pens to pinch, paper, a laptop and the like), there is also some preparation required for online courses as well. From finding a quiet place to work, to brushing up on your own English skills, and getting yourself organised, they’re all important for effectively preparing for an online TESOL course.

Quiet place to work:

Another great inventor, Nikola Tesla, nailed it when he said, “The mind is sharper and keener in seclusion and uninterrupted solitude.”

I get it; life is chaotic, and quiet spots for getting some study done are few and far between in your busy life. If you can work effectively in the midst of this chaos, I envy you. It will make studying more convenient for you. However, most of us can’t because we’re easily distracted.

If you’re one of ‘us’, think about where your quiet places are located. It may be a tucked away corner in your favourite coffee shop, or a secluded bench in the local park. You can even plan to lock yourself up somewhere if you want to, or study in the middle of the night when ‘all thro’ the house, not a creature is stirring.’ The point is – find yourself a quiet sanctuary in the midst of distractions so your mind can be ‘sharper and keener’ when you’re studying.

Computer + reliable internet:

Enrolling in an online TESOL course inevitably means, yep, facing the inevitable. You’ll have to put down the smartphone and (gasp) learn to use ancient technology AKA ‘a computer’, and develop a whole new way of typing.

You’ll also need a reliable internet connection – now I could make a joke here about that ruling out large chunks of my native Australia but… moving right along… Reliable access to the internet is pivotal. It should also be reasonably fast, but if reliable AND fast is asking a bit much, settle for reliable. You really don’t want to lose connectivity right in the middle of something important. It often means you have to redo whatever you were doing when your connection dropped out, and that’s usually not much fun.

Dress for success:

It’s tempting to lounge about in pyjamas because, hey, you’re at home doing this online TESOL course and there’s nobody else around. However, you’ll be in a more professional frame of mind if you dress the part. Like a teacher, who is learning to be a teacher!

Routine:

‘Ahhh’ routine. That which kills adventurous spontaneity and confines us to the sameness of predictability. When you’re trying to get a Certificate IV in TESOL, CELTA or similar to support an adventurous future, having a level of predictability in your life is a must. For the time being at least. Set aside dedicated time for working on your online TESOL course, but don’t forget that all study and no play can lead to a raft of personal issues – social isolation, obesity, exhaustion and the list goes on.

The old saying – ‘failing to plan is akin to planning to fail’ has a lot of merit. Just because you’re doing an online course doesn’t mean procrastination rules. Plan a schedule that factors in both your study and all the other things that matter, and then stick to it. Create ‘to do’ lists, set reminders, and then give yourself rewards for ticking things off the list. By way of ‘rewards’, chocolate or ‘rum and raisin’ ice cream are key motivators for ‘yours truly’!

Connect with others:

Connect with other people doing the same online course. It’s a good way to get support, encouragement, share experiences, and enrich your study journey. In addition, connect with folks who have already done the course for ‘insider’ information and pointers

If you’re someone who likes to study in a group (and perhaps teetering on the edge of deciding whether to do a classroom or online TESOL course for that reason) there are plenty of ways to do group study online. Join online forums, social media groups, and virtual study groups. As an added bonus, you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your couch for this type of group study. 

Connect with your course provider:

Build rapport with your course provider and learn how they can extend a helping hand if the need arises. Almost certainly your course provider will have a designated telephone number or email address that students can use for random questions, guidance and direction.

Brush up on your own English skills:

Brushing up on your own English skills, especially grammar, in the lead up to your online TESOL course is a wise move, in my opinion. If you plan to teach the language, it makes sense that you should know a thing or two about the language. ‘Present perfect’, conjunction, bare infinitive, auxiliary verb and suchlike might not be part of your personal vernacular, but with a bit of work, you’ll be ‘talking the talk’ – and ‘walking the walk’ in no time.

Navigating ‘curly’ questions:

If you’ve spent much time around young children and teens, you know they can ask the darndest questions. So too can English language learners. It therefore pays to develop an adroit, non-committal answer to questions you don’t know the answer to, and don’t want to admit you don’t know the answer to. An answer that goes something like this: ‘Wow, what a great question. We’ll definitely come back to it after the break but for now…’ Obviously, you will then spend your break finding the answer to said question!

Grab the online TESOL course opportunity with both hands:

The online TESOL course journey is not for the faint-hearted. However, if you have the wisdom to recognise the opportunity, and grab it with both hands, you’ll come out wiser, probably braver, and with a TESOL qualification. That puts the world at your feet, and opens up new horizons to explore in exotic countries like Vietnam and Cambodia. Let the adventure unfold.

About the writer: Michelle O’Grady from Mossman, Australia, completed the Online TESOL programme at AVSE-TESOL (Certificate IV in TESOL) in 2021, during the ‘covid period’. Once the borders re-opened, Michelle did a beeline for South America. She is currently teaching in Argentina and loving her work. 

Blog Post:

Should I do an Online TESOL Course?

Should I do an online TESOL course? Well, I’m going to tell you, totally without bias, that doing so could be the best career move you can make. In fact, now that I’ve been dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21^st century and the realms of online training technology, I am a huge convert. I mean – what’s not to love about the convenience, practicality, flexibility, and affordability of online certification? Don’t just take my word for it though! There are some very good evidence-based reasons for enrolling in an online course like what’s offered by AVSE-TESOL.

To elaborate: first, the global demand for ESL teachers outstrips supply. Second, government-backed certification, or similar, is a minimum requirement for teaching ESL in most countries. Then there are the skills and knowledge you acquire, many of which are transferable to other sectors. Plus, the opportunities to expand your professional and personal networks, and the icing on the cake – by doing it online you can add ‘convenience’ to the list.  

However, there are online courses and there are online courses. Some – like those offered by AVSE-TESOL – are legit. Many are not! So, always do your due diligence and thoroughly check the credentials of any online course you’re contemplating doing, TESOL or otherwise.

Now let’s explore those reasons I mentioned earlier for doing an online TESOL course, especially if you want to teach ESL locally, abroad, or online. We’ll start with ‘demand’.

Increasing global demand for ESL teachers:

English is the world’s official international language – the language of popular culture, business, and many other facets of global life. Almost one-fifth of the world’s population speak it, and almost as many again are learning to speak it.

Significantly, however, only 5% of English speakers speak it as a first language. The remaining 14-15% have all learnt English as a second language. When you add the increasing numbers of non-native speakers who want to learn it, the demand is staggering. That’s good news for aspiring ESL teachers, like you!

Not convinced yet that ESL teaching is a great career option? Then how about this! According to Tran Thuy My Linh, the Director of Business Operations at AVSE-TESOL, almost 90% of the hardworking folks who graduate from the online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL – and want to start teaching pretty much immediately – are employed within two weeks of gaining their certification. In these times of economic uncertainty, that’s worth considering.

Minimum prerequisite for an ESL teaching job:

If you want to teach ESL in a formal or professional capacity, you must have the necessary qualifications. In some countries this means a Bachelor’s degree and valid TESOL, TEFL or CELTA certification. The globally recognised, Australian Government accredited TESOL certification that’s issued by AVSE is an obvious example. If you don’t have a degree, but you do have valid TESOL, TEFL or CELTA, there are still plenty of employment options available, including working as an ESL teacher in Cambodia. While AVSE-TESOL is an Australian owned and managed business, they’re on the ground in Cambodia, and place non-degree holders in top ESL teaching jobs twelve months of the year.

Unique skills:

Teaching people who don’t speak English to become proficient users of the language requires specialist skills. Enrolling in a TESOL programme at AVSE-TESOL, either in-classroom or online, provides all the tools you need to be a great ESL teacher. Even if you’re already a qualified teacher, adding additional skills to your repertoire will boost your teaching scope. You’ll also better understand the learning requirements of students who have English as a second language, a third language – and more in some cases.  

Among other things, along the way you’ll also pick up proficiencies in:

• Lesson planning
• Efficient classroom organisation and time management
• Effective communication techniques
• Computer assisted language learning

Knowledge:

Knowledge is power. In particular, it gives you the power to shape your own way in this world. Imagine being able to head off to anywhere in the world, secure in the knowledge that you have the skills and training to find work wherever you are. Backed up by your legitimate, Australian Government accredited TESOL certification. All courtesy of that online TESOL course you took!

Network opportunities:

Online training also provides a host of networking side benefits that, in my experience, often get overlooked. As part of the online training process, students are usually provided with access to indispensable resources like virtual classrooms, online forums and chat groups, and networking platforms.

These resources are invaluable channels for connecting and networking with your fellow students, teachers and instructors, and experienced ESL teachers. You’ll get the opportunity to pick a few brains, ask for advice, learn about developing trends in the industry, receive support, encouragement, and mentoring, and importantly, find job leads – all invaluable assets for developing your own career as an ESL teacher.

Convenience:

I’ve talked about the convenience of online courses in previous blogs but I’m happy to say it again. You just can’t beat them for this. They’re a perfect fit for our busy modern lifestyle, particularly as most of us can’t really afford to take time off work to study, or at least not unless the boss is paying for it! If you’re already studying, you can slot the AVSE-TESOL online course right in there alongside your other studies and boost your employability.

Transferable skills:

From my personal experience, the online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL equips you with a raft of beneficial, transferable skills. These are the types of skills you can adapt to use in other professional contexts. For example – effective communication skills – tick. Cultural awareness and sensitivity – tick. Advanced problem-solving skills – tick. Then there’s the ‘cherry on the cake’ – career enhancement connected with living and working abroad. You’ll be a local hero when you return home.

Summary

In today’s increasingly online world, most employers (or the ones worth working for) view online qualifications as being equal to qualifications obtained via the traditional classroom environment. If you are concerned that you’ll somehow be ‘disadvantaged’ by doing your TESOL course online, don’t be. Also, consider that statistic I mentioned at the start. Namely, that almost 90% of online TESOL course graduates are employed within 3 months of completing their course. Or at least those with valid certification, like what you’ll receive from AVSE-TESOL, are employed! So, should you do an online TESOL course? Unequivocally – yes!

About the writer: Gordon Vale secured employment as an ESL teacher at an Adult Migrant Education Centre in Sydney, Australia, immediately after he finished the online TESOL course at AVSE-TESOL. In this Guest Post, Gordon touches on key reasons why you should do an Online TESOL course.