Further Qualifications

The Diploma

Both Cambridge and Trinity offer Diploma level courses. These are for experienced teachers who have decided to continue with TEFL as a career. In general the entry criteria for the courses are a TEFL certificate and 2 years teaching experience and it pays to have a good breadth of experience to draw on before embarking on this course. Similarly to the Certificate courses, you can study full or part-time for the Diploma (8 weeks or 9 months). If you are an experienced teacher who has decided to return to the UK to teach, you may find the only way to secure a contract is to have a Diploma level qualification. This is due to the fact that schools are rated higher in British Council accreditation scheme if they have a higher percentage of teachers with the Diploma. In addition you may find having the Diploma sets you on a higher salary or will allow you to take positions with increased responsibility.

COTE

COTE is the Certificate for Overseas Teachers of English (COTE). This is for practising teachers for whom English is not a first language, and who are teaching English to people who have recently begun their careers in this field.

CELTYL

CELTYL is the Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching to Young Learners. It is accepted throughout the world by organisations which employ English language teachers and is for teachers who have little or no previous experience of teaching young learners and who have previously been awarded the CELTA. The course is designed to enable CELTA graduates to build on and transfer the skills and knowledge from their CELTA course to the area of teaching young learners.

See http://www.cambridge-efl.org.uk/exam/index.cfm for more details.