TESOL Course in Hanoi – four important inclusions
If you’re considering which TESOL course in Hanoi, Vietnam will be the best fit for you – and represents value for money – I’d encourage you to reflect on the following four points: 1. quality accreditation, 2. precourse support, 3. accommodation, and 4. meaningful job support. Let’s ‘drill down’ on these four points.
Quality accreditation
When it comes to the accreditation status of TESOL (and TEFL) courses in Hanoi, and elsewhere in the world, you could be excused for thinking that one size fits all. If a course says that it’s accredited by entity ‘XYZ’, then it must be legitimate; there’s no need to worry! Correct? Incorrect! You might strike it lucky, but anecdotally there’s a 90%+ chance that a course you think looks fine, is at best, a glorified personal development programme with certification that carries zero ‘qualification’ value. The 90%+ figure encompasses all those TESOL and TEFL courses that come with ‘private’ accreditation and, in some cases, no accreditation whatsoever.
You need TESOL certification that’s a product of ‘Nationally Recognised Training’ in the country of origin; certification that comes with government-sanctioned accreditation. For example, the Australian Government accredited TESOL programme at AVSE-TESOL in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh (Cambodia) meets this core requirement.
“What’s the problem with ‘private’ accreditation”? I hear you ask. Any random person over the age of 18 who can put their hands on a phone bill in their name (or similar) for ‘proof’ of identification can set up a private ‘Limited Liability Company’ (that costs around US $25.00) and call themselves a TESOL accreditation entity. Regrettably, the TESOL Training industry is full of these dodgy, private ‘accreditation’ entities that are nothing more than ‘Diploma Mills’. If you opt for a TESOL course in Hanoi that offers ‘Nationally Recognised Training’, all being well, you will end up with a legitimate teaching qualification that can be used around the world.
Precourse support
Precourse support includes everything that happens from the moment you sign up for a TESOL course in Hanoi through to the first day of your TESOL programme. In the precourse phase, there’s a lot of things to organise, including: a visa, medical insurance, important documents (degree, background check and the like), vaccinations (if necessary) and booking an airline ticket. You’ll also need to think about what you should (and shouldn’t) pack, how to navigate immigration and customs on arrival at Hanoi International Airport, transport from the airport to your accommodation and settling into a new environment where people speak a different language.
Arguably, there isn’t anyone better placed to guide you through the precourse phase of your TESOL programme than the person (or their delegate) who signed you up for your TESOL course in Hanoi in the first place. Presumably, they’ll be on the ground in Hanoi. There’s a good chance they’ve provided precourse support to plenty of other TESOL students over time. They’ll know what to do. They’ll know where to go. They’ll know who you need to speak with.
Not all TESOL providers in Hanoi offer ‘free’ precourse support. Some say they do, but it doesn’t happen, or it falls well short of what is promised. Before you sign on the dotted line and lock yourself into a TESOL course in Hanoi, you must know exactly what support you will receive. You’re throwing caution to the wind and heading off to teach English in Hanoi; you can do without surprises and disappointments in the lead up to your TESOL programme.
Free precourse support from AVSE-TESOL in Hanoi includes, but isn’t limited to: visa and insurance guidance, help with essential documents, up-to-date advice on vaccinations and travel-related Coronavirus testing, where to find cheap air tickets and how to move through the arrivals process at Hanoi Airport with a minimum of fuss. The team at AVSE-TESOL will even send a representative to the airport to personally collect you and make sure you’re settled into your accommodation if that would be helpful. AVSE’s precourse support also includes a Welcome Dinner on Saturday evening and a City Tour on Sunday, before your course starts on Monday – at no additional cost.
Accommodation
Hotel or Guesthouse accommodation in Hanoi can be expensive. With a basic online search, you will see that it’s tough to find somewhere to stay in Hanoi for less than US $25.00 a night; and with this kind of budget, you’ll probably have to share a room and a bathroom with a bunch of random people. What will this mean for you if the fee for your month-long TESOL course in Hanoi doesn’t include accommodation? Put simply, it means that you need to add around US $700.00 (28 nights x US $25.00 = US $700.00) to the cost of the course. You’d also need to add the cost of transport to get to and from the training centre for the duration of the course. Depending on the distance between the accommodation you found and the training centre’s location, your transport costs could be as high as US $300.00.
When you add US $700.00+/- (accommodation) and US $300.00+/- (transport) to the programme fee, that ‘cheap’ TESOL course in Hanoi doesn’t seem so cheap after all.
There are four good reasons why you ought to choose a TESOL course in Hanoi – like the one offered by AVSE-TESOL – that includes accommodation. First, you’ll have your own bedroom and bathroom, befitting someone who’s enrolled in a quality teacher training programme, without having to pay a penny more than the advertised programme fee. Second, almost certainly the accommodation that’s included in your programme fee will be within walking distance of the training centre. This means your course-related transport costs will be zero. In fact, you might even be able to pop ‘home’ at lunchtime. Third, there’s a good chance that your classmates will be staying at the same place – great for bonding and socialising. Fourth, if your TESOL provider is anything like AVSE-TESOL, they will have thoroughly vetted the accommodation – safety, security, cleanliness and the like – before booking you and other TESOL students into the place. This vetting process effectively means that you’re not walking into something that’s an ‘unknown’ quantity.
Meaningful job support
While most TESOL providers in Hanoi speak in glowing terms about the extent of their job support for folks who enrol in their programme, what’s delivered, often doesn’t match the rhetoric. Job support should start in the precourse phase, in my view, continue throughout the month-long course and culminate in placement once the TESOL course is ‘done and dusted’.
Job support is a lot more than fax-streaming your curriculum vitae (resume) to random schools. Among other things, it involves making sure you have the skills, knowledge and quality certification to work as an ESL educator; understanding your aspirations; working with you to put a curriculum vitae together that meets the employer’s expectations; engaging in mock interviews and making appointments for you with specific employers. If ‘employer one’ doesn’t offer you a job, your TESOL provider needs to understand why you were unsuccessful, so you’ll have a better chance with ‘employer two’. Of course, negotiating an employment agreement is a personal matter between you and a potential employer, but it would be comforting to know that your TESOL provider is open to being a ‘sounding board’ if it’s necessary.
Meaningful job support from your TESOL provider will positively impact your overall ‘teach English abroad’ experience. In stark contrast, if job support falls short of the mark (or is non-existent), there’s a chance that you’ll be left to your own devices in an unfamiliar environment. What’s the message? Make sure that meaningful job support is part of your TESOL package, have a clear understanding of what support will be delivered – and speak up if you receive less than what was promised.
Summary
You won’t have any trouble finding a TESOL course in Hanoi with a simple Google search, but you may well have trouble working out which course is best for you. As you’re flicking through website pages, blog articles, online reviews and suchlike, I’d encourage you to hone in on four points: 1. quality accreditation, 2. precourse support, 3. accommodation, and 4. meaningful job support. If you come across a TESOL programme that doesn’t tick all four ‘boxes’, best to keep looking. Teaching is a profession. You need a qualification, not a ‘personal development certificate’. Precourse support (at no cost) from someone who has helped others embark on a ‘teach English abroad’ adventure is invaluable. When you weigh up the issues associated with having to find your own accommodation (time, added cost, safety, security, walking into the unknown …) against accommodation that’s included in the TESOL programme (zero added cost, classmates at the same location, walk to the training venue, known quantity….), the choice is an easy one to make. There are words about ‘job support’ on a website page or in a flashy video, and then there’s real job support that’s multi-faceted and targeted. Don’t accept anything less than the latter.
About the writer: Peter Goudge is the Managing Director (and owner) of AVSE-TESOL in Vietnam (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City) and Cambodia (Phnom Penh). AVSE-TESOL has been training aspiring ESL educators for jobs teaching English in Vietnam and Cambodia for more than 15 years. Check out the AVSE-TESOL website: www.avse.edu.vn
How to notarise and legalise your TESOL certificate in Vietnam
Let’s say that you completed the Australian Government accredited TESOL course in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City at AVSE-TESOL, and you’re out and about talking to potential employers. Once you’ve found a teaching job that’s a good fit for you, there’s a high chance that your Vietnamese employer will ask you to have your TESOL certificate notarised – and possibly legalised. I say, ‘possibly legalised’ because more often than not, the employer (or an agent acting on behalf of the employer) will take on this task themselves. Regardless of whether you’re asked to arrange for your TESOL certificate from AVSE-TESOL to be notarised only or notarised and legalised, you’ll see in this blog post that it’s all manageable.
This post is only about the notarising and legalising processes in Vietnam. There are separate processes altogether for notarising and legalising your TESOL certificate in Australia and other countries.
Perspective:
Before touching on the notarising and legalising steps related to your certificate from the TESOL course in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City at AVSE-TESOL, it’s worth considering the purpose behind the two distinct processes. You could be excused for thinking the purpose has glaring shortcomings, but ‘it is, what it is’.
Notarising your TESOL certificate from AVSE-TESOL will occur at the Australian Embassy in Hanoi or the Australian Consulate-General in Ho Chi Minh City. Succinctly, notarising is about confirming that the name on the certificate matches the name of the person who presents the certificate. Hence, the notary will want to see your passport (or similar). Notarising is also about confirming the entity that issued the certificate is a legal entity (only). It’s not the responsibility of the notary to determine if the legal entity has the necessary authority to issue or accredit TESOL certificates in Vietnam (or elsewhere) – or to offer vocational training programmes in the first place. While AVSE-TESOL ticks all the necessary boxes, many entities that provide a TESOL course in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, or both, ‘fly under the radar’.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (Vietnamese Government) in either Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City is responsible for legalising ‘foreign’ documents for use in Vietnam. The city – Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City – where you have your certificate legalised is an important consideration, but I will come back to that later. The legalisation process essentially involves certifying that the notary’s signature and stamp (see above) are legitimate. You might be surprised to learn that ‘legalising’ is not confirmation that the document is what it purports to be – for example, a legitimate teaching qualification.
We have touched on the purpose of notarising and legalising your certificate from the TESOL course in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City at AVSE-TESOL. Now, let’s look at how to complete the tasks in Vietnam in two easy steps, with a minimum of fuss.
Step one:
Step one involves obtaining a notarised copy of your TESOL certificate from the Australian Embassy in Hanoi or the Australian Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. If you did the TESOL course in Hanoi and then moved to Ho Chi Minh City or vice-versa, there’s no need to travel back to the city where you did the course for notarising (and legalising) purposes. However, both the embassy and the consulate require visitors to make an appointment beforehand. You can make an appointment in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City via the relevant website address noted below. You will be charged a fee by the embassy or the consulate for providing a notarised copy of your TESOL certificate. The fee is payable in cash or by card. Here are the contact details for the Australian Embassy in Hanoi and the Australian Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City.
Hanoi: Australian Embassy
Website: https://vietnam.embassy.gov.au/
Location: 8 Dao Tan Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, Vietnam
Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/TZF2Sa8JF1qY89jy6
Ho Chi Minh City: Australian Consulate
Website: https://hcmc.vietnam.embassy.gov.au/
Location: 20th Floor, Vincom Center, 47 Ly Tu Trong Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/HrtdeH4k2NNHfDhY8
Step two:
The process of legalising a TESOL certificate in Vietnam is ordinarily completed by an employer (or an Agent), but your employer might ask you to do it yourself. If you are asked, take the notarised copy (Step one) of your TESOL certificate to the Department of Foreign Affairs (Vietnamese Government) in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. This is where the location issue does become important. You must visit the Department of Foreign Affairs in the same city your TESOL certificate was notarised (Step one). There’s no need to make an appointment. The process usually takes 24 hours to complete, and it only costs a few dollars. Here are the contact details for the Department of Foreign Affairs in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Hanoi: Department of Foreign Affairs – Consular Section
Location: 40 Trần Phú, Điện Bàn, Ba Đình, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/2bRbh9bbxNcDJzg5A
Ho Chi Minh City: Department of Foreign Affairs – Consular Section
Location: 184B Pasteur Street, Bến Nghé Ward, District 1, Hồ Chí Minh City, Vietnam
Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/rrGK3BK6gDr4bY1q7
Conclusion:
In this blog post, I’ve touched on what’s involved when having your certificate from the TESOL course in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City at AVSE-TESOL notarised and legalised in Vietnam. Your employer will likely ask you to complete the notarisation task, and then he (or she) will take care of having your TESOL certificate ‘legalised’. If you’re asked to complete both the notarising and legalising, it’s simply a matter of following the two-step process that has been outlined in this blog post.
About the author: Peter Goudge is the Managing Director (and founder) of AVSE-TESOL in Vietnam and Cambodia. AVSE-TESOL offers Australian Government accredited TESOL courses in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Phnom Penh. Check out the AVSE-TESOL website: www.avse.edu.vn
TESOL course in Hanoi: Eight questions to ask before you sign-up
It might come as a surprise to some people, that not all TESOL programmes in Hanoi are equal. Moreover, not all TESOL programmes and related certifications are what they appear to be. In this short blog post, I’ll provide eight key questions that you should ask a potential TESOL provider before parting with your hard-earned money. Doing a TESOL course in Hanoi is an experience that you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life. With a few carefully worded questions, see immediately below, you’ll be better placed to make an informed decision on which TESOL course is best for you.
Key Questions
Question one: I noticed that your TESOL course in Hanoi is accredited by (name of entity) in (name of country where the course is ‘accredited’). Is this entity a privately owned Limited Liability Company? Moreover, how much do you pay (name of entity) for each certificate you issue.
Pretty much every TESOL course in Hanoi claims to be ‘accredited’ by an entity of one kind or another. On the surface, this might seem like good news, but there’s a catch. Most TESOL courses in Hanoi are accredited by a random Limited Liability Company (around US $25.00 to establish). Any person with a gas bill, a driver’s licence or other proof of identification can establish a Limited Liability Company with a flashy name like ACCREDIT TESOL and call themselves an ‘independent’ (insert – US $25.00 company) ‘accrediting’ authority. If you were so inclined you could do it yourself, but please don’t. These ‘independent authorities’, in the main, are no more than old-fashioned ‘diploma mills’ that are a blight on education and training – worldwide.
Question two: What’s the difference between ‘Nationally Recognised Training’ (in the country of origin) with accreditation by a government and ‘accreditation’ by a privately owned Limited Liability Company?
If it’s not a product of ‘Nationally Recognised Training’, it follows that the certification cannot be internationally recognised. Words on a website page can be helpful. Well-made videos and other forms of marketing can be enticing, especially when the provider is selling a teach English abroad (or similar) adventure. TESOL ‘training’ in Vietnam, Cambodia, and other developing countries is one of those industries where the adage, ‘buyer beware’ definitely applies. Questions directed at confirming accreditation status are best asked directly by making an appointment to speak with a ‘real person’ at the training venue if you’re already in Hanoi or via Zoom if you’re not in Hanoi. Meeting with a real person will help with warding off ‘weasel lines’ like:
‘Certification’ from our TESOL course in Hanoi is accepted for Work Permit purposes’.
– Does this mean that the certification is a legitimate teaching qualification? No it doesn’t. It might mean that the Vietnamese public servant who processes a particular Work Permit application doesn’t know about accreditation and related teaching credentials, doesn’t care, or both. By way of example, if a policeman (government official) unwittingly accepts a bogus driver’s licence during a regular traffic stop, does that mean the licence morphs into a genuine driver’s licence? Of course not.
‘You can have your certificate notarised at the United States Embassy (or another embassy)’.
– Does this mean that the certificate is a legitimate teaching qualification? Nope! It may mean that the privately owned ‘accrediting’ entity is a Limited Liability Company (cost factor of around US $25.00) in the United States (or elsewhere) – like millions of other ‘mum and dad’ companies. Any suggestion that the notarisation process at an embassy is directed at establishing the legitimacy of the TESOL course in Hanoi, a teaching ‘qualification’ or related certification, is simply untrue.
– ‘Accreditation doesn’t matter – there’s no ‘worldwide authority’ that presides over TESOL / TEFL courses.
If you hear this line from a TESOL provider, I’m genuinely sorry to say – you’ve hit the bottom of the barrel. No worldwide authority presides over courses for lawyers, doctors, dentists, and every other profession on planet earth. The ‘no worldwide authority’ line is a classic red herring. We have ‘Nationally Recognised’ training and related qualifications in individual countries. If your TESOL certification is a product of ‘nationally recognised’ training in the country of origin, certification issued by AVSE-TESOL in Hanoi is a good example, you have every reason to believe that it will be recognised in other countries, although you might have to jump through a few hoops.
Question three: I see that your TESOL course in Hanoi comes with employment support. Let’s say that you send me to VUS, ILA (or similar) in Hanoi after I complete the course. Will you receive a commission payment from the school if they employ me?
‘Double-dipping’ – payment at the frontend by the TESOL student (you) and payment at the backend by the employer (VUS and the like) – is common practice from TESOL providers in Hanoi. You might be okay with this practice because placing someone in a job involves work, and people should get paid for their work. I get it. If receiving commission payments for referring people to an employer is not publicly acknowledged on the TESOL providers website, at a minimum, it shows a lack of transparency. I’d go further and say it shows disrespect for TESOL students, if only because you wouldn’t have known about the ‘backhander’ if you didn’t ask the question.
Question four: Does the course fee include accommodation?
Accommodation in Hanoi isn’t cheap. For example, if the TESOL course in Hanoi goes on for four weeks and doesn’t include accommodation, you can add US $700.00+ to the course fee. Moreover, you can add an additional US $300.00+ if you need to pay for transport to get to the training location.
Question five: Is your business licenced by the Vietnamese Government to deliver Vocational Training programmes, in general, and specifically, teacher training programmes and related qualifications sourced from abroad?
If the answer is not a resounding ‘yes’ to both parts of the question above, you should vote with your feet immediately. If the answer is ‘yes’ to both parts of the question, ask to see the relevant documentation. It’s your right. Legitimate Vocational Training providers in Vietnam and companies that import products and services (teacher training programmes in this instance) must hold the relevant licences. The licences are separate to a ‘run-of-the-mill’ company registration certificate, a taxation notice and suchlike.
Question six: Can you show me a copy of your Public Liability Insurance policy so I know that I’m covered if I have an accident or get injured at your training venue?
Reputable Vocational Training providers worldwide, including in Vietnam, are compelled to have Public Liability Insurance for their training venue. It provides a level of protection for those people who use the venue. If you’re injured or worse, you (or your family) may be eligible for financial support. Unfortunately, TESOL providers who ‘fly under the radar’ in Hanoi tend not to be bothered about what happens to you on their premises. In the event something untoward occurred, they’d simply shut up shop, and there’s a good chance that you’d never find them. Will your medical insurance provider cover the costs of an injury, accident or worse on a property owned or rented by a company – the TESOL provider – legally compelled to take out Public Liability Insurance but didn’t bother? I suspect not, but you should know the answer beforehand.
Question seven: What is the failure rate with your TESOL course in Hanoi?
Obviously, nobody wants to fail, but with any serious qualification, some people inevitably will. Tertiary institutions around the world budget for a 20% (+/-) failure rate. If the provider tells you that nobody fails their course, it will provide an insight into the legitimacy of what’s on offer. If you’re told (insert a number) % of people fail the course, you may wish to ask the provider why people fail. In the same vein, it would be worthwhile asking the TESOL provider when you can expect to receive your certificate. If the provider says in the last week or the course, the last day of the course and the like, it raises questions about the independence of the assessment process – which goes to the heart of legitimacy. It also raises questions about how the provider got a certificate with your name on it from the United States, the United Kingdom or wherever the accrediting entity is based, in what amounts to lightning speed, perhaps even before you’ve finished the course. The answer is pretty obvious.
Question eight: Tell me about your TESOL trainers.
Teaching and training are different activities. Some folks are brilliant teachers, but poor trainers and vice versa. To illuminate this point, for a moment, think about sex education. You can be a sex education teacher or a sex education trainer – these activities require a markedly different skill set. Most TESOL providers in Hanoi employ a ‘garden variety’ teacher as their TESOL Trainer.
Regardless of whether the TESOL Trainer is an Oxford Don or footed the bill to do a short, online course at Harvard (open to anyone prepared to pay), if that person doesn’t hold formal certification in vocational training, they’re not qualified to preside over a TESOL course in Hanoi. As an example, if you accept the premise that someone who holds a US driver’s licence isn’t qualified to train law enforcement folks in tactical driving, then it follows that you accept the assumption that people who do not hold a specialist vocational training qualification, are not qualified to preside over a TESOL course. Certainly, that’s the view of the Australian Government, the US Government, the Canadian Government, and the list goes on.
Summary
There are two or three Vocational Training entities in Hanoi, including AVSE-TESOL, that offer a Nationally Recognised TESOL course that comes with a TESOL qualification that’s genuinely internationally recognised. Unfortunately, there are many more ‘TESOL courses’ in Hanoi that simply don’t stack up. Thorough due diligence is imperative. Look beyond the ‘sharp’ videos and words on a website page. If the course (and related certification) is not Nationally Recognised in the country of origin, it follows that it cannot be internationally recognised. Armed with a few targeted questions (accreditation, double-dipping, notarisation, and other issues covered in this post) – and determination to sort the ‘wheat from the chaff’, I’m convinced that you’ll find yourself in a Nationally Recognised TESOL training programme in Hanoi. Equally, I’m confident that you’ll land a brilliant teaching job once the course is over, in part at least, because you didn’t scrimp on your training.
About the writer: Peter Goudge is the owner (and founder) of AVSE-TESOL in Vietnam and Cambodia. AVSE-TESOL offers an Australian Government accredited (Nationally Recognised Training) TESOL course in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh and Online. Check out the AVSE-TESOL website: www.avse.edu.vn
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